goldfish for bait?

[CTFSHWHISKER]

a fellow i work with was talking about doing some catfishing on the ohio,he paylake fishes with gold fish and was gonna try them in the river and nolin maybe,i told him i thought it was illegal to use them in any water other than paylakes or your own ponds,i don't have a reg book does anyone know for sure? thanks for any help.

[the_donger]

"No live fish, live bait fish or live bait organisms that are not native or established in Kentucky waters shall be bought, sold, possessed, imported, or in any way used or released into waters of this Commonwealth."


This is taken straight from the Kentucky Sport Fishing and Boating Guide - 2007 in the section Live Bait. Since there is a chance a goldfish can come off the hook and populate the waters, they are illegal.

Here is the link to the regulations if you want to take a look:
http://fw.ky.gov/fishboat07.asp?lid=...R_PERSONAL_USE

[Rowdy]

They sell them at a Bait store on Barren!
Rowdy

[birdstrike]

It's a serious no no in Hawaii where they thrive if released into the lakes, but guess what, the lakes are already full of 'em. All kinds of the crazy exotic types grow and thrive in the waters there. Kind of fun to catch but a real pain to manage a fishery with all kinds of species swimming around.

[jgevedon]

They're sold at almost every bait shop you go in. I'm not sure on the legality of them but they sure do catch the catfish. We used them in the Licking a while back alongside fathead minnows and they outproduced them 2 to 1 I'd say.

[steve604]

I may be wrong, but I think the common carp came from people using goldfish for bait. Either way it's against the law.

[Devils Horse]

I don't agree goldfish are against the law. The rule as quoted says "established", and a goldfish is a carp which is plenty established. May be wrong, but I don't think you'd get a ticket anywhere in Ky for using them as bait.

[KyBass1]

Carp, Common

The common or "German" carp is a Eurasian native introduced in the U.S. in 1877. It occurs statewide inArkansas lakes and streams. This robust fish has large scales, a toothless mouth, thick lips cornered by a pair of barbels, and a long dorsal fin with a stout, saw-toothed spine. Color is typically greenish-goldfading to a yellowish-white belly. The fins are often red, yellow or orange tinted. Two to 10 pounders arefairly common with weights over 50 pounds reported. The Israeli carp (not pictured) is a strain of common carp with small patches of large scales randomly scattered over the leathery-skinned body. At one time it was stocked in Arkansas to help control aquatic plants.

Carp

From articles I`ve read, the goldfish is a mutation of the common carp, Tom.

[RoadToad]

I wanted to know for sure, so I emailed KDFWR's InfoCenter ([email protected]) and received a response from one Spalding, Jeff (FW) [[email protected]]; on behalf of; FW Info Center [[email protected]]. He said, "Yes it is legal to use goldfish for bait. If we can help you with anything else please let us know. Thanks Jeff"

I'm glad to know they're legal, because I've seen them for sale at Baits Galore, Fish and More in Carrollton, and I was thinking of using some this winter. She tells me people do real well using them for stripers in the Ohio. Of course, she IS selling them, so I didn't expect her to say, "No, they don't work..."

[Toney]

Here's a look at what the result can do:

http://www.tnfish.org/PhotoGalleryFish_TWRA/FishPhotoGallery_TWRA/pages/HybridCommonCarpGoldfishHeadMeltonHillNegus_jpg.ht m

[RoadToad]

So why aren't they illegal? Perhaps because they're already "naturalized?" As was pointed out earlier, the KY regs are pretty clear about no species that's not native or "established" being legal to use. I guess it's a situation similar to the one with allewives?

[PatientlyWading24]

Goldfish for bait is legal, and is also a very good form of live bait. Catfish, Striper, and a cruising Muskie all find these 'golden' treats to be very appealing and tasty. They can be pretty expensive though. Good luck.