Livewell help

Seeing how it's against the law to take lake water away from the lake I'm needing help/info.

I've got a 30 gallon drum that I've used to build a livewell for my truck. I'll use my boat livewell while I'm fishing to hold everything. But once I get what I'm after and get back to the dock I'll have to transfer them to the 30 gal barrel.

My question is what do I use to treat TAP WATER to make it SAFE for lake fish and not kill them ?

TIA !!!

http://www.sure-life.com/pro_SHAD_KEEPER.html. They have several products for what you need

Thank you sir I'll check that link out !

Will lake caught fish live in untreated well water ?

perch and minnows will, shad will take more effort like good filtration system and water treatment

If you let the water sit in the container at least 24 hrs the chlorine will be gone. This should give them a better chance of survival.

I've mounted and piped in a 500 gph aerator to help keep them alive.

This one will only be used to transport perch, crappie, cats and MAYBE a few bass used to stock private waters.

Thank you sir !

Don't want to rain too hard on your parade...but BEFORE trying to explain yourself to a judge, it might be best to check the laws with respect to the capture, transport, and use of fish taken from public waters with just a fishing license.

Somewhere out there is somebody that can quote some verse and numbers of state wildlife code, but basically the law allows you to catch bait by certain methods for certain uses, lets you catch and eat some fish, and MAY let you take SOME species of fish for use in private lakes and ponds. There are a LOT of restrictions, not just the source water, but especially with respect to certain species of fish and what you intend to do with them.

In particular the state is very touchy about certain species such as largemouth bass, flathead catfish, black and white crappie, grass carp, paddlefish, and tilapia and that's just a few of the fish. You can add many, many others you may "pick up" either purposefully or accidentally in the public waters of Texas that are expressly prohibited from possession for ANY reason. Just a few examples: Brazilian elodea, hydrilla, zebra mussels, etc. as well as certain frogs, toads, newts, turtles, salamanders, and a host of endangered or exotic species. Get caught with one and its same as anything else, you'll be checked for everything.

Its a convoluted mess to navigate. But you can take a certain size and number of largemouth bass, for instance, to kill and eat, but certainly not to transport alive into private waters. The same is true of any designated "sport" species in Texas. Take any money or other valuable consideration for doing so and the crime becomes greatly elevated.

Better look into that before using a small bottle of oxygen with a regulator and diffuser to properly deliver oxygen to the fish you are carrying in water you got from the tap and dechlorinated using the stuff you bought at Petsmart or Wally World in the tropical fish section. Then you were prepared with a cooler and some ice to cool the water in the container if it is much above 80 degrees. Plus about half pound of non-iodized salt per hundred gallons.

Better yet, get the fish you need packaged for carrying or delivered to you from a licensed, Texas fish hatchery.

http://www.texasaquaculture.org/PDF/Avail_List.pdf

I spoke with the Eastland county game warden ( he's over the county where I'm catching them from ) about transporting live human caught lake fish ( mainly crappie, cats & assorted perch ) from a public lake to a different county into private waters. Then called the Palo Pinto Co game warden ( as I'm going back into his county ) about the whole situation.
Both of them said there is no issues of transporting game fish that's been caught from public water to private waters. Said they have no concern if they are kept for consumption or used for private stocking purposes.
I can not vouch for the exact wording of the law books BUT I can vouch for what these two different county wardens told me. Even had the Eastland Co warden Check out my set yesterday as I was at the lake.

I would get that in writing. It is illegal to take game fish from public waters for stocking of private waters.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/faq/landwater/fisheries/

I stand corrected.

Now, How do you get around the dry livewell rule?

Also just spoke with Brandy Reeder ( prolly spelled wrong ) and she handles everything law wise for TXPWD.

As long as you abide by the zebra mussel laws and you are transporting legally caught fish of legal size then you are 100% legal.

Therefor I'm NOT breaking ANY laws at all !

I have a constructed a 30 gallon livewell in my truck. I fill it with tank water or well water and carry the livewell FULL of water with me.

Hydrogen Peroxide will work just fine. I have used it in my minnow vat when I ran out od the stuff Wally World sells.

Thank you sir !
I will try it out on some perch or small batch of something

Fishbreeder, check out the link that I posted. It states the situation in there. Also you may call TXPW to hear it straight from them as well.

As I understand the rule, you must have a receipt. How else would you prove that you didn't fill the tank at the lake?

ChuChu1 if you like I can text or email you a picture of my livewell but have not had any luck posting them on here.

I used well water Sunday so it's crystal clear. Not murky.
I'm not transporting minnows or bait sized perch.

Only game fish & big perch.

BUT that's the same question a few of us have asked each other, " how to prove I didn't fill the bucket with lake water ".

I don't need to see a pic. I just think you need to be sure before you haul water to the lake and get questioned. The game warden here asks to see a receipt for minnows to show where the water came from. And he checks live wells and bilge for any water.
Personally I don't think size of fish will matter to a game warden that checks you as you leave the lake. Just that the tank has water in it.

