Mississippi catfish for bait. Is it legal to fish with store bought fish or is it still considered illegal because it is what it is? Just like there are no regulations for hunting elk in Texas because there aren't any except for the ones on private ranches and if you were to use part of it for baiting up it should not be illegal. Right? And I know it might be kind of awkward or impossible explaining how the fillet on your hook is store bought and not just caught to the GW. So is it worth taking a chance?

There are much better legal baits

+1...if you are going to buy bait buy some buffalo or chicken.

I asked Lady Game Warden at GV if I could use Farm Raised Bass from Asian Mkt and she said its a grey area but Best Not to cuz how do they know if you bought it or caught it. I said what if I had my receipt? She said may still get a Ticket - kinds depends on that Game Warden -- so I never tried. I have tried the Baby Octupus and Squid and it caught eaters.

I too have thought about this. We can buy talapia, or countless other species, at asian markets for bait, but the receipt is the only way to prove that the fish either a) didn't come from the waters we are fishing, or b) doesn't violate the rules against transferring bait from one body of water to another without changing the water (or whatever stupid requirements there are when doing something like this). For rough fish I can see this not being such an issue. But I could see a warden having more of an issue when your bait might be considered a game fish, even with said receipt.

Hey that's a good question! They can probably write you a ticket because it's a game fish even though it's store bought. I'm sure the hand book doesn't mention or deiferentiate between store bought and wild. I personally feel like they can nail you on it BUT call the local warden that is over that county and ask him if he would allow it if you had a receipt. He might give you a thumbs up on it even though it's probably something he could inforce.