Hey Mates,
After exchanging a couple emails with Officer Thor Nelson he did some more thorough research and came up with some definitive answers to Cast Nets and Bullheads with some details on the statues and ordinances.
Listed below is Officers Nelsons response that was sent in a recent email.
Mr. Haugh,
It was good to meet you on the River as well! I’m sorry I haven’t replied until
now. It has been a very busy week for all of us from the Enforcement Division
of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. We completed the hosting of a
week long training conference in St. Paul in which 300-400 Conservation Officers
from all over the US and Canada were in attendance. It was a monumental task in
which we were all involved. This is the first time the conference has been held
in Minnesota since it’s inception in the 1980’s and it probably won’t return to
Minnesota for 30 years or more.
I have researched the cast netting issue more thoroughly through the Department
of Natural Resources’ Legal Analyst and also through the Fisheries Program
Coordinator. I made an error when I replied to PierBridge’s email some time ago
in when I told him that it was legal to collect baitfish with cast nets. It is
NOT LEGAL to use cast nets. I was hoping that you would help me rectify my
error by placing the following information on the IDA board so that we can put
the topic to rest with a definitive answer:
Dear IDA staff and visitors,
I want to thank you for the positive feedback you have given me. I wish to do
the best job that I am able to in regards to protecting Minnesota’s natural
resources by enforcing the laws while taking the time to educate and answer
questions along the way. I am human and do make mistakes however. You must
realize that I am responsible for enforcing the regulations for fishing,
hunting, boating, ATVs, snowmobiles, off-highway motorcycles, off-road vehicles,
wetlands, public waters alterations, fires, pollution, state parks and more.
That is a wealth of material! I hastily answered an email from PierBridge a
while ago in which I told him that using cast nets to take baitfish and rough
fish (after May 1st) was legal. I have done more research and found that I
passed on some incorrect information. The use of cast nets is NOT LEGAL. I
regret the mixed answers that some of you have been getting from different
sources within the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Cast netting is
very common in the southern states and especially off-shore but it isn’t a
common practice in Minnesota, like seining and minnow trapping are. I apologize
for my error and on behalf of my Department for the differing information you
have received and I will take you through the laws and logic involving cast
nets. I will also give you some information on the bullheads as bait concerns
you have and at the end, I have listed the email address and telephone number of
Roy Johannes, the Fisheries Program Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources. Mr. Johannes is a wonderful resource and he welcomes any
questions you may have.
The State of Minnesota has established a search engine for statutes and
permanent rules that may be used if any of you so desire. It is located at
http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/statutes.asp The following passages are copied
and pasted from that webpage and they include Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota
Rules that govern the use of nets and traps for the taking of baitfish:
97C.345 RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND POSSESSION OF NETS AND SPEARS.
Subdivision 1. Period when use prohibited. Except as specifically
authorized, a person may
not take fish from the third Monday in February to April 30 with a spear, fish
trap, net, dip net,
seine, or other device capable of taking fish.
Subd. 2. Possession. (a) Except as specifically authorized, a person may not
possess a
spear, fish trap, net, dip net, seine, or other device capable of taking fish on
or near any waters.
Possession includes personal possession and in a vehicle.
(b) A person may possess spears, dip nets, bows and arrows, and spear guns
allowed under
section 97C.381 on or near waters between sunrise and sunset from May 1 to the
last Sunday
in February, or as otherwise prescribed by the commissioner.
Subd. 3. Dip nets. A person may possess and use a dip net between one hour
before sunrise
and one hour after sunset from May 1 to the third Sunday in February.
Subd. 4. Exceptions. Subdivisions 1 to 3 do not apply to:
(1) nets used to take rainbow smelt during the open season;
(2) nets used to land game fish taken by angling;
(3) seines or traps used for the taking of minnows for bait;
(4) nets, seines, or traps possessed and used under an aquatic farm license; and
(5) angling equipment.
Subd. 5. Rules. The commissioner may adopt rules to regulate the use of nets
to take fish.
97C.511 MINNOW SEINES.
Subdivision 1. Size restrictions. Except as provided in subdivision 2, a
person may not take
minnows with a seine longer than 25 feet, and deeper than:
(1) 148 meshes of 1/4 inch bar measure;
(2) 197 meshes of 3/16 inch bar measure; or
(3) four feet of material of less than 3/16 inch bar measure.
Subd. 2. Licensed minnow dealers. A minnow dealer may take minnows with a
seine that is
not longer than 50 feet, and not deeper than:
(1) 222 meshes of 1/4 inch bar measure;
(2) 296 meshes of 3/16 inch bar measure; or
(3) six feet of material of less than 3/16 inch bar measure.
6254.0500 DEFINITIONS, EXEMPTIONS, AND IDENTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR TAKING MINNOWS IN TRAPS AND NETS.
Subp. 2. Definitions.
A. A “minnow trap” is any device, other than a hoop
net or trap net, used for the capture of minnows or leeches.
6254.0100 PERMITTED ACTIVITIES FOR TAKING MINNOWS.
Subp. 3. Minnow trap specifications for persons not
licensed as minnow dealers.
A. A person not licensed as a minnow dealer may use
minnow traps not exceeding 30 inches in width or length or 15
inches in height. The diameter or width of the opening must not
exceed 1-1/2 inches and mesh size may not exceed one-half inch
bar mesh.
B. A person not licensed as a minnow dealer may not
use minnow traps with leads.
Please notice the “Exceptions” that are listed in 97C.345 Subdivision 4. These
are the activities that ARE PERMITTED. Cast nets are not listed there, only
seines and traps so cast nets are not permitted. I have included the
definitions of “minnow seine” (97C.511 above) and the definition of a “minnow
trap” 6254.0500 Subpart 2, Paragraph A. In addition, cast nets do not fit the
size requirements of a seine because they are too large as you can see above.
The closest definition to a cast net as provided in statute and rule is a minnow
trap, however minnow traps may not exceed 30 inches in length or 15 inches in
height except by people operating under a commercial license. These dimensions
won’t accommodate even the smallest of cast nets either. A few of you have
asked what the point is of these regulations. I understand that the size
requirements are in place to protect the walleye and other gamefish that are
palagic (surface feeding) as juveniles. These juvenile gamefish are very
susceptible to being netted until they are approximately 3 inches in length when
they begin to move out of the upper water columns, where cast nets work best.
On to the bullheads. Currently bullheads can be used as bait if they are not
over 7 inches in length. The reason for the 7 inch size limit, historically,
was because they were common incidental catches in commercial minnow netting and
trapping operations. The Department of Natural Resources Division of Fisheries
is currently working on a rule change that will allow the use of bullheads as
bait if they are not over 10 inches in length. This rule change is being made
because it is recognized that bullheads are an excellent channel and flathead
catfish bait and the rule change will most likely be completed and included for
the 2008 fishing season.
Mr. Roy Johannes, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Program
Coordinator welcomes your questions and he is available through email at
[email protected] and is available by telephone at (651) 259-5213.
Thor Nelson
Conservation Officer
Department of Natural Resources
Division of Enforcement
(952) 233-3587
[email protected]
to Larry for following through!
OK Brian, I said river, not just the other side!
Just a thought.
