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Would appreciate some info from anyone familiar with the Whitewater fishing regs. If I read the rule book correctly I must use only barbles hooks when fishing any portion of the Whitewater. Is this correct?

If so why? There's a state park there and plenty of kids fishing the river and I would think barbless hooks would make it harder for them.

Trout Run by Saratoga is also barbless and catch and release?

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Galaxy- I see that you are a newer member so let me first say welcome. The way that I understand it is that barbless hooks help to ensure that fish will have minimum injury upon release. Also, the barbless hooks make it easier to dislodge the hook which makes for minimum time out of the water and less stress on the fish. I can honestly say that I have never been able to tell the difference in the number of fish caught or missed due to barbless hooks. Good luck on the water!!!

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Quote:

I can honestly say that I have never been able to tell the difference in the number of fish caught or missed due to barbless hooks


I agree. And especially with kids, they tend to get hooks caught in people wink.gif and a barbless hook is a lot easier, and a lot less painful to get out of skin

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Galaxy,

Here is a breakdown of your regulations for the whitewater river.

The north branch of the river has a slot limit with all 12-16" trout having to be released immediately and it is artificial lures and flies only.

The middle branch is catch and release only with artificial flies and lures only.

The south branch and main river have no special regulations during the season which runs april 15-september 14. Barbed hooks and live bait are allowed on both of these branches.

Hopes this helps you out.

Hanson1287

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Galaxy,

There appears to be some confusion here, so you might want to double-check the regulations. You might be reading the winter regulations and not regular season... During the winter season it is barbless hooks only on all open waters, but that's not the case during the regular season. In defense of what others have said, barbs aren't all they're cracked up to be, but do what you will within the regulations.

Within the State Park boundaries, the regulations differ somewhat from outside. While much of the middle branch is catch-and-release, that regulation doesn't apply from the group camp downstream through the park into the main branch.

You really need to check out the "Trout Stream Opportunities in Southern Minnesota" book that is published by the DNR. It details exactly the stretches of water and their particular regulations. There really aren't any questions left after looking at this book. You can pick up this book at just about every shop that sells licenses, bait, or whatever else in southeast Minnesota, and if the shops don't have it the DNR will, and their office is located near the Federal Medical Center in Rochester on the east side of town.

Good luck!

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The lower end of the North Branch Whitewater river doesn't have any special regulations either. Like WxGuy said, get the booklet and you will be able to find plenty of water where you can fish under the general regulations.

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I am new to the area, so I sent an email to

[email protected]

and requested some SE Minnesota trout fishing info. They sent me a VERY nice packet containing regulation, brochures, and large color foldout maps with the streams marked. Also a nice list of area lakes and their fish information. I would highly recommend it.

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THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE INFO. I WAS INDEED READING WINTER REGS. I'VE FISHED S.E. MN. FOR OVER 40 YEARS AND ALWAYS TRY TO OBEY THE LAWS HOWEVER THE RECENT CHANGES MAKE ME WISH I WERE A LAWYER. SURE NICE TO HAVE THIS FORUM TO RELY ON. THANKS AGAIN

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