Are yellow bass legal to use as bait here in Texas or are they considered a game fish because there's no minimum length and no limit on them like sunfish and I know you can use any bluegill or sunfish as bait?

Now I am pretty sure on TPWD website I read you can't use bluegill and sunfish. There are variety of perch you can. You should check their website for maybe exceptions there may be for the lake your fishing.

I know I have read on their website that you can only have two rods in the water fishing at any one given time per/person. And yet I know plenty guys fish with a fanned out array for many different species of fish. So I just figure there are some lakes with exceptions to some things.

It's under the rules and regulations section, I was making sure on the do's and don't's of using, retaining and traveling with live bait. I usually use artificial with the exception of going after Cats. I read you need a special permit for several things about live bait. One was if you were carrying more than 30 gallon bait tank. What I thought was weird they just mentioned the tank over 30 Gallons, not how much bait. So, what I figured from that for me, was I can't use both livewells on my boat for bait, least without this special permit. I reworked both of my livewells to make great baitwells out of them... I was planning on having at least two different types of live bait, so I am thinking one bait for the time, till I see if I really want to get in all that. Now if I have bait I catch while at the lake that is allowed, so I understood it.

They have a permit you can get if you use more than 30 Gallons, which is 38 bucks, same price as the permit if you sale bait. I just remember as a kid growing up on PK here in Texas, I use to make spending money catching crawfish and perch for the local places that sold bait. I also never passed up a soda pop bottle as they were all returns and brought more than any one piece of bait, heck I even remember longneck beer bottles had a return price on those as well. For a kid that wasn't old enough for a driving license, I wasn't getting rich, it did help pay for the gas in a old boat I had to run all over the lake.

Unfortunately yellow bass ARE considered a gamefish by TPWD even though they have no length or bag limit.

Bluegill and other sunfish like greenies, warmouth, longears, etc yes you can use as bait. yellow bass are a big no no, they’re a gamefish just like sandbass, black bass, and crappie.

Could someone please explain to me how a Bluegill or any other Panfish is a PERCH?

To correct what I typed above about the bluegill and sunfish as well as the two poles only per/person, all this was for community lakes within a city limit boundary, I did perceive that part when I read it.Man we have gotten way to many rules and regulations ! Sorry for confusing anyone. I thought while reading all that just the other day, all perch could be used as bait and that everyone that uses bait, live cut or otherwise; uses more than two poles also.

After all the above confusion above, I probably not the correct person to explain the difference of the perch, but on the TPWD website they have actual pix of the different fish we all go after and in some of the species there is a hyperlink to help identify the different fish. Might have a look there.

Some lakes are listed with the bag limits and sizes that differ from the state, those not on that exception list or reg'd by the state. I am still at odds about the 30 gallon total bait tank and driving the public roads. Then an even bigger question is if not using all my bait, if I can bring it back. This being if I have the receipt for buying the bait.

I am pretty sure if I catch bait while at the lake, that bait unused must be released and all water drained livewells, baitwells and bilge. It's all in attempt to keep the golden algae at bay as well as keeping certain species, weeds, grasses and whatever, from taking over lakes. Lots of things we as anglers should know for where we fish.

[quote=Rowdy]Now I am pretty sure on TPWD website I read you can't use bluegill and sunfish. There are variety of perch you can. You should check their website for maybe exceptions there may be for the lake your fishing.

I know I have read on their website that you can only have two rods in the water fishing at any one given time per/person. And yet I know plenty guys fish with a fanned out array for many different species of fish. So I just figure there are some lakes with exceptions to some things.



Can you post a link to the information on the number of poles being only 2? I have been checked by GW's multiple times with 4 to 6 rods and they never said it was a problem.
Per TPWD "A person may fish with multiple poles or other devices, except as provided in this guide.". Legal Devices, Methods & Restrictions
I could not find any restrictions in the online version.

Also Bream, Blue Gill, etc. are not listed as Game Fish and can be used as bait. Game Fish

Game Fish

Includes hybrids and subspecies of listed fish. Game fish may be taken only by pole and line, except as otherwise provided in this guide.

Bass: Alabama, Guadalupe, largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, striped, white, yellow
Catfish: blue, channel, flathead
Cobia
Crappie: black, white
Mackerel: king, Spanish
Marlin: blue, white
Pickerel
Red drum
Sailfish
Seatrout, spotted
Sharks
Snook
Spearfish, longbill
Swordfish, broadbill
Tarpon
Tripletail
Trout: brown, rainbow
Wahoo
Walleye

Its not. Technically bass and crappie are sunfish too,but we don’t usually call them that.

