Crappie Daily and Possession Limits

Copied this from a thread started by D10


Crappie Daily and Possession Limits
I was asked about some technicalities of crappie daily and possession limits on another thread. Rather than hijack that thread, here is the info here. I asked the following questions to the captain of Enforcement in the central Arkansas area. Here are his responses. I hope this helps. 20 crappie per day assumed.


1. How many crappie can two people haveon one boat while fishing?


Technicallyspeaking, only as many as each of the two people caught, not to exceed 20 perperson. Realistically, we don’t typically watch people for the length of timenecessary to document the number each person catches, and if we check them withforty fish, we give them the unsaid benefit of the doubt that each caughttwenty. But if one of them caught 30 and the other caught 10, the one whocaught 30 is in violation even though he likely won’t be prosecuted because wecan’t prove it. We call it “party fishing” and we write a lot of people for iton trout waters just because we CAN watch and document for the much shorterlength of time necessary to catch five or more trout.


2. How many crappie can two people havein one cooler at a boat ramp?


Same as (1)


3. How many crappie can one person havein a cooler while driving back home?


He canhave forty if returning from a multi-day fishing trip and he caught nomore than twenty each day, or forty if he has written info as required by codeto possess another’s wildlife. Otherwise, only as many as he caught that dayhimself.


4. Can a person take home 40 fish inone cooler if his fishing buddy game him his fish?


See (3)


5. Does he need a written note or some kind oftransfer form to do this? Kind of like the form that is used if someone givesyou some venison they shot?


Yes.Precisely. P. 27 reg pamphlet.

Once fish is processed and put up at a permanent residence it does not count toward the possession limit. The possession limit was redefined from "The total limit of a specific fish species that is in your possession at any time, whether on your person or stored in another location." to the definition that you quoted above "The total limit of a certain fish species that is in your possession at any time, whether on your person or stored in another location. Fish and wild game (other than migratory game birds) that have been processed and stored at a residence do not count toward a person’s possession limit. A residence is defined as a house or house trailer that is permanently in place and is owned, leased or rented by an individual; it does not include mobile travel trailers, tents, vehicles or temporary rental units (motels, lodges, cabins, resorts, etc.)". This change went into effect January 1, 2011.

As of January 1st the state wide limit is 30.