question about limits

[BobT]

You guys think it is confusing here, try Canada. I quit getting the Conservation License (only 1 trout vs 2 with the regular) because I took so much guff from the MNR CO's if I had a trout on the ice. They practically do a cavity search looking for that illegal 2nd trout and they can't understand why I am still fishing. Now I get the regular license and still only keep 1 trout.

Why does US customs care about whether you come back with more than your Canadian limit?

[CAMAN]

I also didn't realize you couldn't release one out of your livewell... Say if you hook one and it floats back up, You can't release another one that is still alive and flopping on the ice or in your bucket etc.? to keep that one that died.

But you can as long as you don't have a full limit. So say you have 5 walleye in your livewell and you guthook another. As stated by the law, you are able to take a healthy swimming one out and release it then place the dead one in. Not saying it is right or wrong ethically, but it is perfectly legal to do so as long as you don't have 6 in the livewell at the same time. You can cull all you want before you have a full limit in the livewell, but once you hit number 6 in the livewell, no more culling or releasing of fish. You see it in bass tournaments all the time, that is why tournaments have a 5 fish rule.

[andrew chadwick]

FINALLY MY LAST SITUATION QUESTION.... You are using a lodge service that drives you out for the day on LOW or anywhere else where they leave you. You get there and catch your limit of fish... Now your suppose to sit there twiddling your thumbs the rest of the day till they come get you????? You've got your limit, now you can't use the ONE TIME ALL YEAR you fish on true trophy potential waters to go after a Trophy? - If you catch a MONSTER, you can't snap some photos and release OR if its truely one for the wall, you can't release an eater still swimming in the bucket?

Just stop keeping fish one or two fish short of your limit, and then you can fish all the rest of the day and release them. its pretty simple.

When we go to lake of the woods we usualy don't even keep fish until our last one or two days.

[CAMAN]

Originally Posted By: Gunflint Guy

You guys think it is confusing here, try Canada. I quit getting the Conservation License (only 1 trout vs 2 with the regular) because I took so much guff from the MNR CO's if I had a trout on the ice. They practically do a cavity search looking for that illegal 2nd trout and they can't understand why I am still fishing. Now I get the regular license and still only keep 1 trout.

Why does US customs care about whether you come back with more than your Canadian limit?

Its the Ministry of Natural Resources...

Canada's version of the DNR, not US customs

[Sonicrunch]

FINALLY MY LAST SITUATION QUESTION.... You are using a lodge service that drives you out for the day on LOW or anywhere else where they leave you. You get there and catch your limit of fish... Now your suppose to sit there twiddling your thumbs the rest of the day till they come get you????? You've got your limit, now you can't use the ONE TIME ALL YEAR you fish on true trophy potential waters to go after a Trophy? - If you catch a MONSTER, you can't snap some photos and release OR if its truely one for the wall, you can't release an eater still swimming in the bucket?

So, don't keep that last fish that fills the limit, unless you are ready to quit for the day. Nobody is forcing you to keep that last one.

I see a lot of people looking for loopholes here.

[BobT]

Oh, I see. I misunderstood your post, CAMAN.

[deadeye]

I don't see how having that one extra fish to fill the limit really is that big of a deal anyway. I understand the excitement of saying "I got my limit" but is one more fish gonna matter that much?

Anyway it seems pretty clear cut to me. If you want to keep fishing then you should leave one spot open in the bag so you can. Otherwise if you got your limit and thats what your after then its time to go home.

[ANYFISH2]

I agree if your worried about the legality of fishing after you have your limit don't keep your limit.

At the same time, it sound like some believe if you got your limit, go home. But if you are just C&R, go ahead and catch 100's that day, thats ok?

Reguardless go fishing, have fun.

[Maverick]

Originally Posted By: mr_jman

I also didn't realize you couldn't release one out of your livewell... Say if you hook one and it floats back up, You can't release another one that is still alive and flopping on the ice or in your bucket etc.? to keep that one that died.

But you can as long as you don't have a full limit. So say you have 5 walleye in your livewell and you guthook another. As stated by the law, you are able to take a healthy swimming one out and release it then place the dead one in. Not saying it is right or wrong ethically, but it is perfectly legal to do so as long as you don't have 6 in the livewell at the same time. You can cull all you want before you have a full limit in the livewell, but once you hit number 6 in the livewell, no more culling or releasing of fish. You see it in bass tournaments all the time, that is why tournaments have a 5 fish rule.

I might be missing something here. The way the law reads is if you put a fish in a container or on a stringer it is part of your possession limit. It does not seem to allow what you describe, perhaps you could clarify how the method you descibe is within the law pertaining to possession. If you have 5 fish in the livewell and gut hook a sixth you have reached your limit if you put the sixth walleye in your livewell. It won't matter if you throw one back, the fact that you kept it makes it part of your possession limit.

