Unattended Lines?

[mnhunter2]

If I leave my 2 lines down when I leave my fishouse and go to my buddies house say 75’ away they are considered unattended and illegal, but what if the lines are on buzzer reels and I use a baby monitor to listen for a bite?

[PRO-V]

Good question to ask the warden.

[Wanderer]

I’ve heard people have been getting cited for not bringing up their lines to go their buddies houses less than 200 feet away. 

 

What I haven’t heard is the reason why this legally different than having a tip up outside your house.  I won’t argue that it is different, just haven’t heard why, and what notification systems make it or break it.

 

Its another situation where the use of technology is moving faster than the laws.  I agree with Pro V: contact the DNR before you have to try to explain it on the ice.  Or maybe you’ve had to do that already.

Edited February 18, 2018 by Wanderer

[bobberineyes]

I always thought it was a visual issue. Not sure of the footage away but going house to house without seeing your lines might be a problem. I've wondered in the summer, casting a sucker off the dock and walking up to the cabin to get something if that was in wrong as well. 

[Mike89]

44 minutes ago, bobberineyes said:

I always thought it was a visual issue. Not sure of the footage away but going house to house without seeing your lines might be a problem. I've wondered in the summer, casting a sucker off the dock and walking up to the cabin to get something if that was in wrong as well. 

 

 

thats what I have heard also..  I have put a tip up out on the lake and stay in my home, less than 200 feet, no issue...  could see it always...

[nofishfisherman]

Tip ups outside the house are fine because you can visually see them which means you are attending to those lines.  A line left down in your house while you go to a buddies house can't be seen. If you can't see them you can't attend to them when needed.  A CO also has no idea how long you were gone, were the lines unattended for 5 minutes or 5 hours?

 

If you have some sort of system set up so that you can monitor the lines remotely then you've entered a gray area and would probably be up to the CO's discretion.  You can email the DNR and ask but I'm guessing whether you get a ticket or not would be determined by which CO finds you and what kind of mood he's in that day.  If you did choose to take the ticket to court I'd think you'd have a reasonable case to present.  The judge would have to determine if being able to monitor your lines on a baby monitor satisfies the law. Personally I think it would but who knows what a judge or CO would think. 

[delcecchi]

On 2/18/2018 at 4:15 PM, bobberineyes said:

I always thought it was a visual issue. Not sure of the footage away but going house to house without seeing your lines might be a problem. I've wondered in the summer, casting a sucker off the dock and walking up to the cabin to get something if that was in wrong as well. 

I think that summer one is in the regs, 75 feet as I recall.   

[BlackLabGuy]

The CO that checked us on LOW this winter told us if you go out to the bathroom or a smoke it is OK, if you go next door to visit it is a ticket...

[vtx1029]

LOL I just got checked yesterday and asked him this same question. I asked if i had pagers on each line could I keep them down. He said as the law is written a Rod or rattle wheel is considered a line down and you must be able to visually see the line at all times. Different from a tipup where you must be within the vicinity but you don't need a constant visual on them.

 

So I'm thinking I may just set up my tip-ups inside my shack with beepers when I'm not in there

[Wanderer]

3 hours ago, vtx1029 said:

LOL I just got checked yesterday and asked him this same question. I asked if i had pagers on each line could I keep them down. He said as the law is written a Rod or rattle wheel is considered a line down and you must be able to visually see the line at all times. Different from a tipup where you must be within the vicinity but you don't need a constant visual on them.

 

So I'm thinking I may just set up my tip-ups inside my shack with beepers when I'm not in there

 

So what about when you have a rattle wheel down and go outside to get a fish on your tip up?

 

Same thing as a wiz or smoke?  You can’t see it and might be gone for 10 minutes.

 

I only ask to be argumentative. 

[aczr2k]

Here is my story from about a month ago on LOW.  Two of us fishing in my wheelhouse.  I went outside to grab a beverage and in doing so I walked next door to our buddies, 25 feet away.  I hadn't even fully shut the door when two snowmobiles show up one stopping at each house.  Basically sleds were rolling and they were both stepping off, you'd think they were in the I500 race at a refueling stop.  I opened the door and was asked how fishing was, I said poor very poor.  He asked which house I was fishing in I said the other one.  He told me to go back there and get my license out his partner would be checking me out.  I walked back over and was told "well you already know what you did wrong"  I was like my lines are down, I haven't even been gone 5 minutes.  They would have had to see me walk over since they came from out of nowhere.  He leaves and talks to my buddies and they confirm my story.  He comes back and says "I will give you a warning" and proceeds to write our names down in a little notebook.  Gives us back our licenses and they both take off to our neighbors.

 

Week later my buddy who was fishing with me gets a ticket in the mail for extra lines.  Stated on the ticket was to call in 7 days for the amount.  He calls and its $135.  You can contest it online or go to court.  Of course we are both thinking this is a total crock.  He emails the CO and he actually emailed back saying to call him.  He called many times with no return call.  Finally a week goes by and he's able to get ahold of him.  He claimed he talked to over 300 people and couldn't remember everything he said.  Ticket was thrown out.  Still how many people got hooked over the weekend?  Pretty shady way to conduct yourself. 

 

Yes technically I was in the wrong, but if your going to write a ticket, write a ticket don't send one a week later.  Or at least ticket the right person.  Didn't seem right to me....

Edited February 20, 2018 by aczr2k

[vtx1029]

3 hours ago, Wanderer said:

 

So what about when you have a rattle wheel down and go outside to get a fish on your tip up?

 

Same thing as a wiz or smoke?  You can’t see it and might be gone for 10 minutes.

