Eating Walleye On The Lake

What are the rules for eating fish on the ice while spending a 3 day weekend?
I am guessing you can but would imagine there is a criteria to follow.

Thanks for any replies.

WS

The carcass need to be intact and measurable. Meaning not frozen, and not sliced in two. Example, do not remove the head.
You can only have one limit per person on hand at any time, carcasses plus unfilleted fish. To do this means take the carcasses to shore and dump them each day so that you can start a new limit.

Good questions. I have a similar question on LOTW. It says the possession limit is 8 (only 4 can be walleyes). If you catch your limit on day one and have them frozen and in your cabin that would be all you could keep for the trip…is that correct? This is assuming you don’t eat any. Thanks in advance.

tgruenke wrote:

If you catch your limit on day one and have them frozen and in your cabin that would be all you could keep for the trip…is that correct?

That would be correct, unless you eat some so they are out of your possession. You’d also have to count any that you may have in your possession elsewhere, like your freezer back at home.

tgruenke wrote:

Good questions. I have a similar question on LOTW. It says the possession limit is 8 (only 4 can be walleyes). If you catch your limit on day one and have them frozen and in your cabin that would be all you could keep for the trip…is that correct? This is assuming you don’t eat any. Thanks in advance.

Assuming you are talking about the MN side of LOTW, you are correct. Daily and possession limits are the same in MN, unless otherwise specified. For walleye and sauger, daily and possession are the same.
Fish in the freezer are in possession. Eat them and start over the next day.

I don’t know about Canada’s rules having never fished there.

In Canada the rules for possession are similar but depend if you have a sports or conservation licence.
Sports licence is 2 walleye /saugar /day.4 in possession (in Canada), over the course of 2 days or more
Possession is any fish you have on shore or with you. If you have a shore lunch those fish count as part of your daily limit.

conservation licence is 2/day and only 2 in possession, Walleye and sager are counted as the same.

This would be on the MN side.
THanks

Thank you for the thorough reply regarding Mille Lacs

WS

Whopper Stopper wrote:

Thank you for the thorough reply regarding Mille Lacs

WS

Technically, on Mille Lacs, if you keep your one fish, you have reached a daily possession limit and must stop fishing for walleye.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Whopper Stopper wrote:</div>
Thank you for the thorough reply regarding Mille Lacs

WS

Technically, on Mille Lacs, if you keep your one fish, you have reached a daily possession limit and must stop fishing for walleye.

-J.

I think Whopper Stopper was being sarcastic being that all the replies were for lakes/areas other than Mille Lacs. I did see his OP was in Mille Lacs forum.

Regarding keeping your one fish and then being done or still being able to C&R, I still wonder? On another forum a while ago this question was debated back and forth and I don’t remember the conclusion. I’m sure it’s in the reg book if anyone has it handy?

Here are the Mille Lacs regs from the DNR website. Pretty clear. Statewide general regs apply unless specifically noted. Possession limit is one.

Mille Lacs Regulations

This lake has special fishing regulations that differ from statewide or border water regulations for those species identified below and take precedence. Unless otherwise mentioned all general regulations, seasons, limits, possession, transportation and border water regulations apply.

including all tributaries from the mouth upstream to posted boundaries

Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass: Bass season is open May 14 – February 26. Prior to May 28, all largemouth bass and smallmouth bass must be immediately released. Beginning May 28, combined possession limit is four, with only one bass over 21″. All bass 17″-21″ must be immediately released.
Northern Pike: Possession limit is five, with only one greater than or equel to 30″. Two northern pike less than 30″ must be in immediate possession (taken the same day from Mille Lacs) befor harvesting one greater than or equel to 30″. The winter angling season is open through March 26, 2017. Spearing season open through February 26, 2017.
Tullibee (Cisco): Possession limit ten.
Walleye: All less than 19″ or greater than 21″ must be immediately released, except one over 28″ allowed in possession. Possession limit one.
No culling or live-well sorting: Fish taken into possession are considered part of an angler’s bag limit and cannot be exchanged with another fish. However smallmouth bass and largemouth bass may be culled following statewide culling rules.

Mille Lacs… if you keep one walleye you are done. No C&R. It is frustrating but makes sense.

If you were to have a fish in possession and were C&R fishing, the moment that you have that C&R fish in your hand to unhook and release you have 2 in possession…

Correct. It’s just important to know the rule if you get checked. If you have your one walleye in possession and the CO asks what you are fishing for, the answer is PERCH!

-J.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jon Jordan wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Whopper Stopper wrote:</div>
Thank you for the thorough reply regarding Mille Lacs

WS

Technically, on Mille Lacs, if you keep your one fish, you have reached a daily possession limit and must stop fishing for walleye.

-J.

I think Whopper Stopper was being sarcastic being that all the replies were for lakes/areas other than Mille Lacs. I did see his OP was in Mille Lacs forum.

Regarding keeping your one fish and then being done or still being able to C&R, I still wonder? On another forum a while ago this question was debated back and forth and I don’t remember the conclusion. I’m sure it’s in the reg book if anyone has it handy?

Before I get blasted I wasn’t being sarcastic about the one reply for Mille Lacs, sorry if it was taken that way. I asked a question and Kyhl was kind enough to reply with what was a thorough enough reply for me. I am glad that by asking my question tgruenke was able to get a couple of replies to his added question. I just said Thanks because on forums many do not have the manners to thank those that take the time. and I appreciated it.

With the addition of JJ’s replies I am pretty well set for when we get up there.

Again Thanks to those that helped clear things up for me.

WS

ptc wrote:

Mille Lacs… if you keep one walleye you are done. No C&R. It is frustrating but makes sense.

