you know something else i forgot to mention about keeping the fish alive is that when I float tube i usually keep the trout on a stringer in the water, I string them through the bottom of their jaw so I dont have the stringer running through their gills and the fish live alot longer that way, I have never been questioned as to why I'm keeping them alive, maybe keeping them alive while at the lake is not the illegal part, only if you try to take them off the lake alive like in a livewell which can be left running while you drive the car home. Maybe someone with more experience with interpreting the laws could chime in on this.