Fish as Bait

June 1, 2023

Question: Can I use fish I catch in lakes and rivers as bait for other fish?

Answer: It depends on where you’re fishing. The regulations that outline allowable use of fish as bait for each fishing district can be found in the 2023 Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet ( https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=209090&inline ) under Article 3, page 19. As an example, in some inland waters of California, you can use fin fish that you catch as bait if you are angling in waters specified in Article 3. The following fishing districts allow for the take of some fish species for use as bait in specified waters: the Southern, Colorado, Valley, South-Central, North-Central, Sierra and North-Coast districts. One of the important reasons why bait fish use is regionally regulated is to prevent inadvertent introduction of that bait fish to waters where it does not currently exist.

Note that any fish you catch which has a daily bag limit, when used as bait, must be counted toward that daily bag limit. For example, the daily bag limit for bluegill is 25. If you catch three bluegill and use them as bait, you’d count all three toward your daily limit of 25.