New toy

I just got my new 4′ casting net in the mail. I am excited to use it for catching bait fish but need a little help.

Anybody ever use one of these? Where would you guys go to hunt the elusive minnow?

You want to use this in Minnesota?

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Where would you guys go to hunt the elusive minnow?

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I would try a lake…or a river

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You want to use this in Minnesota?

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Yes. As I understand the regs, it just has to be under 6′. Am I wrong?

Is it one of those circular throw nets? I tried it a little in Florida trying to catch shiners for *cough* bass. It was a long time ago, but what I do remember is that it is an art.

I can’t find anything in the regs about casting nets, unless they fall under dip net regs. Those cannot be larger that 24″ in diameter. I’ve been wanting to try seining or dip netting for chubs and suckers (Don’t worry Bob, you still are way more convenient on most days for me) and this post reminded me of that. I would definitely start in stream and river eddies.

Yep. It is the circle net.

Now I am worried about the legality, so I emailed the DNR.

My guess is the 24″ limit on dip nets would apply, as they are pretty much the same thing. If you need a helper, I might want to accompany you if I am available.

See, I am wondering if the seine rules or the dip net rules apply… Hopefully the DNR can let me know before tomorrow!!

Pug – if you truly want to watch me flail around while I try to learn how to throw this thing, you are welcome to it.

I’ve always known cast nets to be illegal.

Pg 71 of the regs explains legal methods of harvesting minnows & leeches with dip nets, traps, and seines.

A cast net is not a dip net, nor a seine. The fact that it is omitted from legal methods of harvesting minnows means that they are illegal IMO.

Will be interesting to hear the DNR’s interpretation. Let us know what you find out.

Cast nets are illegal in WI, I believe.

And Hanson’s explanation would explain why I couldn’t find anything but seines, traps and dip nets. Maybe you can put a little work into it and create a seine

Luckily, they are legal in WI on the boundary waters.

From the WI DNR in a section for bait dealers (you would need to be a bait dealer if you intend to posess more than 600 minnows at a time)and a special section on the WI-IA and WI-MN boundary waters:

Cast Nets: Minnow cast nets shall not exceed 7 feet in diameter or mesh of not more than one-half inch stretch measure. Cast nets may be used all year.

You can do it over here, so just cross that imaginary line a play all you want…

I got a response from the DNR that did not specifically address cast nets. I have asked a follow up question.

We’ll see!

Cast nets are NOT illegal… however, they are not clearly defined to what is legal. They are NOT a dip net, so 24″ doesnt apply to them.

I have talked directly to the CO and asked them the law and they were unsure, however, the 3 that were standing there watching me harvest bait did not feel that my 4′ cast net with 1/4″ mesh was illegal in Minnesota.

A 4′ cast net is 4′ from the CENTER to the outside rim of the net. This should hold the boundaries within the legal allowed seign nets that can only be 4′ tall, XX feet long with restricted mesh size no more than XXX mesh from bottom to top. A 4′ cast net with 1/4″, or 3/8″ mesh follows these guidelines.

Nowhere in the MN regs does it state cast nets are illegal.. It is not a dip, seign, or hoop net.

Not that MN needs more laws, it would be much easier if hey stated in the regs that cast nets are allowed up to X feet in diameter, and mesh X size and smaller. I suspect it will show up in future regulations with the growing popularity of these nets. As of right now without these nets specified, I suspect a person could use any size cast net as long as the mesh diameter was within legal boundaries and get away with it for catching minnows. I dont suggest using a net over 4′ unless you have a snag free area and dont want to spend half your day repairing your expensive net!

The only black and white input I got from the CO is when harvesting bait, you CAN NOT harvest minnows in infested waters… where I was harvesting was not.

Dave – I agree with what you are saying. However, I just got an email back from the DNR after clarifying what a casting net was:

Hello,
Casting nets would be illegal.

jim

James Abernathy
DNR Information Consultant
500 Lafayette Rd Box 40
St Paul Mn 55155
651-296-6157
1-888-646-6367

Now what am I to believe?

Oh boy, here we go again.

I officially remove myself from this thread.

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Hello,
Casting nets would be illegal.

jim

James Abernathy
DNR Information Consultant
500 Lafayette Rd Box 40
St Paul Mn 55155
651-296-6157
1-888-646-6367

Now what am I to believe?

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sounds pretty clear to me

This has been clarified by the MN DNR a number of times over the years. Dave, I suspect the CO gave you his thoughts and not what the laws are.

I know I’ve seen it in the statutes…but don’t have access to them from Everts.

This is similar to the 7″ bullhead transportation law…what a CO doesn’t know, can’t hurt you. That should not be taken as an endorsement to break a law that we know is the law.

So did you buy a good one?

Naw – just 20 bucks from Catfish Connection. Guess I will just save it for the border waters..

