Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 1501:31-3-02 | Legal length and weight of certain fish.

                                                
Under authority of section 1533.63 of the Revised
		Code and division (D) of section 1531.08 of the Revised Code, the chief of the
		division of wildlife hereby orders that throughout the state:
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to sell, buy, transport, take, catch, or possess channel catfish (Ictalurus
		  punctatus) less than fourteen and one-half inches in length, a yellow perch
		  (Perca flavescens and Perca fluviatilis) less than eight and one-half inches in
		  length, a yellow perch fillet or part fillet less than five and five-eighths
		  inches, a headless yellow perch less than six and seven-eighths inches in
		  length, a white bass (Morone chrysops) or white bass x white perch hybrid (M.
		  chrysops x M. Americana) less than eleven inches in length, a headless white
		  bass or white bass x white perch hybrid less than eight and three-fourths
		  inches in length, a white bass or white bass x white perch hybrid fillet or
		  part thereof less than six and one-half inches in length, a walleye (Sander
		  vitreus) less than fifteen and one-half inches in length, a walleye fillet or
		  part fillet of a length less than nine and one-half inches, a headless walleye
		  less than twelve and one-fourth inches in length, a bullhead (Ameiurus sp.)
		  less than nine inches in length, or a whitefish (Coregonus sp.) less than
		  seventeen inches in length. Suckers and buffalo fish of any size may be bought
		  and sold. Except as provided in paragraph (E) of this rule, all such fish
		  caught or taken of a weight or length less than prescribed in this rule, and
		  all fish that cannot be taken in Ohio waters by commercial fishing devices,
		  shall be released back to the water immediately with as little injury as
		  possible while the fishing device is lifted, hauled or operated.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to release any species of protected or undersized fish prescribed in this rule
		  into a privately owned pond, lake, live car, or other enclosure.
(C) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to bring ashore, or possess aboard a boat used in commercial fishing, a fish
		  mentioned in this rule with its head or tail removed or in such condition that
		  its length, weight, or species cannot be determined.
(D) This rule does not prohibit the
		  catching, taking, or possession of undersized fish when caught or taken with
		  hook and line, other than a commercial trotline, but when such fish are taken
		  they cannot be bought or sold; provided that no person shall possess such
		  undersized fish, or a species not permitted to be taken commercially, aboard a
		  boat going to, while on, or when returning from commercial fishing
		  devices.
(E) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to take, possess, sell, buy, transport, or cause to be transported, a quantity,
		  container, boat load, catch or haul of any species of fish referred to in this
		  rule containing more than ten percent by weight of undersized round, filleted
		  or headless fish.
(F) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to take, by the aid of commercial fishing gear: blue pike; sauger; sturgeon;
		  brook, brown, rainbow, and lake trout; or coho, chinook, and pink salmon;
		  cisco; or mooneye from lake Erie or its tributaries or to possess any of the
		  aforementioned species on a boat going to or returning from commercial
		  fishing.
(G) Lake trout; sauger; sturgeon, except
		  lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens); coho, chinook, and pink salmon; cisco,
		  except lake herring (Coregonus artedi) legally acquired from out of the state
		  may be sold, bought, and possessed except as otherwise provided in this
		  paragraph. It shall be unlawful for any person to buy, sell, or possess a
		  sauger less than eleven inches in length, or sauger fillet of a weight less
		  than three ounces, or a part fillet of a weight less than one and one-half
		  ounces; a sturgeon, except lake sturgeon, less than forty-eight inches in
		  length; a cisco, except lake herring, less than eleven inches in
		  length.
(H) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to take, possess, buy, sell, deliver, transport, ship, trade or give away,
		  walleye (Sander vitreus) or part thereof, including roe, taken from Ohio waters
		  of lake Erie and its tributaries when taken by the aid of commercial fishing
		  gear.
(I) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to possess a walleye (Sander vitreus) or part thereof, including roe, upon or
		  in any boat, used in licensed commercial fisheries while such boat is going to,
		  when on, or when returning from commercial fishing devices.
(J) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to buy, sell, or trade walleye (Sander vitreus) taken from the Ohio waters of
		  lake Erie and its tributaries.
(K) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to possess or transport aboard a boat a quantity of walleye (Sander vitreus),
		  in excess of the daily bag limit per licensed angler as specified in paragraph
		  (A) of rule 1501:31-13-08 of the Administrative Code, except a nonresident
		  transportation permittee may transport a quantity of walleyes when in
		  conformity with sections 1533.301 and 1533.63 of the Revised Code.
(L) A violation of the length, weight,
		  and species of fish required of this rule is a violation of section 1533.63 of
		  the Revised Code.
(M) All provisions in section 1533.63 of
		  the Revised Code not mentioned in, or modified by this rule, shall remain in
		  effect.
(N) "Headless" for this rule
		  shall mean the length of a fish from the tip of the tail to the point where the
		  head was removed.
(O) It shall be unlawful for any person
		  to sell, buy, offer for sale, possess, or transport for sale fish which have a
		  length or weight limit, in any form other than round, headless, or as fillets,
		  except salmons and whitefish (Coregonus sp.) may be sold in steak form or
		  canned and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) may be sold in nugget and
		  strip form.
(P) Persons processing fish in any county
		  adjacent to lake Erie and in accordance with section 1533.56 of the Revised
		  Code, shall be required to keep accurate daily records for a period of two
		  years. Those records shall show the name and address of each owner or other
		  person from whom the processor receives the fish, the species, weight of fish,
		  and date.
(Q) All definitions set forth in rule
		  1501:31-1-02 of the Administrative Code shall apply to this rule.


Last updated January 3, 2022 at 10:05 AM