GTG reminders

Make sure you have all your licenses. Portable shelter, fishing, out of state, atv, snowmobile etc.. The Mille lacs Wardens have been out in full force this year and they are giving nobody any breaks. I read last weeks report and many guys are getting tagged for too many lines ,unattended lines and possessing fish filets on the ice.

Two lines per person in minnesota.

Also for the guys that are staying in rentals, DO NOT leave any lines down the holes when your on shore.

Any questions, just ask..

Derek…that means I can’t clean my fish on the ice?

Thats correct..

will there be go devils for sale up there does anybody know?

Yes, I’m pretty sure there will be Go-Devils for sale. Can anyone confirm this?

Great post Derek

Thanks for the reminder,

Thank God for more cold weather.

Derek,

Can we get those appropriate licenses at Hunters – Portables, Fishing, ATV, Sled, etc? Thanks

No, Johnsons Portside in Isle. 5 miles south of Hunters.

You will just need your home state tags on your ATV/Sled and any trailers.

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Derek…that means I can’t clean my fish on the ice?

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If I read the regulations correctly, you can zip the fish open to remove the internals and gills leaving the fish whole, but you cannot dispose of any of this on the lake.

Yes or No……..I don’t need any fines

I was under the impression that you can clean fish on ice providing you keep the remnants and leave at least a 1″ x 1″ patch of skin on the filets to identify the species. Also no eating walleye or protected slot fish on the ice. You CAN eat Perch however.

hmmmm.. ..but then again how could a CO measure the fish against the slot requirements if it was cleaned…..anyone?

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you can zip the fish open to remove the internals and gills leaving the fish whole, but you cannot dispose of any of this on the lake.

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..but will you get an accurate measurement with a fish that has had the filets removed on a 19 7/8″ fish? (pinch the tail and stretch thing). Sounds too dangerous to me…
I’ll keep mine uncut and on ice til I get home!

From Mn DNR regs:

Possessing Fish

• Daily and possession

limits are the same unless otherwise noted. Fish

are in an angler’s possession

whether on hand, in cold storage, in

transport, or elsewhere.

• Once a limit of fish has been reduced to possession, no culling or live

well sorting of that species is allowed.

•While on or fishing waters with size restrictions, all fish for which

the size restriction applies must have their heads, tails, fins, and

skin intact and be measurable.

Keep your walleyes whole to be safe..

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..but will you get an accurate measurement with a fish that has had the filets removed on a 19 7/8″ fish? (pinch the tail and stretch thing). Sounds too dangerous to me…
I’ll keep mine uncut and on ice til I get home!

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You are not reading this right. You do not remove the filets, you simple open the fish up to remove the guts and remove the gills and leave the fish whole. You do not remove the filets!!!

Personally, I would avoid doing anything to a walleye you intend to keep. I would not want to have a conversation with a CO regarding the legality of removing the guts. Not to mention, never seen it done!

-J.

Can you really clean and consume perch on the lake ??? I have never heard this before.

big g

Cannot clean or posess filets on the ice. If you are in possesion of Perch filets, theres no way to tell if they are walleye filets. Thus the law..

Actually I asked a CO this when he checked my house and he told me that you could eat perch or a non-slot type fish on the ice. If you are in possession of a non-slot filet (i.e perch) you MUST have the 1 inch square patch of skin to identify the species and show the fish remnants. As Derek mentioned, leave the walleyes whole to be safe.

Again, this was one CO’s opinion and a gray area in my opinion….I would ask the DNR if you have any doubt!

Bret- Regs say to leave the skin in tact so I doubt zipping open the fish to remove the guts would be allowed? Tough one….

Just to clarify…

You always need to leave the one squre inch patch on walleye. That is a state law not a lake law. All lake laws trump state laws.

For instance. State law says you can only possess one fish 20 inches or longer. Lake law (During the summer months) says you can possess 4 fish up to 22 inches. So in this case, lake law trump state law.

Confused now?

-J.

yyyyyyyyup.

I’ll stick to the Porterhouse steaks til I get home .

So is there going to be a sales rep from BfishN there at the GTG with Merts and Go-Devils? Just asking save me from ordering and save them on shipping…

Ok, keep it simple!

-4 fish limit. That’s 4 fish total, not per day.

-Don’t keep anything that touches the 20 inch mark or longer. (If it touches 20, toss it!)

-Clean your fish on shore and leave a one inch square patch unless it going right into the fryer!

-If you freeze your catch, put 2 filets (One Fish) per zip lock bag. If the CO can’t count them, they will make you thaw them out on the spot. Probably ruin your catch.

One more “technical” thing to keep in mind. If you catch and keep your 4 fish on day one, you are done fishing for the weekend unless you eat some. So to stay legal, only keep 3 and you can keep fishing. Party fishing is legal, as long as everyone in the party is in close proximity to each other. Don’t push the “Proximity” thing with the CO’s.

(Party fishing is keeping a limit as a group rather than an individual.)

Good luck.

-J.

This can be very frustrating for someone new to fishing Mille Lacs.

1. On a lake that has a slot limit for some type of fish you cannot have fillets in possion on the lake of any kind.(to be safe)

So you go to shore and clean your fish. Leaving the 1 inch of skin.

Now you have cleaned your fish and want to go back out to your sleeper shack.

So you throw the filets in the cooler and that into your vehicle and you head out to your shack. ::::BAM:::: you now have just broken the law even though you cleaned them on shore.

So you are stuck leaving your fish frozen intacked all weekend and either clean them when you come off the ice or wait til you get home.

Hmm sounds like fun. It is very easy to see why so many tickets are written for this.

Big pain in the !!

Sounds like fun I’m siked!! Lets go!!

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This can be very frustrating for someone new to fishing Mille Lacs.

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That line and >>BAM<<< reminded me of one other thing people new to the lake should know. It’s unlawful to lock or otherwise prevent the door from opening from the outside. CO’s should knock before entering but often just crash in un announced. Just a heads up because it can scare the crap out of you and if you are like me, reaching for the…..

-J.

Jon,
OK this is probably just me not thinking again, but if I have my 4 Eyes I can still fish perch correct or am I just reading it wrong? am I missing something when you say

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One more “technical” thing to keep in mind. If you catch and keep your 4 fish on day one, you are done fishing for the weekend unless you eat some.

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and now going into hunters to eat the eyes sounds even better.

Broncs

Yes, you can still fish for perch and most people do after limiting out on walleye.

-J.

figured that. just wanted to double check. was kind of a dumb question. sorry

There are no dumb questions. Milly is highly regulated and the fines are stiff if you get busted.

One more thought. If you new guys happen to ice a northern pike, remember there is a slot on them too. I’d hope any musky caught would also just be released.

You can pick up a sticker at just about every bait store on the lake that has the regs on it. Nice to have in the wallet in case you get quizzed on the ice.

-J.

Wasn’t there a law pasted that a CO cannot enter your ice house unless you allowed them to enter i.e. they needed probable cause to come in? I thought there was a case that went to court about this but it was some time ago and it may have been when I was living in North Dakota. Anyone remember this?