2005 shelter regs....Just talked to DNR

[Paul Waldowski]

river-rat,

That's a new one on me, as I know it has been 3" in the years past. If true, my bad. I will do some checking into it and see what I can find out. Might have been one of those things that they changed and no one really paid any attention too.

[river-rat4]

Hey Paul- You've got mail.

[Paul Waldowski]

Checked on it...Definately has changed. My bad. Letters need to be 2" in height and you need to have only ONE of these three things posted on your house:

1. Full name and address

2. Drivers license number

3. DNR number off of your fishing license

[Tracker 87]

This is from the 2005 Fishing Regs:

"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 or 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.

[Northlander]

I thought it was 2". I was reading the 2004 regs and it said that but thought maybe it was changing. I got the new 2005 regs and it does of course state 2" lettering or numbers. When was it ever 3" lettering?

[Scenic]

The duplicate is designed and sold to replace the original and not used on another house you are using at the same time. You can however use this on a second house but only one house will be considered licensed if you have more then one on the ice at the same time.

For example if you have a 4 man Polar that you use most of the time but for what ever reason you want to use your 2 man Polar instead. You can take the license from your 4 man and put it on your 2 man. However you can buy a duplicate and just put it in your 2 man if you are not using your 4 man at that same time. You just can not take them both at the same time without buying the second license.

Bottom line if you are using more then one house at a time to fish from you must license each house. We are talking a $12.50 license here......pretty cheap entertainment and a lot less hassle.

Will the COs measure the letters on your house? You can almost bet on it in some areas. We have one of them on Winnie that carries a tape measure with him just for that purpose. Nit picky as it sounds if is supposed to be 2" and it is only 1.75" he can write you and you do not have a leg to stand on to fight it. It is spelled out very clear in the regs.

[LuckBites]

Quote:

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Checked on it...Definately has changed. My bad. Letters need to be 2" in height and you need to have only

ONE

of these three things posted on your house:

1. Full name and address

2. Drivers license number

3. DNR number off of your fishing license

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Don't use your DL # as this is a critical piece for identity theft! Your DNR # is the best option for limiting your risk.

[Phred52]

NOW, They've changed the height requirement to 2". if you have any old (4+ years) fishing regulation booklets you'll find that "back then" the requirement WAS 3".Given enough time, I could probably tell you exactly the year the reg was changed. I believe it had a lot to do with the proliferation of the really portable houses. If any of you remember, the metal tag also had to be mounted "NO more than 3" below the top of the door". Kinda hard to do on a canvas tent with no zipper door. The early CLAM fishtraps as example.Something had to be changed and at the same time they downsized the letter height.

[CatManLee]

Wow, The CO's in your neck of the woods sound like a bunch of stiffs. I know around here, the CO's are very reasonable people. I have NEVER posted numbers or my liscense on the outside of my portable, and have never had a problem.

I've always thought the numbers and/or liscense had to be on the house only if you were not fishing in it. The DNR always checks your fishing Liscense anyways, so you could just as well show them the shelter tag at the same time.

Am I breaking the Law? Maybe, but the DNR around here doesn't seem to care, as long as you have a liscense. If it's a permanent or something that stays on the water, that's a different story.

As for the Vehicle thing...What the $*@&! That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've heard of!!! If it is a law, that you need a house liscense when sitting in your vehicle and fishing outside, I guess I've broke the law more times than I can count. Again, the DNR I know would never even consider fining someone for this. For those of you who have been fined for these dumb things, you were just unlucky enough to be checked out by a CO that has some issues.

I know some of these are "THE LAW" but, sometimes common sense tells ME, it shouldn't be worth a fine.

JUST MY 2 CENTS...

[Lost]

Quote:

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This is from the 2005 Fishing Regs:

"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 or 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.

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It doesn't say anything about the location on the shelter. Does it have to be on the front? What if there is no discernible front like many of the 2-door shelters today?

[Phred52]

Lost, You are correct. The current regulations do not state anything about where the tag is to be placed. Although, If you look at the tag itself it states, "Place this tag on the outside of your shelter". As stated in my previous post, the regulation had to be changed due to the proliferation of the flip over type houses that didn't have a zipper or other conventional style door, The Fishtrap house as example. As memory serves, the regulations were changed about 4 years ago(could be more),and if I'm not mistaken, It was at the same time that our house tags went from hard breakable plastic to the current stick on ones.

[Northlander]

Ok now I remember. I also had a 1 man that had no door and no place to put a shelter license. I had to use a bigger safety pin. I even wrote my name on it with a marker.

I agree use the DNR # not your drivers license #. I believe the reason for the #'s on the house and not in your pocket is so DNR can "Glass" you from a distance and see your legal as far as house from there. Ya I agree the fishing out of a vehicle and needing a shelter tag for that is bunk. We already pay enough taxes etc. on our vehicles!

[PierBridge]

Quote:

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I have NEVER posted numbers or my license on the outside of my portable, and have never had a problem.

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I know at least 3 people in the last 2 seasons who have not had their shelter license displayed properly on their portable Fish house's and have been fined by CO's.

The rule reads "Plainly and Legibly Displayed on the outside"