 

I only ask to be argumentative. 

He said the law reads line of sight so...

[bobberineyes]

I suppose it's no different if you were to pull up your lines just enough so the minnows are still in water at the top of the hole and go over to your buddies. The cranky CO will probably still say your lines are in the water.. 

[Hoey]

3 hours ago, aczr2k said:

Here is my story from about a month ago on LOW. 

acz - Great story told there.  I fish LOTW a lot and see this all the time.  They come out of no where and are on you in a flash.  At least they worked with you on canceling the ticket. 

 

They have pointed out and questioned me about unattended lines when outside my portable and give me "this is not legal" verbal warning. 

 

I had a ticket for failure to have the license number on my portable back when that was law.  When I got back to shore, I noticed the license number was on the other side of the house.  Called them and they tore up the ticket.  

 

I also failed to have a current license, i.e. out fishing March 1st last year.  He told me to pull up my lines and not fish until I had a valid license.  Called the wife at home and within fifteen minutes, i was back fishing with a photo of my new license.  

 

Thanks for sharing your story.  The COs deal with a lot of people out there and I believe they are not perfect and are doing a pretty good job overall.  

[Big Dave2]

Quote

2017 Minnesota Statutes

 

97C.321 RESTRICTIONS ON UNATTENDED LINES.

Subdivision 1.General prohibition.

 

A person may not take fish by angling with a set line or an unattended line except as provided in this section and rules adopted under the game and fish laws.

Subd. 2.Ice fishing.

 

A person may use an unattended line to take fish through the ice if:

(1) the person is within sight of the line; or

(2) a tip-up is attached to the line and the person is within 200 feet of the tip-up.

 

 

[vtx1029]

11 hours ago, Big Dave2 said:

 

 

So run a tip-up in your shack

 

[aczr2k]

If the fishing wasn't so poor up at LOW the last few years I wouldn't have had time to walk to my buddies... they should be focusing on that instead.

[eyeguy 54]

29 minutes ago, vtx1029 said:

 

So run a tip-up in your shack

 

 

how you gonna see that flag go up when you are grabbing a cold one from your buddys cooler next door??  LOL 

[Wanderer]

34 minutes ago, eyeguy 54 said:

 

how you gonna see that flag go up when you are grabbing a cold one from your buddys cooler next door??  LOL 

 

By the letter of the law, that doesn’t matter once they state the requirements of 1 OR 2 are met. 

 

I know that’s not the intent of the law though.

[eyeguy 54]

good old MN...

[nofishfisherman]

19 hours ago, aczr2k said:

Here is my story from about a month ago on LOW.  Two of us fishing in my wheelhouse.  I went outside to grab a beverage and in doing so I walked next door to our buddies, 25 feet away.  I hadn't even fully shut the door when two snowmobiles show up one stopping at each house.  Basically sleds were rolling and they were both stepping off, you'd think they were in the I500 race at a refueling stop.  I opened the door and was asked how fishing was, I said poor very poor.  He asked which house I was fishing in I said the other one.  He told me to go back there and get my license out his partner would be checking me out.  I walked back over and was told "well you already know what you did wrong"  I was like my lines are down, I haven't even been gone 5 minutes.  They would have had to see me walk over since they came from out of nowhere.  He leaves and talks to my buddies and they confirm my story.  He comes back and says "I will give you a warning" and proceeds to write our names down in a little notebook.  Gives us back our licenses and they both take off to our neighbors.

 

Week later my buddy who was fishing with me gets a ticket in the mail for extra lines.  Stated on the ticket was to call in 7 days for the amount.  He calls and its $135.  You can contest it online or go to court.  Of course we are both thinking this is a total crock.  He emails the CO and he actually emailed back saying to call him.  He called many times with no return call.  Finally a week goes by and he's able to get ahold of him.  He claimed he talked to over 300 people and couldn't remember everything he said.  Ticket was thrown out.  Still how many people got hooked over the weekend?  Pretty shady way to conduct yourself. 

 

Yes technically I was in the wrong, but if your going to write a ticket, write a ticket don't send one a week later.  Or at least ticket the right person.  Didn't seem right to me....

 

 

Virtually the exact same thing happened to me and a few buddies on Red Lake a few years ago.  My buddy and I were in one house and 2 other friends were in another house.  My buddy left his lines down to go run over to the other house to see about plans for cooking dinner and a CO showed up at the door of the house I was in by myself with 4 lines down.  He asked me about the extra lines and I told him the truth that they belonged to my friend who ran over to the other house quick (he may have seen my buddy run out of the house but I don't know for sure).  All he did was tell me that if my buddy is gone for a few minutes its not a big deal but to reel them up if he's going to be gone for more than a couple minutes.  He didn't make a big deal over it.  Just then my buddy ran back over because he saw the CO and knew his lines were still down.  The CO checked his license and told him the same thing and then went on about his day.  He wasn't overly friendly just very business like but also seemed to understand how things really work out on the ice when you might run out of the house for a minute and he didn't make an issue out of it. 

[vtx1029]

1 hour ago, eyeguy 54 said:

 

how you gonna see that flag go up when you are grabbing a cold one from your buddys cooler next door??  LOL 

Have bluetooth alarms on it

 

[Wanderer]

2 hours ago, vtx1029 said:

Have bluetooth alarms on it

 

 

Rumor has it they can interpret that differently also.

[vtx1029]

2 hours ago, Wanderer said:

 

Rumor has it they can interpret that differently also.

shouldn't matter anyway as I read it if its a tip-up just have to be within 200'

[eyeguy 54]

sheesh, just reel up when ya gotta walk out the door.   LOL  save yer buddy $135