New Info. Regarding Opener

Here they go again The WI DNR has just informed me of a new decision regarding opener this Sat.

Here’s what the Boys in Madison had to say,

“If you hold a valid Wisconsin fishing license on April 30, 2005, you MAY fish the Minnesota side of the boundary waters for game fish such as walleye and bass. Panfishing will be open on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River on April 30, 2005. We have been informed that the Wisconsin and Minnesota wardens are all on board with this determination. This means that the western half of the river will open for game fish such as walleye and bass under Minnesota regulations on April 30, 2005 and the Wisconsin half of the river will open for game fish such as walleye and bass on May 7, 2005.

The center of the river represents the boundary between MN and WI. Until May 7th you need to stay on the MN side of the St. Croix River when fishing for game fish species. Think of an imaginary line going the length of the river down the middle. If you do decide to fish these boundary waters on April 30, 2005 for game fish species such as walleye and bass, please be sure to stay on the Minnesota “half” of the river. If you are fishing for panfish you may be on the Wisconsin side of the river.We are sorry for any confusion the different regulations between our two states have caused.”

Lindy
In-Depthangling Field Staff
http://www.fishthestcroix.com
[email protected]
715-220-2777

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I’m sorry! It’s not funny!

But it’s so unbelievable!

Lindy, I bet a quarter that the MN DNR will tell you something differant. It’s going to be a fun opener!

No disrespect to the WI guys.

Just for clarification…

What they’re saying is..if you have a MN OR WI license, you can’t fish on the WI side until the 7th?

That’s is what they are saying. It realy is kind of amusing though I had asked them about the WI side being closed until May 7th before they decided to honor the MN Opener and they said “NO!” None of their decisions are realy making sense. I hope they get this straightened out before next year.

Lindy
In-Depthangling Field Staff
http://www.fishthestcroix.com
[email protected]
715-220-2777

FYI~ I copied you on an email to the MN DNR. I’ll post the response here..likely Tuesday.

I think us WI. guys are getting the shaft! You guys can fish the Minn side of the Croix before the opener, then why can’t I fish the St Louis on our opener? Why do I have to wait for the Minn opener. Something is right here?

Sorry Nate. I am going to have to go with my second choice for fishing partner this weekend. My attorney.

This has to be some kinda of sick joke. Some one needs to get in there and settle these boys down before they do something more stupid like perminetly split the river. In my mind the only way they could of came up with a great idea like this was that this was the final out come of a pissing match between the 2 sides.

I will be on the phone tommorrow also.

Any ideas on how they plan on inforceing something like this. The majority of people dont have a clue that anything like this is going on. What they read in the regs is it. To me it seems like a pretty tough road to start changing the regs after the book has been out. Maybe they will state the change on the tickets they give out.

Mike, WI has split the river…for years. MN is the one that says there isn’t a midline boundry…and you have to follow the MN rules ALL over the river (with a MN Lic).

Personally, if this is true (and I’m afraid it is) I think Everyone is getting the shaft.

according to the WI DNR Outdoor Report dated 4/7/05 and I quote “The walleye and sauger fishing opener on the St Croix river will start on April 30 this year. Minnesota regs state the opener is April 30 while WI regs state May 7. The correct date should be April 30.”
I printed off a copy and will carry it on Saturday.
I’ve seen nothing updated on their website.

OK…I’m not going to laugh.

I called the Madison office…two folks told me May 7th…

I called the local enforcement supervisor, Marty Ingals. He said

There was a mistake in the regs. All the enforcement officers along the Croix will not be enforcing the May 7th date.

Again, if you call the Madison office…they will tell you another story.

In a nutshell…We’ll see you all over the river this saturday.

NOW I’M GOING TO LAUGH!

Just received a call from Joe Hennessy (Warm Water Rules and Regulations Specialist)out of Madison (608-267-9427).

He stated what Marty told me was incorrect. You will only be able to fish the MN side of the river this Saturday. Also that the WI DNR Outdoor report dated 4/7/05 was wrong and will be removed from there site.

It sounds to me that the local CO’s doen’t want to hassle everyone…but the folks in Madison say it’s the law and they have to enforce it.

The local MN DNR CO, Joel Heyn, stated “WI made a mistake and whether your from MN or WI you’ll be able to fish boarder to border this Saturday”.

I’m done calling…it’s too confusing.

See you somewhere on the Croix this weekend. Better make sure you have a fishing license!

A line in the middle of the Croix? How funny. There is no reason for this type of miscommunication over a fishing opener issue. The law enforcement should be ashamed at this example of their inability to communicate internally. Shame shame shame.

I hope they plan on resolving this internal communication issue in the very near future before someone gets hurt because of it.

unenforceable in my opinion.
Wi side I’m panfishing and MN I’m fishing eye’s. I’m still bringing the article with me and pleading ignorance if I’m stopped.

I agree that it’s crazy that they have not been able to officially resolve this, but I think the bottom line is this:
Madison will be sitting in their offices reading the rulebooks while the local enforcement officers(who write the actual tickets) will be out on the water. The local DNR officers on both sides have said April 30th is opening day.
They’ll still be writing tickets for things like fire extinguishers, lifejackets/throwables, BUI and stuff like that, so be smart. But I think you’re in the clear for fishing from shore to shore.
Ingy

Thanks for passing this on SteveO. You may want to print this and take it along….

