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Bite isn't that great...


DTro

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It sounds like if I gave the DNR permission to check my freezer after having purchased 50 salmon or walleye fillets from a fish market 6 months prior I could be facing charges. I mean, how would the officer know for sure whether or not I poached them or purchased them legally? This sounds like a poorly thought out law to me. I'm not sure what all of the circumstances were behind this particular incident but I hope the defendant gets to share his side of the story in court.

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Have the posession limits always been the same in Minnesota? I ask because I didn't grow up here. I've always known about them and followed them. We eat any fish we keep fairly quickly so we can go fishing some more without worrying about it! But perhaps that's now how it used to operate and this guy didn't keep up with the times. Or maybe that's what he was taught was OK and never took time to learn the regs. Regardless, he's in the wrong and now he knows. I think its good they make an example of this practice so everyone knows its wrong, but if the guy truly didn't know for whatever reason(s), he's getting his punishment and then some now without the need for any further public ridicule.

Don't get me wrong, it's wrong and he should be punished to the fullest extent, but I always find it funny when a family of six, say, has only one real fisherman but he's got the family's limit of sunnies in the freezer. It's legal, I guess, if they all have fishing licenses, but he can do it because he's living with 5 other people under his roof versus the guy in this story. I saw this this past summer at a resort we were at when one of the fisherman came in with his limit of dandy bass in the morning and then his limit in the evening. I didn't think much of it at the time, but he smiled and said, "Got lots of people to feed!"

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There is the problem right there! Most people have no understanding of posession limits. Im sure this guy didnt either, why else would he have invited the CO back to his house? Just because he doesnt understand possesion limits doesnt make him "ready for the home" as some have suggested.

I think the "ready for the home" comment is actually kind of valid. How was this guy ever going to eat that many fish where he had to continue to keep some? Something is not right in his head. People like this are what ruin the waters for everybody else. They put themselves in a survival mode, they can not help themselves, the fish need to be sacrificed for their freezer rather than in somebody else's.

Worst feeling I have ever had regarding fishing was when I had a 7.5lb largemouth in a freezer in the garage waiting for the wall and the freezer blew a fuse in the middle of summer. Next time I opened up that freezer I got slapped in the face with a nasty smell. I didnt feel bad about not having it for the wall I felt bad that it wasnt still swimming.

People that just waste fish shouldnt be allowed to take em. I still feel bad to this day about that trophy I wasted... These guys should be banned for life.

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It sounds like if I gave the DNR permission to check my freezer after having purchased 50 salmon or walleye fillets from a fish market 6 months prior I could be facing charges. I mean, how would the officer know for sure whether or not I poached them or purchased them legally? This sounds like a poorly thought out law to me. I'm not sure what all of the circumstances were behind this particular incident but I hope the defendant gets to share his side of the story in court.

Heh...

I'd be shocked if there was a law on the books that you actually thought was well thought out.

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And I'd be shocked if there was any law on the books that you don't support. Maybe we should all dispose of our freezers now so we can eat our fish on a timeline that is more agreeable to certain people's opinions. Freezing game doesn’t necessarily mean someone was poaching.

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Not to be cynical, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are lots of folks out there with this kind of cache in their freezers. Heck, I've heard lots of people state casually that they've got a freezer full of fish already when they're complaining about cleaning the current batch. crazy

Ran into a young man with his 5 small children at groc store the other day...I commented on the price of food these days and how I feel for him having to feed 2 adults and 5 growing kids and he said, "never hunted or fished growing up but that's all I do on weekends now to keep plenty of meat/fish in the freezer for the family...I did not ask if he was properly licensed but in a way....I am OK with people keeping meat/fish in the freezer and going back out the next day as long as they have purchased a license. What is the thinking on possession limit anyway...many of us eat a lot, give a lot to family and friends that can't get out...and still go out and take a limit every time.....so possession limit is somewhat short sited IMO. So you go out 6 times in a year, catch a limit each time, freeze them and then have a fish dinner for your whole family around the holidays...kind of nice to be able to treat a bunch of people to some fish.

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And I'd be shocked if there was any law on the books that you don't support. Maybe we should all dispose of our freezers now so we can eat our fish on a timeline that is more agreeable to certain people's opinions. Freezing game doesn’t necessarily mean someone was poaching.
Commercially sold and prepared fish would come in store packaging, not frozen blocks of ice or ziploc bags.

Sounds to me like you are looking for a loophole to hide your stash.

"I bought all 350 walleye fillets. Honestly I did".

Theres no wonder why they have to print "CAUTION CONTENTS HOT" on a coffee cup from McDonalds or a Warning lable that reads "Do not use to trim hedges" on a push lawn mower.

I didnt know that cup of coffee was hot. I just put it between my legs to let it cool down because it was too hot to drink.

Duh.

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Purchasing fish, just keep a receipt.If that isn't good for them they can do DNA testing.It does seem to be something to think about! maybe the DNA is canadian,maybe minnesotan,SD,ND If they don't have commercial fishers that can legally take the species.I'd bet your in for a time proving something, that now days your not innocent till proven guilty.Your guilty and have to prove your innocents! Especially with our DNR

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I know of an instance locally where the CO was watching a "road spot" this spring and observed same guy taking what appeared to be too many crappies every day and finally caught him red handed over the limit and told him (did not ask) "I need to check your freezer at home". Did not give him a choice, entered home and found more. So my understanding is that CO has right to enter property without permission to check for illegally taking game/fish...anyone know for sure if this is true or are they supposed to obtain search warrant if you deny access?