Unless the rule has been changed, the receipt thing was only for store bought bait, when it comes to wild caught bait you can use it, if you want to transport it, it cannot be transported in the water from where you caught it, meaning you’d need to have some treated tap water to be legal.

You are correct sir! I just figure that people that call a SUN FISH a PERCH
are just unlearned ,don`t know what perch looks like and don`t want to be educated.No big deal JMO

you grew up in a great place
Were you aware of Bills restaurant on 254 ?

Oldrabbit. I believe the two pole limit is for Community lakes only.
All public impoundments 75 acres or smaller located totally within an incorporated city limits or a public park, and all impoundments of any size lying totally within the boundaries of a state park.
Gear restrictions
Fishing is by pole and line only. Anglers may use no more than two poles while fishing.

Perch ..... that one might be due to local.

I grew up in southeast Kansas fishing mostly farm ponds and creeks, and while we were fishing for and catching many species of critters, anything that looked like a Sunfish, was called a Perch. Then there were Bass, Catfish, Bullheads, Crappie, White Bass, etc.

Never heard of the following until I moved south, and got old enough to read:
Bluegill
White Perch
Sac-o-lay
Gaspergoo
Striper
Sand Bass
Sandies
and the list goes on.

Butch S.

I am not aware of Bill's restaurant. Now 254 I know of, now me getting to be so forgetful, but it goes from 16 through Graford. Reason I do remember that is I went to school in Graford.

Your right about the lake and growing up there, it was a boys paradise in my opinion. Now my sister, not so much as she was as far away from being a tomboy as she could be. There was a neighbor lady right down the lake from us that had lots of money for back in those day,
One of my many lake front customers I mowed and kept the lake edge cleaned of everything that drifts up on it. Anyway she and my sister was always going to Dallas shopping. She kept my sister all good as well as herself I figured as she was moved there when her husband retired.

We just had ranch property back then and by today's standards we're dirt poor and very simple. Heck I still like that simple life really, not the poor part lol. The wife and I are fortunate that we are not dirt poor. My wife does us really well still since I have retired. I am mentally poor for sure but was blessed at being a gearhead that fixes most anything and more importantly can weld everything. ExxonMobil sent me and my gang and backhoe operator all over the world building everything and/or fixing it.

My welding ability came from the start from the shop and ag. teacher I had at Graford. It's a amazing place. I want to move there and retire there, but all of Dallas has found out about this lake over the years past and property there on the lake is crazy expensive and hard to buy if you think about any place for very long.

But I know the lake and how the river channel flows through it,least when it does rain enough for run off on its flood plane of the Brazos River. One of many reasons I would really like to move there and basically unplug from the grid if you will...

Butch,

Bill's restaurant, was this the place halfway between hwy 16 and Graford on the Northside of 254 by chance? If so, know that place well as a kid.

Your story is great
Yep that’s the spot, Soggy Bottom
My friends own that place, my wife wants to buy the land in back

The Lake has certainly changed

That place I had to take a few days to think on where I knew that from lol...

Was a great place back then when I lived there. The really odd thing about the lake now, is there is very few places to eat out there. Then those that are there are open Select hours and few days of the week. I go down there during the week, I bring my own stuff to eat instead of just to eat out while there. That or you drive to a town 30 miles away. Just seems to me there would be more places open all year long and not so seasonal.

It's very hard to figure out for some of us how to make a living anymore to the point most of us have no idea how, then those that are buying lake front property on the lake and paying 700 k$, questions about how they can pull that off, plus it's just the lake cabin lol. The wife and I got in a bidding war on such place and once we figured out who we were trying to buy against, we just dismissed ourself lol.

Calling small sunfish a perch is just a misnomer, I grew up calling them perch and will continue to do so. In East Texas folks call them " Brim" .
A LMB is not a true bass , just a big sunfish. true bass are stripers and their cousins.

Mo

By chance was that the old Hardwick Grocery store building?

Because some of us grew up with our fathers and grandfathers calling them perch.

It wasn't that
I think Hardwicks was on 2353
Or it could have been the yellow building down the road, I just don't remember Hardwicks being right there

Perch= Any fish smaller than your hand 🤣🤣🤣

Crappie was White Perch when I was growing up.

