Sunfish as Baitfish

[TNRazorback]

In the 4/4 "Trapping Sunfish" post in this forum, question was asked about trapping sunfish. Sunfish under 4" are not considered gamefish, perfectly legal to harvest them from a private lake or pond with no limit and use them as baitfish, as long as the trap has a 1" or less opening. If this is incorrect, please provide info on the regulation that states otherwise.

 

[scn]

In the 4/4 "Trapping Sunfish" post in this forum, question was asked about trapping sunfish. Sunfish under 4" are not considered gamefish, perfectly legal to harvest them from a private lake or pond with no limit and use them as baitfish, as long as the trap has a 1" or less opening. If this is incorrect, please provide info on the regulation that states otherwise.

Nothing in the original question specified a size or private lakes and ponds, so the answer was correct for the question as written.

It would be incorrect to say that sunfish under 4" are not considered gamefish. The following rule allows them to be bought or sold if taken from private waters under 4" in size:

http://share.tn.gov/sos/rules/1660/1660 ... -01-03.pdf

There is nothing in the rule that directly says that they can be take for personal use. It would infer that they can be, but double check with your regional law enforcement folks to make sure they have that interpretation.

The regulations also says that they must be lawfully taken. Since nets, traps, etc. are illegal for gamefish, that regulations infers that the only way to legally take them is with hook and line. Again, check with your regional LE for their interpretation.