Angle from a Spear House

[Boss Hogg]

I was told by two different people that it is now legal to

angle from a spear hole, with the spear inside the house. I searched the DNR HSOforum but couldn't find anything on this. Does anybody know anything about this?

[Mike89]

yes it's true!! But you have to place any fish caught angling outside the house. This does not make sence but we do what we have to!! The big question is a house with two holes? Sounds to me like as long as it's law abiding this is nothing too.

Mike

[Warbucks]

Page 58 of the fishing regulations clearly states that you can NOT have a spear in a house while angeling. I have searched the DNR HSOforum and found nothing different. Can someone officially find somehing on this? If I tell the judge "I read it on a fishing forum" it just wouldn't cut it.

[fisherman]

*New laws will have affect on sportsmen

Deer hunters no longer will have to tag their deer at the kill site.

Anglers won't be allowed to transport a live fish off the lake where it was caught. Turkey hunters will be able to hunt until sunset.

Hunters will see the largest boost to the state's wildlife area system in history. And the state will buy permanent public access easements to tens of thousands of privately owned forested acres.

Those are just some of the wide-ranging impacts to the outdoors that the Legislature approved this session. The session underscored again that what happens inside the halls of the Capitol often has a huge impact outside on the state's woods, waters and wildlife.

Here are highlights:

Wildlife management areas

The state's heavily used 1.2 million-acre wildlife management area system -- the backbone of public hunting in Minnesota -- is getting the biggest boost since the system began in the 1950s.

As part of a nearly $1 billion bonding bill, the Department of Natural Resources will get $14 million to acquire and improve wildlife management areas. That's on top of $10 million it received last year. The combined $24 million is in addition to normal wildlife area acquisition.

The bottom line: The state could add a whopping 27,000 acres of public wildlife lands over the next four years, mostly in the south and southwest.

Public access to forests

The sell-off and resulting fragmentation of northern forests by industry has created a big public access issue as hunters and others encounter more "no trespassing" signs.

The bonding bill provided $7 million as part of a "forest legacy" plan to acquire permanent easements on private lands to keep them open for public use.

Matching dollars are available from groups, foundations and the federal government, meaning about $21 million will be available. That's less than supporters had hoped for, but still deemed significant. It should buy easements for more than 50,000 forested acres.

Other projects

Another $45 million in that bonding bill will go toward parks, trails, fisheries, land reforestation and other wildlife habitat projects.

LCMR reform

Citizens will have much more say in how millions of lottery dollars are spent annually for natural resources.

Currently, the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund produces nearly $25 million a year, but that number is expected to swell in coming years.

The Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR), composed of 20 legislators, determined how the money was spent. But some argued that the commission was overly politicized and its allocation processes complicated and slow. A law passed this session will change that; now the commission will include seven citizens and 10 legislators. The citizens, five of whom will be appointed by the governor, will serve staggered terms. The new group, to be called the Minnesota Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, will make recommendations annually.

Tagging deer

Deer hunters still will have to validate their deer tag at the kill site but won't have to attach it to the animal before dragging it out of the woods. Hunters had complained that the tags ripped off as they dragged the carcass to their vehicle. The tag still must be attached to the animal before it is hung or loaded into a vehicle or transported.

Collecting sheds

The law was clarified to ensure that shed collecting is legal and to prohibit placement of devices in the woods, such as nets, to aid in shed collection.

All-season license

The all-season deer license has been changed so that a buyer can take a total of three deer, no more than one of them a buck, during the archery, regular firearms and muzzleloader seasons.

Dogs chasing deer

The owner of a dog that chases but doesn't kill a big game animal will be subject to a $100 fine; previously that owner could be fined $500. The owner of a dog that kills big game still can be fined $500.

Special hunts for soldiers

The DNR now can establish special hunting seasons and limits for military personnel and veterans.

Transporting fish

Anglers can't transport live fish "in a quantity of water sufficient to keep the fish alive" off the waters where the fish was caught. Exceptions were made for fish being transported for a fishing contest weigh-in or by aquaculture or commercial fishing operators. It means a suspected record fish couldn't be taken alive from the lake for weighing.

Dark-house angling

Fish spearers using dark houses now will be allowed to also angle or use tip-ups in that dark house, using just one line. Fish caught must be immediately released or placed on the ice.

Longer turkey hours

Spring turkey hunting will end at sunset instead of 5 p.m.

Three-bird pheasant limit?

The DNR has been asked to report to the Legislature by Feb. 1 the impact of allowing a three-pheasant bag limit after the first 16 days of the pheasant hunting season.

Four-wheel-drive trucks

Four-wheel-drive trucks won't be allowed to drive off-road on public state and county forest and park lands, except for designated off-road areas.

ATV use on private lands

Landowners or people with landowner's permission will be able to operate snowmobiles or ATVs on private land at any time during the firearms deer hunting season. Previously they could only be operated before or after legal shooting hours or between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Those restrictions will remain on public lands.

Park fees drop

The $7 daily state park pass will drop to $5. The $5 daily pass for groups will drop to $3. And a new annual park pass for motorcycles will cost $20 -- $5 less than a regular annual permit.

Stuff that didn't happen

• A measure to put a two-year moratorium on the licensing of any new aquaculture ponds in the state was removed from legislation at the 11th hour.

• A measure that would have allowed counties to offer bounties on coyotes also was removed at the 11th hour.

• A move to restrict big game shooting preserves died, but supporters say they will return next year to push for a ban.

• The second phase of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which would restore 120,000 acres of wetlands and grasslands, got zero dollars in the bonding bill, leaving its fate uncertain.

[Mike89]

Warbucks, fisherman said it all. Mike

[Boss Hogg]

fisherman: Thanks for the reply. Just goes to show you, if you have a serious question, somebody on this forum will get the answer for you. Thnaks again

[fisherman]

Not a problem