what do you do with trout guts

i watched a guy gut his 5 trout on the edge of laurel hill lake (in the state park) the other day and he left all the guts along the shore right next to the picnic tables (he and i were the only two guys there).  i told him that i don't think that's permitted anymore and anyways it's not the most curtious thing to do for other fisherman.  he was not pleased but did clean them up grumbling that i shoulda told him sooner.
 
so what's this board's opinion here?:
- i thought i had heard that the commission made this illegal (in the water)???
- does it make a difference if it's in the state park or not?
- what's the biology and ethics here?
 
i'll start - i fillet the trout i keep and either throw the carcasses/guts into the compost pile or way back into the woods away from everything except crows, coons, possums, skunks, foxes, etc.
 
thanks,
phish

I agree with Skip and also think it's illegal anywhere.  I will confess though that when I used to fish crooked creek i would gut the steelhead and bury the guts in the sandy bank above Camp Fitz.

I would think the one place not to do it is in a state park especially near a picnic area.  That just seems like inviting trouble for yourself.

From the Rules and Regulations Summary:

"It is unlawful to discard any fish carcass or parts thereof into the waters of the Commonwealth or upon any public or private lands contiguous to the waters unless disposal is on lands with permission from the landowner or it is where fish are properly disposed into suitable garbage or refuse collection systems or at an officially recognized fish cleaning station."

ORIGINAL: phishfearme
  he was not pleased but did clean them up grumbling that i shoulda told him sooner.

Wow, so this guy thinks it's somehow your fault that he was littering with guts where people picnic and eat? What a moron, always someone else's fault. Typical lately.

You did the right thing speaking up.

catfish bait.

one way we could tell where to trout fish in an unfamiliar lake, was to walk the shoreline & see where the gut piles were. That meant that someone was catching them there, So I can assure you that the carp & ducks & others do not clean them up right away in all cases.As far as using them for bait,GO TO IT. sam

As said, freeze and put in trash on pick up day.
 

Bring the fish home and gut there. The guts go to the edge of the woods and never make it to the next day. Critters clean them up fast. Don't leave the guts near our waterways keep our lakes and streams clean and always take your trash with you. No bigger turn off than a stinking gut pile along with trash.

icenut....you're correct about the gut piles.  However, those guy piles are spread out over acres and acres of land.  They might be biodegradeable but are you going to sit down and hunt right next to one, or walk off enough of a way so that you can't smell it?  When trout are being caught in smaller condensed area's (like these lakes or popular fishing streams) you don't have the opportunity to really avoid the gut piles.

Ew there's guts, it smells
Bunch of little girls

At my place all fish are filleted,and gutted. Heads,tailes,skin all goes in the freezer. The garbage man gets them on Tuesdays.No smell.Thats my rule.No like no come.

I thought that most serious flathead fishermen used live bait only? You know,top predator & all, verses scavangers? sam

I feed the guts to my tomato plants , along with the rest of the trout

I do it to keep the invasive species out of my local lakes, nothing like putting thousands of non-native fish in a small lake to compete with the fish that would naturally be in there.

Also my niece & nephew love to fish and trout are easy for them to catch. Mostly important, need a stamp to fish the approved trout waters from March 1 to May 31 even though I'm not fishing for trout.

Trapping bait. Coons love 'em.