[CMKURT]

Assuming all seasons are open I don't think the DNR can ticket you. One season on Winni. I had caught my 20 Perch & 1 Northern. This was by 1:00 in the afternoon. The DNR officer checked me and did not say anything. I was using large fatheads & some frozen smelt. After I had my 20 perch I was trying to catch northerns or walleyes. Even though I up sized my jigs I would still catch an occasional perch, which were released right away. I don't think it was Illegal & the officer did not give me a ticket or anything. It's not like hunting, when you see a pheasant get up you must first make sure it is a rooster, where as fishing with just a flasher in 30' of water you see a line at 15' raise up what is it,perch, northern, whitefish, walleye, pout, etc. What I'm trying to say is as long as you don't keep more than your limit your ok. Sorry for the long windedness, sometimes I can't type it out how I think it.

[CAMAN]

I might be missing something here. The way the law reads is if you put a fish in a container or on a stringer it is part of your possession limit. It does not seem to allow what you describe, perhaps you could clarify how the method you descibe is within the law pertaining to possession. If you have 5 fish in the livewell and gut hook a sixth you have reached your limit if you put the sixth walleye in your livewell. It won't matter if you throw one back, the fact that you kept it makes it part of your possession limit.

The law states - (copied directly from regs book)

"Once a daily or possession limit of fish has been reached, no culling or live well sorting is allowed."

If you read it, it states, after reaching your possesion limit which would be 6 walleye in this case you no longer can cull. If you take a fish out of the livewell BEFORE you place the new fish in, it is legal. It happens in fishing tournaments on a daily basis and nobody that I know of has ever been stopped for it.

[mrklean]

when i was younger i remember watching some old bucks do this one guy caught his limit and kept fishing but he said he couldnt legally touch the fish???? but his buddy would take them off and keep them untill they both had a limit

[BobT]

Do you think that sometimes we analyse the what if scenarios a little too deep? It's fun though.

[DTro]

Do you think that sometimes we analyse the what if scenarios a little too deep? It's fun though.

Without out a doubt Bob, without a doubt.

But yeah it is fun to discuss.

[Gordie]

LIMITS, why do we set limits on everything? what should be limited is questions about limits

Like you said DTro its fun couldn't help myself

[Sonicrunch]

Do you think that sometimes we analyse the what if scenarios a little too deep? It's fun though.

Excellent insight.

[BobT]

Yeah. I thought long and hard there, didn't I?

[silverbulletguy]

What's the right thing to do if you gut hook a walleye that is in the slot that you can't keep? Keep it or shove it back down the hole?

[Sonicrunch]

it has to go down the hole. no exceptions.

[Brad B]

silverbulletguy,

it is a double standard. you can't keep a fish in the slot that was gut hooked and will die and be wasted. you have to put it back. to me this is basicallly wanton wasting a good fish that is dead or would die. I feel that there needs to be some kind of exception that would allow a slot fish to be kept if it was gut hooked and/or bleeding to badly to survive. I don't know if removing the slot and putting a 3 fish limit on them would help or hurt the over all fishing.

[BobT]

I would imagine that if there was such an exception there would be a lot of fish that were gut hooked or injured to the point that they couldn't be released.

[Grum]

As long as we are on the subject of limits, What about the trophy you had mounted and is hanging on the wall? You did catch it, and it is still in your possession. When does it no longer count against your limit?

[CAMAN]

I feel that there needs to be some kind of exception that would allow a slot fish to be kept if it was gut hooked and/or bleeding to badly to survive.

That exception would be almost impossible to enforce. Anyone could injure the fish or say it floated back up and how is the CO going to know if its the truth. It one of the downfalls of a slot limit, but know the DNR takes that into consideration when placing one. Best thing when dealing with a gut hooked fish that needs to be released is just cutting the line as close to the hook as possible, better to allow the fish a chance than rip its guts out to save a $.50 hook.

And when the fish goes to the taxidermist is when it doesn't count as part of your limit anymore. There are no longer any useable features, like meat, of a fish mount and is just skin. Therefore it no longer is an actual fish, just a piece of fish-shaped stuffing attached to a piece of wood and wrapped with skin from a fish and coated in polyurethane.

[Brad B]

caman,

I guess I never thought of it that way(people intentionally injuring the fish). I agree just cut the line.

[CAMAN]

I guess I never thought of it that way(people intentionally injuring the fish).

And nobody should have had to think that way. If everybody were truthful and proper sportsmen we could do it that way, but the laws are written for the small percentage of people that try and find a way around the laws, thus we must live with it.