Party fishing in MN, legal or not?

[FISHER ED]

Recently I was reading in a North Dakota magazine about how their fishing laws stated that party fishing was illegal in their State. I usually always fish alone so I asked myself, how about party fishing in MN. Is it legal or not? I looked in the 2010 regs and all I could find was the DNR's definition of a fishing party. Nothing about the manner of party fishing, where a person can only legally catch his/hers limit and not apply any further fish caught to someone elses limit, was mentioned.

So, if 2 people were out fishing and one was having all the luck and catching keeper fish, does the person with the lucky rod have to stop keeping fish once they reach their limit or could they help the other fill out?

[Nick Kuhn]

Group bagging is the term used in the regulations and I am almost certain it is illegal in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

[Tom7227]

Page 9 of the regs:

• A party is defined as a group of two or more persons:

– angling from a single watercraft; or

– if not in a watercraft, maintaining unaided visual and vocal contact

with each other.

• The total number of fish possessed by the party may not exceed the

combined limits of the numbers of the party.

• Each party member may transport only an individual limit of fish.

[mainbutter]

I've always assumed that it was legal in MN particularly because of what Tom posted.

[Nick Kuhn]

That is a little ambiguous. Wisconsin's definition is far more clear:

"It is illegal to group bag. For example, if an angler catches a limit of 25 panfish and gives them to another person, the person catching the fish has attained their daily bag limit and can no longer keep panfish that day. Any fish received are considered part of the recipient's possession limit, but not part of their daily bag limit unless they are possessed while on the water, bank or shore of the water, ice, or while fishing."

[BobT]

Nearly impossible to enforce. One livewell, three guys in the boat, how would it be possible to know which person caught which fish? If it is illegal, it’s one of those laws that was passed to appease some whiny group.

Let’s be fair. If if it is illegal it should also be impossible to pin an overlimit on all the guys in the boat by association and it should be required to determine which person was over his limit.

[Tom7227]

I agree with Bob. I don't think it is illegal to 'party fish' mostly because it would be virtually impossible to prove a violation. I just did a quick runthrough of last years waterfowl regs and I don't see anything about party hunting ducks. Not positive about it but it also has the difficult to prove problem.

[Duffman]

Nearly impossible to enforce. One livewell, three guys in the boat, how would it be possible to know which person caught which fish?

That's easy, mine are the biggest ones.

[pulleye16]

totally legal in MN. Five guys in a boat....total of five limits may be caught, even if by one person. Now everyone has to take a limit thought, leaving NO one with more then their limit even if one guy only takes half a limit, another guy can't take it causing him to go over his limit. Also, if two guys in a boat, one guy catches his limit, he can split it between the two. Thats just common scense!

[BobT]

Quote:

Now everyone has to take a limit thought, leaving NO one with more then their limit even if one guy only takes half a limit, another guy can't take it causing him to go over his limit.

I assume you meant "Not everyone has to take their limit." This goes beyond the question of legal and into the question of ethical. Different topic.

[BobT]

That's easy, mine are the biggest ones.

I should know better.

[Northlander]

Im pretty sure it is against the law to catch and keep more than your limit of fish per day. So 1 person catching 4 other guys limits would not be legal. At least thats what my local DNR has always told me.

[jentz]

totally legal in MN. Five guys in a boat....total of five limits may be caught, even if by one person. Now everyone has to take a limit thought, leaving NO one with more then their limit even if one guy only takes half a limit, another guy can't take it causing him to go over his limit. Also, if two guys in a boat, one guy catches his limit, he can split it between the two. Thats just common scense!

I have a freezer my weekender neighbors dont,I keep their fish, all thats required is their name,lic number address on their package of fish.Now in my freezer I have more sunfish than my limit BUT the neighbors package doesnt count as mine.

[PierBridge]

Page 9 of the regs:

• A party is defined as a group of two or more persons:

– angling from a single watercraft; or

– if not in a watercraft, maintaining unaided visual and vocal contact

with each other.

• The total number of fish possessed by the party may not exceed the

combined limits of the numbers of the party.

• Each party member may transport only an individual limit of fish.

Of course it's legal to party fish in Minnesota.

Actually you can transport another persons fish if the package is labeled with the persons Name, DNR number,location and date of catch. We do it all the time on our trips to LOTW.

[PierBridge]

And you can Legally catch everyone in your boat or partys limit also if you have the hot hand.

[fivebucks]

I agree with Bob. I don't think it is illegal to 'party fish' mostly because it would be virtually impossible to prove a violation. I just did a quick runthrough of last years waterfowl regs and I don't see anything about party hunting ducks. Not positive about it but it also has the difficult to prove problem.