Wisconsin Outdoor Report as of April 7, 2005

WEST CENTRAL REGION

Baldwin DNR Service Center area

Ice has left most small ponds and is almost gone from area lakes. Migrating waterfowl are showing up in great numbers in the area ponds, lakes and marshes. Good numbers of migrating eagles can be seen on area rivers and lakes. Water levels on the Mississippi River are high and fishing for walleye and sauger has been fair to slow. Some very large walleye have been reported in the Red Wing area. Walleyes have been found in shallow water while more of the sauger catches are being made in deeper areas of the Mississippi River. Most of the ice on the Saint Croix River is gone, water levels are up but far from flooding this year. The walleye and sauger fishing opener on the Saint Croix river will start on April 30 this year. Minnesota regulations state the opener is April 30 while Wisconsin regulations state May 7 . The correct date should be April 30.

Right on Ingy they biffed this one so bad at this point that I think they are going to have a real hard time enforcing any closure of the river until the 7th, and if local DNR say it’s open then it’s open. Still I think I’ll play it by ear and ask the wardens out there how it’s going to be run until the 7th.

Lindy
In-Depthangling Field Staff
http://www.fishthestcroix.com
[email protected]
715-220-2777

I got on the DNR contact list for this issue because I emailed them a question about the opener. After receiving 5 emails this morning stating that they will be dividing the river, I just got this one from Mark Burmesch, WDNR Regional Enforcement Leader:

Hi Pete,

I apologize for the added confusion, but based on some more erroneous informational releases, we’ve decided to just make this easy. We’ve discussed this matter considerably today. The intent of the law is to have a consistent opener with MN. There are a number of complexities in this situation due to the fact that this is a boundary water. However, due to incorrect information that has been disseminated to the public regarding the opening date, the WI DNR will not be taking enforcement action related to season dates for individuals walleye fishing in the WI side of the Lower St. Croix River between April 30th and May 7th, 2005. Consistent with past practice, WI DNR will be honoring the walleye opening to be consistent with MN. We apologize for the confusion, and will be working to correct this in the future. Have a safe and enjoyable fishing season!

sweet

Welcome aboard fishfry. Good frying pan you decided to jump into with this one. Sounds like that person you talked to had some common sence going on. Now they just have 3.5 days to go. That leaves plenty of time for them to brain storm up more great ideas. Fishing just isnt the same with out a little controversie.

Thanks for sharing Fishfry! GREAT FIRST POST!

What area are you going to be hammering Saturday?

Just In! All the St.Croix Eyes know about the regulations, and all have decided to swim to the Wisconsin shoreline Friday night. Goofiest, most messed up fiasco I’ve ever seen. Good Luck everyone, I’ll be at work this weekend, see you later this month on the “Rivers”.

Briank – I plan on -ing the eyes somewhere around Hudson. I’ve actually never fished the Croix before since I just moved here, but I’m looking forward to it! I’m used to fishing the Missouri, so I’m hoping the walleye fishing is similar. Do you fish the lower Croix or up by Osceola or something? I was up near Grantsburg on a canoe trip a long time ago, sure is a beautiful river. Looking forward to actually fishing it

Fishfry…about the only thing (that I know of)that you could compare the Criox to the Missouri..is that thier names both end in “river”.

The Croix is somewhat more like fishing a lake in the Hudson area. The northern stretch above Stillwater is differant (more like a “river”) than below.

The Hudson channel is a good bet…but there will be 100 boats in there. Same with the Kinni narrows. But again, I would bet that between those two spots, that’s where the majority of the fish are caught on opening weekend.

Jigging is aways a good bet anyplace you can find structure..which can be in the middle of the river. Because the water is high…don’t forget to fish shallow…like 1 to 5 feet shallow.

I’ll be running around in a Green Lund with an American Flag flying high from the anchor light. Wave or pull up if you see me!

Good Luck to all!

So if I have a WI license, I can fish the MN side for walleye or sauger, but I can’t fish for smallies anywhere.

Walleyes will hit suspending jerkbaits right?

Well the DNR in Madison just informed me they are onboard w/ the local authorities and the hole river is entirely open this weekend so don’t sweat it. Sorry if I caused any confusion about this just did’nt want anyone getting in trouble. Had to pass along what the DNR was telling me.
BomberA you are right you can fish the hole river w/ a WI or MN license on the 30th. Also, smallie season doesn’t open until May 28th.

Briank – I hope the fishing will be close to as good as the Missouri, that’s what I meant. Below Pierre, where I usually fished early in the season, there were tons of walleyes/saugers, but the limit is 3/day and min. 15″ for everything. Had to do a lot of sorting some days as people picked them over. It sure was a fantastic place to catch numbers of fish. Big white bass too.

Gotcha FF!

I don’t know…with…what five fronts coming in over this last week…I’m not sure …but I’ll be able to tell ya in 48 hours!