portable license

[Nelso]

What's the best way to attach fish house license to a portable house. I have a Shappell portable that is made of the regular tarp material. I haven't been attaching my license to the house and always carry it with me, because I don't think the license is going to stay attached since the tarp is never folded up the same way twice. I know that's not the legal way to do it, but I don't want the license falling off in the cold weather either. I tend to come to the conclusion that if my name is on the house and I have the license with me or the house at all times it shouldn't be to big of a deal. Especially since the house is a portable and never left unoccupied.

P.S. Great HSOforum!!! I have been watching posts for well over a year and just recently became registered. Thanks to everyone for all the LOW fishing updates.

Nelso-

[northernnels]

Nelso: I took a good size peice of plastic from a tide jug .punched a hole in it,to tie it to the shack. cut it larger then the license. then stick the license to the plastic. its portable I have 4 houses and I just put it on the one Im using . if you drop it in the snow or ice the orange showes up real good. Good Luck Nels

[tomfromblaine]

I had the same house and felt the same as you do, so what I did was to stick the tag to the inside of the window flap positioned so that when the flap is up the tag is displayed outside the house through the window. I cant tell you how many times I've been checked by the DNR and they never cared, but then we've always laughed and joked around with them when ever they showed up.

[chunkytrout]

What I ended up doing was taking a piece of thick cardboard, and a large piece of white paper (18x8). Put my DL# and name on one side then the sticker on the other. Wrapped it in that clear packing tape, nice and neat of course. Punched a hole and ran some bead chain through the corner and hung it up. Lasted all winter and I could move it from the permanent to the portable.

[Northlander]

I did just like Chunky. A 1/4" thick piece of plastic may cut into stuff when house is folded unless ya take it off every time. The cardboard bends no problem and wont rub and wear at your house. I have seen guys put everything on a thin piece of plywood but thats too big and bulky for me. They lay it in front of the house. I also have used some thin laundry detergent plastic and clear taped everything on it and then took a BIG diaper pin and pinned it to the door zipper. Then I take it off and pin it inside my Trap Seat so it dont blow away. They really need to make it so we can get copies of our licenses for say 50 Cents or a buck. That way those of us with multiple portables can just have 1 for each house.

[Bryon]

I took a piece of white cloth, pretty durable, a shop cloth I think it was, put my info on it and safety pinned it to my portable, punched a hole through an old credit card for my license and pinned that to my house. All folds up, no problem.

[BigDaddy]

I take a piece of wire and run it through the zipper pull. Form the wire into a U. Then stick the license back onto itself with the wire in the middle.

It's the same way that you wear your license at Game Fair. Like a lift ticket.

If you use the top zipper, it will be right at eye level when the CO checks you.

[Captain B.R.K]

I do the same thing as northernnels does. I cut a decent size patch from a tide jug and put the label right on the one side. IF it were to fall out, you have something RED sitting on the WHITE ice.

Though I don't know MN law about taking a license and using it for 2 - 4 different houses. It would be interesting to see what the DNR had to say about that!

[vikingtom]

If u have 4 houses. Only the occupied houses need license. It's the law.

[Big Johnson]

The only house you need licensed is the one on the ice, you can have as many sitting at home as you want. Swapping licenses is kosher.

[vikingtom]

U can leave houses on the ice without license, as long as noone is in them.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

Hi Guys;

I have the “Clam Voyager” and what I do is just print out your name and town as big of font as you can fit it in on a 8” X 11” piece of paper. I print it in the top left or right corner. I then slide it in a clear page protector and just insert the licenses in there on the bottom. But you do have to tape off the opening area of that clear page protector I just use regular clear office tape. It has worked for me for 5 years now, other wise it gets moisture in it and is hard to read.

I then just “Safety Pin Clip” the clear protector cheat to the canvas.

But I can also say I have never been checked by any officer in that time period or for that matter ever.

[Nelso]

I knew there was a reason why I liked this HSOforum. Thanks for all the great input, I think I might try the ski tag idea through the zipper pull.

[Timber]

I don't think "VikingTom" is correct about not needing a license on your fishhouse if no one is using it. I live on a small lake in Northern MN and a few years ago I couldn't get the license to "stick" on the house, so decided to just carry it with me. I was "ticketed" for not displaying a license. Unless things have changed, I think you would be in violation.

