i was doing some thinking (seldom, but it does happen on occasion) and i thought up a scenario dealing with the MN/WI bait issue.
if you are from MN, your bait for flatheads is restricted greatly, so for example, you would only bring along bullheads/suckers that are of legal length. YOUR BUDDY is from WI, and he joins you in the boat. I assume he could then go by his resident WI rules and bust out some bluegills and 8″ bullheads etc. i assume this would be legal…………… ??????
It is my belief that when I, as a Wis res., fish on the Min. side of the river, I must follow your rules. That is 6.5 in bullhead etc. You must know which side of the main channel your on. 
You are correct luckydog2. Also on pool 8, the MN / WI boundary does not follow the main channel. I recomend a good map of the boundary for whatever pool you fish and regulations for both sides. Also if I am fishing with gills on the WI. side and want to move to the MN side, I don’t take gills with me. I don’t want there to be any questions if I get checked 
I am not sure that you are correct about having to know which side of the main channel you are on. Page 52 of the Wisconsin regulation states the following:
Wisconsin – Minnesota Boundary Waters: Applies to the stretch of the Mississippi River shared by Wisconsin and Minnesota lying between the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroad tracks on the Wisconsin side of the river and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul, and Pacific railroad tracks on the Minnesota side of the river, including Lake Pepin and Lake St Croix; the St Croix River from the Burlington Northern railroad birdge at Prescott north to the point where the river is no longer a boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota; and the St Louis River, including St Louis Bay, Allouez Bay, Kimballs Bay, Little Pokegama Bay.
Under the Fishing Restrictions on the Border Waters it states: Wisconsin residents need a Wisconsin fishing license and Minnesota residents need a Minnesota license to fish in these boundary waters. Residents of other states need a nonresident license from Wisconsin or Minnesota. Regulations on these waters may differ between states. You must obey the regulations of the state in which you are fishing.
In my opinion, the critical piece of the Wisconsin regulation is the statement that defines the Wisconsin – Minnesota Boundary waters and then the fishing restriction which states: “You must obey the regulations of the state in which you are fishing.” I interpret this to mean, if you are a Wisconsin resident you follow Wisconsin regulations; if you are a Minnesota resident, you follow Minnesota regulations; and if you are fishing with a non-resident license from a state other than WI or MN, you follow the regulations of the state you bought the non-resident license from. I don’t believe you have to keep track of the main channel or state boundary, that is why they defined the boundary waters, as long as you stay within those boundary waters you can fish following your appropriate state’s regulations. From what I understand there is reciprocity between the states and you can launch from either shore and you can fish anyplace within the defined boundary area.
I could also be completely wrong 
, but that is how I read the WI regulation. 
One side note: If I was from a state other than WI or MN, and I was coming up to fish the border waters exclusively. I would take a moment to review the MN and WI fishing regulations. In my opinion, WI offers you a much more liberal approach to fishing those waters.
Yo Mudcat – In response to your initial question, you are completely right. The two fisherman, one from WI and one from MN, can both fish from the same boat but they would have different fishing restrictions based on the state of their residence. The WI guy can fish 3 rods, and use a wide range of live baits. As a matter of fact the WI guy could harvest bait (shad, perch, sunfish, bullheads, etc) from the boundary water using a cast net if he wanted. The MN guy gets 2 rods, cannot harvest bait from the boundary water, and is restricted to the MN definition of minnows. I wonder if the Conservation Officers ever check for this kind of thing? I wonder if they would ever sort out whose rod belongs to who, and what kind of bait is on the hook?
Soooo, lets be hypothetical again…If I buy a WI license next year, and not an MN one, and I launch from Prescott…What bait would I be allowed to use? Or is it the “Resident” tag that screws me?
It will be your Driver’s License or Boat Registration.
Let’s say I’ve never fished in my life…figured I would go to WI, buy a license and fish tbe MN/WI waters following the WI rules. The WI DNR wouldn’t bother me, but if I was check buy MN….BUSTED….because you have to follow the state of residency.
