How many fish?

[walleyefey]

Gentlemen, I have a question for you all. This weekend I will be staying at schusters resort in their new sleeper house. I have no idea as to how many fish one can catch in a day. I read of everybody talking about changing depths and locations during different parts of the day, however, since I will be in a sleeper house just exactly how good can I expect fishing to be? I am really anticipating catching some big/lots of fish. What does everybody think about fishing this weekend? Should it be good?<BR>Your help would br greatly appreciated!

[Dr. Bob]

I hope it is awesome - but fishing is fishing. <P>You get what Old Mother Nature gives you. I never go (I learned a long time ago) expecting to catch big and lots .<P>Good Luck to everyone!!!

[1tofish]

Note that walleye and sauger limits are an aggregate limit. Sauger season is concurrent with walleye season. From December 1 through April 14 the Lake of the Woods possession limit for sauger is 14. You may keep up to 14 walleye and sauger, but no more than 6 of these may be walleye. Again this is a possession limit not a daily limit. If you have a meal of walleye one night you have to count them as part of your possession limit. <P>

[LOWinEYEin]

Walleyefey<BR>You won't be dissappointed. At the minimum,<BR>You should get Aprox-8 per person per day. Dependant upon the bait jigs ect...

[SEwalleye]

Actually, if you have a meal of fish, it is no longer part of your possession. I talked to the DNR on this subject last year, because we make an annual trip to LOW and stay in our sleeper. The person I talked to said that fish that have been cleaned and ate are not part of your possession limit.

[EconGuy]

Walleyefey,<BR>Make sure you take a deck of cards and a radio. The walleye/sauger bite stops at dark and doesn't start again until first light.<BR>EconGuy

[Buckets]

Seems likly that if you eat a fish it no longer is in possession but it still would count towards the daily limit (which is the same) Of coarse the new portable x-ray devices that most CO's carry now can detect a half digested walley fillet in your gut I heard so you wanna do wats right ! (;

[bapperpimp]

when you clean the sauger, leave the backbone on and get rid of the guts. That's what the dnr guys want to see because the backbone is spotted.

[Jiggin Machine]

Your saugers must be left in the whole or clean by a licensed cleaner and tagged or else they are counted as walleyes.

[lonewolf_jas]

As far as the possession limit, I knew a guy last year that got a big fine from the DNR because he went out and caught his limit, came in and ate some and then went back out and caught more. He got fined for every fish he caught the second time out. It's possible they changed the law but I am not sure.<P>RIP SOME LIPS FISHERMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[gilliweed]

lonewolf_jas -<BR> The way the law was explained to me, "by a conservation officer" is that you can eat part of your catch, but you can not replace them the same day, you however can replace them the next day. <P> Hope this is helpful

[Steve Foss]

Let's make it as simple as possible. Two folks are fishing in a LOW sleeper. They've kept 28 fish between them, 16 sauger and 12 walleye. They have complied with the possession limit law. <P>It's suppertime, so they cook up three walleye (six fillets, which would be about right for two guys, if the fillets were good-sized.)<P>While the fillets are frying but before the guys eat them, they catch two more walleyes and keep them. They have broken the law, since they are in possession of too many walleyes. Once they've eating the fillets being cooked, however, those fish are gone from their total, so if they waited until after they ate to keep more walleyes, they'd have been legal. <P>So I, as an individual, can never possess on LOW more than 14 walleye/sauger, with no more than six being walleyes. Doesn't matter whether they're in the frying pan or on the stringer or on the ice, the number's the same. <P>As the law now reads, there's no difference between "daily" limit and "possession" limit. The confusion arises because, once upon a time in the old Minnesota, the possession limit used to be more than the daily limt. Not any more.<P> <P>------------------<BR>"Worry less, fish more."<BR>Steve Foss<BR> [email protected]<p>[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 12-22-2003).]

[Guest]

Your not allowed to posses fillets on lakes with slot limits.<P>------------------<BR><B>Mille Lacs Guide Service</B> <BR>320-293-3287<BR><A HREF="http://www.millelacsguideservice.com" TARGET=_blank>www.millelacsguideservice.com</A>

[Northlander]

Ive heard that what you eat in a day is stil part of your posession limit. So if you catch 6 walleye and go to shore and eat them you can not go out and catch more walleye until the next day. This stops people from getting a limit, going home and freezing them and going out for more.Derrick isright on with the slot lakes law. I watched a crew catch their limit, go to shore and have a fish fry and go back out for more. DNR was glassing them and they got tagged with a HUGE fine. If you get a fishing violation of any sort you cant get another for 3 years. If you do you can lose your license for I believe 10 years? OUCH! Not worth it.

[Buckets]

stfcatfish, the daily limit is 14 combined. If you have those 14 then you can start to eat them but leagaly you can't keep any till the next day and then only as many as it takes to fill the possesion limit again.<P>What is the truth on "slot lakes" Is LOTW a slot lake with it's 19" restriction??<BR>Or is the definition of slot- Having a upper And lower limit ?? <P>Or does slot simply mean a lot of loose women They of course do have upper and lower limits..<p>[This message has been edited by Buckets (edited 12-22-2003).]