[Northlander]

I realize I can switch the license from one portable to another but I want a couple of duplicats for my other houses. I have forgotten my license inside 1 house and taken another only to find out on the lake what happened. If I had duplicats I could pin them to each house I have. Thus no forgetting. I think the DNR hopes we buy extras or forget them so we get a ticket. Luckily this hasnt happened to me yet.

I want to be able to buy duplicats of them or at least be able to copy mine and be able to put the copies on my extra houses.

[vikingtom]

U only need license on the house when you're in it. Iknow that for a fact. Ichecked last year with DNR and just got e-mail back for this year aand it's still the same. Don't believe me e-mail DNR. they'll get right back with u.

[chunkytrout]

A permanent must have ID (not shelter licence) on it when it's not occupied. Name and DL# or Address will suffice.

[arbuck]

All shelters, which include dark houses, fish houses, and portable shelters, placed on the ice of Minnesota waters must have the complete name and address, driver’s license number or Minnesota DNR number of the owner plainly and legibly displayed on the outside in letters, and figures at least 2 inches in height. Dark houses, fish houses, and portable shelters placed on the ice for shelter while fishing must be licensed, except that a license is not required on border waters with Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota. A tag, furnished with the license, must be attached to the exterior in a readily visible location.

This is straight out of the regs. book. You need to have your name, drivers license number, or DNR number on your house at all times while on the ice. "Dark houses, fish houses, and portable shelters placed on the ice for shelter while fishing must be licenced" I would say it is not worded very well but I read it the way vikingtom and apearantly the DNR do.

I always thought a permanant house had to be licenced when it was on the lake wheather it was occupied or not too. Guess I was wrong (it won't be the last time)

arbuck

[mamohr686]

I have a piece of plexiglass (square clear plastic) with my license on it. I attach it to the zipper with a golf towel ring. This way I can switch it between my portables.

[vikingtom]

our drivers license number or name and address must stay on your shack at all times. You shelter license must be displayed while your using your shack.

So yes you can have 3 shacks and only need the shelter license for the shack your using at the time.

I did a search from grafittigregs letter to the DNR with there response.

Graffitigreg

posted 04-26-2002 09:30 AM

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OK… HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE DNR. I RECEIVED THE DNR'S REPLY ON 4/9.

WHO HAS THE NEXT QUESTION?

I’ve taken my original questions, the original answers, the follow-up questions, and the answers to the follow-up’s and attempted to weave them together. I think the answers are pretty clear. You only need one shelter license, your vehicle is not a shelter, and fifteen is fifteen. It’s a little late to be licensing your shelters now but unless the laws change it’s good stuff for next season. There are several misinterpretations, opinions, rumors, and such floating around out there but, “IT’S THE LAW!” and it seems fair to me.

Graffitigreg

THE DNR SAYS: Your recent inquiries to the Info Center were forwarded to me. I am not sure of the history involved in the inquiry, so some of what I relate to you may be repetition. Please bear in mind that as a rule I will give you the strictest interpretation; officers can and do use discretion based on a totality of circumstances that would be impossible to address here, but hopefully in keeping with the intent or spirit of the law. Another variable in the equation will be the 87 different county attorneys and their respective interpretations of law. They make the ultimate decision about cases that may or may not go to court in their jurisdictions. My comments/answers below.

QUESTION #1: I have two ice fishing houses, a permanent and a portable. Is it legal for me to buy only one shelter license and move it from house to house as long as the shelter license is on the house I am fishing from?

ANSWER #1: You can use the same license for both shelters.

QUESTION #2: Does a vacant fish house, on the lake, require a shelter license if it is not in use?

ANSWER #2: I am unsure of the context of your original question, so will give a bit of background. Fish houses and dark houses need only be licensed (except on some boundary waters) when being used for fishing. You could have a whole handful of houses/shelters, say on different lakes or different bays or reefs on the same lake, but if you only fished from one at a time; you could get by with one license. This must not be confused with marking with your ID. That is required of all houses and shelters placed on the ice, even if not occupied. Now, if a fish house is being used only to observe tip-ups from, the way Minnesota law is constructed, you would still need to have it both marked and licensed. You can have more than one fish house out at a time, so long as all are marked. (you) Only need to license the one being currently used for fishing.

