Question about live wells

[Ken07AOVette]

I remember reading an update from F&W stating they they had noticed people keeping fish in pails full of water, obviously to cull fish. They had said that all fish that were going to be kept, and I would assume ice fishing only, had to be immediately killed.

Where does this fit in with live wells? Are they still legal? I ask because I bought a bunch of hose, pumps, etc to make one out of aluminum for the boat, but can not find anything in the regs.

Anyone know? I would have to say that if you put a fish in a live well, it is either to keep it happy before you cut it's head off, or to cull.

I never knew until this year that culling meant throw the big one back when you get a bigger one. I thought it meant eradicate, like when they did the deer cull in 236.

[mclean]

Livewells are legal to use, example if you are fishing a lake that has a 3 fish limit, you can keep the fish alive in a live well, when you catch 3 legal fish you are done for the day, or in a tournament you can have say 2 fish in livewell you go to the weight boat measure the fish and then the fish are released alive. I beleave the 2010 regs say no culling of fish, if you are fishing a body of water that has a 3 fish limit say 50cm in lenght you catch 3 fish 50 cm in lenght and have them in livewell you cannot catch a 4 th fish which is say 60cm in length and to replace a 50cm fish already in livewell.
Hope this helps.

[DarkAisling]

I was under the impression that with the new regs it will not be legal to keep live fish in a live well, unless it is a tournament situation. I believe the new regulation is that all fish being kept must be killed immediately.

I guess we won't know 100% for sure until the new regulation books are in our hands, but I'm certainly under the impression that you won't be able to use it to keep the fishies happy for any length of time before you decapitate them.

[seahawkfisher]

can't keep a fish alive if you plan on eating it. for rec fishing, a live well can only be used to revive a fish (to be released immediately after reviving) or keep your non-alcoholic bevies cool

cheers

[tacklerunner]

There's nothing that says live wells are illegal. As such, hanging live fish off of the boat on a stringer is also acceptable. The use of a live well, however, has some restrictions:

1. A caught fish put in a live well is a fish caught and retained. It cannot be released.

2. Culling is illegal; that's catching a bigger fish and releasing a smaller one from the live well. BIG NO NO!

3. Live wells can be used to keep live bait IF the body of water you are in permits live bait fishing.

4. Tournament Rules are different and culling may be allowed or keeping the fish alive and releasing after weigh in may be manditory. All tournaments' rules have to be approved by F&W in order to get the license so only F&W can change the rules.

So a recreational angler would most likely use a live well to keep your catch fresh which is a nice benefit on a hot summer day.

Simple as that. Hope this helps.