Using game fish as bait...

[Mojo1]

...is legal in Idaho. Just thought I'd put this to rest once and for all.

[center]IDAHO FISH AND GAME
HEADQUARTERS NEWS RELEASE
Boise, ID[/center]
Date:August 3, 2009Contact:Ed Mitchell
(208) 334-3700
ask fish and game: fish used as bait


Q. Is it legal to use game fish or pieces of game fish for bait? Is it legal for me to use eggs from hatchery steelhead I catch in Idaho for bait?

A. It is not legal to use any live fish as bait, except that live crayfish and bull frogs may be used if caught on the body of water being fished. But game fish reduced to possession may be used as fishing bait, either whole or cut up. Those fish, however, still count toward bag limits. Steelhead roe is legal if cured - that is, dead eggs.
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[flygoddess]

That is funny. Your bait is now also your limit.
Okay, let's say it is a two trout limit. So when does the one you are using for bait no longer count as one of your limit? Good to the last drop...LOL
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[idahoron]

I called Ed Mitchell today. He was not the one that wrote that article but he IS the contact.
This is what I have been trying to say. It is legal to use any fish for bait in Idaho. You still have to follow the LEGAL size restrictions, Seasons, and daily harvest limits. LIke Bass must be 12" in water that has that restriction. And if the regulations say 2 trout that is all you can cut up.
I told him I work for a Hatchery and I use Trout "morts" as bait all the time. He thought that was a good use of a waisted product.
I also have used Bass, Crappie, and MANY other fish as bait. He said the same thing I said before. MAKE SURE you get a receipt for the trout. I get about 5 pounds at a time. That might be 6 fish or 60 it depends on how big I want. If you don't have a receipt you will get a ticket for each fish over the limit. SO if the limit is two fish and I have 60, I get a ticket for each of the 58. That would be a big fine.
Ron
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[Got_Bait]

Morts huh? I love those things. I'm hoping to be coming up to the Magic Valley and using some morts this weekend.
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[packfish]

FG- that's what I thought you were doing- I had binocs on you at Daniels- chrominids tipped with Kamloops meat.
[] It's all pretty clear now.
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[flygoddess]

Shhhhhh[] You didn't think that little bead headed hook with just plain ol' thread was catching the fish![cool]
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