Last week’s article looked at the use of using fish baskets and jugs to catch fish and boy did I get emails about that article. The primary questions were about three of the Georgia regulations that define the legal use of fish baskets. If you want to read what the Georgia statues say about the use of fish baskets, just get on your computer and search on Georgia Statute 27-4-92 and read for yourself.

The first question had to do with the requirement that only flathead and channel catfish can be taken with a fish basket in Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair. That is what the current law states and that law was likely written before the prevalence of blue catfish in both lakes.

Blue catfish are increasing in huge numbers in both lakes and I would assume the law will be changed but for now you can only legally keep flatheads and channel catfish. The lakes have several other varieties of catfish which are not addressed by the law.

I have never seen a true commercial fisherman who catches catfish for the market sort through his/her basket to weed out illegal catfish and most folks on the lake who use baskets to catch a meal probably cannot identify a channel catfish from a blue catfish especially when they are small.

We all know that sometimes when federal and state laws are written they are written with the best of intentions but those laws often have gapping holes and they often do not apply to the real world we all live in. I better get off that subject before I get into other bad laws other than those that apply to fishing.

The second most prevalent question I received was from senior citizens who have a lifetime fishing license due to being 65 years of age. Unfortunately the law does not allow a senior citizen with a lifetime license to fish with even a single basket without first obtaining a commercial license. Again that might have been an oversight when the law was written because lifetime license have not been around very long.

The last question had to do with the requirement that identifying information be placed on the basket. I could not find anywhere in the law where it stated pacifically what information must be placed on the basket. I would assume that your name, address and commercial license number would be sufficient for that requirement.

Now let me take a quick look at one other legal way to catch fish. Some folks also use trotlines in the lakes and the law is pretty specific about what the requirements are for using trotline. The laws for using trotlines are basically the same as those for jug fishing.

The trotline is limited to 51 hooks and they must be marked with the owners name and address. Visible buoys must be attached to the trotline. They also must be submerged three feet below the surface of the water and be regularly attended and removed after each fishing trip. A commercial license is not required for either trotlines or jugs.

Attaching a trotline to a dock post and running the trotline out into the lake without identifying information and with a buoy attached are illegal. Last year while fishing and moving past a dock on the lake, my trolling motor became tangled on a trotline that I assume the dock owner had placed in the lake. The trotline appeared to have been left in the water for a considerable amount of time.

I worked for several minutes in an effort to remove the trotline from my trolling motor. Even though the trotline was illegal, I tried to avoid damaging it but eventually had to cut it away from my trolling motor. I had to cut about four feet of the trotline out and then I reattached the line.

Most anglers would not have been so thoughtful for an illegal and somewhat damaging trotline. If the owner of that dock reads this article, I am sorry for cutting your trotline but you need to obey the law. A trotline placed in an illegal fashion and left in open water can be a hazard to both boaters, swimmers and to those who ski, so be thoughtful about where you place a trotline.

Next week, we will continue looking at other legal techniques for catching fish as we look at spear fishing, bow fishing, the use of nets and noodling. Keep sending me your questions about these alternate ways to catch fish and I will try to answer your questions based on what is in the current Georgia statutes. Good fishing and see you next week.

Bobby Peoples can be reached at brpeoples@windstream.net.