rainy river regs?

  • iwontdoit
    Posts: 15
    October 6, 2005 at 10:05 pm #1247678

    Just curious if you fish the rainy river what do you need for license ? And what about minnows in your boat?

    farmboy1
    Mantorville, MN
    Posts: 3668
    October 6, 2005 at 10:18 pm #388468

    Read the regulations carefully. They seem to change slightly every year. The basics from the good old days when I would get there a few times are:
    1. No live bait-dead minnows only.
    2. You can fish the MN side with a MN license. That consists of 1/2 of the river (based on the DNRs consideration of 1/2). Do not cross over without a Canada License and I belive a remote border crossing pass. Another $25 they get out of you.

    Other then that, the fishing is great and the scenery spectacular. Just stay away from the Mountys

    lundgeye
    Rochester, Minnesota
    Posts: 1209
    October 7, 2005 at 1:09 am #388506

    The last time I was there we could use live bait on the Mn side. If you went to the expense of fishing the Ontario side and wanted live bait, you needed the license, border pass, and a receipt from some bait shop in Ontario where you bought your minnows for use on the river. If you didn’t have that you had to use dead minnows.

    lundgeye
    Rochester, Minnesota
    Posts: 1209
    October 7, 2005 at 1:15 am #388509

    I forgot to mention that the Ontario Conservation Officers are very serious about watching the center of the river. They use laser rangefinders to shoot the shore on each side from your boat and tell you exactly if you are 5 yards over or 25 yards over. Fines for this violation are written only if they catch you fishing on the Ontario side….but it is legal to eat lunch on that side….although you cannot beach the boat and walk up on land (illegal entry). I’m not sure if the border pass cures that or not.

    gary_wellman
    South Metro
    Posts: 6057
    October 7, 2005 at 1:47 pm #388590

    Yea, when did they institute the “no live bait” law????

    Also,
    personal experience a few years back told me then, that crossing accross the river is an offense by Ontario government, whether you land the boat or not.

    Also, crossing back from Ontario to Minnesota is a FEDERAL OFFENSE, chargable up to $5000 in fines and 5 years in jail!!!

    YOU CANNOT LEGALLY ENTER MINNESOTA WITHOUT GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS, IF YOU LEAVE THE COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!

    An Ontario border crossing permit allows you to cross back/forth at your own free will, without having to go through customs.

    HOWEVER;
    taking live bait from the US to Ontario is a big NO-NO and can be chargable upto $5 Canadian money per MINNOW!!!!

    Alcoholic beverages are a NO-NO in the boat, on Candian waters. There is a $50 fine for having the beverages in the boat, plus $1 per every can found (empty or full). This again, is Canadian money.

    Fishing Ontario waters without an Ontario license is a $100 fine, again, being Candian money.

    IF you have fish in your livewell, you broke their law. You are not allowed to have live fish on board. If you have fish in your boat, and they are alive, you will be required to release them. If they live and swim away, you “maybe” ok. If they are dead, you again are in trouble, for killing Ontario walleyes, without a license.

    If caught, by mistake, you no longer have any rights. You have illegally entered a foreign country without entering through their customs.

    They may seize your boat and all belongings on your person (fishing gear, etc).

    Lastly,
    DO NOT have any firearms on your person or in your boat, if you enter Canada. At that point, you are a lost cause and see you in a few years!!!!!

    When we got caught (by total mistake) a few years back, we got lucky. We made the mistake by thinking the whole water was fishable.

    They let us off with a citation for fishing Ontario waters without a license. $100 Candian money offense.

    skhartke
    Somerset, WI
    Posts: 1416
    October 7, 2005 at 2:03 pm #388596

    Quote:

    $100 Candian money offense.


    What’s the big deal with this? That’s only about $0.78 american. You can swing that, right?

    gary_wellman
    South Metro
    Posts: 6057
    October 7, 2005 at 2:06 pm #388597

    It was actualy $0.61 US to the Candian Dollar, so it wasn’t that bad!!!

    What torqued me more, was that we had to release a livewell full of very nice eaters for our diner that night!

    skhartke
    Somerset, WI
    Posts: 1416
    October 7, 2005 at 2:09 pm #388599

    Ouch. Those crazy Canadians. Maybe we should go after them next!

    Jake
    Muddy Corn Field
    Posts: 2493
    October 7, 2005 at 4:13 pm #388617

    Quote:

    Fishing Ontario waters without an Ontario license is a $100 fine, again, being Candian money.

    WRONG!!!……………..it’s $156 canadian

    The mountee’s are ‘s

    rlamar
    Davenport, Iowa, USA
    Posts: 293
    October 9, 2005 at 12:30 am #388763

    I just returned from fishing the rainy river tonight. I stayed at Clementson resort. http://www.clementsonresort.com I fished with live shiners, as well as everyone else on the river. the limit is 6 fish, no more the 4 walleye, 19 1/2 to 28 must be returned. I think it is like page 57 of Minn. DNR regs. Ron

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.