I try to stay below the possession limit on crappie. Lets see....Me the wife and 3 grandkids.........how many fish fillets am I allowed? I don't think I can fit that many in the freezer. Ohio had the daily limit and the possession was twice the daily limit.

I will try this over the weekend to see how it works. I'm sure it's something wrong with my set up or retrieve. I have a 2lb line on UL rod, and a split shot some 10" above the hook which is the black one that came with TM box. Oh, and I used a small swivel too. Not sure if that's needed. I cast and wait for quite some time to sink. My retrieve is not super slow as everyone mentioned.

Thanks for all the tips Alpha, Travis and Mike. I will still keep trying TM when I am free - while waiting for a bite on my shiners. And good luck to others too. Can't wait for the bite to start...

Thanks Mike...I appreciate that and may take you up on it.


Regards

I've known about this and think it's absurd. What's wrong with a man stocking up his freezer during the spring and early summer to provide for his family for several months?

How do they actually obtain a warrant to knock on your door and say "We're here to search through your freezer?"

I am pretty sure TWRA does not need a warrant.



Regards

If they have reason to believe you have more in your freezer than the limit, they can come in and check it.

I know people in MN who have had their freezers checked.

So you guys are saying that if a person catches a limit of crappie on Monday, cleans them and freezes them, then does the same again the next 2 days, they'd be in violation of the laws?

Yes sir! At least that is the rule in MN.

I don't get it. I could understand it if you're camping out at a lake and you're catching your limit, cleaning/freezing them and going back for more (in order to bypass the daily limits). But if I'm understanding this right, a person can't catch their limit of fish on consecutive days in order to have a big old fish fry for a party or whatever...I could be wrong but I can't see this law as being something that's actively enforced.

Different states have different rules. Indiana, Tennessee, Illinois all have this rule. Kentucky doesn't count the fish you have in you freezer as part of the possession limit.

I don't know of anyone ever being busted for having over the limit in their freezer but, the law being the law, it is conceivable if someone had a beef with someone they could make a phone call and possibly cause a problem.

Doubtful that it would happen though.

I do not believe they can hold this one up in court unless they get you on another violation. How do they know where you caught the fish?Limits are different and size limits are different.
They do not require you to leave a square inch of skin on your fillet so how easy is it to tell which is a bluegill and which is a Red Ear.
This is one fo those laws that they can use if they catch you poaching I believe. You would seriously have to get on the bad side of a Game Warden to have them just check your freezer.

Back in the 60's and early 70's I had 2 retired uncles that would camp below the dam at center hill for a month at a time and fish every day. When I was there several times, TWRA would come by and check their coolers, and the officer said that was how he understood this law you are talking about. Not about what you have at your home in the freezer. It is interesting though. I going to ask a friend to ask Ed Carter to explain it.

What difference does it make if you are camping out or live nearby?

I can have 120-150 crappie legal here in East TN depending on if the wife gets a license or not (2 of the 3 kids have lifetime, the 3rd gets his next year). That is more than reasonable number of fish to have. Besides, why not learn to catch them the rest of the year? I know I can go out and catch them in the summer, fall, and most of the time in the winter (and fresh is so much better than frozen).