Can a WI CO check and enforce MN regulations on the MN side of the river. Reason I ask is I was checked by a WI CO on pool 8 on the MN side.Sunfish limit is 25 in WI, 10 in MN, which I knew. The CO proceeds to tell me the limit in MN among other things catfishing related. All went well but was a little surprised to be checked by a WI CO in MN.
On the boarder waters, yes. He probably would not have written you a citation though, he would have called a MN CO to assist.
About a week ago a MN LE (I was told it was a CO) stopped a WI non resident angler on the MN side of the river (P4). The angler had more then 10 cats per person and was going to write a ticket…The angler informed the officer that WI limit is 25 each. The officer told him he was going to go check the laws and was going to be back if the angler was telling him a story.
The angler said I’m not going anyplace, I’ll be right here fishing. LE never came back.
Does anyone know if we have a new CO on P4? I can’t believe that Tyler doesn’t know what the laws are on both sides. These kinds of encounters don’t help the border water confusion.
The dnr will shuffle rookie officers throughout the state when things are slow so they become familiar with all aspects of their position. This sounds like one of those officers.
Never fear! We’ll get them up to speed! LOL!
From an E-mail in 2007….
Jeff
The Wisconsin regulation is correct. An angler must obey the regulations of the state in which they are fishing.
The example of using 3 lines in Minnesota waters would be a violation that could result in a citation.
Minnesota CO’s have jurisdiction on the boundary waters between the rail road tracks. We enforce like laws from for both states. Example: life jackets – same for both states, fishing license – same for both states. Our authority covers all of the boundary waters.
When the laws differ between the states Minnesota CO’s only enforce MN laws on the MN side of the river. This is the same for the WI Wardens. Example: 3 lines on the WI side – we do not enforce MN law on the WI side of the river.
Your efforts to educate our fishermen through a news letter or the local paper would be beneficial.
Contact me if you have any further questions.
Conservation Officer
Scott Fritz
(507)895-4263
I would think it’s the same for a WI CO
Quote:
About a week ago a MN LE (I was told it was a CO) stopped a WI non resident angler on the MN side of the river (P4). The angler had more then 10 cats per person and was going to write a ticket…The angler informed the officer that WI limit is 25 each. The officer told him he was going to go check the laws and was going to be back if the angler was telling him a story.
The angler said I’m not going anyplace, I’ll be right here fishing. LE never came back.
Does anyone know if we have a new CO on P4? I can’t believe that Tyler doesn’t know what the laws are on both sides. These kinds of encounters don’t help the border water confusion.
Curious to why he didnt get a ticket? If he was fishing in MN waters with more than 10 cats it should be a ticket.. I cant go to MN and catch 25 crappie and bluegill then say “oh I’m an Iowa resident, Iowa law is 25 per person”.
I dunno. But the guy that it happened to just pulled into the resort.
Be back later. 
Just some food for thought…say I had 15 bluegill in MN and the WI CO issued me a ticket and I would decide to fight it in court..where would the court take place? If it was in WI the limit is 25.Just needs to be an easier way and too many loopholes on the same waters.
The WI CO would issue you a minnesota ticket if he has the jurisdiction to write tickets for that county. If not, he would call a MN CO to come and issue the citation, or simply mail it to you from a MN court. You would have to go to court in the county the violation took place, in MN.
The rest of the story from the horses mouth.
Angler and his wife were fishing on the MN side. Two MN Co’s stopped by. Asked to look at the fish. They had 8. When asked how many they had at the resort (out of state boat registration is a good give away) they said 16 that they caught in the morning.
This would put them over the 10 fish per person MN limit.
After the older CO read them the MN Border water rules, the angler informed them that he had a WI license and was following the WI rules.
Which was true. The angler had in his possession 24 fish but 16 of them were at the resort on the WI side.
The two CO’s stopped back the next day (they were fishing in the same spot.) and apologized for the confusion.
What troubles me is the angler still doesn’t understand he needs to follow the MN rules on that side of the river, but even more so, our CO’s are confused by the laws, how are WE to know what we can or can’t do.
Ignorance of laws are no excuse…unless it comes to border water rules. Come on WI Fisheries, sit down with your MN counterparts an straighten this mess out!
BK. Somewhere in there lies a good SAT question/scenario. 
I was always under the impression you had to obey the laws of the state you are a resident and licensed in regardless of where you were fishing when it comes to border waters? I would read the regs to try and striaghten out my confusion but it doesn’t sound like it will help. I guess I will just abide by the tightest regs no matter if it’s WI or MN. And besides…reaching a “limit” of fish is rarely a problem for me 
What is someone from South Dakota buys a WI license, fishes out of Evert’s and never fishes the Minnesota side. They end up keeping and putting on ice a WI limit of cats. When it is time to head back to Sodak, the launch at Everts is completely blocked by a barge that ran aground. So they go pull the boat out on the Minnesota side and a CO checks the cooler?
What if me and my nephew are coming home from Mille Lacs with our limit of smallmouth. I stop to let him take a leak on the side of the road. He is eaten by a pack of wolves and then a CO come by and goes to inspect the boat and happens to notice I have twice the legal limit of smallmouth for 1 person?
I got lots of CO questions. Admittedly, none of them are productive.
Pug, your ais is showing.
Brian, I am not being a smart-Alec, this is how my mind works. It is a curse.
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