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couple reg questions.


TurnUpTheFishing

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Was talking with a family member over easter and he said he saw a guy using 3 lines this ice season and that the guying using them said it was legal since he had a Wisconsin license. I told him that it was only 2 lines allowed on the St. Croix regardless license but I got to thinking can Wisconsin residents or those with a Wi license use 3 lines? I know inland Wi lakes allow it.

Also he claims you cant shore fish the Wisconsin side without a wisconsin license or Mn side without a Mn license which I also told him was false. Is it?

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A friend was checked this winter by a Wisconsin CO. Even though he had a WS license he was told only two lines were allowed.

And yes, you can fish from either shore with either license.

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Turnup family member is correct. They changed the 2 lines to 3 a few years back for us cheeseheads. Not sure why. He is also somewhat correct about the licenses. If you are a resident of the state, you need a license from that state. I know that because a few years back, when the 2 states couldn't coordinate the opening of the river, I was going to buy a MN license, but the regional director said she was going to ticket me. Of course they didn't. It is all about the money.

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I thought it was two lines only on the river. I haven't seen anyone using three. I suppose a check with the WI DNR would clear that up. That would be a nightmare to regulate though.

As for shore fishing, you can fish from either shore with either license.

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I looked on the Wisconsin DNR page and it did not specify directly in writing 2 or 3 lines but from the sounds of it Wisconsin Residents can use three lines. A MN resident with a wisconsin license still is only allowed 2 lines. Seems kind of silly to me...

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I was check by a wi dnr officer a few years back and I asked him if we could fish from shore from either side of the river and he stated that if we were in the water was ok but if we were on dry land we had to have that states liceance. Also watch some of the back water areas in the spring they are not all concered boader waters. Was checked last spring coming out of a back water area around the oscola area.

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This is a very common topic that nobody ever has the right answer, not even the CO’s. It’s always an argument about which side of the river, what state you reside in, what part of the river you are fishing, etc, etc.

The BEST rule to follow is the State regs you reside in. You cannot be wrong then.

While it might be legal to follow WI regs in some circumstances, if you are from MN, just follow those and you will be safe.

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This is what I found:

Page 57 of the MN regs state -• Two lines with a single lure or bait on each are permitted. If fishing

with one line you may use two baits.

Page 60 of the WI regs states: Wisconsin residents need a Wisconsin fishing license and Minnesota residents need a Minnesota license to fish in these boundary waters. Residents of other states need a nonresident license from Wisconsin or Minnesota. Regulations on these waters may differ between states. You must obey the regulations of the state in which you are fishing. Page 7 of WI states 3 lines may be used.

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Boarder waters or not you still are a Mn resident with a Minnesota license on Minnesota water. Fallow the rules of the state your from and you will be safe.

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Boarder waters or not you still are a Mn resident with a Minnesota license on Minnesota water. Fallow the rules of the state your from and you will be safe.

Let me say up front, I'm not trying to be a wiseguy. But, now I'm a bit confused. I'm reside in Mpls. I'm not able to go back home to northern WI for the opener this year, so I'll be fishing the St. Croix on the 2nd. I have my WI license and stamps, because I fish the south shore rivers a lot. I don't have a MN license. So, I'll be a MN resident with a WI license on MN/WI water. Which state's rules should I then abide by? I will fish with 2 lines, not three to avoid any problems, but I'm honestly confused. And I've never fished border water, outside of the BWCA/Quetico border lakes.

Again, I'm not trying to rile anyone up or start any arguments. confused

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Good question. Now you got me confused. On paper it sounds like you should be able to fish the boarder water. I think you must have a fishing license that coinsides with the drivers license and legal address.

Now I have a head ache trying to think this one through grin. One way I look at it I come up with the answer then I look at it the other way and it shoots it down.

Ok I'll leave this to someone else to answer as I lost enough hair trying to figure this one out. laugh

I do feel you have to abide by the rules of the state you reside in.

But then again if that Wisconsin license happen to be a resident licinse then the Wisconsin rules apply but a non resident I think your out of luck.

Arg! there goes more of my hair. grin I'm bald enough as it is must stop now.

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I would call the DNR to make sure but to me, you are legal to fish. You have a valid fishing license that is good on this water. Shouldn't matter what state it's in. I know it state's "you need a valid MN or WI license" it doesn't state you have to live in either state. If that would be the case someone from say Kansas that came up to fish wouldn't be able to fish and that's not true.

