Y'all, knowing that Texas does not allow the use of game fish as bait. I was thinking about the Flathead thread Rowdy posted and I wanted to look up Bullhead and make sure they were legal to use in Texas. Turns out they are not classified as gamefish so they are legal. But, when I was looking at the regulations I saw this...

Waste of Fish
It is unlawful to leave edible fish or bait fish to die without the intent to retain it for consumption or bait.

Now I started thinking. When you are done fishing, if you have bait left, what do you do with it? I will typically feed it to the gulls. Those dang birds can spot a shad floating on the surface from a mile away. So, I net the bait with the intent to use it for bait. Is it not legal to put the dead bait back in the water? The birds eat what floats and I'm sure what sinks gets consumed too. Asking for a friend...

I wish I could catch enough bait to think about having excess, well at least in the winter.

When it warms up though sure thing. Honestly when I was starting out I was reluctant to throw any back in the water at all, but I have gotten better with that.

Tim mentioned game fish being illegal. I have caught white bass in my net many times, not thinking too much about it until last year. I was out fishing lake Tawakoni and got approached and boarded by the game warden, all my bait was legal (Shad) and I was very happy that it was.

They checked my bait cooler and the live wells (not being used) and they weren’t messing around.



I got a ticket because I didn’t have a throw cushion on board, which I have now fixed. They were super friendly and only gave me a warning, so was very grateful for that.

They have rules for a reason.

To address the question you raised directly Tim, yes tell your friend I have thrown left over bait into the water on the way back in, and wasn’t aware it was an issue.

My take on this great topic we all should do our best to manage our bait as well as our fish and lakes and rivers, if we don't who else will... There is new rules and regs that I had to find out myself from a bait shop I was not aware of at the time. Then I went to the TPWD website to see the rest, then I figured out right away that some of the regs with how it's worded my pointed head was not sure about. So, I still going to the local field office to visit with them about questions I have on live bait I catch. Just know I want to be on the same page as the TPWD on any and all of this.

Some leftover bait comes home to be frozen for tough times.........some gets thrown back in the water to be consumed by birds and catfish.All put to use in my eyes.I do know the local game wardens and I will pose this question to them and follow up later.

I have seen some of the dead fish and baitfish that birds and/or fish didn't eat, being ate by the turtles and crayfish, these little monsters are more of an opportunist and will just flat eat what they can get.

Are you referring to the not being able to transport fish in the water they came from rule? Also believe you’re technically supposed to carry a receipt for live bait. I don’t know one way or another, I catch all my own bait from minnows all the way to bluegill.

Yes, if you buy live bait, you have to have your receipt. Now if you catch your own live bait, they way I understand it, they can't be transported to another lake. You would have to throw them on ice or freeze them. Least this is how I think the law reads, and the very part I want to visit with them about.

put them in a bait tank with treated tap water. Take them live anywhere you wanna go.

As for the rest... I don't think you will have an issue dumping your leftover bait. It will be consumed by mother nature in one form or another.
My biggest issue with the TX game fish as bait laws is that a person should be able to use any fish caught via legal means any way they want. I caught it legally, it's mine to do with what I want.
Just need the state to see it that way!! lol

If you read the fine print (unless it’s changed) I remember pretty specifically that it says you can’t transport them in the water from which they came. There are a few places where those Asian carp are present that you have to kill bait if you transport them.

Correct. You cannot transport them in the water from which they came. That's why I said treated tap water.

Yes! I was just qualifying your original point. There was a big thing when that first came out where people were complaining about how they couldn’t get sunfish from their local ponds anymore, catch their own minnows, etc. but the fine print specifically says the water and not the baitfish themselves. That being said, not sure how a game warden would enforce the receipt law and I’ve never heard of one asking.

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Yes! I was just qualifying your original point. There was a big thing when that first came out where people were complaining about how they couldn’t get sunfish from their local ponds anymore, catch their own minnows, etc. but the fine print specifically says the water and not the baitfish themselves. That being said, not sure how a game warden would enforce the receipt law and I’ve never heard of one asking. [/quote]

I've been checked by GW's multiple times with live bait on board and not questioned about the bait specifically. That said, I've heard they can test water with some form of a test strip. But that is only rumor, I have not see that done personally. Heck, you can tell if it's tap water or not by just looking at it.