Always hear tales of anglers who go above their limits, but don’t know or seen anyone who has. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but
If you had to put a percentage of those who do, what would it be? Curious to others opinions who have fished much longer and fish networks are much larger than my own 
I can honestly say if you are in my boat and can’t count you will find your a$$ on a island in VNP, I don’t care who you are.
I will not tolerate poaching from anyone under any circumstances.
My guess is that it’s fairly small, less than 2%. First of all, it’s not easy to limit day in day out. Many people like myself, don’t put in enough time on the water to consistently do so.
I would further venture that most over limiting is done on waters with restricted limits, those below the statewide norms. Not saying its right, just saying that’s more likely to where it might happen.
I don’t remember a single day in the last three years that I had to say, that’s it, that’s the last fish we can keep.
So my guess is a small number based on the large number of people who fish.
ET
I might not set your butt on an island but you wouldn’t be invited again. Also I’d tend to forgive an honest mistake say if the limit is 50 of a certain species and you are one over. I’d tend to react a bit differently if the limit is 4 and you are one over.
Always hear tales of anglers who go above their limits, but don’t know or seen anyone who has. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but
If you had to put a percentage of those who do, what would it be? Curious to others opinions who have fished much longer and fish networks are much larger than my own
Small enough that the “over the limit group” has no noticeable negative impact on any fishery…
Might be a small group but how many is to many? The only acceptable thing would be length measurement on slot lakes. Numbers in my mind is no excuse.
Small enough that the “over the limit group” has no noticeable negative impact on any fishery…
100% agree.
It’s the ones that take their limit every week that have the biggest impact on a fishery.
I can honestly say I have never run into someone going over a limit… BUT, the possession limit (In Wi is 2x daily) is an all different story.
Example, this past fall crappie fishing in Central WI. A guy from IL was there… super nice older guy, he makes an annual trip once a year, for his only time fishing all year. Does it alone as his buddies have all died off, yes one of those guys (like the grandfather you always wanted). He was super serious about daily limits. Would stop one short of his limit of keepers just to make sure (25)…. then return to the motel for the afternoon. He was doing this for a week straight.
The vacation was so important to him, memories, past friends, and something he looked to all year. I so badly wanted to just give him a polite, courtesy explanation of the possession thing, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I think once he realized it, he would have been really upset. He was that kind of guy.
My intent would have been to protect him as much as anything, but I couldn’t do it.
Funny… I talked about it at the bait shop there the next day, and the owner said it was a dumb rule, and I would have been a dink for bringing it up… said he and locals never worry about possession. Now him… yea, I would turn his A$$ in to a warden in a second! He pissed me off.
Always hear tales of anglers who go above their limits, but don’t know or seen anyone who has. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but
If you had to put a percentage of those who do, what would it be? Curious to others opinions who have fished much longer and fish networks are much larger than my own
Maybe it’s because I live on the Iron Range. But I know A LOT of guys who be in big trouble (or have been) when/if the DNR shows up and looks in their freezers.
Yep. Daily limit few and far between. Possession, I’ll say at least 10%. Based on my small sample size.
I will weigh in when the day comes that I actually catch a limit….wish I was joking…hope the real # is low however
I think the daily limits are followed fairly well. BUT when daily fish have to be counted in possession I think a lot of people could be in violation. I’ve found lots of people do not understand that a eaten fish counts for possession that day.
I thought daily and possession were the same in MN. Even if its not, I still say 10%.
Small enough that the “over the limit group” has no noticeable negative impact on any fishery…
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I’m not sure how you can even pretend to know this? If I’m right don’t you fish like two lakes in MN?
I’ve personally seen numerous lakes fished out to the point it doesn’t even pay to fish them anymore. I’ve seen a lake filled with 9-11″ gills fished out in one year and yes it was by people catching over their limit. As well as exceeding their possession limits. One guy even bragged he caught and cleaned so many he couldn’t even give them away.
