Please read the game laws and understand them before posting. I know those booklets by TPWD leave a lot to be desired when it comes to clarity, but you are wrong on this one!

Now I'm a bit confused.....

What about grass carp and tilapia?

"It is a violation to...�Possess tilapia, grass carp or any other fish listed as harmful or potentially harmful, without immediately removing the intestines, except on waters where a valid Triploid Grass Carp Permit is in effect."

So, if'n you ain't partial to eating carps and tilapias, but you gotta kill 'em according to law, now do you havta eat 'em anyhow?

So now we not only got double standards, we got conflicting rules. Gotta love it.

Fishbreeder

The key word is "POSSESS" when it mentions those particular species.
If you have no desire or intent to keep them, you should release them immediately after they are caught.
The purpose of that rule is to keep people from transporting them away from the lake to use as live bait elsewhere, thus releasing them into other bodies of water where they are not established.
As I mentioned the game laws are written in an odd manner, and at times it seems they are written in a way to confuse normal intelligent people. Why? There could be a method to their madness, and I'll let it go at that.

I understand that "possess" bit, my conflict is with the "must immediately eviscerate" part, before "releasing." This applies to any "harmful or potentially harmful," exotic species on the TP&WD list of such. I would have a better understanding if at some point there was something along the lines of, "the wanton waste law does not apply to harmful or potentially harmful exotic species, which must be immediately eviscerated but do not have to be retained for utilization...." or somesuch.

The rules further state that "triploid" (like anybody can tell the difference by looking) grass carp, in water bodies permitted to have them, must be released alive back to those waters (no legal harvest).

Not that I disagree with either ruling, just that they are incongruous.

Sometimes I wonder about the madness and the methodology......

Some species are evil incarnate and worth working to contain, for some its too late, and others are actually better adapted to our modern day, man made, no longer pristine, world and should be embraced.

Back on topic, in most cases, as a fisheries biologist, I see no reason to not bowfish for many species, especially those marked as "harmful or potentially harmful," by TP&WD, and a lot of leeway should be given for those as to what constitutes "waste."

Gizzard shad, tilapia, and even common carp all make very good dried fertilizer if processed right, and I see that as a valid use for such fish, just as they would be good species to feed your cats.

As to "normal intelligent people," I been looking here for quite awhile and haven't found any yet......."intelligent people," there's plenty of but you add "normal" to that and it pretty well excludes the entire forum...

I thought the same thing a few years back at a terny at Texoma. several guy had buckets of shot fish. all the warden wanted to see was license. so i went by the office

TGalyon,
Thank you for your input but there is a law: TPWD 66.011 Leaving Fish TO Die: a person commits an offense if the person leaves edible fish or bait fish taken from the public waters of this state to die without the intent to retain the fish for consumption or bait

Not to mention there are now some limits on alligator gar.

Feel free to contact any Game Warden to discuss it....I already have.

I thought the same thing a few years back at a terny at Texoma. several guy had buckets of shot fish. all the warden wanted to see was license. so i went by the office

I did.... Talk to Warden Nickels at Garland office. Gar and carp are not game fish so do not receive the same respect as game fish.

good to get it all straightened out here at least. even if it is a touch heated.

Trash fish shouldn't be regulated. You want to regulate the carp, buffalo, gar, etc then the state should have to start breeding them and releasing them in every water source in Texas. These fish are non game fish. I understand what the law reads and I use a lot of my fish as cut bait and or fertilizer or donate to a turtle farm. But talking about regulating a trash fish is crazy. They are destructive and ruin game fish nest and habitats. You bass fisherman should be all for the removal of carp and buffalo and gar!

For the record, carp are considered an edible fish by TPWD and the wanton laws apply to them. They have a whole brochure you can download off the TPWD website that discuss's at length cooking and preparing carp.

Barstool biologists put a smile on my face though so do please continue to wax intellectual about the abomination that is known as carp.

While we're at it perhaps you can convince me the earth was created in 168 hours.

Gar are edible and so are buffalo but they are all still NON GAME FISH! I will eat gar it's good but I'm not eating carp or buffalo but I'll use em as bait and fertilizer! Cleaning up your lakes and saving your bass one trash fish at a time!

There is a lot of fisherman, myself included, that would rather catch these so called "trash fish" than bass or any other type of game fish

Discussions just like this one is why PETA and the anti gunners have been so successful in taking away our outdoor sporting rights. Better get together or we all will lose our rights to fish and hunt. Divide and Conquer.

How anyone cannot respect, admire, AND YES...EAT, Carp, Buffalo, Gar is beyond me. Buffalo on the grill is by far some of the tastiest fish you will ever, ever eat. And deep fried Carp, when prepared correctly, will taste as good or better than Crappie or Catfish. Gar..especially Longnose Gar is the "poor man's lobster" without a doubt. If you have never cleaned a Longnose Gar and witnessed those long, white, boneless fillets, you are truly missing out.

When it comes to CPR angling, nothing beats the thrill of fishing for Carp & Buffalo. There's no other fish in Texas that gives you a fairly high chance of catching a 20-40lb fish. They are the IDEAL fish to take a kid fishing for. No matter where I fish, when I cradle a big ol Carp in my arms, it ALWAYS generates a few onlookers who want to see that big ol gold fish. lol...

Out of every state in the USA, Texas has the biggest Carp, Buffalo and Gar. At some point TPWD really needs to come on board and realize the potential gold mine sport fishery these rough fish can be. There's already limits for Alligator Gar, hopefully in the future we'll see regulations for Carp/Buffalo at certain bodies of water.

I have not done any research on the carp eating eggs, but one thing does need to be cleared up. Gar are not a threat to game fish. Look up the studies where they documented stomach contents. Very few bass, crappie, etc. were found.

I don't really understand what gives anyone the right to deem a certain fish a "Game Fish". Do we call all fish that are not generally consumed on a regular basis a trash fish? Some of these so called "trash fish" have been in existence long before the game fish became what they are today. I think they have earned their spot and deserve some respect.

It is not legal to take "game fish" species including bass with a bow

When gar are caught or faced with stress they throw up their contents in there stomach. This was discussed in the Bass Section last month. There was even studies they posted about this. That is why they say gar don't eat much...LOL...they don't get 200 lbs eating flies off the top of the water.

If you want to look it up it was a discussion on Falcon and the number of bass with bite wounds from gar. Guides said they saw it every day. Half eaten fish, several pics even posted. One bass was gutted, but still trying to live and eat.