QUESTION #3: Is my vacant, locked, and unlicensed house in violation?

ANSWER #3: No. You are OK as long as it is marked with ID.

QUESTION #4: If I am fishing tip-ups, and I’m on the ice sitting in my vehicle watching the lines, does my vehicle need a shelter license?

ANSWER #4: No, your vehicle does not need to be licensed as a fish house.

QUESTION# 4A: Answer #4 seems to be clear, cut, and dried. It says to me, “A vehicle is never considered a shelter” is that correct? As an example say I took my pick-up and camper ice fishing for the weekend. I ate, slept, and watched my bobbers or tip-ups through the windows - My pick-up and camper is still not a shelter and it doesn’t need a shelter license correct?

ANSWER #4A. OK, lots of gray area here. I have seen vehicles of one sort or another left on the ice with holes drilled in them and rigged to be used as fish houses, and as such requiring marking and licensing as a fish house. That is generally not going to be the case, though. The normal situation of somebody using a car or truck to warm up in while watching their tip-ups or between turns on the jiggle stick aren't generally going to be considered situations requiring a shelter license. But please remember that CO's base their decisions on the totality of circumstances, so to say a shelter license is never required on a vehicle could be misleading.

A camper trailer may be a whole different ball game, as they are far more likely to be left on the ice for extended periods of time, adapted to use as fish houses, and at the very least sat in while watching tip-ups out the window. The only difference between a normal fish house and a camper trailer is the wheels, so it is how they are used that will make the difference between needing a license or not. Safest assumption is that camper trailers will require both a license and ID markings.

QUESTION #5: New question--I'm fishing crappies. If I want to practice catch and release and take home a limit, do I have to stop after my 14th fish, do catch and release until I want to leave and then keep the 15th fish, OR--can I throw 15 into the bucket right away and practice catch and release until I go?

ANSWER #5: Minnesota law interprets 'taking' as any including any 'attempt to take’. Again, this is the strictest interpretation. So, if you intend to do catch and release, catch your 14 crappies and do catch and release until you get #15. If you continue to fish after that, an officer could, based again on the totality of what he/she observes, cite you for catching beyond your limit.

I hope this has been of some help.

Information and Education Manager

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Enforcement Division

Box 47, 500 Lafayette Rd.

St. Paul, MN 55155-4047

[This message has been edited by Surface Tension (edited 12-28-2003).]

[Timber]

Thanks for the information "Vikingtom". I will certainly look into it more carefully. When I got ticketed (two winters ago), I had pulled my permanent out in front of my home on the lake with my name and address. I carried my house license with me. I got the ticket in the mail. The CO used my address on the permanent to mail it to me. So, you can see my confusion. I called the CO and said I couldn't get the license to stick and stay on the house (it was new at the time). He said "To bad, too sad", it needed to be on the house. Again, I was not in the permanent house when he visited and ticketed me.

[efgh]

not to change the subject on fish house licences, but I think you should stop at 9 croppies then practice catch and release till you want to fill out your limit at 10, I think the limits were changed for 2004 for croppies and sunfish, I to was told I had to have a license on the house if it were on the ice by a c.o. now why don;t they know the game and fish laws as printed out by enforcement division?

[Captain B.R.K]

Thanks for the information guys! Was wondering how that moving a license from one fish house to another worked....NOW I KNOW!

Thanks Guys for the info!

[psegriz]

"Another variable in the equation will be the 87 different county attorneys and their respective interpretations of law. They make the ultimate decision about cases that may or may not go to court in their jurisdictions. "

It seems to me that leaves it up to the county and the CO interpretation of the law. The same thing that happened to Timber happened to me. So until someone fights it in court it seems it might depend upon the area the house is located in.

I got out of mine because 3 days prior to the CO issuing the ticket my house was robbed and I had reported it to the sherriff. So even though I had a hard time getting the lic. to stick to the house,weather the wind blew it off or the thieves stole it. It was unsure so they dropped the fine as long as for a course of 2 yrs my houses displayed the lic. at all times weather in use or not while on the ice.

Where did this happen Games lake in Kandiyohi County. It was the first yr they come out with those stickum tags.