Is this bait legal? Skulpin and corn

[robodad]

I asked this question to the game dept about using stocker trout for halibut bait as my kids love catching them out of the local pond but we won't eat them cause the water is reclaimed, some may say that water is cleaner the second time around but I ain't willing to prove it yet !! so here is what I got back from WDFW today and some of this has been posted already but there may be a clearer explanation in here !!!

Thank you for your email correspondence to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Fish Program.
 
Your best source for information on licenses, daily limits, season, restrictions, etc. would be the 2010/2011 Fishing In Washington Sport Fishing Rules regulation pamphlet. This pamphlet is full of a lot of useful information, such as license fees for both resident and non-resident on page 14. This publication is formatted with the regulations for Puget Sound and Straits Rivers first (new section this year), followed by Westside Rivers, Westside Lakes, Eastside Rivers, Eastside Lakes, Marine Area Rules and finally Shellfish/Seaweed Rules. There is also a list of the 6 Regional offices that are located throughout the state, with addresses and phone numbers included, on page 9.
 
Beginning back on May 1, 2009, with the 09/10 pamphlet cycle, it is unlawful to use live aquatic animals as bait, except: 1) Live aquatic animals (other than fish) collected from the water being fished may be used or possessed as bait. 2) Live sand shrimp may be used or possessed as bait. 3) Live forage fish may be used or possessed as bait in the Columbia River downstream of the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line. This is listed under the Statewide Freshwater Rules on page 26 of the pamphlet.
This means that live bait may not be used to fish for any species of fish in freshwater, except as noted in the statement above. This does not apply to marine areas, where live bait is a commonly used practice.
 
It is illegal to fish for any Game Fish with live fish as bait in Washington State, but this does not include critters such as leeches, crawfish, salamanders and other (non-fish) aquatic animals found in the same body of water you are fishing. The intent of the new bait rules is to avoid the spread of any aquatic species from a body of water where it might be indigenous, to another body of water where it may be classified as, or could become, invasive. Also, if a body of water has a Selective Gear Rule in place, or if the Special Rules specifically states no bait, then no bait or scent can be used. During an open season, if you happen to catch something lake a Trout, Bluegill or Pumpkinseed, you could cut that fish up to use as bait, but it would count towards your daily limit for that particular species.

Sorry this has nothing to do with corn and skulpin but usefull information anyway !!

[BigGoonTuna]

in layman's terms, don't bother using live fish for bait in freshwater.  it's common to use live herring for salmon and anchovies for tuna, but they are not considered game fish(they're classified as food fish, which is a holdover from the days when we had a WDG and WDF).

there's nothing illegal about using corn for bait, but live sculpins are a no-no.  i don't know where the idea corn being illegal for bait comes from, but there's some numbskulls that like to start that rumor on the lakes every year.