USING PORTABLESSTANDS ON W.M.A.

[otis32]

I think they should change the law about using portable stands on W.M.A. What does it hurt to leave a strap on stand and strap on steps over night. It would be alot SAFER leaving the stand in there then trying to take it down in the dark. I would pay a couple bucks even for a tag to put on it so you could know who's stand it is. Put them up in Sept. and take them down after the season.If they are still there then the dnr can have them. What do you think???

[sparcebag]

Well I think just the opposite.I dont think any state forest WMA-WPA or any public owned land should allow overnight stands.

My reasoning is then the stand owner will think they have exclusive rights to that area! It could and does create problems as of rights to use the public lands.

[sticknstring]

Get yourself a climber! It's not fun clanking on brush on entry/exits but that's the way it is. In Sherburne I found portable painted ladder stands left behind. Amazing what guys do to "claim" spots.

[Powerstroke]

No its not safe to take down a stand in the dark, so take your stand down just before dark. You get to hunt till one half hour after sunset. Even if I wait that long (its rarely still light enough to hunt) I put on my headlamp and head down Its rarely pitch black and with the headlamp you can see what you're doing.

I also am against leaving stands over night on public land.

[otis32]

Is it right for me to believe you guys have more people to worry about down there taking a hot spot??

I also ice fish and I wouldn't move in on somebody that has layed claim to a hot spot on the lake. What is the difference if somebody has a tree stand up just move on.

I don't have a problem with my own stand, but it is putting up my kids and helping the other kids in our group also.

I wish people could get along, but not everybody will. thanks for the comments guys.

[blarkey]

If you want to leave your stand out buy some land pay the taxes on it and leave your stand out all year round. Why sould somone get out two hours early to hunt public land just to have some dude put his stand up the day the day before and walk out 15 to 30 minutes before.

[goblueM]

not to mention the problems involved with people stealing stands, false feelings of "ownership", and a host of other problems...

public is public. Everybody should have to follow the rules and I agree with the current ones. If you don't like it, put in the work to find private land. If everybody could put up a stand it'd be a war zone and it would ruin the land

[otis32]

I don't know what it is like where you guys hunt. But appearently you deal with alot of people!! Up north here we all have our spots we hunted for years. Don't you go to the same spot each year or is there that much competition that each morning you are looking for a different spot? Once and a while you get somebody new come through. But we respect each other and leave the person alone. If you need to steal my stand come on over to house and I can set you up with a gun,some clothes, and maybe a lunch too. If you can sit in a stolen stand and hunt out of it, your not much of a sportsman!!!!!!!!!!!

[Quackaddict9]

Quote:

Is it right for me to believe you guys have more people to worry about down there taking a hot spot??

I also ice fish and I wouldn't move in on somebody that has layed claim to a hot spot on the lake. What is the difference if somebody has a tree stand up just move on.

Some people are just stubborn...Apparently you have not had this problem, but I've seen it and heard about it, its ridiculous.

[sparcebag]

I don't know what it is like where you guys hunt. But appearently you deal with alot of people!! Up north here we all have our spots we hunted for years. Don't you go to the same spot each year or is there that much competition that each morning you are looking for a different spot? Once and a while you get somebody new come through. But we respect each other and leave the person alone. If you need to steal my stand come on over to house and I can set you up with a gun,some clothes, and maybe a lunch too. If you can sit in a stolen stand and hunt out of it, your not much of a sportsman!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all if you left your stand on public property the LAW states its now public property.If someone took it would you buy it back? How can one steal public property? That wasn't installed by a property overseer.

[otis32]

WHAT??????????

[Big Dave2]

Is it right for me to believe you guys have more people to worry about down there taking a hot spot??

I also ice fish and I wouldn't move in on somebody that has layed claim to a hot spot on the lake. What is the difference if somebody has a tree stand up just move on.

I don't have a problem with my own stand, but it is putting up my kids and helping the other kids in our group also.

I wish people could get along, but not everybody will. thanks for the comments guys.

I understand your point on this otis. I'm not saying I know what the answer is but I can see both sides of the argument.

I can see why people don't want them left out down here because usually WMA's are small pieces of land and if 1 or 2 hunters put up a stand and leave it there it sort of monopolizes the whole piece.

But I would say that I am sure that you are the kind of guy that would be there early the next morning to claim that spot anyway or you wouldn't complain if someone beat you to the spot and not claim it as "yours" just because you have your stand there, But a lot of people would.

I like to ice fish and some of the smaller lakes around here have very small pieces of productive structure that the first fish houses always get to first and monopolize for the whole season. a small rock pile or a sand bar can easily be taken up by 1 or 2 well placed fishhouses put out early by people who are not quite as concerned about their safety as I am about mine.

So what if we had a law that stated all fish houses must come off of the lake when they are unattended? Just curious if any of you guys would back such a law? I know not everyone has a house on wheels like I do but the statement was made here that if otis wanted to leave stands out then he should buy his own land. Well this law could contend that if you want to ice fish you have to get a more portable fish house.

