A Crappie Trade

2017, what a wonderful year! I have been blessed with the equipment and knowledge to catch, clean, and freeze far more fish than I will ever eat in a season. We eat fish at least once a week and a bounty still remains in my freezers. My wife questioned "Have you caught enough fish yet"? I have shared over 200 Crappie and Bluegill fillets this year with family and friends that do not fish or have the means to fish. Bartering frozen fillets for fresh eggs and grass fed locally slaughtered beef has put a panfish on the plate of many families in my extended circle of friends. However, an early summer transaction has been one of the best "Crappie" trades I have made to date. My daughter who lives in VA is fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom to my two wonderful granddaughters. She requested some deer meat to supplement her family's meals. Both my children were raised eating most of Natures wild creatures so this requisition was not out of the ordinary. Deer chili, deer spaghetti, deer tacos, deer burgers etc. are staples in our household and she wants to start working these meals into her family's menu. Having very little deer meat left from the previous season I asked an old friend if he wanted to make a "Crappie" trade. He is a far more successful deer hunter than I and possesses all the equipment to process his own harvest. I proposed a trade of 120 Crappie fillets for 12 packs of deer burger. He jumped all over it and here are the pics.Attachment 277070
Attachment 277071
?Mission accomplished! I took the deer meat up to my daughter and she was elated. The story doesn't end there, my buddy called me later on and said he had used the traded fillets for a fish fry for his family and grandkids. My fortunate catch fed two more extended families. I thanked him for sharing that information with me but what my daughter did was an even greater blessing. The first meal she cooked with the deer meat was a couple of lasagnas for a church mission to help feed local families in need. Awesome, the fish I caught led to an act of charity and indirectly fed families 300 miles away! I do not take credit for her philanthropy but do hope her instilled values resulted from her childhood upbringing. Catching, cleaning then trading or giving away any extra fish is by no means "Crappy", and I hope the wonderful fishermen and women stewards of this site will do the same in 2017, as I know they probably do!


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Excellent way to redistribute your crappie filets.

Not one to be an alarmist, but selling or bartering wildlife is frowned upon in some states.
Not sure if that always includes fish also, but for sure deer meat would meet that criteria.
Giving some venison to a friend in my home state of PA would be ok, but bartering with it could get you in trouble.
Id recommend checking the state regulations before advertising your activity.

You are correct, bartering may imply solicitation, and maybe should not be used in a public forum. I assure you no money has traded hands, and never will. Sharing and gifting are better and maybe more correct terms. For example, if I bring the “Egg Lady” at work a pack of frozen Crappie fillets on Monday after a successful weekend catch and then she brings me a dozen eggs on Wednesday then we have both gifted or shared with each other. As far as the deer meat my buddy has given me multiple packs of meat over the years when I have run out or not had a successful harvest year. When I contacted him I did not even think about the implications, just wanted some venison to share with my daughter. I hope I did not in any way imply illegal activity by using the terms “bartering or transactions” as all fillets were gifted or shared in good faith with good intentions.


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Well again (JUST SAYING), there is no question as to bartering being treated the same as selling with regard to how the fish and game laws work at least in some states.
The egg lady can trade away all the eggs she wants, but what you give her in exchange for the eggs could well end up being
very costly.
In the state of Florida a licensed charter boat captain cannot (LEGALY) sell the fish left by paying charter customers.

You are never going to get in trouble for giving someone fish even if they give you eggs the same day.

That is an excellent story.
LittleJohn

Crappie people are the best. May God bless.