Even if they are bigger than both hands I still call them perch

Hardwicks was where the go cart track is now
Park Road 36 & 16 intersection
they had the state record striper hanging in there

Man I swear it was further east in one of those houses now

I do remember the fish there That thing was a monster

the house cat guy was a genius
not saying i like it
but they are full & nice looking

Ron Venerable caught that fish
he was going to filet it & somebody talked him out of it
he is an Arlington dude

Some folks choose to remain illiterate but it`s Kool

Wasn't that the place on park road 36 between the lake and hwy 16 ?

Even if they are bigger than both hands I still call them perch [/quote]
Some folks choose to remain illiterate but it`s Kool[/quote]
You should really learn the meaning of the word illiterate. But its cool

Illiterate: WellThere are really several def/meanings according to webster that range anywhere from "untaught ,ill informed,uninlightened with ignorant "somwhere in between.I say it`s Kool because some choose to have their own state of mind about certain things and that`s just the way the world is.It`s just like my spelling of the word "KOOL" as an expression instead of "COOL" it`s not because i`m illiterate or unlearned about the two spellings.I once was illiterate about the reasoning behind Hi Viz fishing line until I was enlightened of it`s purpose. Now I use it religiously! Being illiterate about something or saying someone is isn`t to cast aspersion on someone`s self image or denigrate them. The issue is when they don`t want to be enlightened & become butt hurt when someone tries to do so & i`m not speaking to you personally but I seem to have pulled your chain here. If this is the case gar 1970 I do "humbly apologize" but yes I do know my way around the word "ILLITERATE" and most other words that I use.

Only yankee's and city boys would be upset about Sunfish being called Perch.

Yes because us uneducated ridge runners and Cedar Choppers have called them Perch all our lives and we sure don't plan to change.

Yes, and regardless of what you want to call them, those little monsters can really fin the heck of you when trying to get a off-set circle hook back under the scales so you don't end up with a scale on the point of the hook while trying to get them hooked on nice and easy

They are my second favorite bait for cats, but they can sure get you when getting them rigged on. My first choice if I can get live with my cast net or buy them from someone that did is the 3-4" shad, the cats where I fish absolutely take'm better than the perch or these Black-Salties I have been using for the summer since no ones got the perch to sell as they usually do, and I have not thrown my net once this year nor have I spent any time trying catch my own perch.

I do wish these Black-Salties was a better bait, they have a really heavy slime on them and the smell to go with it. They are frisky and hardy as the perch if not better.

Heck I have kept some all summer and take a few dozen with me each time I go. I just need a good rain with enough to have run off into our lakes. I will make due with what I got. Heck long as they catch the cats interest I don't care what anyone wants to call whatever they are lol. At that point they are good live bait and I hope I have enough lol.

A lot of that has to do with scent. in my experience, sunfish caught from the same lake your fishing or a stream/creek that feeds it make much better bait than a sun fish caught in a pond or another lake. Those black salties (my understanding is they’re just a brown goldfish) probably smell like a bait tank and smell foreign to the fish, much like a bait shop sunfish, goldfish, or minnow does. I encounter this a lot for crappie and sandbass in the spring where a wild caught minnow will outfish something bought at a store at a 5/1 ratio.

Mck,

You are probably eactly right about that. Never looked at it like that really. Probably the very reason when I can net up fresh shad, there is nothing like them. The shad are just so hard to keep alive at the house, and even in my round bait tank.

Your thought on this also brings up something else I never thought to try till now, but I always use jigs to fish for crappie, I have the wife actually want to go with me to fish for them, she wants minnows. Period lol.

I always catch alot of really small shad when trying to net up some 3 to 4 inches, I bet with your thoughts on this, the crappie would really like those really small shad. Be interesting to find out. Got me thinking on this all.

If you can keep them alive a 3-4” Shad is one of the best crappie baits you’ll ever find. If you have a small mesh cast net (1/4” or 3/16”) you can net some wild shiners at a boat ramp and that’ll be just as good and they’re easy to keep alive. Unless you’re fishing for flatheads, there shouldn’t really be a reason to keep Shad alive, just catch them, bag them up, and immediately put them in a good cooler with lots of ice.

Per TPWD Valid Sept 1, 2022 til Aug 31, 2023 A person can use multiple poles/devices and Fresh Water UNLAWFUL to fish with MORE THAN 100 hook combined on all devices.

As long as under 100 hooks combined...use can use 8, 10 , 20 poles