Got asked to produce a fishing license in a State Park..

[PakAttack86]

Had a very annoying encounter the other day. My buddy and I decided to do some shore fishing at Fort Snelling, took the long hike around pike island to fish the junction where the two rivers meet. Not ten minutes into our fishing the Henneppin County Sheriff's deputy and his partner pulled up with their boat on the beach and did the whole, "Hey fellas, how's it going? How's the fishing coming along?"

Which is always the set up before the inevitable question, "Would you two happen to have a fishing license?" My response immediately, "In Minnesota State Parks you do not need a fishing license when fishing from shore if you are a Minnesota resident."

The deputy smirked and repeated in a condescending tone, "You don't need a fishing license in a state park huh? Actually you do, you need a fishing license no matter where you are in Minnesota."

At this point I was in disbelief, because I knew I was right and didn't have a regulation book on me, so I told the officer I would pull the DNR website on my phone, and while I was doing that the deputy muttered in earshot of me to his partner, "These guys will say anything to get out of a ticket, you'll find that out pretty quickly." AGAIN in a condescending manner, and I just looked at the guy and told him, "If you're going to cite people for tickets, you better brush up on your regulation knowledge." So I showed him the website (VERY thankful my 3G picked it up from that spot) and the officer reviewed it.

He goes on to say, "Well that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. I guess enjoy your fishing." And with that they left, and started approaching the boaters that were around probably asking the same thing. Granted I think this rule only applies when fishing from shore, but I'm not certain on that (unless it's a lake, but this was the river).

The fact they undermined me and treated me like I was guilty was very upsetting, and I took a picture of the deputy to get his name and boat number as I'm considering filing a complaint. I mean, if I DIDN'T know the regulations, I would have been given a ticket and that's not right. They were very rude and didn't even apologize when they realized their mistake.

[JP Z]

My question in all of this is did you actually have your fishing license anyways though? I would just consider it a good day, and not worry about it. You were in the right, not worth getting worked up over.

[PakAttack86]

Nope, we didn't, which is exactly why we picked Fort Snelling to fish at. I usually only fish here until it warms up, and then I purchase my license and head for Minnehaha Falls. It just bothers me that these guys are going around citing people without knowing the regs.

[JP Z]

To be 100%........heck 1000% honest I had no clue about that rule......I bet you 95% of the people on this site didn't know that rule. Yes the Sheriff should know, but I didn't even know they were supposed to ask about your licenses?

[fishdale]

I knew about the law. Here is what it says from the DNR web sight. There are similar rules in national parks.

Fish for free in most Minnesota state parks

Minnesota residents can fish without a fishing license in most Minnesota state parks, including ice fishing.

A Minnesota resident may fish in a state park without a fishing license when:

1.the body of water does not require a trout stamp

2.fishing from shore or wading in water within the state park

3.fishing through the ice, from a boat or a float on a designated lake within a Minnesota state park

All park rules must be followed as usual, along with any rules and regulations relating to the taking of game and fish. You will still need a vehicle permit to enter a Minnesota state park.

[Horseshoe_Don]

Most hennepin county deputies are jerks from my personal dealings with them. They have a God complex. Glad you showed them up. Not surprised they tried to make up the law, they like to do that.

[laker1]

The park thing is fairly new.

[PLfisherman]

Patattack did you have any luck. How long of a walk is that,I was thinking about trying that spot is it an extremely popular spot during the week. been looking at that area a lot never shore fish around there usually go around Jordan Belle Plaine but is not open right now. any info would help thank you.

[sartellangler05]

I take your corner. I can't stand these guys who are not "professionals" in their field, then to be Richards about it. Good for you for putting him in his place. Definately file a complaint, so his leading officer can put him in a room in front of a nice ol' fashion tube tv with vhs to brush up on his training...

[JP Z]

I will admit I'm in his corner.....but also a glass half full kinda guy on this. And I do agree if you are the one to enforce the laws......YOU NEED TO KNOW THE LAWS

[fisherjmb]

I agree with Horseshoe Don. The County Sheriffs that I have run into down there seems to all be jerks. I had one tell me that I couldn't fish downstream from the lock and dam (way further back than the 150 feet that is supposedly required) because we were in a "shipping lane". The whole river is a shipping lane, so I shouldn't fish the entire river then? I said ok and he moved on and I acted like I was moving and then when he was out of site I started fishing again. They do act like they just want to give people a hard time it seems no matter what they are doing. Glad you showed them that you were right and they were wrong.

[PakAttack86]

Thanks for all the support. I really wanted to say more of what was on my mind to the officer, but I honestly didn't want a confrontation- just wanted to fish. PLfisherman it is quite a hike from the visitor center entrance (where the gift shop is, not the main office) and when you reach the bridge you are not allowed to take a bike, although honestly I see people do it all the time.

It's an awesome spot to fish from shore since you have both rivers to work with and can cast down stream, effectively able to "self troll" or bottom bounce if you cast straight ahead. It's probably a good 3 mile hike from the parking lot to the junction, so it's necessary to pack a small tackle box into a backpack and carry it that way, don't try lugging a big box with you.

I fish this spot all the time, and there's rarely ever anyone else shore fishing (likely because of the hike length) but you do have a lot of boaters to compete with, and since they're in a boat I find sometimes they feel they have more of a right to the water than I do even when I was there first and my line is set, but I find this is mostly the case on weekends when there's more traffic.