Yes sir our warden checks our minnow receipt as well. Not real sure how to prove I brought the water with me to the lake. Other than a water sample it's my word against his.

That is sure what is published, perfectly legal. But that does not square with what we (Texas fish farmers) were told in January by TPWD.

I've sent an email to Monica McGarrity at TPWD for clarification. If this is true, and there are no restrictions over individuals with fishing licenses taking fish for private use, I got them in another double standard.

When I get an answer I'll report back here.

In the meantime, if I had any fish in a tank in the truck I'd have a copy of that paper with me saying its legal.

BTW, I know they are charged with enforcement and I love the wardens, many are friends, but that IS NOT where you go for advice on what is legal or not.

Brett

I work for a lake management company where stocking and transporting fish is a large part of what we do. Firstly, acclimation is key. If you catch fish and put them into a live well that has different water in it at a different temperature and pH you run the risk of thermal or other shock. If you can't use water from the lake, BE SURE that the water in your truck is within a couple degrees, and has sufficient aeration. This time of year, if your truck is sitting at the ramp for more than an hour I can almost guarantee that it's going to be way warmer than the water of the lake. If you are going to a ramp that offers ice, I recommend you cool down the fish for the trip home, but do so slowly.

Basically you don't want to change the water temperature that a fish is in by more than 3 or so degrees within 10 minutes. This helps to keep an already stressed fish from thermal shock.
I would call the game warden back and see what they say about filling your livewell at the ramp. It would be that much easier on the fish.

Thank you sir ! I would love to hear what another internal personal has to say about it.
I'm not sure but maybe it's because you guys are selling the fish ? Idk but a decent guess.
May read one way for the folks that are selling the fish to folks for private stocking purposes. And then a different law for the folks that want to legally catch public water fish and transport them to private water for personal stocking purposes.

I agree that a warden is not the BEST place to seek advice but it's a good start. As one of the ladies I spoke with the other day @ TPWD said " the wardens are the ones enforcing the law so it's up to the way they interpreted the actual law.

But PLEASE share what Mrs McGarrity has to say !

Very good advice !! Thank you very much !!

The water is the main issue at hand for the 2 wardens and the 2 ladies that I spoke with @ TPWD. They say I can not in any way take water from the lake. Nor allow the water that I bring with me to get into the lake. So at this point I'm using collected rain water and well water with neither being treated before I fill my livewell. Yesterday I cooked it off some before I left the house and took a bunch of ice with me incase I needed to cool it even more. However I did not think about needing to have THAT close to same water temp as the lake water.

Will be sending you a PM.

AGAIN, THANK YOU for the advice ~ help !!

Lot easier, but illegal in Texas due to zebra mussels.

I got a detailed answer from Ms. McGarrity at TPWD.

OK, basically, it IS legal to take legal size and number of largemouth bass with a valid license from public waters to stock private waters. That only as long as you obey the zebra mussel/water transport rules.

However, it becomes somewhat of a sticky wicket IF those private waters are going to be used for profit. You CANNOT take bass from public waters and use them to produce fingerlings for sale without paying a fee in addition to any fishing license. I am waiting on a clarification on whether or not you can stock your private lake with fish taken from public waters then charge people to fish there. If so, I have a new business plan in the works....

Other food for thought.....none of us in Texas can legally purchase a largemouth bass from ANYBODY, in or out of state unless that bass can be forensically examined and found to have been raised on a vegetable based, artificial diet. Them big ole lunkers for sale on the CB web site, not legal for sale.

Brett Rowley
Fisheries Biologist
Brett's Fish Farm/The Good Luck Fishing and Hunting Club

keyboard commando's

Speaking of receipts for our minnows. I only buy minnows about once a month and keep them in my minnow vat that I have at the lake house. When I go to our slip I transport a couple of dozen in a minnow bucket. What would the game warden say I wonder If I gave him one that was over a month old ?

Do you fish where the minnow vat is located? If so, you are not really transporting them.

You would be surprised the number of folks doing the exact same thing !
If your receipt showed a dozen & a month old the he might question lol.

The receipt is basically showing them where the water came from is how I understood it. Call your local warden ! After all he is the one that writes the tickets. You'd be surprised how helpful they are behind the scenes.

Had it all figured out even when I showed proof on TPWD website.

It's still for profit by the way you speak of it





However, it becomes somewhat of a sticky wicket IF those private waters are going to be used for profit. You CANNOT take bass from public waters and use them to produce fingerlings for sale without paying a fee in addition to any fishing license. I am waiting on a clarification on whether or not you can stock your private lake with fish taken from public waters then charge people to fish there. If so, I have a new business plan in the works....

Other food for thought.....none of us in Texas can legally purchase a largemouth bass from ANYBODY, in or out of state unless that bass can be forensically examined and found to have been raised on a vegetable based, artificial diet. Them big ole lunkers for sale on the CB web site, not legal for sale.

Brett Rowley
Fisheries Biologist
Brett's Fish Farm/The Good Luck Fishing and Hunting Club

[/quote]

No sense in playing the "grey" area. Just play by their rules and there's no issues.