Bag Limit Explanation

How does the mixed bag limit laws work?

Eg. if you catch one walleye if the limit was 6 you can only have 5 other fish of any species correct?

If you are talking walleye /sauger limit , ….. 1 walleye says you can have 5 sauger,, ie. 6 fish limit is a combination of walleye and sauger together.

Walleyes MUST 15″ and no length limit on sauger.

But watch for certain lake restrictions tho.

My example is for the Mississippi river in between the railroad tracks on both sides of the river. (Minnesota/Wisconsin)

All gamefish have individual limits set on them. You can fish for multiple species and possess members of each as long as you stay within the limits for each and those fish fall within any slots limits. Keep in mind that all waters are not treated equally and that some lakes have special limits and special size requirements for some species. An example would be Foster in Rochester where trout can be fished all year long but only three can be kept and only one can be 16″ or larger….this is different from the general trout regulations.

Most all of the regulations are covered in the booklet handed out when a license is bought….or its supposed to be handed out. Any water that has special regulation in Minnesota and has a public access will have those regulations posted at the water’s edge at those launch sites.

To be clear, on the Mississippi River it would be illegal to keep 6walleye and 1bluegill? (Since 6 is the limit) Never targeted walleye before this year.. Usually a flathead/c&r guy and with the limit being 25flats I’ve never even come close to my limit.

Newbie/dumb question I’m sure but I appreciate the response.

No. On the Mississippi you’d be able to have 6 walleyes and, depending on the area or which pool of the river, up to 25 sunfish. The limit on walleye is 6 fish. Sunfish have their own limit.

Can anyone tell me how a proxy works?

google-proxy-64-233-172-67.google.com

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Can anyone tell me how a proxy works?

google-proxy-64-233-172-67.google.com

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BK, every time you go online your internet service provider (ISP), has an online address much like a drivers license number or a social security number that is unique to you. A proxy server (online) uses a 3rd party address instead of the one your ISP provides.

Another example of a proxy is when a large company is voting on legislature pertinent to it’s shareholders. Since each share has a vote, the company may issue a form requesting a proxy vote allowing someone else to speak/vote on your behalf.

Perfect! Thank you.

You know, I’ve often wondered about WI 25 catfish limit.

It’s 10 on the MN side of the river…so how does the CO know if I’ve caught my 11th and up fish on the WI side??

What happens when I drive home to…let’s say Mankato with 15 fish? Do I need a receipt saying I bought gas in Red Wing to prove I was close to the river?

What the heck was with the proxy question?

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Perfect! Thank you.

You know, I’ve often wondered about WI 25 catfish limit.

It’s 10 on the MN side of the river…so how does the CO know if I’ve caught my 11th and up fish on the WI side??

What happens when I drive home to…let’s say Mankato with 15 fish? Do I need a receipt saying I bought gas in Red Wing to prove I was close to the river?

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Good question. Same deal with blue gills & the different pool regulations. I always label, date, and note anything I keep. I also photograph fish I catch (when I remember). This has proved to be easy to track what’s what but I’m not sure how the DNR would verify such a thing?

I wish the MN DNR would work more with the WI DNR to match regulations on border waters. Things like the sunny bag limit in places being 10 vs 25 should be posted near popular fishing spots. Or the three pole on WI side & 2 pole on MN side regulation. Well what if you are using 3 fishing poles and a fish pulls your boat onto the MN side. Silly questions I’m sure but I’m sure someone has gotten a frivolous ticket due to regulations being different. If they were the same you would think the public would be able to use the TIP hotline & assist with managing the fishery more. My 2 cents. Easier to learn one regulation vs two when trying to catch the exact same fish.

With Winona having so many college students I feel there is a lack of information about fishing regulations. It wouldn’t cost much too inform the public about some of these regulations.

At least in my area I know not everyone knows of such a useful website such as IDO. Would love to see more people knowing the regulations before they fish.

My 2 cents.

So ends the morning ramble…

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I wish the MN DNR would work more with the WI DNR to match regulations on border waters.

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It was said to me ones by a very wise woman at the MN DNR when talking about the same topic…”When two States feel they are both right, this (two regs for the same water) is what we get”.

On a more positive note, the Lake City DNR office started talking with the WI DNR a little over a year ago. I believe our Governor directed the DNR to take a look at “all” laws and get rid of out dated and confusing laws not just with the hunting and fishing regs.

I believe it’s called the “Un-session” at the capital.

I think the CO’s would be happier with one law for all as well.

I’m not sure if anythings getting down to create a more fishermen friendly law(s) or not besides talk, but they do take time to filter through the rule making sessions for both states.

