# Florida aquarium fish fishing rules



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Hi,
I'm in the tentative stages of planning a trip to Florida next Spring, and I'm not as beach oriented as the people I'll travel with. It strikes me as a plan to buy a week's non-resident fishing permit and go 'bait" fishing for mollies, bluefins, swamp darters, etc - non-game fish of interest.
I know all the legalities of bringing them back into this country and have read the Florida rules, but aquarium fishing is a gray area. Can anyone fill me on on what the rules would be on the ground, other than to avoid gators and snakes?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

You would need to talk to Brad and Megan about that. I cant really help except make sure where your fishing from its not illegal to take fish from, and you have a fishing permit (should be easy to obtain).


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I don't know Brad and Megan - what user names do they have for the forum?


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

Hi Nav,
Usernames are Auban(Brad) and Akinaura(Megan).


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## Akinaura (Nov 8, 2010)

*waves* I'm Megan, one of the ones Bev told ya to talk to. We have been to Florida several times because of family, and have actively collected several of the species you are looking for.

The regulations for Florida are relatively easy. Getting the permit is one thing, and I would also advocate getting a special device permit (normally 10 US dollars from the local Wal-Mart) to basically CYA on the use of seines and dip nets.

Any fish that is not listed in the regulation book (available when you get your fishing permit) as a game fish or as a protected species can be caught as a bait fish. Those are what the bluefin killifish, swamp darters, and other native species are considered. If I remember correctly, there is no bag limit on bait fish, but if there is, it's probably gonna be around 100 that you can collect in a day.

Rules for on the ground are really just to avoid over-fishing your locations. Lots of the fish fill certain ecological niches, so as good fish keepers, we need to make sure there is enough to allow the population to stay somewhat stable.

Oh, and also make sure that you have all your licenses on you at all times, or at least where they are readily available should Fish and Wildlife show up. Florida's Fish and Wildlife are very protective of their fish/animals, and could very well come check up on ya.

I think I covered everything, but if I didn't, my husband Brad should be along to cover what I forgot. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. We love going out and collecting native fish.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Excellent, thank you. The special device permit is an especially good tip.
I used to collect my own fish here (in Quebec) and it is a lot of fun. I had a few tanks of red-bellied dace, mudminnows, killies and darters. 
For me, fishing in Florida will be as exotic as fishing in Guatemala, Honduras or Mexico was, and I would just be looking for a few fish to keep and haul home. Mainly, it's to see what's where that's fun. If I were in the south regularly and didn't have to fly, I'd be a serious native fishkeeper, I suspect. 
As is, a few wild latipinna mollies would be a very interesting pickup indeed. Plus, whenever I have kept bluefins they came out of feeder tanks up here in the north, and feeder tank fish always start out as total wrecks. It would be nice to try to breed them, as by the time I have gotten them deparasitized and brought them back from starvation etc from the feeder tanks, there hasn't been a lot of zip left to the poor things.
The south of the US is fish rich, and well worth a respectful exploration. I hope I get to do it.


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## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

one site that i would suggest is alexander springs, if you can make it. i went there about a year ago and found mollies, lucania goodie, heterandria formosa, lucania parva, and spotted melanistic gambusias. the lucania parvas were a little deeper in the water, i had to dive down about ten feet into the water to get them, but all the others were easy to collect with a dip net in the boat launch area right behind the swimming area. if you go into the wakula basin in the panhandle, watch out for bluenose shiners(pteronotropis welaka). they are endangered in florida and are illegal to catch.

i didnt buy a fishing liscense when i went down there last time because i was on leave from the army, and florida allows active duty servicemembers to fish without a liscense if they are on leave for less than thirty days.

as far as i know, the only thing you need is a fishing liscense. the use of cast nets, dip nets, and seines is covered under the normal freshwater fishing liscense as legal methods of taking non-game bait fish. 

Methods of Taking Fish | Florida Freshwater Fishing Regulations | eRegulations.com


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

LOL Sorry, I thought you knew them from chat. My mistake. Tells how much attention I pay to such details. 

In any case, The two of them wandered in, as if they knew....


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

It's a teacher thing. I never forget faces and user names, I know. But name names from chat? I struggle. At this time of year I am learning 150 kid names, while being expected to be able to pull up another 300 from kids still in the school from past years. I reach the saturation point...

Now I just want to go fishing. I will google those Springs and see what I can see...


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## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

if you go to south florida, there is no telling what you will find. 

Dipnetting in South Florida - YouTube


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