Like I said I can see both sides so I am not advocating leaving stands out overnight on WMA's. I'm just throwing out a topic for rational discussion.

[jbell1981]

WHAT??????????

Per the regs, if you leave a portable stand unattended on public property, the stand becomes public property and anyone could use it or remove it. The person would not be siting in a stolen stand, like you stated, is the point sparcebag was trying to make.

[otis32]

I must of missed the sentence in the regs that say you can remove somebody elses stand. I know your stand is public property if you leave it up, but unless it is left over night, a game warden is the only one that can legally take it.

This whole topic has opened my eyes to a different way of looking at it. Plain and simple we don't have the trouble with people sitting or taking our stands. I guess that's why I love to hunt up NORTH.

Big Dave , thanks for your comments. That is a good point on the fish houses. It seems like a lot of people can't get along in this world any more. If your not going to fish for awhile you should move off a spot, when it's so small . We have so many spots to fish it's tough not to find a good spot.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU FISHING! If you are ever in the rainy lake area look me up.

[Big Dave2]

Originally Posted By: otis32

WHAT??????????

Per the regs, if you leave a portable stand unattended on public property, the stand becomes public property and anyone could use it or remove it. The person would not be siting in a stolen stand, like you stated, is the point sparcebag was trying to make.

Even if it becomes public property I am pretty sure you can't REMOVE it. I can't remove the trees from a WMA can I?

You could definitely use it, which is not the same thing as stealing it at all.

The point I think Otis was trying to make is that he is not too worried about someone stealing his stands where he hunts.

[jbell1981]

If you use that logic then the original owner could not remove it either if left over night, as it has become public property, they no longer would own it either.

[otis32]

WHAT????

If you leave a stand on public property, that means anybody can sit in it. It does not mean somebody can take it!! If you own it you own it!!!

[Musky Buck]

Is the problem really the "stand" or is it more a conflict between hunters that are tired of people having little respect for public land and the others that should have the right to it as well. I drive through the MilleLacs WMA and the rum river state forest before rifle season every year since 1996. Every year there are campers left on approaches and etc. just to claim there camp, is this topic kinda the same somewhat, my public stand is like claiming the spot. I don't know much about it because I scrape by each day just to afford my private land.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I would think that is why the law is written that way, you can use a stand on public land, but set up and take down each day. If you leave it on public land it is then free for anyone to use. Same with perm stands, you can build it on public land, but you can't lay claim to it if someone gets in it first.

[Big Dave2]

If you use that logic then the original owner could not remove it either if left over night, as it has become public property, they no longer would own it either.

You can't be serious, can you?

You are saying that if I see a stand left out on a WMA I should just take it home and make it mine?

The stand is public property while it is on public property.

[jbell1981]

No I don't believe that to be the case, I was simply using your tree analogy with a stand.

I was just re-reading the regs for stands on WMA and while it says that they must not be left over night, it doesn't say what happens to them if they are. Do they become public, do they remain the property of the owner, must a CO come and remove them? These are questions best left to a CO, since the book doesn't clarify.

For the record, I would never take a stand left illegally overnight on a WMA whether its legal or not, to me that would be a very un-ethical thing to do, however, the regs do not completely answer the question so someone else may think its thiers to take.

[sparcebag]

OK lets then say you left YOUR stand overnight,I got in it at 4AM you showed up at 5AM and said thats my stand,And I said OH OK when I get out of it at sundown you can have it back.What ya gonna do?

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Where's MrKlean on this when ya need him. I'd go back to that since it was on public land, the guy in the stand at 4am has claim to it

[Big Dave2]

OK lets then say you left YOUR stand overnight,I got in it at 4AM you showed up at 5AM and said thats my stand,And I said OH OK when I get out of it at sundown you can have it back.What ya gonna do?

I would absolutely let you hunt there and not say another word. In fact I would probably not even get close enough to talk to you if I saw you there ahead of time. It's a known rule that if it is left in the woods on public land it becomes usable by anyone. I would say some things about you under my breath of course, but that would be it. I'm just not that intense.

But on the flip-side, what kind of a guy are you if you get into someone else's stand in the first place and then if you don't get out when the owner comes. I know I would.

[dspohn]

No I don't believe that to be the case, I was simply using your tree analogy with a stand.

I was just re-reading the regs for stands on WMA and while it says that they must not be left over night, it doesn't say what happens to them if they are. Do they become public, do they remain the property of the owner, must a CO come and remove them? These are questions best left to a CO, since the book doesn't clarify.

For the record, I would never take a stand left illegally overnight on a WMA whether its legal or not, to me that would be a very un-ethical thing to do, however, the regs do not completely answer the question so someone else may think its thiers to take.

My dad and I were putting a stand up where genrally no one else hunts the evening before opener on WMA land. When we got back to the car we were confronted by a CO seeing what we were up to. My dad said we were setting a stand up for tomorow morn. and he said we can't because you're making it seem like thats YOUR spot and no one else can hunt it. he didn't make us take it down but said he would if we ever did again. So i guess they would take them down generally but not in our case.