I also witnessed a premiere northern lake get cleaned out in a year and half. Again I overheard one guy bragging he speared 10 over 5 pounds in one day. What are you supposed to do with guys like this? Call the DNR? Most of these guys are smart, they make sure they never have more than a daily limit on hand.
My question isn’t how many people poach… because I know there are plenty of them. We could all live on a rainbow and say, no… people don’t poach, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good. My question is how do we catch these guys?
The fines are too weak. Heck the DNR even gives poachers a quantity discount if they have a lot of fish. If you’re one fish over I think it’s like $80, but if you’re 100’s over you pay what… $1000-$1500?
I could go on and on. This happened just last week. I was out with my 2yr old son catching a few crappie for supper on a lake where the crappie are almost jumping out of the hole. Then I here a couple guys talking louder than they should have been and it goes something like this… “This is where we fished the last few days.” Then as they are headed home. “You want my fish? No.. I have more than enough at home… we’ll find someone to give them to”
I should have probably called these guys in but I hate to be that guy calling the DNR once a week.
My best call to the DNR did result in an angry old guy getting caught with over 150 walleye in his freezer. So I am not afraid to call the DNR I just need proof that the guy is not only breaking the law but the DNR can bust em. When the DNR talked to me about the bust he also told me they busted a father and son with 109 walleye in there boat plus another guy with 150 walleye in their freezer. Too many anglers are just flat out greedy! If they’re not poaching, then they’re hitting a hot bite day after day until the fish stop biting or are gone. Sad to see.
Sorry for the long post but I could write a book on poachers and it’s not like I even see a fraction of the illegal activity. I just spend a lot of time on the water.
Well said Joe Scegura, A hot bite can make people push things.
I bet given the right circumstances, the place and the right bite the percent who would go over the limit (daily or possession) is a lot higher than one would think.
I see it both, the double baggers, and the possession limits violated. Unfortunately this occurs most frequently during the spawn when fish are most vulnerable. Guys get a limit of gills or crappies, or walleyes…..go, change clothes, and do it again in the same day. Then possession limit I think is violated frequently. When Im guiding the water for 4 straight weeks and you see the same guys hauling limits every day…..they aren’t eating them every night
Yeah that’s what I was going to point out Randy…. the double dippers. Used to see it more at the Mississippi. I don’t get over often enough now to notice.
As already mentioned, there is no sure way to know for sure. The offenders are not likely to fess up. IMO it is far more prevalent than the previous posts would suggest (when the bite is hot). I believe it common to want to eat a fish dinner that last night of the trip and still take home a limit thinking we will be legal after supper. Another situation is when there is a large cabin full of guys who are coming and going all day. Unless there is someone taking control it is not hard to go over a few fish in possession. My father-in-law told stories of DNR inspection roadblocks on Hwy 72 south of Red Lake during hot springtime bites. I wonder if there is data for their snag rate? I have never seen a road block and have fished Red since approx. 1980.
I thought daily and possession were the same in MN. Even if its not, I still say 10%.
They are. I was trying to state that keeping an overlimit in one day; driving home with 7 walleyes is way less common than having too many in the freezer.
I hate to say it buy your naive if you think only 10 percent of anglers have more than a limit of fish in there freezer.
Small group of old retired guys that find a good bite in the winter and pound it day after day filling their freezer. Those are the ones that bug me the most.
Or anyone that takes advantage of a good bite period.
I agree with those that stated that over-limits in the freezer are far more common than over-limits in the boat. But I’ve often wondered how the possession limits are determined. In Minnesota the daily and possession limits are the same. But the daily limit on the Mississippi is six while the daily limit on Mille Lacs might be one. So can you have six or just one in the freezer? Now what if you have licenses from multiple states, say Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota? Is the possession limit the combination from all those states?
I do like the intent of the Minnesota law which is to keep people from filling the freezer during a hot bite.
