Draining live well water

[18 inch Crappie]

After leaving the lake last night at 10, I get the flashing red lights behind me as I made a turn off 47 to 18 to head home. Thinking what did I do? I did use my turn lights and maybe thought my trailer lights must be not working. I got pulled over by the DNR. He seen water coming out of my boat and pulled me over. FYI... $180 later for not draining my live well. Who would have thought

[fisherslanding]

I don't know about you but I think that is wrong..... I have bait wells and when you buy a 1/2 pound of leeches and put them in your bait well what are you to do with them when you are done for the day? I can understand to drain your live well and bait wells BEFORE you launch in a different lake. But transporting your fish and bait in your wells to keep your fish and bait alive is wrong and illegal? . Strange law I think.... Do they want us cleaning fish at the landings ? And dumping our bait into the lake or on shore??

[rmrakt]

One of the intentions with this law I believe is to stop the transplanting of fish from one lake to another...DNR wants em dead when you get home. Spread of Aquatic species is another reason but the water in bait bucket thing is an acception to the rule?

[gizmoguy]

It has always been illegal to transport fish alive. I have done it too for convience. Going to a place to clean them. I have also brought home lake water to use changing the water for my leftover leaches as I have city water at home. But what to do now? Dump the water and add a bag of ice to get the fish home is one solution. But with the cost of bait the DNR better communicate a proper way to leglly deal with the leftover bait. Seems easier for the DNR to write out expensive lessons than communicate ways to deal with reality that don't have anything to do with the spirt of the law. Seems to me that this thread could end up being a hot one.

[Mjen]

I have transported fish from Mille Lacs in my livewell and will not do it anymore thanks to your post. On Lac Seul in Canada we are not allowed to use our livewells and keep a cooler w/ice in the boat for fish. Works great and the fish aren't frozen or floppin' when you clean them. Kind of a pain for boat floor space. Keeping bait on ice is better then a livewell. When leeches get warm they start mating and don't last as long. Keep changing water and keep them cold and they last a long time. I keep a jug of spring water cold so I don't have to use city water.

[JDM]

I think that fish taste better when they are immediately put on ice. My leaches also keep better on ice.

As far as the ticket - Ouch! That is a very expensive lesson. I think it is just as bad with weeds on your trailer. From what I have read, they are really trying to cut down on invasive species and milfoil. It is sad, but a no tolerance policy is probably the only choice.

[wareagle]

18-inch,

I'm sure your intentions were in the right place, but the law is there to stop the spread of exotic species. With the problems of invasive species such as spiny water flea, eurasion water milfoil, zebra mussels and now the threat of viral hemoragic septicemia (VHS). We all need to take more responsibility and drain our boats of water and take all the aquatic vegetation off our trailers, because more and more lakes are becoming infested each year and some of the consequences of these exotics are still unknown.

We (DNR) go through great efforts to disinfect our gear. When we work in infested water, we disinfect our gear and boats before we head into other lakes. It may seem crazy to some the efforts that we go through, but we do not want to be the transportation vectors for these exotic species.

Unfortunately for you, it was a $180 lesson.

As for me, I usually bring a cooler with ice for the fish that I plan to keep, or I will cut their throats and put them on ice before I leave the lake. I would also suggest cleaning the fish at the landing if a cleaning shack is available. Leeches, I usually keep in a small cooler and minnows I usually don't keep. I either dump them on shore or freeze them for ice fishing.

These are just a few thoughts and reminders for fellow anglers. Hopefully, your post will get others thinking about how they can control the spread of exotic species and maybe even save them a few tickets.

War Eagle!!!

[g_anoka]

Nice to see someone from the DNR contributing on here, and helping us out. My question is, does my boat and live well have to be done draining when I leave the landing, or can I pull the plugs, and head for home?

[18 inch Crappie]

I am not mad, I am a sportsman and understand, just caught me off guard. But he could have been on the lake giving tickets to the boats that were still fishing the rocks when we left the landing at 10:30. Holiday will be selling more ice I guess

[RonZ]

I thought it is legal to transport bait in livewells? I fill my livewell with my well water and transport my bait in it.

Pg. 11 of regs.

Transporting Fish

• Except on the body of water where taken, live fish may not be

transported in a quantity of water sufficient to keep them alive unless

the fish are bait or the person is authorized to do so by the DNR.

• A fish may not be reduced to more than two fillets.

• Fish prepared for transportation, shipment, or storage are defined as

follows:

new

[brittman]

Unless you were transporting game fish (alive) - I would consider fighting this fine in court. I suspect local court would issue a warning if not let it go .....

