Gloria,
That would appear to be to easy.......
Matthew

Snakeman,

I would check on the federal laws before I put the limits of migratory birds together.

I grew up hunting in the rice country in northeast Louisiana. We got a federal agent assigned to our area named Joe Olivera. Joe was committed to protecting the duck population from the outlaws and game hogs so many of us were back then.

The first year he did a great job, IMO, and almost everybody started abiding by the laws. I was walking out of our rice field with 3 other guys. We had a pump in the blind which needed a charge for the battery, so 1 guy carried the battery, one guy carried the ducks, and the other two had all 4 shotguns.

Joe was hiding in the tractor shed where we had parked. He proceeded to check us, everything was legal except for the guy with four limits of ducks. He told us we had 2 choices. One would be for him to write a ticket to the guy with the ducks for 3 limits over, the other would be he wrote 3 tickets, one for each of the rest of us, for allowing game to leave our possession without filling out the paperwork for donated game. We opted for the paperwork tickets.

We were sure Joe was wrong, so we went to Federal Court in Shreveport on our trial date and pled innocent. Wrong answer. Joe testified, we testified, the judge ruled 'Guilty'. It cost us $250 each, and that was back in the late 70's when $250 was a whole lot of money.

I don't know if the federal game laws have changed, but I'd never risk it. Joe Olivera was about my age, he may not have retired yet.

Joe, you are talking Louisiana. This board is for Texas. I know every game warden around where I hunt, some of them even rely on me to help them in their work. The limits have changed drastically in the past 30 something years I've been hunting and the only time that you had to keep the ducks separated was when they were on the point system. That's been some time now, like 20 years or so. Even then though, you could just tell the wardens which ducks were yours and they would take out the ole thermometer and check to see the order you killed the ducks in just in case you shot a 100 point duck before a lesser point one. Can you say, 'rubber gloves'?

Every year I go to Rayburn with 5-7 family members for a long weekend of bass/crappie fishing. We always use a guide and he has culling clips that he puts on each fish. He has over 100, and they are color-coded. i.e. 25 red, 25 green etc. I have never asked him about that. But that would certainly keep everyones fish distinguishable and make sure that they stay within the legal limit. I will definitely ask him about that this year. Good Fishing! JR

Capn Joe is right. I know of two different people who were given tickets last year for not separating their doves (in Texas). I also know several people who were given warnings for ducks as well. Game Wardens have been cracking down on this for the last several years. If you go goose hunting with a reputable guide they will almost always pile birds individually if it exceeds more than a one man limit.

Since you must be in possession of your own birds I would assume that fish are the same way. Although a live well is different than someone carrying a stringer. Two people in a boat are both in possession of them while on the boat (no0one is holding them. One person carrying a stringer for both people could be construed as over the possession.

I could see some confusion when out in the middle of a field somewhere but as long as the party is within the same boundaries, like in a boat or a blind, there is nothing wrong with a pile of birds sitting there with you. We always hunt out of a boat or blind so there's never a problem. This is a question of fishing though so lets keep to the subject. There should be nothing wrong with keeping all your fish together while on the same boat. If you have a question about it, here is not where to get your answer. Pick up that phone and call TPWD and they'll tell you...

The post is about fishing limits, so I don't want to hijack it, but one point needs to be made in reference to migratory bird hunting.

There are Texas game wardens and there are Federal game wardens. The Feds are enforcing federal regulations, and I'd either read up on what is current or I'd keep my ducks, geese, and doves in seperate piles. One trip to federal court, and being found guilty, as I was, makes a man cautious.

Snakeman, you are right, we were on the point system then. The four limits were actually on two stringers, with one limit on each end of the two stringers. Each one of us was able to show Joe which group of ducks were ours. The limits were not in the order that allowed for the most ducks, rather in the actual order that the ducks were killed. Joe (the federal warden hiding in the tractor shed) had even watched us shoot the ducks, and had pictures of the dog, taken through a telephoto lens, with the ducks being carried back to the blind. Had we cheated on the order they were shot, we would have gotten that ticket as well. We stopped, however, when one of the guys accidently shot a hen. (Mallard drakes were 35 point ducks, hens were 90). So we had 3 limits of 3 drakes, and 1 limit of 1 drake and a hen. Everything was legal except that one guy had carried all the ducks out of the field. Therefore we were in violation of the federal law at the time. And the judge had no leniency for us in court.

My name is CapnJoe and I have a federal record.

I just spoke with TP&W in Ft. Worth and here's what they say. Keep them separate and here's why (even in a boat). They will not write you a ticket if say three guys are keeping there fish on the same stringer and collectively you are under the COMBINED limit. BUT if there is just one fish over the total harvest limit or if there is one illegal fish (say too short or too long) then everyone will receive a citation for the infraction, not just one guy.
On those federal birds, they MUST be kept separate at all times or you are subject to heavy fines including confiscation of vehicles and firearms.

Thanks, hungup.

Here's a scenario: two guys fishin in a boat, one guy doesn't feel like cleaning fish, so I took 'em all, turned out to be 28 sandies. If I had stopped for gas on the way home & a game warden happened to be there & checked my cooler, would he apply the bag limit (25), or the possession limit (50)?

Just curious.

I think you would receive a citation if you did not have a WRD (Wildlife Resource Document) from the guy that gave them to you, unless you're a real smooth talker. I think it's easiest to look at this issue from the other angle. If all we would had to do if we had more fish/game than our limit allowed is to say there were some other guys here and they gave me theirs, then nobody would be accountable for game limits. The only way the game wardens have to enforce limits is to require things like the Wildlife Resource Documents which identify who caught/killed the game and from where it was taken (because limits/size varies depending on what lake/counties the fish/game was taken). If this is an issue you can visit the TP&W website at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ and go to the General Hunting & Fishing Requirements/Restrictions sections and then click on Transfer of Wildlife Resources. It will pull up the Wildlife Resource Document and you can just print some off to keep in your boat or truck. Then just have your friend fill it out when he gives you fish or game. It only takes a few seconds to complete. Hope this helps!

i know when i fish the flats for reds the guide i use always makes us use seperate stringers so we won't get ticketed.
i would assume the same would apply to fresh water.

hookset

I think in the case we are talking about the game warden becomes a tax collector like most of the cops.