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07/01/2017 06:30PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
If I catch my bag limit of walleyes in Minnesota, can i gift them to my wife and legally catch six more?
 
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07/01/2017 06:53PM  
No
 
07/02/2017 06:58AM  
quote walllee: "No"

... because of what regulation? I looked at the regulation brochure and couldn't find restrictions on gifting. A little help?

I assumed the answer you posted, but hoped for deeper insight.
 
lundojam
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07/02/2017 07:49AM  
Technically, no. Practically, yes. A limit per licensed angler in the boat will probably not get you a ticket unless you do something to make the CO want to give you a ticket. It is up to the CO's discretion. If you drunkenly brag you caught all the fish and are rude, for example, you'll get ticketed (I'm guessing.)
 
gymcoachdon
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07/02/2017 07:56AM  
quote bobbernumber3: "If I catch my bag limit of walleyes in Minnesota, can i gift them to my wife and legally catch six more?"


From MN fishing regs PDF

Daily and possession limits (bags) – For most species of fish, daily and possession limits
are the same. One exception would be the inland limit on yellow perch, which is 20 per
day and 40 in possession. The daily and possession limits include fish possessed by the
person at all locations including such places as livewell, cold storage, at home, or at a
resort. Daily limit is the number of fish an angler can take in one calendar day. Eating
those fish or gifting them away on the same day does not allow an angler to possess
additional fish taken in the same calendar day.
 
07/02/2017 09:21AM  
Page 32 of MN fishing regs. See rules reference above from gymcoachdon as well---any fish you gift counts as your limit for that day. So the answer is no if it is the same day for sure. It appears you could catch a limit, bring it home---gift it, then the next day or later catch your limit. I'd just buy a couples license and not take a chance. All the license fees go back to the DNR for management.

"Can I give away fish that I’ve kept?
If you have kept a fish and want to transfer it as a gift, it must be accompanied by a receipt that must remain with the gift. The person receiving the gift can’t possess more than the statewide limit including your gift. The receipt must contain all of the following information:
• Name and address of the owner.
• Name and address of recipient.
• Date of transfer.
• Description of the gift.
• License number (DNR number or transaction number) under which the fish was taken."

This probably goes without saying but the person has to be present to "gift" a fish and in actual possession of the fish for it to be considered gifted. For example, I can't be at a resort with 2 limits and claim I am gifting to my wife back home...I just have 2 limits at that point and will get fined accordingly.
 
Savage Voyageur
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07/02/2017 07:20PM  
I would say No to your idea. You have to remember that the rules say the limit if fish is "In Posession". If you gift the fish to your wife who lives in your house you are at your limit. Your limit counts if they are in your freezer. You are done keeping fish at that point until you eat them. Then you can catch another limit and put it in the freezer. The easiest way to take home more fish is to get your wife a fishing license too and take her fishing. It's only $13.00 more to get a married fishing license. Then you can keep two limits of fish.
 
mastertangler
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07/04/2017 08:47AM  
I thought the thread was literally "gifting" fish.

On my Hunters Loop I met up with a family of Canadians and while taking a mid afternoon dip one sunny afternoon I became acquainted with them. I couldn't help but notice grampa taking notice of a nice walleye I had on the stringer. I quickly offered the fish and they gladly accepted.

Later the next day I met up with them again in the late afternoon and they insisted I share their island site. I accepted and since I had a few hours to burn I caught dinner for the 5 of them.

We set out together the following morning and I paddled with them until the onset of a terrific thunderstorm. I foolishly paddled through it while they waited on the bank. We camped on the same lake but separate campsites and when I caught a nice laker I dropped it off at their campsite where the old man was once again quite delighted.

The only other "gifted" fish in the Quetico that I can remember was my first Laker, taken on Basswood, which really left an impression on me of just how hard a laker can pull on light line. It was far to big for me and I spotted some young guys (turned out to be part of a scout group) fishing from shore and I dropped the fish with them.

And there has been numerous times in other parts of the country where I have given shore bound anglers a nice prize to take home.
 
07/04/2017 02:41PM  
I have never gifted fish as you have mentioned. I was just looking for a way to work with the restrictive MN possession limit.
 
kyleyewongster
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07/04/2017 06:51PM  
6 fish is restrictive?
 