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Flantlander you must buy a MN resident license if you fish the St Croix. I can't remember the wording but it is clear that MN Resident must have MN license and WI Resident must have a WI license.

The best way to stay legal is MN res follow MN rules.

WI res follow WI rules.

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Get the Minnesota license for $17 and be done with it. It only takes ONE Co's interpretation of the Laws to ruin your day!

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hey i just talked with a DNR warden, he said it does not matter which side of the shore you fish on as long as you have at least one of the states license than you can fish the water, even from shore. so i am a mn resident, but i fish the wisconsin side out of hudson all the time, the CO's never said it was illegal. and the regulations even state that i can fish border waters. if a CO gives you a ticket for fishing on the wis side with a mn license go to court with them. you will for sure win. how do i know this, lets just said i have friends who already done it.

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i pretty certain you can follow the rules of your license i once had a not so nice CO stop by my ice shack he seen the fish i had inside and told me i was over my limit but i only had 8 so i was just as rude back then he started asking me for my license i gave him my mn not knowingly he smiled and tried to give me a ticket for having three lines but when i showed him my wi license he looked at me in disgust and said ok have a nice day he was obviously after me but he walked away

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i was down fishing the confluence on wednsday on the little fishing peir on the mn sideand a dnr stopped to check my lisence. after he checked it and i was all good and set away i asked him if i could fish from the big dock in prescott with my mn lisence and he said i couldnt if i didnt have a wi lisence. is this correct with some of the responces im hearing i should have been able to fish over there? thanks for any replys.

waleyhuntr51

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I think everyone here agrees you can fish either side with either license.

This is true but you must have the license of the state you reside in if you are a WI or MN resident.

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haha i love the 3 lines one!!!! i that reminds me, there was this guy i used to ice fish with and when ever he knew that the warden was checking he would throw all his rattle reels down, take the hooks off and clip on a depth bomb and set it a 1/2"in the water

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How'd the COs take to that? The last thing Id want to do is aggrevate the CO.

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the way i've heard it is that if you're a mn resident standing on the WI side of the river on shore you need a WI license. I mean, that makes sense to me - you're standing on dry soil of a state, you ought to have a license for that state.

So long as you're on a border water, either state's license is fine. And I'm pretty sure you can't use 3 lines on the St Croix. They come to a compromise on border waters when there are differing regs. Which is why WI 3 lines (which is ridiculous btw) and MN 1 line, so the St Croix is 2

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If MN residents could follow WI regs on border waters simply by purchasing a WI license they would be doing just that. You need to follow the regs of the state that your DL or ID is issued from.

You can take it to court if you like, but from what I hear, that argument doesn't hold up.

Now, it might be a rare case in which the CO asks for your proof of residency, but it does happen.

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this is what it says for Wisconsin/Minnesota boarder from Wiscnsin rule book.

-

Wisconsin residents need a Wisconsin fishing license and Minnesota needs a Minnesota license to fish in these boarder waters. Residents of other states need nonresident license from either state to fish. Regulatations from these two states may differ between states. You must obey the regulations of the state in witch you are fishing.

-.

That last line is the one that kiks me in the head. crygrin

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No mention of how many lines for Wisconsin residents witch leads me to beleive they revert back to the whole state rules.I did here this was a compromise only by Minnesota as they also want to make it a slot limit water but cant do so without Wisconsins OK.

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All I know is I've shorefished the croix hundreds of times on the WI side and have had no problems with the CO's.

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I agree with JB master all the way. i've talked with many CO's while on the wis shores and no problems at all. i shore fish alot and so does alot of my friends. not ounce do we get in trouble for fishing the wis shores.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Originally Posted By: DonBo
I think everyone here agrees you can fish either side with either license.

This is true but you must have the license of the state you reside in if you are a WI or MN resident.

Right on the money. Even if you will never fish a MN inland water all year as a MN resident to fish in the Croix, from either bank, you must have a MN license.

You would be in violation as a MN resident with only a WI license fishing from either bank of the river.

If you had a MN lic, you could fish from either bank.

To fish a border water you must have a fishing lic for the same state your driver's lic is. With that, you may fish either bank.

Now who's regs to obey. I have no idea what the latest are. Good luck. I never understood why a MN guy who only fishes in WI and in the Croix, must buy a MN lic, but that's the way it is.

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