Just wondering, it it legal to fillet your catch if it's of the legal size right on the beach and discard the "junk" of it into the ocean? Like bluefish, better to filet them and get them on ice as soon as you can and same with all fish right? Or won't it matter as long as you throw them on ice straight away? I'd rather keep the kitchen clean..I'd be in NJ too, didn't find a site that told me if I could or couldn't.

They fined George Calzone for having some Bass fillets a few years back on the Race, He was eighty something years old to. Now thats Sad................

if you filet bass on the beach and are found, you will be fined. as the previous post stated, they don't care. you have no way to prove how long the fish was by the length of the filet itself. i believe it is stated in the rules that all fish must be taken home whole, or as they put it, not evicerated. blues, thats another story. no one cares about blues anyways:rollem:

I am targeting blues and stripers right now. So if I fillet the blues it won't be bad?

filet all the blues you want on the beach, bass is a no-no, they'll freak out on ya....

You can't fillet any fish that has a minimum length. Blues are OK because they have no minimum length, just a 10 fis daily bag limit.

Party boats have to keep the racks of filleted fish until they're back at the dock.

Oh ok, well thanks for the info guys!

I drive them to the boat ramp and fillet them there. It's on the way home too. Otherwise it's to the public or yacht club docks. Plus they are have fresh water hose!

Mhmm...good idea. Tobad the docks are farther away than the house is from where i'll be fishing! But I will go to the docks.

It seems to me that if you had a fillet that was 28 inches long ( or even 26 inches long) ,it would stand to reason that THE FRIGGIN FISH WAS LEGAL!:realmad:

You can fillet to your heart's content in RI.

322 CMR 6.07(7)(e):

"7) Prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for:

e) a recreational fisherman to mutilate any striped bass in such a way as to interfere with or affect a proper and adequate measurement of the fish; such mutilation shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section;"

My take on it is, if you had fillets over 28" long and 3" thick, there are EPOs who'd accept that as evidence that the fish was legal, and there are EPOs who would write you up.

This is going to sound like a stupid question, but I am curious. So what happens if you catch a legal fish, take it home, fillet it. Then the next day you're back on the beach and want to grill your legally caught and filleted fish? Is it illegal to have striper fillets on the beach?

The short answer to all of this is "it depends." :) The laws vary state by state, so while its legal to filet bass in RI it may or may not be in CT, MA, NY or NJ

For clarification, my question was about Massachusetts.

This is going to sound like a stupid question, but I am curious. So what happens if you catch a legal fish, take it home, fillet it. Then the next day you're back on the beach and want to grill your legally caught and filleted fish? Is it illegal to have striper fillets on the beach?


Why wuld you grill your fish on the beach the next day though?

Why wuld you grill your fish on the beach the next day though?

maybe because you want some lunch
I have done that before. How is anyone going to determine the fish was not from a market either?

The whole purpose of the law is to keep poachers from keeping shorts. Boaters seem to have an advantage that surf guys don't have, they can clean their catch back at the dock if they want to, then do whatever with the fillets. I don't know about some of you guys but I find it a big pain in the butt when I keep a fish as I do not live close to the water and I toss the remains in the trash, and trash day is Friday so if I keep a fish over the weekend, the rack sits all week long:yak:
I would like to think that most EPO's would not bust your nuts about it if you are honest and don't appear to be trying to hide something like a poacher would do.but some of the younger guys might give you crap anyway.

They fined George Calzone for having some Bass fillets a few years back on the Race, He was eighty something years old to. Now thats Sad................

yes that is sad :(

Well, just to be safe if you wanted, grill it that morning, bring it with you. Saves time and is easier.

Why wuld you grill your fish on the beach the next day though?

Sometimes I may spend 3 or 4 days in a row fishing the beaches, only leaving to get some sleep in my truck. So I may have fish caught the previous day, taken off beach, and filleted. I keep a grill in my truck and a nice grilled bass in roasted pepper sauce or tangy mango is just what a man needs when the fishing is slow :)

Oh wow, now thats a camp out. I am spoiled enough to have the house a block away from the water..

I have always been under the impression that you wont get into trouble when/if you fillet on the beach if you save the frame and take it all home with you.. frame intact- the law states that you may not mutilate the bass to make it unable to measure... so if you can measure the frame, whats the problem?

Sometimes I may spend 3 or 4 days in a row fishing the beaches, only leaving to get some sleep in my truck. So I may have fish caught the previous day, taken off beach, and filleted. I keep a grill in my truck and a nice grilled bass in roasted pepper sauce or tangy mango is just what a man needs when the fishing is slow :)


man i would love to see the epo that ever comes across you doing that! not saying its illegal or anything, but those guys get woodys everytime they think they've bagged someone. i can see the drool dripping off his lips! hahaha:bgi:

I have always been under the impression that you wont get into trouble when/if you fillet on the beach if you save the frame and take it all home with you.. frame intact- the law states that you may not mutilate the bass to make it unable to measure... so if you can measure the frame, whats the problem?


How would you fillet without destroying the fish?

newbie, when you filet the fish, you are taking a section that is independent of the mouth or tail, thus leaving a rak that's still measurable!

Oh yeah, but it is easier to fillet wit hthe head off, isn't it? Never saw someone fillet the fish with it all in-tact.

Oh yeah, but it is easier to fillet wit hthe head off, isn't it? Never saw someone fillet the fish with it all in-tact.

How many stripers have you filleted newbie? Sometimes you cut the head off to give it to a buddy for his lobster traps but that would be the only reason I see for doing it:poke: .

I have only fillet one striper..well had some help with it too.

Again, I am a newbie at saltwaterfishing, hence the newbie sn.

*Edit*- Well, I acrtually have sever seen someone fillet a fish with the head off, I don't know what I was talkking about..