[Guest]

LOTW IS a slot limit lake. You can not posses fillets on the lake at anytime summer or winter.<P>------------------<BR><B>Mille Lacs Guide Service</B> <BR>320-293-3287<BR><A HREF="http://www.millelacsguideservice.com" TARGET=_blank>www.millelacsguideservice.com</A>

[Buckets]

Derrick, thanks for your reply but what is the "slot" then , 19 to infinity ?? I will do more cking I guess. I have either been really lucky over the years or there is no such law<BR>

[Guest]

One walleye over 19.5 inches per day.<P>------------------<BR><B>Mille Lacs Guide Service</B> <BR>320-293-3287<BR><A HREF="http://www.millelacsguideservice.com" TARGET=_blank>www.millelacsguideservice.com</A>

[Eyewitness]

Derek, pretty sure that the entire state has a "one over" limitation. Doesn't matter what lake you're on. So that wouldn't make sense for them to clarify that ruling in the reg's. as it would then apply to all lakes....

[gilliweed]

eyewitness - <BR> The one over rule on LOW is 1 over 19.5", the ruling that is statewide that you refer to is 1 over 24", if you read the specific lake section of your handbook, you will find many lakes have specific slots, and LOW has several that differ from the statewide rules. Such as no pike from 30"-40" may be kept. <BR> I would suggest reading the rulebook.

[curt quesnell]

Buckets and others,<P>You may NOT possess Walleye or Northern<BR>fillets on the ice (or water) on LOW.<BR>You can have Perch, Pout, Tulibees cleaned<BR>because they have no restrictions.<P>The "one over 19 1/2" rule is up to infinity,<BR>there is no top end. The size of a BIG fish<BR>that you keep is left up to your judgement.<P>If you were to clean any fish while on the<BR>lake you must keep the entrails to be disposed of later off the ice. You cant toss em down the hole or feed the Gulls.<P>We will get posts on this subject that will<BR>say just the opposite. You might talk to<BR>2 game wardens that will tell you opposite<BR>things. But, some Conservation officers<BR>will write you the BIG TICKET and not accept an arguement. Why risk it?<P> <P>------------------<BR>Curt Quesnell<BR>NorthCountry Outdoors Radio

[Sandee]

MN DNR web site link stating LAKE OF THE WOODS rules - <P><A HREF="http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/low.html" TARGET=_blank>MN DNR</A> <P>OR I have copied the information below. You may want to print a copy for yourself.<P>"Common Fish and Game Violations<BR>Possession of northern pike within the protected slot. Many walleye and sauger anglers do not think about the possibility of catching a northern pike while they are out fishing. As a result, they do not take the time to learn the regulations covering northern pike harvest on Lake of the Woods. On Lake of the Woods, the Rainy River, Baudette River, Winter Road River and Warroad River, possession of northern pike from 30 through 40 inches is illegal. Only one northern pike longer than 40 inches may be possessed. The possession limit is three.<P>Possession of filleted fish on the ice/water. In Minnesota many lakes have length restrictions governing fish harvest. When fishing on these lakes it is illegal to possess walleye or northern pike fillets. All walleye and northern pike must be possessed in a way that length can be determined. This regulation is enforced "on the water (ice)" for walleye and northern pike. For other species with length limits (such as lake sturgeon or muskellunge), it is illegal to cut up the fish in a way that length cannot be determined while the fish is being transported. Another common violation related to filleting fish is how sauger are transported. Unless packaged by a licensed fish packer, sauger must be transported in the round (gutted and gilled only). If sauger are reduced to fillets for transport, they will be counted as walleye.<P>Also, don't forget to leave a 1 inch square patch on all fillets, and to package fillets so that the number of fish they represent can be easily determined. Fish can only be reduced to two fillets.<P>Discarding fish on the ice. It is illegal to catch fish and then leave them on the ice. Many anglers continue to toss unwanted fish (primarily burbot/eelpout, tulibee/cisco and yellow perch) onto the ice, and then leave them at the end of the day. If you do this you can be cited for a "wanton waste" or a littering violation. Anglers seem to be under the notion that killing these species will somehow make the lake a better place for walleye and sauger. Walleye, sauger and burbot have coexisted for thousands of years. Leaving burbot on the ice to rot, does not improve the lake. It does however leave an extremely unsightly and smelly mess when the snow melts. Killing undesirable species and wasting them only makes the entire angling community look rather thoughtless."<P><BR>Thanks for reading.<BR><P>------------------<BR><A HREF="http://www.clementsonresort.com" TARGET=_blank>www.clementsonresort.com</A>

[Buckets]

So as long as I quit fishing I can have fillets ready for the deepfryer right ? KIDDING KIDDING<BR>Sorry to doubt you guys cause I know you must take pride in knowing these things. Just seemed a little gray till your post Sandee from the DNR. I like black and white rules and not into risks (lopsided ones anyways so won't consider anything but what's ok to eat from now on. <P> Thanks !<BR>Merry Christmas to all <P>Curious though again why there is no mention of fish entrails left. I have been feeding eagles with my leftover parts at home and never thought it was a bad thing to do. They clean up every morsal and if they hadn't I'd be out removeing them. The law as written in the handbook does seem to distingwish between depositing entrails or fish parts (into) public waters,, and littering. The littering seems aimed to unnatural materials into waters or on ice. <BR>It seems right so I do.<p>[This message has been edited by Buckets (edited 12-22-2003).]