07/04/2017 08:17PM  
quote kyleyewongster: "6 fish is restrictive?"
being on a few fishing threads , I was a little surprised to see much more liberal fishing rules. Like no limits and no closed season in some states ,so to some Minnesota is strick. and the sea gull lake area is 3(walleye) in possesion.
 
07/04/2017 08:40PM  
quote kyleyewongster: "6 fish is restrictive?"


I grew up in Wisconsin with a possession limit of two daily bag limits. If you went fishing for the weekend, you could have a good day on Saturday and still go fishing on Sunday. And use more than one line.




 
07/05/2017 09:25AM  
MN has rules for fishing because some people abuse them, but I wouldn't call it restrictive. Maybe I do wish I could have more than one line in the water at once at times, like when my buddy needs to sit on the throne while we are bobber fishing from shore or something similar. 6 fish limit is not very restrictive though. It basically just means you can't travel with more than 6 fish. Otherwise, how could they ever prove that you fished more than your daily limit. You could be driving home from the lake and just say that some of the fillets in the cooler are from yesterday and there would be nothing they could do about it.

A lot of people come to MN for the fishing and almost all of them are looking for walleye. That puts a lot of pressure on one species when there is already a lot of competition, especially with northerns and muskies. Just abide by the rules and fish responsibly. Why do you need more than 6 fish anyways?
 
Savage Voyageur
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07/05/2017 12:37PM  
quote A1t2o: It basically just means you can't travel with more than 6 fish. Otherwise, how could they ever prove that you fished more than your daily limit. You could be driving home from the lake and just say that some of the fillets in the cooler are from yesterday and there would be nothing they could do about it.


As an example: Are you saying that you can have 3 days of your limit or 18 Walleye in your freezer at home and come home from fishing with 6 more Walleyes?
 
07/05/2017 12:46PM  
quote bobbernumber3: "I have never gifted fish as you have mentioned. I was just looking for a way to work with the restrictive MN possession limit."


I think what you mean is you're looking for a way to skirt around the law. Based on how the regs are written in the book its not clearly spelled out that it would be illegal but it is certainly against the spirit of the law. You're trying to figure out a way for you to possess more than your allotted total, doesn't matter how you try to justify it.

If you do this why stop with gifting just to your wife? Why not gift some to your mom, dad, neighbor, mailman, and pen pal? Of course being the nice guy that you are you can offer to keep them frozen at your place until they need them.

Why not buy your wife a license and bring her with you fishing. Doesn't matter if you catch them all or if she does, you'd be allowed 2 limits for the 2 licenses. Or go fishing in Wisconsin.
 
Guest Paddler
  
07/06/2017 07:12AM  
If this is a hypothetical question, then the answer has been given and clarified. If this is a roundabout way of being a fish hog, and somehow flirting with the definition of ethical, then why not just gift your wife a fishing pole and fishing license instead? Give a wife a walleye feed her for a day, but buy her her own pole and feed her for a lifetime...or something like that:)
 
07/06/2017 09:06AM  
So the situation is that my wife and I were camped with a trailer and canoe at Fall Lake for a week in June. I planned to fish on several different lakes thru the week. Morning One I caught four walleyes. Morning Three I caught two walleyes. After checking the regulations I wondered if I was done for the week. Came across the reg regarding gifting and questioned how that works as she is not interested in fishing at all. I would not buy her a license for my use and don't think that is legal. The posts above lead me to think gifting fish to my wife in this situation is allowed.
 
07/06/2017 10:15AM  
quote Savage Voyageur: "
quote A1t2o: It basically just means you can't travel with more than 6 fish. Otherwise, how could they ever prove that you fished more than your daily limit. You could be driving home from the lake and just say that some of the fillets in the cooler are from yesterday and there would be nothing they could do about it.



As an example: Are you saying that you can have 3 days of your limit or 18 Walleye in your freezer at home and come home from fishing with 6 more Walleyes? "


They aren't going to come into your home and check your freezer unless you give them a good reason to. I'm saying the possession limit is the same as the daily limit. That means you can not have more than 1 day's limit in your possession at any time. If you bring 6 fish home though, and you had a couple fish still in the freezer, I doubt anyone would care as long as you don't continuously abuse it. 18 fish is way too many for one person, I would never condone stocking fish like that. I usually try to obey the spirit of the laws rather than the technicalities.
 