PS…If you call the WI DNR office in Madison…as I did, they will tell you to follow the WI mid channel boundry. The MN DNR will tell you there isn’t any imaginary line…
Hunting laws are differant from my understanding. 
I’m confused!
After reading Comanchero’s reply…”take a big pocket book with ya”…. I also made the call. I was told by WI and MN DNR by follow the regulations of the state you are fishing in depends on which side of the line you are fishing.
So now what
Tuck – Your “resident” tag screws you. Last time I was license checked they ask to see my fishing license and my photo ID. If they were checking for this regulation, your non-resident fishing license and your MN Drivers License is a Gotcha.
I have often wondered about people that live in MN and own a cabin on a WI lake and only fish the lake their cabin is on. Can they buy a resident WI license? Or are they stuck buying a WI non-resident license and then having to follow MN rules when fishing in WI?
Steve…I think this is only for Boarder Waters.
If you’re fishing an inland river…you can cast net, use gills and all the rest that that would make us “poachers” in MN.
I don’t think I’m going to be the one to test this…BUT…
Could a person from MN that has a WI license…plead discrimination if ticketed for…lets just pick one…using 3 lines on the St Croix?
After all…If I’m from ANY OTHER state, I wouldn’t be breaking the law because I’m following the WI rules and that’s where I bought my license…BUT ONLY because I reside in MN…am I in violation….
Anyone think that would be a valid defense?
at any rate all you guys wish you were from Wisconsin
Hudson anyway…
Any lawyers out there that would want to take it on “Pro-Bono?” (No, that is not another clonking term! Get your mind out of the gutter )
We could draw straws to see you gets to pick Brian as the Guinea pig.
Hmmm….sounds like “heads you win…tail I lose” deal to me….I’m in!
It doesn’t matter where your license was issued when “you must obey the regulations of the state in which you are fishing”.
To me, and I’ve had wardens confirm this, this means the state in which you are geographically located at the time of fishing – i.e. where you are on the river.
Think about jurisdiction. A MN warden will not bust me when I’m fishing in Wisconsin – never been checked by one – wouldn’t hold up in court if he tried unless I was doing something that’s illegal in both states and possibly not even then. A federal warden will not bother with the legal subtlety of bait because, frankly, they have no clue how it works. They want you to have a registered boat, good running lights, and enough life jackets, and not be drunk.
That’s the problem Matt…I’ve had CO’s from MN and WI tell me the opposite of each other…try fishing 3 lines (on the boarder waters with a MN license on the WI side of the Croix…It does hold up in court! 
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It doesn’t matter where your license was issued when “you must obey the regulations of the state in which you are fishing”.
To me, and I’ve had wardens confirm this, this means the state in which you are geographically located at the time of fishing – i.e. where you are on the river.
Think about jurisdiction. A MN warden will not bust me when I’m fishing in Wisconsin – never been checked by one – wouldn’t hold up in court if he tried unless I was doing something that’s illegal in both states and possibly not even then. A federal warden will not bother with the legal subtlety of bait because, frankly, they have no clue how it works. They want you to have a registered boat, good running lights, and enough life jackets, and not be drunk.
I’ll believe this when you can tell me where I can buy a border water license. Right now, I can have a MN license, and stand on the shore in Prescott and fish boundary waters. I have done it, and have been checked.
Here is the scoop from our MN Regs:
When Minnesota’s fishing regulations differ from a bordering state’s
regulations, Minnesota residents and persons fishing under a Minnesota
non-resident license must comply with the Minnesota regulations and
may not exercise more liberal fishing privileges in the waters of the
bordering state. The exception is fish houses, which do not need to be
licensed if the bordering state does not require a license. Currently,
Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota do not require a fish house
license. So, please check other state regulation booklets and the
Experimental and Special Regulations section of this booklet (pages
32–54) for different regulations that might apply.
