Yesterday, when comming in, I saw a guide at the ramp cleaning his clients fish. When he had them all done he gave the guys their fish then dumped the fish carcasses off the end of the courtesy ramp. Two questions. Is it legal to fillet fish at the lake and is it also legal to dump guts, bones, ect. there? I am not knocking anyone here. I really don't know. I thought I remember a some kind of law about not having fillets because they couldn't measure your fish? Anyone got an answer on this?

all the Guides on Lake Whitney do this , so IDK

Do it all the time on Texoma.

No, it is not legal. Get caught by a Game Warden and learn the hard way.

Guides do it as they advertise they do it as a service.

Get caught on the way home and see who gets the ticket.

Yes, it is legal. Just don't clean fish while still on the water.

Please show me the regulation that makes it illegal.

From the Outdoor Annual:
"In order to verify length and species, a fish caught may not have the head or tail removed and may not be filleted until an angler finally lands the catch on the mainland, a peninsula, or barrier island not including jetties or piers and does not transport the catch by boat."
They can be transported away from the water filleted. Until recently, I thought the same as you, but looked it up. Makes sense. Too many variables once you leave the lake, to cloud things.

Many of our state parks have fish cleaning stations in the park. If it was illegal to clean and transport fish I don't think they would be there.

Sadly for me the lakes I fish are Corp lakes with Corp parks. I sure wish the Corp would spend some of my tax money and install cleaning stations.

Unfortunately, the wording in the regulations, the number of regulations, contradictory regulations, and the way they are interpreted have made it difficult to remain within the law, even if you are trying. I see regulations being violated on a regular basis while I am out fishing. Most appear to be unintentional, but many are not.

What is the law on dumping the carcasses in the lake?

Just don't have the fillets with you and you're legal.

So, we had a big blow up at our neighborhood ramp (on whitney) about this a few weeks ago... I'm under the impression it's legal and it really doesn't bother me* since I'm sure it's food for other species in the lake.. Although I take mine home and let the racoons/pigs have them.. But, it bothers me when the guide literally throws them right where my kids are swimming (along with about 20 other kids).

Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer. I am unaware of any Texas Parks and Wildlife regulation that prevents dumping fish carcasses directly into a public waterbody, and I have done it many times, in both freshwater and saltwater, with a game warden standing right next to me. However, there are qualifiers. For example, it is unlawful to leave edible fish or bait fish taken from the public waters of the state to die without the intent to retain the fish for consumption or bait. So technically when you dump your unused bait at the end of the day you are in violation. Also, if you are sloppy and leave a great deal of edible meat on the fish, or just get tired of cleaning and throw entire fish in the lake, you are in violation. And those of you, like me, that threw a fillet I just cleaned In the water instead of the carcass, you are in violation.

Other state laws complicate the issue. Generally, it is unlawful to pollute any public water. Some cities and local agencies have interpreted these regulation to make it illegal to dump carcasses in certain water bodies, including some lakes and harbors.

YEP x 2

TCEQ has a couple of rules that apply, and if it's COE you bet they've got a paragraph or two on the subject.