If you were to have a fish in possession and were C&R fishing, the moment that you have that C&R fish in your hand to unhook and release you have 2 in possession…

I agree with your first statement, it is kind of what I remember. Certainly a disincentive to keep anything if you are planning on fishing for the day…or 3 days unless you eat it right away that day.

I think you’re wrong on the second statement. Catching and returning a fish immediately back into the water does not constitute “possession”.
Under that theory, any fish unintentionally caught out of season, or outside of the allowed harvest slot (if there is one), would be in possession, which is not what the regs say or imply.

My interpretation of the rule keys in on the word “immediate” release. Not catch, measure, screw around with a camera, drop the fish on the floor, pick up, take 10 photos then release. If its immediate release, its not considered possession. I believe that is the spirit of the rule and how it is enforced. Not just on Mille Lacs.

-J.

Right. So how does keeping one fish preclude someone from continuing to fish? I’ve seen that mentioned before and always seems to be wrong.

Once you reach your limit you do not have to stop fishing. I’d like to see where that is written in the regs.
Once you reach your limit you can no longer cull, but you could not cull walleye on ML anyway.

Conservation officer checked us on LOTW this year and we asked all these questions.
1) Possession and limits are the same, and you count the ones in your stomach as possession.
2) Once you catch your limit your done for that species, no catch and release.

We had our limit and he said “let me give you my talk” he went on to tell us the rules. Then he said “now if you were perch fishing” and at that moment 31lifer pulls up a 13″ jumbo. Priceless!

jezz don’t be so paranoid its a dam fish u guys! get a life

bobberstop4054 wrote:

jezz don’t be so paranoid its a dam fish u guys! get a life

They just don’t want a ticket…jezz

More from the rule book.

Lets assume you have 4 people staying in your perm shack on Mille Lacs. One person has caught and kept one legal size walleye. All 4 can continue to fish for walleye until that 4th fish is taken into possession.

From the regs – Party Fishing:

What if people are fishing together from a boat or on shore?
A party is two or more people fishing together from a single watercraft or on shore while maintaining unaided visual and vocal contact.
The number of fish your party possesses can’t be more than the combined limits of all party members. However, you can only transport your individual limit of fish.

Here is the rule on cleaning/eating fish on the ice:

When I’m on waters with size restrictions different from statewide regulations, can I eat fish that I caught and kept?
You may do so if:

If you are on the ice, docked or moored to shore you may use any fish that you legally kept from the same water body to prepare a meal. You can fillet the fish but must retain the intact carcass, which must contain the head, dorsal fin and tail.

You also may prepare a meal of fish using fillets packaged by a licensed fish packer. Any fish caught and eaten on the same day count toward your daily bag limit.

Hope that helps.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

More from the rule book.

Lets assume you have 4 people staying in your perm shack on Mille Lacs. One person has caught and kept one legal size walleye. All 4 can continue to fish for walleye until that 4th fish is taken into possession.

Can you point me to the page that states this?
I just tried searching the PDF and cannot find it.

Kyhl wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jon Jordan wrote:</div>
More from the rule book.

Lets assume you have 4 people staying in your perm shack on Mille Lacs. One person has caught and kept one legal size walleye. All 4 can continue to fish for walleye until that 4th fish is taken into possession.

Can you point me to the page that states this?
I just tried searching the PDF and cannot find it.

Page 24 of 2016 regs under >> What if people are fishing together from a boat or on shore?

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing2016.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=bookmarks

-J.

Yep, I was reading page 24. I do not see that language that you wrote.

I do see.

A fish is in your possession once you have caught and kept it. Your possession limit includes any fish you have kept that day plus any fish in storage from a previous day.

To reiterate, to be in possession means to have been caught and kept. Meaning a fish caught and immediately released is not considered to be in possession.

Also see page 6.

Any fish not immediately released is considered to be “reduced to possession.”

Again this suggests that C&R does not equal possession.

Once you reach your daily or possession limit of fish, you can’t release fish already caught and kept and replace them with other fish. See culling definition on page 6.

That quote assumes that you would still be fishing for the same species after reaching the possession limit of “caught and kept” fish. The rule is there to say that once the possession limit is reached that a possessed fish may not be returned to the lake. Since we already know that catch and immediate release is not possesion then you are not over your limit if you C&R after reaching your limit.
Is there any other way to interpret that statement?

The party fishing rule come into play after your reach YOUR possession limit. Once everyone in the party reaches a limit, you cannot intentionally target that species.

-J.

Kyhl wrote:

Is there any other way to interpret that statement?

That statement is not specific to walleye. It refers to fish that can be culled.

-J.

I’m guess you were referring to this quote from page 24.

What if people are fishing together from a boat or on shore?
A party is two or more people fishing together from a single watercraft or on shore while maintaining unaided visual and vocal contact.
The number of fish your party possesses can’t be more than the combined limits of all party
members.
However, you can only transport your individual limit of fish

I do not see where that says you have to quit fishing. That statement is about party fishing and means that the people within the party share a combined possession limit. And that as a party they cannot exceed the total possession limit for the entire party.
But again, a fish C&R’d is not reduced to possession.

Jon Jordan wrote:

The party fishing rule come into play after your reach YOUR possession limit. Once everyone in the party reaches a limit, you cannot intentionally target that species.

-J.

Specifically, where in the regs is the part in bold stated?

I just sent an email to the DNR. I’ll let you know what they say.

The general regs section used to say once you have reached your limit, you cannot continue to target that species. If that rule changed, I would be surprised! But yes, it does not specifically say that in the 2016 regs. Actually there is no specific definition of what “limit” means????

Have at it!

-J.