Unless otherwise noted, all general regulations relating to angling
methods, licensing, seasons, limits, possession and transportation of
fish, apply to border waters (see pages 17–27). While on or fishing these
waters, all fish must be within the specified length limits regardless of
where caught.
So, you my WI brethren may fish from my boat, using your bait, and all three of your cat rods, and I must suffer with my small bullheads, and two rods. 
But you will have to fish out of the left side of my boat so that you are on the WI side! 
When will it all end?
You guys twist this around enough ways? I am confused on what everyone even thinks anymore.
Me, as a MN resident, even if I dont have a MN fishing license, and I buy a WI fishing license and fish the MN/WI border waters… I must follow the boder water rules for my state of residence.. 2 lines, bullies, etc.. for the boarder waters, tributaries, etc.. everything classified as a border water.
The exact same applies for the WI resident. They must follow their state laws appointed to the border water.. the entire border water, not just the WI side of the river. They can use whatever means of angling legal by their laws…3 lines, sunfish, eating cheese… this includes the MN side of the river, and any tributary considered border waters.. WI laws still apply to WI residents.
So, if a MN angler has a MN license and a WI license.. they are still stuck to MN laws on the border waters… Wisconsin residents obviously have way less restrictive laws.
I am 100% positive this is correct.
Last winter my son and I were fishing the Minnesota side of the river below Alma. We had two tip-ups and a jig-pole apiece. A gentlemen from Alma advised us that we were ” IN GREAT VIOLATION” of the fishing laws of the “great state of Minnesota”. According to him the treble hooks on our tipups counted as three lines each. So we were each fishing with 7 lines apiece according to MN law.
Well, with little hesitation, we yanked one each tipup and he borrowed us two little spinner blades for our tipups to make it legal as an artificial. We then called the MN DNR and they told us that we had to abide by MN law when we were west of the imaginary line on the river, regardless of our license origin. :
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It doesn’t matter where your license was issued when “you must obey the regulations of the state in which you are fishing”.
To me, and I’ve had wardens confirm this, this means the state in which you are geographically located at the time of fishing – i.e. where you are on the river.
Think about jurisdiction. A MN warden will not bust me when I’m fishing in Wisconsin – never been checked by one – wouldn’t hold up in court if he tried unless I was doing something that’s illegal in both states and possibly not even then. A federal warden will not bother with the legal subtlety of bait because, frankly, they have no clue how it works. They want you to have a registered boat, good running lights, and enough life jackets, and not be drunk.
I’ll believe this when you can tell me where I can buy a border water license.
I’m not disputing that you can use whichever license to actually fish, just that the regulations to which you must abide depend upon which state you are fishing in. Unfortunately, it looks as if MN likes to keep tabs on their own anglers even when they are fishing the WI side of the river, but the reverse is not true. Probably because the Wisconsin laws are the more liberal in about every case. However, being from Wisconsin, I must comply to MN regulations across the imaginary line. I don’t need a MN license, but need to follow Minnenazi rules. Makes me glad my pools have the vast majority of good flat water on the WI side.
WI residents need a WI fishing license and MN residents need a MN fishing license to fish WI/MN boundary waters. If you are a resident of either state fishing with only a non-resident license from the other state, you are doing so illegally. Same for WI/IA and WI/MI boundary waters.
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Minnenazi rules
Matt…if what you said above is what was in your first post…sorry, you are soooo correct!
TBarrette, you are correct too…we were just trying to think of loop holes so the MN guys could use better bait and more rods and the WI guys didn’t have to eat cheese…
If any warden (And they wont!) tells you that there is an imagenary line in the river, kindly refer to this exerpt from the MN State fishing regulations:
Mississippi River (downstream of Prescott, Wisconsin and all waters between the Burlington Northern [Wisconsin] and Chicago Milwaukee [Minnesota] railroad tracks), Lake Pepin, St. Croix River, Lake St. Croix, St. Louis River, St. Louis Bay, and Superior Bay.