07/06/2017 10:24AM  
One other thing to point out. The daily limit and possession limit are not the same. In your possession or not, you have a set daily limit. You can not catch 6 fish, then somehow remove them from your possession in any way other than returning them live to the water (like eating or gifting), then come back and catch 6 more. You can however catch some fish one day, eat them then catch more the next day or a few days later. The spirit of the law is to catch what you will eat.

In your example, as long as you were not storing those fish without eating them, then you can keep fishing. In that time frame you could have gifted them to your wife as well since it did not go over your daily limit. The laws are not meant to prevent you from catching more than 6 fish on a trip, they are just to stop you from catching much more than you will eat.
 
07/06/2017 10:38AM  
While I can't point you to the specific wording on the legality of this I can say that the interpretation of the law is up to the individual CO that you may encounter. The fact its not clearly spelled out in the regs book won't prevent you from getting a ticket if the CO you encounter sees it differently than you do.

Odds are you'll get away with it just fine but then again the odds are good that you could catch 20 walleye and keep them all to yourself without ever getting caught since CO's are spread so thin. Just don't be surprised if you do encounter a CO that he/she may interpret things differently than you.

Also when it comes to legal questions the "I read it on an internet forum" defense rarely works. You are better off contacting the DNR directly and asking them the question. They have an info email address that they respond to rather quickly. That will be a better source for the correct information, or better yet call the CO in the area you were fishing. Their cell phone numbers are all listed on the DNR website.
 
07/06/2017 10:48AM  
As a forum filled with avid conservationists, the whole idea of taking more than your limit, legally or otherwise, seems completely ridiculous on its face. Seriously ridiculous.

Daniel
 
07/06/2017 10:56AM  
I would say that Minnesota's limits are way too liberal. A six walleye limit is a relic from decades past. Fortunately, the state reduced the daily limit of lake trout to two--and even that is too high for easily accessible lakes, when you consider just how unproductive many trout lakes are (0.5 lbs of lake trout biomass/acre per year).

Regarding BWCA fisheries in particular, there is a reason that the fishing and fisheries are
significantly better north of the border in Quetico. It all has to do with the amount of harvest.
 
Duluthian
senior member (51)senior membersenior member
  
07/06/2017 12:08PM  
quote bobbernumber3: "So the situation is that my wife and I were camped with a trailer and canoe at Fall Lake for a week in June. I planned to fish on several different lakes thru the week. Morning One I caught four walleyes. Morning Three I caught two walleyes. After checking the regulations I wondered if I was done for the week. Came across the reg regarding gifting and questioned how that works as she is not interested in fishing at all. I would not buy her a license for my use and don't think that is legal. The posts above lead me to think gifting fish to my wife in this situation is allowed.
"


No, you are not technically "done" after day 2 in your situation above. Even with a full limit in possession, you can C&R all day long.

Eat your fish after day one and your problem is solved. Let me ask you this; if you already have 6 walleyes in possession, do you really need to be keeping more? I'm not sure if your wife eats fish or not but 6 fish is plenty for 2-3 meals depending on the size of the fish.

Bobbernumber3, this is not directed at you but more so a general observation.
I dont get the fascination with filling the freezer with filets. My rule is I always eat fish while they are fresh and never freeze them. I am 30 years old and my general observation is that the older generation tends to have many "meat hogs" among them that dont ever practice C&R. There are several folks from the older generation that I've fished with over the years that will keep and eat everything they catch and it is almost painful for them to release a fish they caught. The younger generation seems to have a lot more people on board with catch and release.
 
mr.barley
distinguished member(7231)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
07/06/2017 01:01PM  
quote Duluthian: "
quote bobbernumber3: "So the situation is that my wife and I were camped with a trailer and canoe at Fall Lake for a week in June. I planned to fish on several different lakes thru the week. Morning One I caught four walleyes. Morning Three I caught two walleyes. After checking the regulations I wondered if I was done for the week. Came across the reg regarding gifting and questioned how that works as she is not interested in fishing at all. I would not buy her a license for my use and don't think that is legal. The posts above lead me to think gifting fish to my wife in this situation is allowed.
"



I am 30 years old and my general observation is that the older generation tends to have many "meat hogs" among them that dont ever practice C&R. There are several folks from the older generation that I've fished with over the years that will keep and eat everything they catch and it is almost painful for them to release a fish they caught. The younger generation seems to have a lot more people on board with catch and release.
"
So..here we go. Hahaha!
 
