Allow the Use of Legally Caught Bream as Bait on Bush Hooks in Florida

Petition addressed to: Florida Department of Fish And Game

Petition to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
We, the undersigned Florida anglers, sportsmen, and supporters of responsible recreational fishing, respectfully request that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) amend Florida’s freshwater fishing regulations to allow legally caught bream and other eligible panfish to be used as live bait on recreational bush hooks, subject to existing bag limits, possession limits, gear restrictions, and other applicable fishing regulations.
Why This Rule Should Be Changed
Florida currently allows anglers to legally catch certain bream and use them as bait when fishing with a rod and reel. However, those same legally caught fish cannot be used as bait on bush hooks.
We believe this distinction deserves reconsideration.
Bush-hook fishing is a traditional method of fishing that has been practiced by generations of Florida anglers, particularly when targeting catfish. Allowing legally caught bream to be used as bait would preserve this traditional fishing method while continuing to protect Florida’s freshwater fisheries.
Other states have demonstrated that live bream can be permitted as bait on certain forms of set-line or passive fishing gear while maintaining reasonable restrictions designed to protect fish populations and prevent abuse.
We are not asking Florida to eliminate conservation protections or fishing limits.
We are asking FWC to allow an angler who legally catches bream within Florida’s established regulations to use those fish as bait on a legal recreational bush hook.
We Propose That Florida Allow:

• Legally caught bream or other panfish species already eligible for use as bait to be used on recreational bush hooks.
• Any bream used as bait would continue to count toward the angler’s applicable daily bag and possession limits.
• Existing limits on the number of bush hooks, identification requirements, prohibited areas, and other gear regulations would remain in effect.
• Species currently prohibited from being used as bait would remain prohibited.
• FWC could establish reasonable hook-size or other conservation requirements if biological evidence demonstrates they are necessary.

Responsible Fishing and Conservation Can Coexist
Florida anglers have a strong interest in protecting the fisheries we enjoy today so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy them in the future.
Allowing legally caught bream to be used on bush hooks does not require abandoning conservation. It simply allows a legally harvested fish to be used as bait with one legal fishing method just as Florida already permits its use with another.
If an angler can legally catch a bream, keep that bream within the established bag limit, and use it as bait while fishing with a rod and reel, we believe that angler should also be permitted to use that same legally caught bream as bait on a properly marked and otherwise legal recreational bush hook.
We respectfully ask the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to review the current prohibition and begin the rulemaking process necessary to permit the responsible use of legally caught bream as bait on recreational bush hooks in Florida.
Please Sign This Petition
If you support traditional fishing methods, reasonable fishing regulations, and the responsible use of legally caught bream as bait on bush hooks, please add your name to this petition.
Together, Florida anglers can ask FWC to modernize this regulation while continuing to protect the freshwater resources that belong to all Floridians.