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And I'd be shocked if there was any law on the books that you don't support. Maybe we should all dispose of our freezers now so we can eat our fish on a timeline that is more agreeable to certain people's opinions. Freezing game doesn’t necessarily mean someone was poaching.

If you want to go ahead on an outdoor forum and defend a guy who was caught poaching, by all means, go for it. If you're trying to discuss your disdain with the fact that we live in a society with rules and laws, take it to the basement.

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If you want to go ahead on an outdoor forum and defend a guy who was caught poaching, by all means, go for it. If you're trying to discuss your disdain with the fact that we live in a society with rules and laws, take it to the basement.

Yes we do have laws in this country. My disdain lies with overzealous game wardens, newspapers and a vengeful public calling for the blood of an elderly man who had a lot of fish in his freezer without affording him due legal process. Just because I'm not bizarrely advocating 30 years in jail for someone with fish fillets in his freezer doesn't make me an anarchist.

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Ok a few points:

"29.931(1) (1) Seizure and confiscation of wild animals or plants. The department and its wardens shall seize and confiscate any wild animal, carcass or plant caught, killed, taken, had in possession or under control, sold or transported in violation of any of the laws for which the department and its wardens have enforcement authority under s. 29.921. The officer also may, with or without warrant, open, enter and examine all buildings, camps, boats on inland or outlying waters, vehicles, valises, packages and other places where the officer has probable cause to believe that wild animals, carcasses or plants that are taken or held in violation

They cannot just enter your residence without a search warrant that is granted by a judge that determines if there is probably cause.

Hopefully at that point of questioning, the CO had done his due diligence and the search warrant was just a formality. Had the guy refused, the CO probably had a solid case already anyways.

As far as purchased fish. If you are in the position of possibly having too many fish in your possession, you just keep the receipt, or keep the original packaging. Its very simple.

I have no problem with a family of 8 people having a full limit in their freezer. That is the whole point of having a limit. Technically there is no difference in one guy having 150 in his freezer or a family of 8 having 150 in the freezer (other than the legality part). But has anyone tried to feed 8 mouths? I can assure you that fish won't last long in that freezer.

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I have no problem with a family of 8 people having a full limit in their freezer. That is the whole point of having a limit. Technically there is no difference in one guy having 150 in his freezer or a family of 8 having 150 in the freezer (other than the legality part). But has anyone tried to feed 8 mouths? I can assure you that fish won't last long in that freezer.

There is a difference between the 2. One is a fish monger, the other is using a resource to provide for his family. Technically the monger is over using that resource and damaging it. Unfortunatly, there are more fish mongers out there than families of 8 enjoying time together and making a few meals out of it.

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As far as purchased fish. If you are in the position of possibly having too many fish in your possession, you just keep the receipt, or keep the original packaging. Its very simple.

So the burden of proof (keeping the receipt and packaging) is on me and not the state? That's what bothers me about all of this. The state of MN is saying that if I don't eat all of my legally harvested or purchased fish before I go back out on the water tomorrow or next month then without a doubt; I've been exceeding my daily bag limit.

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So the burden of proof (keeping the receipt and packaging) is on me and not the state? That's what bothers me about all of this. The state of MN is saying that if I don't eat all of my legally harvested or purchased fish before I go back out on the water tomorrow or next month then without a doubt; I've been exceeding my daily bag limit.

Yes, that's the law, like it or not.

Just like using ciscos, tulibeess, smelt, etc for bait. You have to have receipt or packaging proving it came from VHS free waters or treated with Borax. The burden of proof is on YOU.

or...when you catch you limit and eat them out on the lake, it is YOUR burden to keep the carcasses to prove species and size. You cannot keep catching fish and eating them. The possession is technically in your belly, but the DNR sees possession as the carcasses. The next day you have to bring them to shore and dispose of. YOUR burden.

Oh and if you plan on taking some home, it is also YOUR burden to keep a patch of skin on them for identification.

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I'm saying regardless of age if you are physically able- anyone can go out and get a part time job, work from home, or whatever they can find so their income is no longer 'limited'.

How many part time jobs that you know of would hire a 69 year old and pay anything substantial that wouldn't muck up the subsidies that person would already be on? It's a tough spot to be in and nearly impossible to break out of as any gains he would make would be countered with reductions elsewhere.

I'm not exonerating his actions in the slightest but there may be more to his story than what's known.

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This kind of got me thinking about a personal situation. I am a MN resident but probably fish WI just as much. You can legally keep 25 crappies in WI. What happens when a legally caught limit of fish crosses the border?

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This kind of got me thinking about a personal situation. I am a MN resident but probably fish WI just as much. You can legally keep 25 crappies in WI. What happens when a legally caught limit of fish crosses the border?

I might be way off base here but I remember hearing that fish can be tested to prove what body of water they came from. The burden of proof will rest with the state. I have been in the same position, never worried about it. Game wardens are not dummies, they are way to busy to try and trap people with legal limits.

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This kind of got me thinking about a personal situation. I am a MN resident but probably fish WI just as much. You can legally keep 25 crappies in WI. What happens when a legally caught limit of fish crosses the border?

I have been wondering the same thing. I once kept 13 crappies while fishing on the St. Croix River (the limit there is the Wisconsin limit). I was more than a little nervous driving home, which is a little crazy in that I was following the rules but I couldn't prove it.

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