Filleting your fish

[InTheHole]

Ok, I can see the issue, but if I left a cooler at the dock with Saturdays fish in it and on Sunday added that days catch and the total added up to more than than 1 days limit am I then in violation? I guess what I am looking for is there a possession limit that is different from the daily limit, like for waterfowl?

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by InTheHole

Ok, I can see the issue, but if I left a cooler at the dock with Saturdays fish in it and on Sunday added that days catch and the total added up to more than than 1 days limit am I then in violation? I guess what I am looking for is there a possession limit that is different from the daily limit, like for waterfowl?

Nope...its 2 a day in your posession....doesn't matter whether you caught 2 yesterday and 2 today...if you have more than 2 you are guilty

[Finaddict]

Whether I catch fish on the beach or rocks, I always take them down to the local boat ramp, clean them and toss the carcass into the river ... my rods and stuff are usually at home or put away ... and I am with a cooler, I have never been bothered and have to believe this will continue to be okay ... don't want to have to deal with the fish at my house ...

[Cool Beans]

Yep, nothing worse than a couple heads and carcasses in the trash can on saturday, waiting for that wednesday pick up. Always best to clean at the docks for me too.

[InTheHole]

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

Nope...its 2 a day in your posession....doesn't matter whether you caught 2 yesterday and 2 today...if you have more than 2 you are guilty

I am probably a little off track here, I get the 2 a day with bass, not an issue cause usually there is 5 of us on the boat, but with bass if I keep any I only keep what we would eat within the week. 1, 2 fish at the most. The issue for me would be a possession limit of fluke / tautog .

I may be off topic here?

[Joe]

Cleaning fish by the boat ramp and tossing the carcass is a gateway crime.
I've seen it before.
It starts with filleting fish, next thing you know you're selling crack at a playground, tragic.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Rockport24

they link to the law that Ross posted here, but here is the write-up from the Mass DMF site, not that it specifically singles out charter captains cleaning fish for clients:

Bass must be kept whole, with head, tail and body intact - no mutilation permitted (other than evisceration). The discard of dead, legal size striped bass is prohibited. To prohibit the practice of high-grading, recreational fishermen may not retain legal-sized striped bass and release said fish in favor of another larger legal-sized striped bass captured subsequently. It shall be unlawful to keep striped bass alive in the water by attaching a line or chain to the fish or placing the fish in a live well or holding car. Striped bass are measured from the tip of the snout or jaw (mouth closed) to the farthest extremity of the tail. Note: Permitted party/charter vessel operators may fillet striped bass for their customers. See 322 CMR 6.07 (4)(g) for details.

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

I had an EPO watch me fillet a 30" on the boat while docked and his only comments were: 1) did I know it was required to bring the fish in whole (not clear from his comment whether this includes bleeding and gutting), and 2) it was illegal to dump the carcass back into the water (inferred at the dock).

Seems pretty clear to me. The bass must be transported with the head and tail intact to your place of domicile, where you can then fillet it. The fillets in your freezer are not "striped bass" within the meaning of the possession law. It is illegal to possess more than two intact striped bass at any one time--the law says nothing about how many fillets you can have in your refrigerator or freezer.

[Sweetwater]

What's fascinating is that in this thread alone there is over 100 years of striped bass fishing experience represented by the people making posts and there is still a lack of clarity on the regulations.

Question for MikeP though. If I fillet fish at my domicile, but have the fillets in my cooler when I hit the beach the next day...how is that enforced both in terms of the "possession of mutilated fish" and the number of fish I can keep? I'm sure the answer is "leave the fillets at home" but is there no provision in the law for being in position of fillets for the purpose of consumption in an area one is catching fish?

[5/0]

Originally Posted by Sweetwater

Question for MikeP though. If I fillet fish at my domicile, but have the fillets in my cooler when I hit the beach the next day...how is that enforced both in terms of the "possession of mutilated fish" and the number of fish I can keep? I'm sure the answer is "leave the fillets at home" but is there no provision in the law for being in position of fillets for the purpose of consumption in an area one is catching fish?

Good call,I can see that point 100%.If one decides to bring food to the grill for cooking/gathering.Or how about this,what if you had brought lobsters with you.....who's to say that you didn't buy them & you cought them there in the water right?
Must you carry a recipt for the lobsters,and for bass say hey I caught these yesturday or what ever the case maybe?


I have learned that when I fillet a fish at location and rinse it off in the salt water it taste 100% better than brinning it home and cleansing it under tap water,not to mention I can release the carcus in the water for the crabs and smaller fish to feast on,kinda like the circle of life recycling.