07/06/2017 03:06PM  
quote mr.barley: "
quote Duluthian: "
quote bobbernumber3: "So the situation is that my wife and I were camped with a trailer and canoe at Fall Lake for a week in June. I planned to fish on several different lakes thru the week. Morning One I caught four walleyes. Morning Three I caught two walleyes. After checking the regulations I wondered if I was done for the week. Came across the reg regarding gifting and questioned how that works as she is not interested in fishing at all. I would not buy her a license for my use and don't think that is legal. The posts above lead me to think gifting fish to my wife in this situation is allowed.
"




I am 30 years old and my general observation is that the older generation tends to have many "meat hogs" among them that dont ever practice C&R. There are several folks from the older generation that I've fished with over the years that will keep and eat everything they catch and it is almost painful for them to release a fish they caught. The younger generation seems to have a lot more people on board with catch and release.
"
So..here we go. Hahaha!"


HAHAHA!!! Every fish is a "dandy" and they all go straight to the stringer for some of the old timers.
 
BnD
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07/06/2017 06:23PM  
quote arctic: "I would say that Minnesota's limits are way too liberal. A six walleye limit is a relic from decades past. Fortunately, the state reduced the daily limit of lake trout to two--and even that is too high for easily accessible lakes, when you consider just how unproductive many trout lakes are (0.5 lbs of lake trout biomass/acre per year).


Regarding BWCA fisheries in particular, there is a reason that the fishing and fisheries are
significantly better north of the border in Quetico. It all has to do with the amount of harvest."


+1 million. Finally the voice of reason and knowledge in the darkness. Catch and release and your children can come back and enjoy the same fishing you enjoy.
 
yogi59weedr
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07/06/2017 07:43PM  
Trash talk the older generation.... hey.... that's me......
I catch my fair share of fish....
I release a lot more then I eat.....
And I'm well fed....
Ever had a fish fry for say30 people......
Gotta freeze fish. Stay within the limits and I see no problem with it......
 
Northwoodsman
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07/06/2017 08:03PM  
quote bobbernumber3: "If I catch my bag limit of walleyes in Minnesota, can i gift them to my wife and legally catch six more?"

Is your wife with you in the boat? Does she have a fishing pole and know how to use it? Does she have a valid fishing license?
 
07/06/2017 08:11PM  
quote Northwoodsman: "
quote bobbernumber3: "If I catch my bag limit of walleyes in Minnesota, can i gift them to my wife and legally catch six more?"

Is your wife with you in the boat? Does she have a fishing pole and know how to use it? Does she have a valid fishing license?"


No to all questions. And not sure if any of those points relate at all to gifting?
 
07/06/2017 08:31PM  
quote arctic: "I would say that Minnesota's limits are way too liberal. A six walleye limit is a relic from decades past. Fortunately, the state reduced the daily limit of lake trout to two--and even that is too high for easily accessible lakes, when you consider just how unproductive many trout lakes are (0.5 lbs of lake trout biomass/acre per year).


Regarding BWCA fisheries in particular, there is a reason that the fishing and fisheries are
significantly better north of the border in Quetico. It all has to do with the amount of harvest."


Agree its ironic a imaginary line can determine fishing quality. In many lakes in Minnesota if everyone who fished it kept just one limit,many lakes would be over fished. Yes that depends on how many people fished that lake.
Access determines the quality of fish still existing. A border between two countries,physical access etc.. Yes regulations do help tremendously but they go only so far.
Around the BWCA a walleye averages 1 pound at like 14.4 inches and is usually at least 4 years old plus. Northern pike grow much faster.
 
kyleyewongster
distinguished member (320)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
07/06/2017 08:37PM  
quote jamotrade: "
quote mr.barley: "
quote Duluthian: "
quote bobbernumber3: "So the situation is that my wife and I were camped with a trailer and canoe at Fall Lake for a week in June. I planned to fish on several different lakes thru the week. Morning One I caught four walleyes. Morning Three I caught two walleyes. After checking the regulations I wondered if I was done for the week. Came across the reg regarding gifting and questioned how that works as she is not interested in fishing at all. I would not buy her a license for my use and don't think that is legal. The posts above lead me to think gifting fish to my wife in this situation is allowed.
"




I am 30 years old and my general observation is that the older generation tends to have many "meat hogs" among them that dont ever practice C&R. There are several folks from the older generation that I've fished with over the years that will keep and eat everything they catch and it is almost painful for them to release a fish they caught. The younger generation seems to have a lot more people on board with catch and release.
"
So..here we go. Hahaha!"



