If thats illegal then i'm in a lot iof trouble. There has been may times that i've thrown the cast net and took minnows and perch from one lake and caught fish with them on another. Perfectly legal.
God Bless and Good Fishing
-Bass Phantom

Long as you stay within the daily bag, possession, and size limits, any fish you legally catch are yours to eat or release in a private pond - and non-gamefish can legally be released in other public waters.

quote:Originally posted by Whitebassguyjc89:
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Breambuster,

That is illegal to do. You can't take any live fish from a public lake to your own lake. Because, technically those are the state's fish.

just thought i'd let you know before something might've happend.
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It would only be legal if you have a high fence around your pond.

Phish-TX

Texas Parks and Wildlife Proclamation

Section 57.252. Prohibited Acts.
Except as provided in these sections it shall be an offense if:

1) any person places fish, shellfish, or aquatic plants into public water without a valid permit issued by the department authorizing that activity;

2) a person holding a permit under this section fails to notify the department at least three days prior to the placing of any fish, shellfish, or aquatic plant into public water; or

3)any fish, shellfish, or aquatic plant any person possesses or has placed in nonpublic water escapes into public water and that person does not hold a valid permit issued by the department authorizing that activity.

Section 57.253. Permit Exemptions.
a) A permit is not required for any person, while fishing, to place goldfish, common carp, native shrimp, crabs, crawfish and nongame fish into public waters.


In a nutshell, you cannot stock any fish or plant into public waters without a permit. The exemption for fishing essentially says you can put them in the water "while fishing" to use as bait. If you dump your bait bucket you are no longer fishing, you are stocking.

I used to catch bream in a community pond and take them to a lake and use them for bait. I might do this again next trip. I have never read anything about it being illegal. I take the fish and place them in a large live bucket and use a 110 volt filter along with an areator to keep them alive at home for a day or two. I then change the water and good up my 12 volt areator and transport them to the lake. I rarely lose a fish. Be sure to keep the bucket in a cool place. If you are gonna hold them more than a couple of days, go to the pet shop and get some food pellets to feed them.