This is a tool used all over the US to collect bait. It should be stated in the regs clearly whether it’s legal to use one. It’s not like it’s an oddball thing.

Why do we always have to guess????

Ok, one more post. As long as the mesh or holes in the net are the same size as a seine or dip net, I don’t see what the difference is. What I mean is if we can use a dip net or seine, then a casting net should be legal too.

I now the regs state absolutely nothing about cast nets. I wll not tell anyone to break the law either.

I will continue to use my cast net until a CO shows me otherwise where it is printed in black and white that it is unlawful to use it.

I haveseen many days with as many as 10 cast nets being used at will all day long when the shad start running.. CO’s in full force checking everone, nobody recieves a citation or warning.

I am 99% positive this is simply sitting on how one person dictates the regulations vs another.

Theoreticly speaking.. a 4′ cast net would be equivelent to a 16′ seign net at the outer maximum extended diameter(8′ across wide open) which is sewn at the center creating even less net surface area. Far less net surface area than a 20′ seign where longer seigns are legal.

I guess I will have to contact the local CO to try to get the actual wording relatingto cast nets in the state of MN.

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Guess I will just save it for the border waters..

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Good luck with that!

If a MN resident can follow the WI laws on the WI side of the river…I can keep 25 catfish on the sippi (instead of 10!)

If I was brought to court about a cast net, I would call it a ‘malformed’ seine net where the top was all bunched together in the center of a circle — it’s more of a ‘catstable seine’. Basically just like Dave said.

Only problem is that with a 25 foot seine net length restriction, you’d be limited to 25/pi = 7.958 foot DIAMETER on your ‘castable malformed seine’. That’s slightly less than the 8 foot diameter of a “4 foot cast net”. The 4 footer with the 8 foot diameter would be about 25.132 feet long around the outer edge…

Oh Lord, after that post I deserve another beer.

Hey DFresh – Several years ago I did the same inquiry to the MN DNR about using cast nets. They responded back to me very quickly and told me that cast nets are not legal.

You mentioned you would save your cast net for the border waters. I would caution you about trying to harvest bait from border waters. The MN DNR specifically advised me that it is unlawful to harvest bait from the St Croix River because it is infested with Zebra Mussels. I wanted to catch some shad for bait from the St Croix and they told me that was not allowed. Now the Mississippi River has been designated as infested with Zebra Mussel and it is off limits for harvesting bait.

I would recommend you become thoroughly familar with the regulations from pages 67 to 72 of the 2007 Minnesota Fishing Regulations. I am very careful about where I harvest my bait from because the listing of Minnesota infested waters keeps growing and growing each year. It is tempting to try to catch your own bait but one citation and fine could probably buy you several years worth of bait from any local bait shop.

I’m sorry people around here aren’t having a good day. It sounds like all the rules are a bit much to comply with. It is almost like they didn’t know about castnets when they wrote the regs?

I used shad almost exclusively one year and quit the next because I moved away from the shad haven and fishing continues. My experience has been that if bait is toooo easy to catch, there is no use fishing there so you have to move on anyways. Well, that and they don’t keep very long.

I was really hoping he had bought a sweet net because mine has a bunch of holes in it

On the other hand, I found a bullhead hole. I have been wanting to try this wonderbait for some time. I can’t catch them in a castnet or buy them but at least there isn’t a slot limit on them here.

What the killer is….is that MN lists the Croix as “infested” and we’re not allowed to take bait…but WI…well…they don’t care.

Their half of the river must not be infested.

Pug…I’ll let you buy me a beer.

Not so fast Brian. It is a real pain around here too. I’d LOVE to be in MN where I could buy bullheads at a bait shop.

WI rules for VHS: The “connecting waters” part pretty much means the whole state for me.

Do not transport live fish, including
minnows, away from the Great Lakes,
Mississippi River, or Lake Winnebago
drainages.This includes tributaries up to the
first dam.

Do not use live bait unless it was purchased
from a Wisconsin bait dealer or legally
captured by you from the place you are
fishing.

Do not use cut bait from other waters (except
when fishing in Lake Michigan, and Green
Bay, or their tributaries up to the first dam

Kill all live fish,
including minnows, before you transport them
away from the Mississippi River, Lake Superior,
Lake Michigan, Green Bay and Lake Winnebago
or any connecting waters up stream to the first
dam or obstruction impassable by fish. Once
dead, the minnows may be buried, placed in a
waste container, or preserved by using salt, salt
brine, borax or some preservation method other
than freezing or refrigeration.

For the purpose of this
rule, “transporting” a live fish means to move the
fish to a different waterbody from where it was
caught. While fishing the same waterbody, you
can move your boat to a new location, or walk
along the shore to a new location, with live fish or
live fish eggs in your bait bucket or live well. Once
you leave that waterbody for the day, however,
you must kill all live fish, including unused
minnows.