I do pretty well on walleye and catfish, but the occasional pike does turn up. I was jigging with imitation shad and caught a couple smaller eyes on the Mississippi side. The water is fairly low from this spot right now and water is still very cold, so action is gonna be slow until it warms up and we get a little more precipitation.

[DREZLER]

Please! Post his picture on here. This guy sounds like a real d-bag. If there is no other consequence for those actions i think some public ridicule is in order

[workin4bait]

The park thing is fairly new.

I think this rule is at least 5 years old. We have taken fellow campers out who don't fish and showed them a good time.

workin'

[JP Z]

Drezler, we aren't about Public Shaming here. It's about being the bigger person...

We have more fun.

[eyeguy 54]

no... its.... I have more fun

[JP Z]

Thanks Eyeguy...............

[rwk]

This post is irritating. After readings the whole post it seems you have nothing better to do than mess with the water patrol. A profesional fisherperson would have perchased their license before fishing ($22) instead of finding a strange law and messing with the officers just to prove meaningless point. No wonder the officers have a attitude. Neve had a issues with them yet maybe because I don't put myself in a situation to cause one.

[Fishing_High]

rwk...... Maybe he did not have the 22$ at the time... Hence not having a boat, walking miles to shorefish.... He knew the law and fished legally.... I find it irritating the officer didn't know the law.

[buschman]

I think your lucky to not have received a fine!!! It is our job to know the rules just as much as an officer on the water. The state park law only applies to land locked water within that park. This is in the book as well.

Do I need a license to fish in Minnesota State Parks?

Minnesota residents may fish without a license for any species except trout when:

• Shore fishing or wading on state-owned land within a state park

• Fishing from a boat or on the ice on water bodies that are completely inside the

boundaries of a state park

• People who want to keep trout or fish in waters specifically managed for trout, must

have a fishing license and trout stamp validation .

Never under estimate the power of a game warden. Your best to be nice and understand he is doing his job. The Mississippi is federal waters and has so many rules and regulations that change all the time. A officer has much more to worry about than some of these small rules. I understand this and try to be patient about it when they do not know every one of them. You should have received a fine and could go to a judge to fight what is legal or not legal. It has happened to me when I was right and he was wrong. When I fought with the warden he took my poles, tackle box and was going to put me in the car also. I went to court and they lifted the fine and let me go on my way. Long and short you should be happy this did not happen to you and not angry about it.

I don't want to sound like an ass but hope others read my post before they go fish the river without a license, get checked, and end up with a fine because of what they have read above my post.

[ozzie]

the land he was fishing from was part of the state park. so by the rules in the book it appears that the land needs to be in the state park not the water. The question I have is did he have a permit to park in the state park? Would be odd to me that someone would buy a state park pass before they bought a fishing license but in the same sense it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility if the person only fished as the poster did for the first few months of the year in state parks. either way the poster knew his rights and was able to prove them to the sheriff and the sheriff did right by not ticketing him. Could the officer been nicer? maybe but the way you started your post I would guess that you took an attitude with him from the beginning and they then took an attitude back. Be glad he listened and didn't make you fight your ticket. He should have been as nice as he could but hey everyone has a bad day and maybe this was his.

[Guest]

You'd think MN would publicize this with all the $$ they spend on promoting our state, what a great way to get people "hooked" on fishing then they buy a license to fish outside the st parks...guess that'd be way too smart.

[sdsu_jacks]

I think your lucky to not have received a fine!!! It is our job to know the rules just as much as an officer on the water. The state park law only applies to land locked water within that park. This is in the book as well.

Do I need a license to fish in Minnesota State Parks?

Minnesota residents may fish without a license for any species except trout when:

• Shore fishing or wading on state-owned land within a state park

• Fishing from a boat or on the ice on water bodies that are completely inside the

boundaries of a state park

• People who want to keep trout or fish in waters specifically managed for trout, must

have a fishing license and trout stamp validation .

I'm going to disagree... I read it as a license is not needed when fishing from shore on state park land. He was fishing from shore on state park land. If fishing on the water (in a boat) then the water has to be completely landlocked within the park. So from shore, just need to be on state park land. From a boat need to be completely landlocked in.

[efgh]

This is just my personal opinion, If you want too fish any where in Mn. ,wheather in a state park or not ,the first thing you should do is buy a fishing license. your dollars spent are used by the DNR to create better fishing and hunting expearances for all sportsmen. Support your DNR.

[nofishfisherman]

You'd think MN would publicize this with all the $$ they spend on promoting our state, what a great way to get people "hooked" on fishing then they buy a license to fish outside the st parks...guess that'd be way too smart.

It is publicized within the state parks when you are visiting. At least I've seen it advertised in some state parks. Some of the parks even have fishing gear you can check out from the main office at the park.

As for the law I think its was written in the standard ambiguous language as the rest of the laws in the regs book. It can easily be read a couple different ways each with its own meaning. I'm pretty sure they do that just so the guys on the fishing forums have something to argue about. Jokes on them, we don't need any extra help finding something to argue about.

[sdsu_jacks]

This is just my personal opinion, If you want too fish any where in Mn. ,wheather in a state park or not ,the first thing you should do is buy a fishing license. your dollars spent are used by the DNR to create better fishing and hunting expearances for all sportsmen. Support your DNR.

Strongly agree!