Legal? Part two

[rockingroy]

I was reading the post "Legal?" which brought to mind another question. I've been looking at lake properties in WI. I'm a resident of MN. So if I have a non-resident WI lisence, and a resident MN lisence, can I legally have 13 northerns in my freezer? (WI daily limit is 5, possesion limit is double the daily limit, and the MN limit is 3)

[Ole1855]

That's a good question but when the MN laws state possession, that means livewell, freezer or anywhere else you have them, I don't know the correct answer but I'd guess 1 limit is 1 limit. You'd have to either eat them in WI if you had fish in the freezer here in MN or leave them in the freezer in WI to be legal. That would be my take, but like I said, I really don't know the correct answer.

Ole

[efgh]

I think if you get the fish you catch in Wis. packaged in Wis. by a resort and stamped by them you can transport them into Minn., the same applies with fish caught in Canada. I would sure hate to get into Minn. with Wis. caught fish any other way if checked by a C.O.

[almostthere!]

So the 65+ white bass in my freezer are questionable? They are from ND where the possesion limit is 175/person. Hmmm, I will just have to make sure the repair people stay away from my freezer.

[FOOT]

If you have multiple state licenses and catch a limit in each state you can have a possession limit for each state. Except where boundry waters exist, such as the Mississippi. If you fish Lake Pepin and have an out-of-state Wisc and in-state MN license you can only keep what the in-state license gives you, in this case 6 walleye for MN.

I would suggest you package you fish so each filet can be identified and put a slip of paper in the freezer bag, clearly visable, with the date, lake and state where you caught the fish. That is if you are keeping multi-state limits.

[Tom Wilson]

Rockinroy,

You are absolutely correct if Wisconsin's limit is twice the daily limit like it used to be here. As long as you have a valid Wisconsin license, you may have their possesion limit and your minnesota limit in your freezer. There are exceptions though...

If you have 13 fish in your freezer--it is illegal for you to fish for northerns in minnesota until you are down to 11 fish in the freezer, and 12 fish in the freezer to be legal in wisonsin. If you were fishing for northerns and had possesion limits in your freezer, you are over your limit every time you catch a northern. You do not have to have a resort stamp on your wisconsin fish as stated above, but for your peace of mind and to prove their catch you should label the bags in your freezer with the date of catch and the lake/state they were caught in. The other way you could be illegal is this...say you have 10-11 northerns left in the freezer and its next year--you only buy a Minnesota license--now (unless your bags are dated) you could be found guilty of being over the Minnesota possession limit. This is a million to one chance however, because no matter how much ignorant fear there is out there, Game wardens just don't go to peoples houses to check their freezers. People who get caught in gross overlimit violations in the wild might get their homes checked and or people who get turned into the TIP line. If you are asking these questions I doubt you are either of those people, but be aware that you just need to be careful of what the rules are, and abide by them.

[rockingroy]

Thanks for the info. I thought that would be legal, but I was unsure.