WI...3 lines...no perm shack license...!

[DuckBlind]

Wondering why we here in MN get charged for putting out a perm shack and our neighbors in WI don't have to? It isn't much for the license but it just seems strange...

Also, in the winter they can fish with 3 lines instead of just 2...it would be nice to fish 2 holes in your house with 1 tip-up close by!

At least we have Favre!!!

[mn_bowhunter]

It's actually 3 lines year round in WI. They also don't have pike spearing, a 15" minimum on walleyes, minimum length pike regs, and only a 34" minimum on muskies. I'd rather have mn regs than wi after living in both states.

[Spearing Machine]

Its awesome! And if your a student you get resident rates. Its cheaper to fish and hunt here than in my home state!!

[thedeadsea]

Not all lakes have the 15" minimum though on eyes in WI.

In the land of cheese you also can drive your ATV on snowmobile trails year round. I believe they also have very lax rules on registering small boats.

Our DNR has made it clear that if we want to play, we are going to pay, whether it is sledding, fishing, or hunting. Whether or not we see benefit from all the additional money we spend each year on our sport, I don't know.

[KG243]

One statement for this thread if you don't like something stop crying on the internet and write to your local rep.

[DaSwede]

"In the land of cheese you also can drive your ATV on snowmobile trails year round."

Careful on that one. Not all snowmobile trails are open to ATV's in WI. A lot are, but there are also a lot that aren't...at least in the Hayward area.

I'm happy with both states' regs. It makes it kind of fun because they are different. I do like the 3 line rule though.

[hamms-scooter]

[quote=

At least we have Favre!!!

[MNice]

Thank your elected officials. I whine a lot too, but I also email my reps quite a bit. It probably does nothing, but it makes me feel better.

[dougger222]

If you want liberial DNR regs you need to go West to North Dakota.

State wide regs are,

4 lines (at least ice fishing, not sure open water)

5 walleyes per day, 10 possesion (no minimal length and no one over X) storage limite unlimited. You can only give away your possesion limit though (10). You can keep 5 5lb eyes two days in a row using four lines. There perch and panfish are seperate and it's either a 5 or 7 day possesion limit at 25 per day. The odd laws are a max of 150 fatheads per person and no live suckers or shiners.

When you move further West into Montana you are allowed 5 lines in the Winter (last I heard).

When you move South though into the Ozarks the laws get even more liberal. For example a day down there is considered noon to noon. You can put 50 lines on a 2x4 and put it in a river as long as you check on it before dark and have your name on it! This was in the rule books about 10 years ago not sure if they still allow it-Arkansas.

A WI non res license is $50 a year. Fish a private lake out there but figured it was better to have one than not.

[holmsvc]

If you want liberial DNR regs you need to go West to North Dakota.

State wide regs are,

4 lines (at least ice fishing, not sure open water)

5 walleyes per day, 10 possession (no minimal length and no one over X) storage limite unlimited. You can only give away your possession limit though (10). You can keep 5 5lb eyes two days in a row using four lines. There perch and panfish are seperate and it's either a 5 or 7 day possession limit at 25 per day. The odd laws are a max of 150 fatheads per person and no live suckers or shiners.

Yeah the four lines in the winter is great for running tip-ups. I usually fish for panfish in MN except for when we

go to LOW so it doesn't bother me a lot.

Some people do keep five lbs eyes, but they shouldn't! I wish we had some of the slot size regs MN has. The lakes I fish the most have a 14 in size minimum.

What I think is stupid is the your possession limit is the same as your daily limit. Also in ND once it's in the freezer at home it doesn't count for your possession limit.

The bait situation is a pain. I would love to have suckers and shiners to use here.

[bak2MN]

Yes the possession limit has always bugged me a little. Only able to keep a few fish in the freezer at a time kinda sucks. And far as useing 1 pole or ten poles what the heck is the difference? Because once you catch your limit you are done anyways. The only thing that I see a real big issue with useing more lines is that you cant watch them all that well. And if you have a line that you dont get to right away you could have a fish swallow a hook deep and if was to be returned the mortatlity rate would be high. The laws are what they are and will just have to deal with it.

[Tom7227]

I've wondered why you can catch bass in WI about 2-3 weeks before you can in MN. Do they spawn that differently in Balsam Lake? Also no motorized trolling - at least I think so.

I can understand the more liberl rules out west where the pressure is so much lower, or down South where they warm weather allows for growth a lot longer per year.

[OnAFly]

Exactly, MN has way more pressure on the lakes than western states, and more than WI lakes, though they still have pressure on them.

If we were all allowed to keep 10 eyes and fish them year round we wouldn't have any left. It's all about looking at how much is being removed from the lakes and how much is being reproduced by the lakes. If they aren't equal, fishing suffers.

[DaSwede]

I've wondered why you can catch bass in WI about 2-3 weeks before you can in MN. Do they spawn that differently in Balsam Lake? Also no motorized trolling - at least I think so.

I can understand the more liberl rules out west where the pressure is so much lower, or down South where they warm weather allows for growth a lot longer per year.

Some lakes you can troll others you can't. The one that I go to in WI is a Class A muskie lake, so there's no trolling on that one.

[deadeye]

Ya as much as I would like the extra lines it seems like Wisconsin has got some odd rules depending on what lake your at. Trolling/No trolling, live bait/no live bait, minnows/no minnows, ect.

I have never really fished much in Wisconsin but I thought that stuff was a little confusing. Granted, I didn't really look that far into it either.

The fees and licenses are lower in some respects but I'm sure they make up for it somewhere else.

[mrklean]

the 3 lines was nice when we fished salmon but other then that it was a pain whenever i go to fish in wisconsin

[kklund]

i think minnesota has some really strange rules.... treble hook equals three lines? seriously? one line in the summer? what the hell? i enjoy trolling with planer boards and multiple lines so i guess that might be kinda difficult over there. the bottom line is you are only allowed to keep your limit, then you are done. minnesota has a larger limit on lakes compared to wisconsin, 6 in minnesota vs. 2-3 depending on the lakes up in northern wisconsin....

[DuckBlind]

This wasn't posted as a complaint...I am just curious as to why the WI fisherman who are 5 miles away have different regulations. I really dont care, I am fine with 2 lines and paying the $12...I was just curious! Maybe there is some method to all this madness?!?!

[bak2MN]

We will never know!!!!!

[Steve Foss]

Not much difference between the states when talking straight ecosystems/biology. Pretty much all the regulation differences reflect the unique political/social traditions in each state.

I also like that there are those differences. When I fished in Wisconsin, I loved having three tip-ups per angler when pike fishing -- until there was a flurry, and THEN it got real hectic real quick!

[fazer]

Motor trolling in Wi is county by county. My place is in Washburn cty which allows motor trolling. You can check the reg book for county regs.

[rodmoen]

more importantly, the guys that come fish catfish next to us on the mississippi that are from wisconsin can catch small sunnies and use them for bait!!! That advantage is enormous...

[DuckBlind]

Still think the extra line in the winter would be nice...most everybody likes to have 2 lines set at their feet. Dont see the harm in having a tip up a few yards away...

[Nathansdad]

I've fished Minnesota my entire life. Moved to Wisconsin 4 years ago and I have yet to find as good of fishing for both size and numbers as I can get in Minnesota.

[gunmunky]

I grew up in Nebraska. You could have 2 lines in the summer and 5 in the winter! It was a blast when you had 2 lines in the holes and 3 tip ups out and the fish were really active. A good friend of mine and I would fish during the week when we had the lakes to our selves and 4 lines and 6 tip ups would sure keep us busy! I would like to see MN go to 2 lines in the summer and at least 3 in the winter.