Boone
Maybe it’s because I live on the Iron Range. But I know A LOT of guys who be in big trouble (or have been) when/if the DNR shows up and looks in their freezers.
Yep. Daily limit few and far between. Possession, I’ll say at least 10%. Based on my small sample size.
+1 on both of these ^^^. Daily limit violators are probably only a small % because guys know it’s on the lake and at the ramp that they’re going to get checked.
Over possession limit violators is huge and even worse is that within this category of violators, the % who are gross violators of 100 fish or more OVER the possession limit for even a single species is also huge.
The reality is that many, many anglers do not see this as illegal-illegal. It’s just “kind of the way things have always been done” and, hey, it’s never ME that’s the problem. It’s the OTHER guys from [insert other states here].
When the panfish action is good in the spring, I routinely have a retired acquaintance that cheerfully reports to me their success at their lake cabin in northern MN. They and their retired buddies all gang up on the sunfish every day for a week or more.
Now what are the chances that every guy in this group is eating his limit every night? Draw your own conclusions. He’s not a bad guy and I’ve tried to gently remind him that there’s a possession limit, but he shrugs it off as not an issue.
But of course the reason the fishing has declined on “his” lake is because the Indians are sneaking in there netting at night and the tourists from Iowa at the resort are killing everything they catch.
Grouse
I hate to say it buy your naive if you think only 10 percent of anglers have more than a limit of fish in there freezer
I think I am too. I was being conservative.
I agree with those that say Daily limit overage is low, but I think the possession limit overage is alot higher than people think…alot higher…
For those who fish every day, I seriously doubt they are eating those fish every night…if they are, mercury poisoning is in their future…
It pretty obvious watching the same boats troll through the lake channel i’m on all summer dragging fish on stringers… I just shake my head…
But of course the reason the fishing has declined on “his” lake is because the Indians are sneaking in there netting at night and the tourists from Iowa at the resort are killing everything they catch.
Grouse
That’s a great statement right there, spot on…
But I’ve often wondered how the possession limits are determined. In Minnesota the daily and possession limits are the same. But the daily limit on the Mississippi is six while the daily limit on Mille Lacs might be one. So can you have six or just one in the freezer? Now what if you have licenses from multiple states, say Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota? Is the possession limit the combination from all those states?
This is a very good question. Does anyone know how a CO handles something like this? Per letter of the law (on paper), I’m inclined to believe if someone started on ML and harvested 1 walleye they could continue to fish other waters and harvest their daily limit. If they started on other waters and harvested walleyes below their daily limit and then fished ML I’m inclined to believe they can not harvest anymore walleyes WHILE ON ML if they are already at or have exceeded the ML daily limit even though they may have been harvested on other waters. At least that’s my impression how WI handles the ceded territory waters with 1,2 or 3 bag limits. You can go from a 1 bag limit lake to a 2 or 3 bag limit lake but not the other way around. I may be wrong on that…
For me, fishing is like going to a casino. I might win every now and then but come up on the short end more times than not.
I’ve always found it interesting that some States consider home freezer in possession limit. Lake or campsite possession makes sense but home freezer not so much.
It was a little over 20yrs ago that I lived near a semi-private lake on the edge of the metro. During the last weeks of ice the same 3 or 4 guys were out fishing and keeping limits of sunnies twice a day. I believe the limit was 30 back then. They were smaller ones – not slabs. Do that for 10 days and you have 600 fish a person. It is real hard for me to believe that they ever ate them all and may not have even cleaned them all. I wish I had called them in. They blamed the guys from da-cities when the bite was not good or when they didn’t catch some nicer fish.
I agree also people will have too many in the freezer and be over. I have not had that happen. I make sure depending on what we are fishing for that my freezer does not have any in depending on what the limits are. Walleye I hate freezing so that gets ate up when I get home either way sometime in a couple days of coming home.
A lot of people think cause they ate the fish they can catch more that day and that is not true and many people will disagree.
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