Tuesday I’ll be seeing the Lake City folks and I’ll ask if there’s any progress. Maybe they can post back here(?)

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I wish the MN DNR would work more with the WI DNR to match regulations on border waters.

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It was said to me ones by a very wise woman at the MN DNR when talking about the same topic…”When two States feel they are both right, this (two regs for the same water) is what we get”.

On a more positive note, the Lake City DNR office started talking with the WI DNR a little over a year ago. I believe our Governor directed the DNR to take a look at “all” laws and get rid of out dated and confusing laws not just with the hunting and fishing regs.

I believe it’s called the “Un-session” at the capital.

I think the CO’s would be happier with one law for all as well.

I’m not sure if anythings getting down to create a more fishermen friendly law(s) or not besides talk, but they do take time to filter through the rule making sessions for both states.

Tuesday I’ll be seeing the Lake City folks and I’ll ask if there’s any progress. Maybe they can post back here(?)

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I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for ay updates. More food for thought, I think they should limit the size of sunfish used as bait (4″-5″?) and make it lawful to use them on the MN side. You would think this would remove the “stunted” growth population and improve the average fish size?

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You would think this would remove the “stunted” growth population and improve the average fish size?

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I’d argue the limit of 25 panfish is the reason for lack of size, not the few cat fisherman out there who use live bait.

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You would think this would remove the “stunted” growth population and improve the average fish size?

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I’d argue the limit of 25 panfish is the reason for lack of size, not the few cat fisherman out there who use live bait.

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I would agree with this 100%. After affirming what I thought I knew about mixed bag limits I think something needs to be done to limit this as well.

Imagine a pro going out and taking there limit of panfish, catfish, bass, walleye, northern, trout, etc. in a period of a month. As fishing tactics become more widely known and more people fish/get better at fishing… what is this doing to the populations?

There should be a set limit on # of fish allowed to be in your bag/freezer etc. at any one time. (With the exception to carp/sheepies)

BK made a good point about bag limits from 25 to 10. How can you prove what was bought from the grocery store, caught in one lake, and caught in one river?

Is it illegal for someone to purchase 14 walleye fillets, remove them from the package, smoke them, and then refreeze them?

Poaching is a serious problem, I had seen it far too often when I first started fishing the dam. I know what to do the next time I see it but lack of knowledge is only half the battle. IMO we need more DNR officers/support on our waters.

Yet, the DNR is being sued for mismanagement of a fishery? Seriously? IMO their resources are stretched far too thin..
Last I checked you could not sue a hospital for being too busy & not having a bed available……

Will the Mississippi still offer the fishing it does now for your kids? Or mine someday?

Maybe it’s only me but I am unhappy with the regulations on Mississippi or lack there of. There are far too many unclear laws, inconsistent laws, laws that are not strict enough, and plenty of things which could be improved upon. In my belief it all starts with improving awareness & knowledge of the current regulations & any proposed regulations. (The DNR does a great job don’t get me wrong)

Place signs with regulations of bag limits, seasons, and sizes. I was asked the other day by a senior citizen if he could keep a largemouth. I said yeah the Mississippi has open season and right now they are great to eat. He took it & drove off before I could even tell to him the fish was not legally big enough to keep. Would he have let it go had he known the regulations? Probably. Again, lack of awareness.

Maybe my beliefs are a little over the top.. but IMO the carp problem is bad enough as is, we shouldn’t be making the problem worse.

Last little spiel for the night.. My first fishing tourney was a sheephead tourney We boated 300lbs in less than 4 hours…. The DNR was unhappy with us because he thought our boat was going to be overweight. What I’d love to pull a couple thousand lbs of sheephead out of the river in a week.

300lbs of sheephead? in 4 hours? How disgusting is it to return from a walleye fishing trip and catching a pb 15-20lb sheephead? Most fisherman I have seen thrown them ashore & kill them instead of throwing them back in the river. That sounds like a serious problem to me…

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You would think this would remove the “stunted” growth population and improve the average fish size?

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ErE Tree

I’d argue the limit of 25 panfish is the reason for lack of size, not the few cat fisherman out there who use live bait.

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I say bull on this, the waters that I fish near Madison Wisconsin. Put out Millions of 25 fish limits year in and year out.If the lake can support this kind of pressure for decades and still have 10 inch plus gills caught yearly it is all lake and predator dependant on how stunting goes.

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I say bull on this, the waters that I fish near Madison Wisconsin. Put out Millions of 25 fish limits year in and year out.If the lake can support this kind of pressure for decades and still have 10 inch plus gills caught yearly it is all lake and predator dependant on how stunting goes.

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Keep in mind that you limit keeping people are the prime predator. So you are sort of right ….the predator part.