Is it ok to catch trout on a fly and then use it for bait. If so, can anyone give me any hints as to where I might go near the lake to put a few in the bucket.

I fish for trout off of Jimpal and StarsnStripers boat docks. Trout come easy there. Totally legal, but can't keep more than your legal limit without a receipt.

I'm confused...you catch trout on the lake itself? or am I being messed with?

Corey, you are bad to the bone!

you guys are a great help...thanks...I guess I am figuring out the striper fisherman club is a hard club to get into.

You cannot transport fish from their native waters. SO you cant go to the hooch and use them in Lanier. There are some Trout in Lanier but they are rare. Better off buying some from Oakwood. Think Corey may be fishing in someones baskets lol.

Native water? I do believe those are stocked trout. They are native to the fish hatchery. Might catch a native one now and then, but just throw him back and keep the other 8 per person in a bait tank.

I know they are all stockers but that just the way the regs read lol. Much easier to just go see Larry then to stop at the hooch before you go imho.

wow...I think I am actually more confused than I was when I started....so I can go steal them off of Bobs dock or go catch them in the hooch as long as they aren't native...I don't mind buying bait from Larry...I keep my boat there but if I can save a little money once in a while and catch my own I will.

You are not supposed to catch them in the hootch and move them too fish the lake. This does not mean that it hasn't been done, but if you are stopped you are to be able to show them a receipt.

Trout are easy to keep alive on your back deck, your garage or whatever. A simple $20 garbage can, bubbler and DIY filter. Buy them from your local bait store support the local economy and they'll last until their caught. If you do it this way by spring you'll find you spent a whole lot less on trout than you have during spring/summer/fall blueback days. You can then use the saved money on BIG Gizzards.

hmmm well considering all the videos on youtube of striper guys catching trout on the hooch and then putting in there bait tanks...I think this is one I might ask the DNR

That explains a lot Corey. I figure it'd take about thirty seconds to print a "receipt"

Hmmm... seems like Lanier IS the hooch, so why isn't that their "native waters"? As long as you're not using a net....and just tell the brown shirt dude that your wife insists on the freshest fish possible, which mean alive when they get home. The fact that you trailered your 24' T-top boat with the live tank to Johnsons Bridge is just a happy coincidence....

In any case, if you're catching plenty of trout, stick with that-- stripers will take your manhood away and make you cry in front of the kids

As long as they stay in the hooch its no problem, you are not supposed to remove them from the hooch. Furthermore, I dont think that they will be doing that much longer because the no live bait rule on the hooch is being enforced now.

You can take fish home from the hooch and eat them. Eight per angle per day. The trout (rainbows) in the hooch are all hatchery fish. The browns actually spawn in the hooch and haven't been stocked in a few years. The only reason I can see for it being illegal to use the trout from the hooch in the lake is the possibility of spreading disease.

But even if it is legal to catch them in the hooch and then use them as bait in the lake, it seems much easier to buy them. It's going to take you quite a while to catch a dozen trout fly fishing on the hooch.

I keep thinking of ythe tailwaters only. Heck there are plenty of trout in the waters that flow into lanier (shoal bass too).

Game fish may be used as live bait (where live bait is legal and allowed) if they are taken legally and you do not exceed the daily creel and possession limits. You can possess more than the daily creel and possession limit for a species if you purchase the fish from a bona fide fish dealer and keep a bill of sale in your possession.

thanks Kepler...that's what I was looking for.

thanks Kepler...that's what I was looking for.

Went fishing last night and bought some trout. I got charged $1.50 each for small trout. That's a 50% increase from last year. At that price, I may think about going to the hooch and catching some.

1.50 per small? I thought 1.50 got u mediums?

1.50 for medium is correct.

I was gonna say, ouch! The prices are still the same as they always have been for me then.

I paid $16 and something for 7 trout and a pack of cigarettes. One of the trout could have been called close to medium, but the others were smalls. Maybe the medium trout are smaller this year?

You could have saved a lot of money if you wouldn't have bought them cigarettes.

You sound like my wife. Given that skunk bite I got, I could have saved a bunch of money staying home. Still it was nice out and I did get find 8 trout in my bucket. My bet is on Sunday and Monday being the days to get out there, but I've been working so much, I had to go. Stayed on the lake until around 10:30. It was a little windy, but the moon sure was pretty shining across the water.

are trout like blue backs or can you keep them a couple days if you take care of them?

I cant see using the wild brown trout from the tailwater for bait.
They need to stay in the river. Some of them get huge and are quite a thrill to catch.If the small ones are removed for bait Big fish will not be around. The hatchery stocked rainbows are a different matter, but In the end,buying them is the way to go