Stupid Question

[Craigums]

Can you spear any type of fish or just northerns?

[terrible_fisherman]

Rough fish and pike.

[bassNspear]

Rough fish and pike.

this is correct!

[Brad B]

can't you spear catfish or do they fall into the catagory of rough fish even thou they have their own limit and size restriction. correction I just looked at the reg book and you can spear catfish and it looks like there is no restriction on size but yet if you look at the angling limits page in the reg book it states that only 1 fish over 24" is allowed. is this a gray area in the law again. this same grey area(size restriction rule) seems to pop up again if you look at the angling regs for the border water with wisconsin.

[merkman]

You can darkhouse spear Rough fish, pike, and Elwood and DTRO's favorite game fish... catfish.

Everything else is look and release only.

if you look at the angling limits page in the reg book it states that only 1 fish over 24" is allowed.

It may be something that more clarification is needed on in the reg book.

Generally when darkhouse spearing you are under the same limits as anglers.

If the one over 24" is a possesion limit then it is covered under that reg.

The bottom line for me is if you are not going to eat it, don't spear it.

[magic_minnow]

Where did I read that someone speared a sturgeon?

[merkman]

Where did I read that someone speared a sturgeon?

In Wisconsin

It is a legal and highly regulated yearly tradition over there.

Once again something that I don't see myself taking part in but I am glad that others can enjoy it in a responsible regulated manner.

[Brad B]

merkman,

I agree with you on needing the clarification in the reg books but where would we start at? dnr, legislature which would be better to write to.

[merkman]

I always contact the DNR at St Paul directly for clarification via e-mail.

The normaly get back to me fairly quickly (within a day or three)

I then print it out and carry it with me or make sure the e-mail does not get lost in any way if it is one of those grey areas.

I like to think that in a court of law if you can show you were instructed to do something one way by St Paul then that instruction should be followed by all CO's. I am not sure if I am dreaming here but it makes logical sense to me.

[Gordie]

first off the only stupid question is the one thats not asked first off. yes you can spear catfish and you may only have one over 24 inches and the limit is 5 you may also spear rough fish and pike.

My motto "KNOW BEFORE YOU THROW"

if you dont you may wind up with some hefty fines and privalages revoked

The regulation booklet is just a summary of the laws that we must follow. It states that somewhere in that booklet and there are fedral laws that we must follow as well.

[Brad B]

If you are a minnesota resident you need to follow the laws for a minnesota resident and same goes if you are wisconsin resident you follow wisconsin resident laws. That is how it was explained to me by the DNR in that area this past spring

Also I not posistive but I dont think that we cant spear on those border waters but I'm not positive on that I will have to look into that.

[Brad B]

If you are a minnesota resident you need to follow the laws for a minnesota resident and same goes if you are wisconsin resident you follow wisconsin resident laws. That is how it was explained to me by the DNR in that area this past spring

Also I not posistive but I dont think that we cant spear on those border waters but I'm not positive on that I will have to look into that.

this is wierd I did not write this but it has my name on it. I know there is another Brad B on here but I don't know if it is him or something else happened.

[Gordie]

thats my bad. Brad I thought I relpied to you question when it fact I edited it. sorry man

[Brad B]

that's okay it just freaked me out I thought someone had stolen my identity. I understand that but in the minnesota reg book on page 57 there is nothing listed about the 24" rule and the no more than 2 flathead rule. so to me it is like a double standard or a gray area. I have been tempted to email the enforcement division at st paul and ask for a clarifcation on this. hey elwood as long as I am here I was wonder when the next time you plan on going to horse shoe would be. I want to try it up there for some of the cats but don't know where to start. I have picked up things from the forum here but just need to get up there and try some time and fiqure it would be nice to maybe hook up with someone that has been up there before. email at [email protected] and maybe we could set something up sometime.

[Gordie]

I will email you later and either put you in the right area or set up a time to catch some cats

When I have questions for the DNR I email them and I always have a response with in 48 hrs they are there to help us out.

that law got me at first but after I talked with a CO he clarified it for meThis is the answer I got on the limit

5 catfish of which no more than 2 of them can be flatheads and only 1 catfish over 24 inches in your limit.

BTW sorry about the mix up

[merkman]

Also I not posistive but I dont think that we can spear on those border waters but I'm not positive on that I will have to look into that.

BORDER WATERS–WISCONSIN–MINNESOTA

• Rough fish may be taken by spearing, archery, and dip-netting during

daylight hours from May 2, 2009 through March 1, 2010. Dip net hoops

cannot exceed 24 inches in diameter.

• Spearing game fish is prohibited. It is unlawful to have a spear on or

adjacent to any body of water where the spearing season is closed.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing2009.pdf#page=61

[Brad B]

merkman,

when I asked about the border waters I was thinking more about summer time fishing and not winter time spearing.

[merkman]

merkman,

when I asked about the border waters I was thinking more about summer time fishing and not winter time spearing.

Ahh sorry.

I don't know anything about summer fishing those "rough fish" like Catfish and Bass.

[Gordie]

Originally Posted By: Brad B

merkman,

when I asked about the border waters I was thinking more about summer time fishing and not winter time spearing.

Ahh sorry.

I don't know anything about summer fishing those "rough fish" like Catfish and Bass.

you know that hurt merk and thanks for posting the regs

[Brad B]

I did some more detailed reading of the reg book and was able to find on page 48 that the inland length limit and the 2 flathead rule does apply to the border water of MN & WI even thou is doesn't specifically say it in the border water section for MN & WI(page 57). the only difference is the limit you could keep if you chose to.

[Laska]

Catfish,bullheads,pike and all rough fish

[DTro]

Catfish are legal species to spear.

They are a game fish, not a rough fish or bottom feeder.

MN regs say that you can posses 5 of them. Only 2 can be Flatheads and only one can be over 24”

Border water anglers (or spearers I guess for that matter) should follow the rules/ regs of their residency.

Spearing a Flathead is worse than shooting a Bald Eagle out of its nest while it’s young look on.

[Gordie]

Spearing a Flathead is worse than shooting a Bald Eagle out of its nest while it’s young look on.

yea what he said

[BOUNCED]

dem dar cat fish are fer noodlin

[Gordie]

you got that right