Party hunting ducks is against federal law. You cannot do it anywhere in the US - I don't know about Canada.

[Maverick]

Im pretty sure it is against the law to catch and keep more than your limit of fish per day. So 1 person catching 4 other guys limits would not be legal. At least thats what my local DNR has always told me.

When you ask the DNR that question, you have to make sure that you are asking the question with the correct circumstances. Party fishing is absolutely legal as long as you are in the same boat at the same time or fishing from shore in reasonable proximity. Two guys in the boat, I catch and keep 12 walleyes and the other guy catches none. Perfectly legal. When we get to shore he takes six and I take six. If I'm in one boat and my buddy is in another boat right next to me then I can only keep six walleyes even if he hasn't caught a single one I can't keep anymore. It really is very simple to understand as long as you can do a little math.

This issue comes up about three times a year and everytime someone says that they heard such and such from the DNR or that they knew of a couple of guys that got pinched. If you follow the very simple rules and don't try to outthink the rules you will be legal.

[pulleye16]

When you ask the DNR that question, you have to make sure that you are asking the question with the correct circumstances. Party fishing is absolutely legal as long as you are in the same boat at the same time or fishing from shore in reasonable proximity. Two guys in the boat, I catch and keep 12 walleyes and the other guy catches none. Perfectly legal. When we get to shore he takes six and I take six. If I'm in one boat and my buddy is in another boat right next to me then I can only keep six walleyes even if he hasn't caught a single one I can't keep anymore. It really is very simple to understand as long as you can do a little math.

This issue comes up about three times a year and everytime someone says that they heard such and such from the DNR or that they knew of a couple of guys that got pinched. If you follow the very simple rules and don't try to outthink the rules you will be legal.

[pulleye16]

BOBT-

I assume you meant "Not everyone has to take their limit." This goes beyond the question of legal and into the question of ethical. Different topic.

NO-everyone would have to take a limit. If one guy caught 5 limits with four other people on the boat, he can't keep five limits, EVERYONE would have to take a limit!

[half-dutch]

There is one additional consideration. Once the party has a limit for each of its members, and the party breaks up, not only does each member have to take a limit and only a limit with him, but he may not after that keep any more of that species. His possession limit for that day is filled, even if he never caught a fish while with the party. That is a part of party fishing, if someone else fills your limit for you, it is full for that day, and you may not keep another of that species even if you have not caught one in the first place. Nor may you release one after keeping it in either. Except for some latitude for some fishing contests, release in Minnesota must be as soon as possible after catch, although you may measure and take a quick photo or two. Also you do not create additional daily limit space by eating any of what you take for that day. Any part of a daily catch eaten at shorelunch counts against that day's limit. Some wardens will ask about that, too.

Here in the metro there is a complication to party fishing and that is revolving membership. There are some rolling parties IMO purposely set up to confuse enforcement of limits. Some of them roll back and forth from the shoreline to the trunk, and those are easier to apprehend, but in others people are coming and going pretty regularly, almost always going with fish, sometimes merely coming and going between the water and home, while others stick around and keep catching. Some of these parties are pretty large and can be easily a dozen at the shoreline. They also frequently fragment and reform.

One minor encouragement though; I am seeing more and more "meat fishermen" of all ethnic types releasing small fish and seeming to be pretty careful about limits, too. There seem to me to be fewer people straining the waters and keeping everything.

[BobT]

BOBT-

I assume you meant "Not everyone has to take their limit." This goes beyond the question of legal and into the question of ethical. Different topic.

NO-everyone would have to take a limit. If one guy caught 5 limits with four other people on the boat, he can't keep five limits, EVERYONE would have to take a limit!

Oh, I see. Misunderstood what you wrote.

[BobT]

Boy, sounds like some people really go to great lengths for a fish.

[mainbutter]

Boy, sounds like some people really go to great lengths for a fish.

I think, culturally, the point is so that even if someone gets a hot bite and gets their limit way before everyone else, they can keep having fun and fishing.

[curtistodd]

From what ive been told this is not the case in SD or ND. Im not sure, and will have to double check for my own sake. I heard some sort of story about a wife catching 7 eyes and the husband only caught 1 (go figure) and a warden was watching with binoculars the whole time and busted them. Sounds like a tall tail, but like I said Ill double check.

[Ed Carlson]

If you fallow the guidelines of "Gifting Fish" as laid out in the state regs....your legal.