Hi Chuck7, I'm sure CI will post in here to answer you - but he's probably out on the ice right now, as he took yesterday off.
Yes - selling legally caught panfish is legal here in Vermont. As you say - it is not legal in most states, which I heartily disagree with - but that is a subject for another thread.
Lake Champlain is a very fertile lake and there are enormous schools of large Pumpkinkinseed Sunfish and Bluegills - Yellow Perch and White Perch and Bullheads. There is no daily limit or size limit on these fish and there are at least two legal fish buyers near the lake. No you can't net them - they have to be caught by hook and line, and when you are in a big school - it doesn't take long to fill 3 or 4 - 5 gallon buckets, if you know what you are doing like CI does. I don't know what they are paying per pound this year - I will let CI fill that in if he chooses to.
For most folks, it is not a - (as you put it) - real job - but it can be a lucrative hobby. Nobody gets rich doing it and it certainly is not a job for everybody - sitting out there on a bucket in the cold wind - It's something you either love or you don't.
Panfish are the only fish it is legal to sell - no Northern Pike or Bass or Walleyes or Salmon or LakeTrout etc.
There is a daily limit of 25 fish on Crappies as well as an 8" size limit, but you can still sell them.
I have just bought all new ice fishing gear, and went on the ice yesterday for the first time since about 1972, and it sure brought back a lot of great memories.
Take CI's advice on what to buy - he is a pro!!!-