I often drain the live well and fill it with ice. Fish arive home dead and ice cold. The water is drinking water - not lake water.

At the same time I feel for the DNR. VHS has the potential to destroy lake fish populations. Can the virus survive in the dry state like many microscopic organisms? If so then draining the live well may slow the transfer, not eliminate it. They will lay and wait ...

Bleach stations at the ramps in 2020 ????

[jnorm1984]

I understand that you are not very upset about the issue, but i am sure he/she pulled you over to check you out since there has been a small population of zebra mussels found on the lake in 2005 (I think), and also eurasian water milfoil has been documented in 11 resort harbors in 2006...both of these invasives are primairly transported in livewells and baitwells...just a little FYI...

[snolab]

So my crestliner wells drain really slow and many times it drains for miles down the road. Would I get tagged for this even if there are no fish in the well? What about my baitwells and the minnows/leeches I typically take home and keep for the next outing? My frugality with minnows is not worth a $180 ticket?? All for doing the right things but this really sounds like a questionable ticket.

[eyesoneyes]

It’s a proven fact that not draining your live well or bait well can unintentionally cause severe damage to other lakes. As fishing men and woman we are stewards of the environment. We hold responsibility to future generation to maintain our lakes. If you cannot figure out another way to get your fish or bait home, then sell your boat and take up another sport!

[brittman]

To be honest so can bait - if released into the lake. I noticed some of the chubs I had last weekend had the same parasite I see on panfish. Not good.

[ZEEK1223]

I believe this is a new rule for 2007. Although I think rules are rules and should be followed. Transporting fish in a live well is something fisherman have been doing for years. I would like to think the DNR would let you go with a warning. But mil lacs is a whole different monster as far as regulations being enforced. Every year when I get my license and get the new reg book, I always look for the new rules.

[Sonicrunch]

OK, so do we all agree?

1. Transporting live fish is illegal and bad.

2. Transporting lakewater is illegal and bad.

I agree.

[Sandmannd]

I'm from ND and most of the places I fished had cleaning stations. They were nice, had running water and garbage disposals. Two people could clean at a time. It was great. Went home with fillets and no mess. Wish we had them around here.

[Bobby Bass]

Quote:

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I believe this is a new rule for 2007.

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Has been around for several years.

[ZEEK1223]

In the 2007 reg book, it posts it as a new rule

[eyesonly]

sorry for the dumb question probably but what about drain Plug water- I go about three miles b4 everything is out of my leaky boat and I dont see a difference if lake water is lake water -Can I get a ticket ?

[Walleye_king]

I sell Hotsy Pressure Washers for a living and the MN DNR recently bought a couple hot water untis to disinfect their boats and trailers after boating on infested waters-

Michael

[mtheis]

I need further clarification please. Are you saying that if I fill a 5 gallon bucket full of lake water, throw in some panfish that I have caught and drive home this is illegal?

Boy, for years I have been doing that!

[Bobby Bass]

Quote:

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In the 2007 reg book, it posts it as a new rule

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Clearly states in 2006 book to " drain water from boat, motor, live well and bait containers BEFORE leaving the water access" page 69... page 68 of the 2007 book

"Another NISA provision establishes voluntary, nationwide guidelines for recreational activities,

such as boating and fishing, to lessen the spread of aquatic exotics. Suggested guidelines include

cleaning boats when moving from one water to another and emptying bait buckets and

live wells—actions that are currently law in Minnesota but are still unheard of in many other

states."

From

1997://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/fwt/1997/97Exotic.pdf- 7.9KB

Feds clamp down on alien invaders

National Invasive Species Act hampers access to

U.S. waters by zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, and other

harmful exotic plants and animals..

I know I have been emptying my wells for years, can't pinpoint the exact year the law went into effect but it has been around for a long time.

See what happens when it is raining and you have time to look for stuff! We always leave fish in the well and drain the water. If we have a distance to travel then we toss them in a cooler with ice. If you have a slow draining livewell then I would check to see if it is plugged, I pull my drain and by the time I am tied down and rods stored it is empty. Taking a bucket of water with fish in it is no different then a livewell in a boat. You are transporting water from the lake which clealy is the intent of the law to stop. Tuff one on bait, DNR recommens you drain water and add spring water that you bring with you for the return trip. If the bite is good you don't have any left overs if not then you are left with bait. Kind of a no win situation for the live bait fishermen.