That should about settle it. The bigger picture is:
I think we should have border regulations for both states the same so that there is no differentiation between the two. Bait or otherwise! I sent another letter to Linda Erickson and asked her if she would just ask a senator or a DNR representative why my buddy from WI can use 3 poles and perch and sunfish in my boat, and my laws state that I can only have two rods, and bullheards under 7″? That is really stupid!
Tuck
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…we were just trying to think of loop holes so the MN guys could use better bait
hehehe………. go to college fulltime in WI for (going on) 5 years and they let u buy a resi licence. 
sssshhh….
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If any warden (And they wont!) tells you that there is an imagenary line in the river, kindly refer to this exerpt from the MN State fishing regulations:
That should about settle it.
That settles it from the MN side, but the WI regs clearly state that where regulations differ, you fish according to the rules of the state you are in (which I interpret to mean the state in which you are currently fishing – i.e. which side of the state line – and which WI wardens have confirmed for me, although they’ll never track after me to the MN side, so they say).
Defining what waters are “boundary” waters doesn’t really clear up the issue at all when each state has its own regs for the boundary waters.
If a single set of boundary waters regs means a shift toward the MN way from where we’re at over here, which it almost certainly would, count me out!
I’d say the same regs for everyone on the “border waters” of the Mississippi would be a great idea. Use sunfish,bigger bullheads and more (attended) lines all you want…Only I would say ALL flatheads must be released alive. 
You are absolutely Correct Flathead. As a WI res. we do have to pay attention to the imaginary line.
I would also hate to see MN regulations screw up the way I can fish now
I also see where the MN res. are coming from…..who doesn’t want to be able to fish with gills 
Flathead WI,
Refer to what Comanchero 15 stated above:
WISCONSIN – MINNESOTA BOUNDARY WATERS
Applies to the stretch of the Mississippi River shared by Wisconsin and Minnesota lying between the Burlington Northern and
Santa Fe railroad tracks on the Wisconsin side of the river and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific railroad tracks on the
Minnesota side of the river, including Lake Pepin and Lake St. Croix; the St. Croix River from the Burlington Northern railroad
bridge at Prescott north to the point where the river is no longer a boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota; and the St. Louis
River, including St. Louis Bay, Superior Bay, Allouez Bay, Kimballs Bay, Little Pokegama Bay, and Pokegama Bay.
FISHING RESTRICTIONS ON WISCONSIN—MINNESOTA BOUNDARY WATERS
• Goldfish and alewife may not be possessed or used for bait. Live crayfish may be used for bait on the Mississippi River ONLY— not on other
Wisconsin-Minnesota boundary waters.
• It is illegal to fish using any method other than hook and line within 200 feet of any fishway, lock or dam on the Mississippi River and within 200 feet of
these structures on any other water.
• Motor trolling IS permitted on Wisconsin-Minnesota boundary waters.
• Wisconsin residents need a Wisconsin fishing license and Minnesota residents need a Minnesota license to fish in these boundary waters. Residents of
other states need a nonresident license from Wisconsin or Minnesota. Regulations on these waters may differ between states. You must obey the
regulations of the state in which you are fishing.
• Fishing is prohibited within 300 feet below the Red Wing Dam and Alma Dam from March 1 through April 30 and within 300 feet below the Onalaska
Dam from March 15 through April 25.
• Ice fishing: Anglers’ names must be prominently displayed on ice fishing shelters (portable or otherwise) in the WI/MN boundary waters.
Tell me again where you are coming up with this imaginary line down the River? This was taken directly from the WI Rules and Regs book for 2005. I am not trying to be a dink or anything, but when people say “I think it is this way… and it is not, it screws things up. You guys over there to the east have the same border water guidlines as we do regarding the real estate we can fish.
Bait and poles are a different story. So again, if a Warden says to you anything about an imaginary line, (And they shouldn’t!) whip this out. 
Tuck
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