State Record Fish on River, WHAT STATE?

I don’t usually think about this since I only catch small fish…but being a river fisherman I was wondering. If someone catches a state record fish on a boarder water, what state do they register the record with?

Many can debate this, but the truth is the boarder water river rules change depending on what side of the GPS line you are on. I.E. I can only fish two lines on MN side but I can fish 3 on thw WI side, no matter which state’s license I hold.

Is this also how a record fish would work? If I catch a 7lb sauger (lol) on the WI side of the river is it a WI record? or a MN record? Or is it the state I chose it to be? Can the record be recorded in both if the fight takes you across GPS lines lol?!?!

Please join me in a debate that will most likely never be relevant to me.

Which legal side of the river was it caught in? A Minnesota angler can fish the Wisconsin side of the river and catch a record fish, but on the river if it came from legally defined Wisconsin water, its a Wisconsin record. You have to tell where the fish was caught when applying for record status. The state of which the license used is irrelevant. Its where the fish was legally taken that will matter.

Buddy holds a record on the st croix. He was on the mn side, its a mn record. Hog nose sucker I believe

MN State record big mouth buffalo – 40 LBS.
WI State record big mouth buffalo – 70 LBS.

I caught this one on MN side on P4 – 50 LBS.
Released to bite again.

The state in which you are fishing is the state in which the record is taken. Just like a sunfish for bait – only legal on ONE side…AND you must catch that sunfish on that side too as gamefish caught in MN are not legal bait.
Ooohhh the dotted lines.

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Evan, you still chasing the state record mudpuppy?

Holy crap that an enormous big mouth buffalo lol

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Evan, you still chasing the state record mudpuppy?

Ohh that smarts!

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Evan, you still chasing the state record mudpuppy?

HAHA, I am not sure whether I am chasing the state record mud puppy….or it is chasing me….ahhhhh the nightmares!!!!

Good answers thanks all, pretty definitive. Ok, lets muddy the waters ( ) a little. What If I hook a buffalo in MN waters (like well into MN waters, lets say 1000′) and it drags me well into WI waters cause I am fishing light tackle for walleyes and WI is where I land it.

What state record?

You would register the fish in the state where you are licensed. If you are licensed in both states, take your pick.

-J.

I can only speak from my own experience, but on boarder waters, the record would be applied to the anglers primary state of residence. If it’s a nonresident angler, then it would default to the state’s license they purchased from (same as bag limits).

For example, if someone from Kansas purchased a WI license to fish the St Croix then it would be a WI record applied for, even if caught on the MN side.

Here is the exact verbiage from MNDNR:
Taken during the legal open season and hours
in Minnesota waters, including those boundary
waters where a Minnesota Fishing License is valid,
by a person licensed or otherwise legally entitled
to angle in Minnesota.

Evan Pheneger wrote:

Good answers thanks all, pretty definitive. Ok, lets muddy the waters ( ) a little. What If I hook a buffalo in MN waters (like well into MN waters, lets say 1000′) and it drags me well into WI waters cause I am fishing light tackle for walleyes and WI is where I land it.

That big mouth buffalo hit a crank at 5mph, leadcore on a shorty… Sounds like light gear to me
Took a few minutes before i realized it wasn’t a 4×4 sheet of plywood.

Jon Jordan wrote:

You would register the fish in the state where you are licensed. If you are licensed in both states, take your pick.

OK now we have some evidence arguing where it was caught and that it is based on license. Also, 3rivers, I greatly trust (but not blindly) your insight especially on border regs.

OK, looks like I won’t be breaking any WI fishing records anytime! Unless I am fishing sturgeon on Yellow Lake!!!!!

If you have a valid license from both states then you could theoretically claim a record for either state you choose based on that states rules and regs on bag limit and seasons.

For example if you have a MN AND WI license, I’m guessing you would qualify for a Live Release WI record caught anywhere on the St Croix.

However there is definitely a gray area if you are a MN resident with a WI license and try to submit a WI record caught on the St Croix (or vice-versa). I’m sure there would be many email exchanges on that application.

3Rivers wrote:

I can only speak from my own experience, but on boarder waters, the record would be applied to the anglers primary state of residence. If it’s a nonresident angler, then it would default to the state’s license they purchased from (same as bag limits).

For example, if someone from Kansas purchased a WI license to fish the St Croix then it would be a WI record applied for, even if caught on the MN side.

Here is the exact verbiage from MNDNR:
Taken during the legal open season and hours
in Minnesota waters, including those boundary
waters where a Minnesota Fishing License is valid,
by a person licensed or otherwise legally entitled
to angle in Minnesota.

On the Mississippi where its considered a border water between Minnesota and Wisconsin, a Minnesota license holder is also legally fish on the Wisconsin side. If a fish is caught in waters defined and determined to be on the Wisconsin side by a Minnesota license holder, that fish is still a Wisconsin fish, not a Minnesota fish. It would be a Wisconsin record. Wisconsin anglers claim a Minnesota record in the same way even though they possess only a Wisconsin license.

On the Mississippi where its considered a border water between Minnesota and Wisconsin, a Minnesota license holder is also legally fish on the Wisconsin side. If a fish is caught in waters defined and determined to be on the Wisconsin side by a Minnesota license holder, that fish is still a Wisconsin fish, not a Minnesota fish. It would be a Wisconsin record. Wisconsin anglers claim a Minnesota record in the same way even though they possess only a Wisconsin license.

That’s not how bag limits work. If you are from MN that’s a MN bag limit/fish no matter what part of the river you catch it on.

If anyone asks where I caught a record fish I tell them:

Taken during the legal open season and hours
in Minnesota waters, including those boundary
waters where a Minnesota Fishing License is valid,
by a person licensed or otherwise legally entitled
to angle in Minnesota.

I’m really surprised it’s not simply based on the body of water it was caught vs state. That would seem to make more sense.