Alma-Float or boat?

Tomorrow morning I’m heading to Alma for some walleye/sauger/whatever is biting fishing. There will be four of us including my 10 year old son. We’ve fished Alma a lot over the years but not enough recently to stay real up to date with anything. Considering the time of year and water flow and the fact we’d really just like to catch a few eaters do you figure we’d be better off taking the boat or fishing the float?

The other big question we have, outside of “how is the bite”, is how high and fast is the water? Thanks!

I fished the float last friday, very slow… Was in boat today, bite wasnt bad… 7 keepers and some nice perch…

fished Alma today in a boat. i had trolling motor problems so im using that as an excuse for not catching any walleyes i did catch 7 big suckers and 6 big smallies, caught all the suckers at the damn and all the smallies down river pitching some sand with trees……. i also talked to several people at the landing that did not catch any walleyes either but they did catch a bunch of them suckers…… must of been in the wrong spot or had the wrong presentation…. tried alot of pitching jigs and sonars at the dam tried drifting because i saw several fish picked up but only one walleye that was a eater…. but i did not try the wing damns because of my tolling motor not working may of been the spot to be.

Boat was good for us today for size but not numbers…..

were you fishing MN side fr a while today out of the main flow?

thats a nice fish by the way was trying hard today to find some big fish of my own, well i should say big walleyes caught plenty of big fish just wrong species

You guys catching these suckers is a good thing….The walleye action should be picking up fast..It seems every year when the suckers get active so do the big females…

that i very true i had the same experience last year and last year it seemed the big fish were very bountiful! hopefully the same this year.

Jarrad,
GREAT looking Walleye, is that your wife ?
I’m envious, I can’t even get my wife into the boat.

Have a Great Season.
Jack

I would go to the float for lunch and a coffe break and sniff around, atleast watch for awhile and look. You can figure out pretty quick whats going on there. If I had my preference it would always be the boat, unless you guys were looking for an over nighter. Have fun

Thanks for the replies. We opted for the float and have no regrets. Those guys are always first class and entertaining!

We didn’t go early and that was our only real mistake. The fishing this morning was pretty good from what it looked like on the stringers and gut bucket. With the high winds and heavy and sideways water flow it made conditions a little rough. The lack of a mid day bite compounded matters. But that is certainly the risk a guy takes when limiting himself to one single area. In the past we fished the float every weekend because we hadn’t bought a boat yet. While we have had some excellent fishing in the boat I still say our overall best fishing, taking into account for numbers and size, has come from the float. But to be fair by the time we bought a boat we lived an hour further away and couldn’t donate as much time to that area as previously.

We did see a lot of boats fishing in non traditional walleye areas. We came to find that some BIG perch were on the feedbag and the walleye guys would go from the wing dams and main channel to these off shoots for perch. We did see many of the boaters pick up some smaller walleye in the channel below the damn. Seems nearly everything we saw caught was released. I found it odd so many walleye were caught. Even on the float hardly any sauger were had. Normally, for us anyhow, we see 3-4 times the saugers as walleyes. In all we had a WONDERFUL day on the G.A.F.F and hope to be back in a week. Maybe by boat, maybe on the float.

I hate to complain but I will because there was a gross example of hog fisherman as well today. I’ll also post this in the general discussion forum (unless the staff objects) in hopes these hogs see and realize what they were doing. Or more accurately realize everyone else realized what they were doing. On the float many people fish with rod holders and a dead stick, a very effective tactic indeed. But when the place is crowded (it wasn’t today) people have to work together so everyone fits. Not today. Three fisherman absolutely HOGGED the entire Wisconsin side and the south end of the float with their holders. One guy, the worst one, was using SIX rods and holders! Now he would occasionally have his two young kids (maybe 6 and 8) over there as is 4 of the rods were theirs. but VERY clearly he was fishing the 6 rods. At one point he even bragged that using 6 rods has him one fish short of a double limit. Now maybe one of the kids had their own license allowing for the extra fish, I don’t know. The other two guys would glare and stare at anyone who would dare go into “their” area to fish. So I made sure to do it often. I never said a word just went in anytime they went to chat or otherwise left a hole open. They’d come back and just stare as if I was in their living room. I never crowded them, just fished in the vicinity. These guys were absolute HOGS and made fishing uncomfortable for others. Too bad the DNR wasn’t on this pool today.

No she’s not my wife. I am not married anymore……

She is my best friend that loves the river and woods… So we spend a lot of time doing both….Same interests and same hobbies…

Riveratt,

Did you know you can’t even keep your kids possesion if they don’t have a license. In order to keep their possesion they need to purchase a license even if they are under the age of 16. The state will allow them to fish but they can’t keep a possesion of fish unless they purchase a license. Until then their fish they caught goes under you possesion limit…

Are we talking about WI? I’m not sure about WI, but MN regs are as follows:
License Requirements
All people 16 years and older need a license unless otherwise
noted. To purchase a noncommercial game or fish license, nonresidents
and residents must have their social security number on file
with DNR or must provide it.
Residents
• To qualify
as a resident,
a person must maintain a legal residence
in Minnesota
for at least 60 consecutive days before purchasing
a license.
• Residents 21 or older must provide a current Minnesota Driver’s
License or ID card, unless exempt under the Religious Freedom Act.
• A nonresident under age 21 whose parent is a Minnesota resident is
considered a resident.
All residents age 15 and younger are allowed to take their own limit of
fish without purchasing a license.
Nonresidents
• All nonresidents age 16 and older are required to have an appropriate
fishing license while angling. Nonresidents
under age 16 do not need a
license if the parent
or guardian
is licensed.
Children of an adult who
has a Minnesota
nonresident family license may possess their own limit
of fish. However, if the adult has an individual
license, the child’s fish
are included
in the adult’s limit. Nonresidents under age 16 may purchase
a nonresident license and possess their own limit of fish.