HAHAHA!!! Every fish is a "dandy" and they all go straight to the stringer for some of the old timers."


LOL!!!!! don't take it so personally. We've all seen the older stringer pics of large fish and large quantities of fish. It is not a personal attack at you. Duluthian's take is probably accurate. FYI - I don't agree that they don't EVER practice C&R but it sure seems more pronounced these days.
 
07/06/2017 08:38PM  
quote bobbernumber3: "
quote Northwoodsman: "
quote bobbernumber3: "If I catch my bag limit of walleyes in Minnesota, can i gift them to my wife and legally catch six more?"

Is your wife with you in the boat? Does she have a fishing pole and know how to use it? Does she have a valid fishing license?"



No to all questions. And not sure if any of those points relate at all to gifting?"
well bottom line is this ,,if your gifting to someone who isnt there in your group , yes very illegal , now if your out by yourself i wouldnt have more than 6 walleyes on a stringer , if your wife is at camp (with a minnesota fishing license) and your there you can have 12 walleyes with no more than 2 over 20". very simple really , with exceptions of specific limits like the seagull lake area that are lower.
 
07/06/2017 08:40PM  
quote bobbernumber3: "
quote Northwoodsman: "
quote bobbernumber3: "If I catch my bag limit of walleyes in Minnesota, can i gift them to my wife and legally catch six more?"

Is your wife with you in the boat? Does she have a fishing pole and know how to use it? Does she have a valid fishing license?"



No to all questions. And not sure if any of those points relate at all to gifting?"


If it is the same day,absolutely not. Your allowed only one limit a day.
 
07/07/2017 06:35AM  
Years ago in Canada (Lake St.Joesph) we enjoyed a shore lunch of probably 6-8 16-17" inch fish. I don't remember the # of people but we were in 3 boats. After shore lunch we went back out and caught fish that put us over are daily limit - not considering the the fish we had consumed. About 90 minutes later (after keeping about 7-9 more walleyes) we were promptly approached by MNR boat and one that went over and looked through our fish pile. Someone was fined. Probably the one that argued with them.They had been watching us for sometime we found out as they escorted us to our cabin to check our freezers. Luckily- it was very early in the trip.

 
07/07/2017 06:55AM  
quote bobbernumber3: "So the situation is that my wife and I were camped with a trailer and canoe at Fall Lake for a week in June. I planned to fish on several different lakes thru the week. Morning One I caught four walleyes. Morning Three I caught two walleyes. After checking the regulations I wondered if I was done for the week. Came across the reg regarding gifting and questioned how that works as she is not interested in fishing at all. I would not buy her a license for my use and don't think that is legal. The posts above lead me to think gifting fish to my wife in this situation is allowed.
"


I'd email or call the DNR for verification. I'd ask can I gift a limit of fish to my wife and still catch/keep more fish? Then I'd ask specifically about being away from home and gifting to your wife while you are together. It just isn't clear---seems like it violates the spirit of the rules either way, but that is just my opinion. If ya get an answer from the DNR then you know for sure.

T
 
Guest Paddler
  
07/07/2017 08:19AM  
I don't think spirit of the rule is a consideration in this case, but rather what's the most amount of fish can he get and still sleep at night. Let's be honest, an ethical fisherman wouldn't be so adamant; he'd simply go out the next day and catch another limit...unless of course he's a fish hog. Call a spade a spade and quit beating around the bush already..
 
07/07/2017 10:58AM  
My apologies to forum members for stirring this pot a little too long... Guest Paddlers have started with the name calling. Discussion must be over
 
07/07/2017 03:28PM  
Minnesota DNR reply-July 7,2017

Hello
Thank you for contacting the Minnesota DNR.

Yes, you could gift to your wife a limit of fish. Those fish would still be considered part of your bag until midnight.
The person receiving the fish can not go over the limit of fish.

Can I give away fish that I’ve kept?

If you have kept a fish and want to transfer it as a gift, it must be accompanied by a

receipt that must remain with the gift. The person receiving the gift can’t possess
more than the statewide limit including your gift. The receipt must contain all of the
following information:

• Name and address of the owner.
• Name and address of recipient.
• Date of transfer.
• Description of the gift.