Hi Jarrad,

Yes last year we’ asked a warden while in Alma for the specifics about fishing with kids because we had ours along. We were told that they were legal to use two lines (assuming border waters) at the same time we did but that our limits were not able to be increased because of the kids unless they had their own license. To be fair in the case yesterday the guy didn’t say HE had a double limit just that using six poles has him within one fish of a double limit. There may have been another adult with him or, as Ruger so kindly pointed out, he may have been a Mn licensed angler. Thanks for that info Ruger, I did not even consider that possibility. However I don’t think either state allows for the use of six lines in the water at once per person. As the warden we talked to last year explained it the kids are able to use their own poles. But the moment they want to run off and chase butterflies their rods HAVE to come out of the water or the parent will likely be cited for too many lines.

This raises a question for me. I fish with a MN license AND a WI Nonresident license. Does it matter what license you fish under while on boarder waters?

I can see in this case, it would matter. MN license carriers clearly have an advantage and can take an extra limit.

You have to abide by the laws of the state where you reside….in this case you are from MN. MN laws govern your fishing all the way to WS railraod tracks that follow the river.

That is really interesting as you are accessing the float from the WI side of the river and fishing the MN side of the river. I realize it is border water from track to track, but…

Mark

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You have to abide by the laws of the state where you reside….in this case you are from MN. MN laws govern your fishing all the way to WS railraod tracks that follow the river.

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So now I’m more confused. I abide by the state laws where I reside regarding limits, however I can legally fish two lines with just a MN license on MN/WI border waters cause WI allows two lines per angler. Talk about being clear as mud.

When I talked to the Wis DNR today on the phone about my kids’ limits when I re-new my non-resident Wisconsin license. They said the kids can have their own bag limit under the age of 16.

It doesn’t matter where a person accesses the water to fish on a border.

On a border water such as at Alma, the law says that if you are a Minnesota resident, you have to hold a Minnesota license to fish that border water and that you are obligated to follow the rules and regulations of your home state….your state of residency, in this case MN. If you hold a non-resident WI license, the only place you can follow the rules applied to that license is on waters within the state of Wisconsin that are NOT designated as border waters. MN law states that as long as your children under the age of 16 are with you or another legal guardian, they too can possess their own limit of fish and they can use the two lines, but they have to be tending those lines themselves.

Confusion comes from people thinking that WI laws apply to all who fish a boundary water. WI laws mean nothing to a MN resident, but boundary water rules as issued in your state of residency apply to you. If you live in Rochester, focus on MN laws and how they apply to boundary waters as described in MN regs booklets.

right on CT. It doesn’t matter where you access the water. If you are MN resident, you probably have a MN fish license. SO follow the rules of the MN DNR fishing Regs. for MN. Vice Versa for WI. Never mind what your non-resident license is in your wallet when fishing border waters. THe MN regs have rules that apply to border waters. And in the book it doesn’t state that these rules are “because Wisky does it”. I have lived in both states and have had both licenses. Don’t make a mountian out of a cow pie. how ’bout a beer!

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This raises a question for me. I fish with a MN license AND a WI Nonresident license. Does it matter what license you fish under while on boarder waters?

I can see in this case, it would matter. MN license carriers clearly have an advantage and can take an extra limit.

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This topic comes up rather often and it always generates a lot of discussion. It’s been awhile since I read the Wisconsin regulations but I don’t remember them being confusing. I know people here have even called local wardens looking for clarification and even then got differing answers. Well in the recent issue of the G.A.F.F. news paper WI warden Bob Jumbeck and MN warden Joel Heyn answer several border water questions including the one above.

The borders waters are described as are between the BNSF tracks in the Wisconsin side and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St.Paul, and Pacific on the Minnesota side. Pretty easy to follow. Residents of either states MUST have a resident license from their home state, they CANNOT fish with a non resident license from the other state.

Buying a license gives one the authority to fish between the tracks but the important thing to remember is you must follow the rules and regulations of the state you’re fishing in while on the water. Generally speaking, the center of the main navigation channel marks the state boundary.

If memory serves me that is also about what it says in the Wisconsin regulations. They also speak about number of lines allowed, foul hooked fish, sorting and culling, daily and possession limits and so on. Bottom line is these guys put their names to print and laid it out to read. It seems rather clear after reading it. I do believe if a person isn’t simply being an ignorant HOG and you are in violation there might, might, be some leniency considering there are some obvious gray areas.

Wi residents can use 3 lines on their side of the river and must abide by Mn. regs when on that side. With a Mn license you must abide by Mn regs which means you can only use 2 lines no matter what side you are fishing

I believe the rules for border waters over-ride the MN and/or WI rules. The Miss. River border laws allow 2 lines per angler – this should be regardless of MN or WI license and regardless resident or non-resident.

Wi regs say on their side if have a wi license you can have 3 lines on their side, Mn regs say if you have a Mn license you must follow Mn regs which is 2 lines no matter what side you are fishing

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Wi regs say on their side if have a wi license you can have 3 lines on their side, Mn regs say if you have a Mn license you must follow Mn regs which is 2 lines no matter what side you are fishing

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That’s exactly as it is printed. I would have said that even a Wisconsin fisherman on the WI side was bound by two rods/hooks. But the way it reads 3 would be allowed.