• License number (DNR number or transaction number) under which the
fish was taken.
 
07/07/2017 05:30PM  
quote : "I don't think spirit of the rule is a consideration in this case, but rather what's the most amount of fish can he get and still sleep at night. Let's be honest, an ethical fisherman wouldn't be so adamant; he'd simply go out the next day and catch another limit...unless of course he's a fish hog. Call a spade a spade and quit beating around the bush already.."


Ya know if you are afraid to say something under your log in name then maybe don't say it? You aren't even anonymous...it is pretty easy to track the IP address...which maybe a Moderator should do along with a ban from this site since it violates the rules of posting in the message board.

T
 
07/07/2017 06:09PM  
quote bobbernumber3: "My apologies to forum members for stirring this pot a little too long... Guest Paddlers have started with the name calling. Discussion must be over
"
i always took your question as a question nothing more , many minnesotains dont realize other states do have very liberal fishing regs. but ya people who hide behind a guest screen name is a calling a spade a spade LOL , ya right !
 
07/07/2017 06:13PM  
quote WhiteWolf: " Years ago in Canada (Lake St.Joesph) we enjoyed a shore lunch of probably 6-8 16-17" inch fish. I don't remember the # of people but we were in 3 boats. After shore lunch we went back out and caught fish that put us over are daily limit - not considering the the fish we had consumed. About 90 minutes later (after keeping about 7-9 more walleyes) we were promptly approached by MNR boat and one that went over and looked through our fish pile. Someone was fined. Probably the one that argued with them.They had been watching us for sometime we found out as they escorted us to our cabin to check our freezers. Luckily- it was very early in the trip.


"
this reminds me of a time i did a fly in to an outpost in ontario , the situation was 3 cabins and we rented one of them the other 2 were empty , after getting check by the fish/game guy(it was a large lake with more than 1 outfitter with cabins) he went into the other cabins to check there freezers , if another group would have left fish in there freezer we may have been fined , something to think about when occupy a site with more than 1 cabin. and they do have great binoculars ;)
 
yogi59weedr
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07/07/2017 06:52PM  
Ok. Now I'm confused... Damn rules...
Say your wife is on your trip.no fishing for her. You give her the gift of 6 walleye.accompanied by proper reciept.2 days later before you leave to go home,you go out and catch 6 more eyes.thats your limit.... you take off for home with 2 limits .one yours and one wife's gift with proper reciepts and documentation.
Two limits 1 license...

THAT'S NOT RIGHT.... Or am I not understanding it . I give fish to old guys at home all the time.They like to still eat fish but don't get out as often due to health.

I don't ever give them more than they can eat...
I'm probably a little slack on the paper work.
I.look at it as hElping a generation who helped.me....
 
07/07/2017 07:51PM  
I actually think this was a great question to ask, not from the sense of trying to maximize harvest but because to me it seems many are not really sure about the rules. To me when I read the rules I think they are vary clear and unambiguous.

The rules state the possession and daily limits are the same. I think this could be worded slightly more clearly, but they are saying the NUMBERS are the same*, not that possession and daily limits are the same thing. In this case for walleye you are allowed 6 in possession and 6 daily limit - but you clearly can not violate either one. If you have 2 at home in the freezer from last month, and 2 in the ice chest from yesterday, you are allowed 2 more today - even though the daily limit is 6 you can not violate the possession limit of 6. The definitions of limits and possession on page 10:

---Daily and possession limits (bags) – For most species of fish, daily and possession limits are the same. One exception would be the inland limit on yellow perch, which is 20 per day and 40 in possession. The daily and possession limits include fish possessed by the person at all locations including such places as live well, cold storage, at home, or at a resort. Daily limit is the number of sh an angler can take in one calendar day. Eating those fish or gifting them away on the same day does not allow an angler to possess additional fish taken in the same calendar day. ---

(Back to my words) Your daily limit is clearly decided by how many fish you take from the water without immediately turning back while your limit is yet not met. Eating them, tossing them, or gifting them in that day does not reduce your daily take number.
Your possession limit is based clearly on those in your possession, meaning on your stringer, in your live well, in your camp cooler, or in your freezer at home.

So if a person catches 6 walleyes on a Saturday and following the procedures physically gifts them to another person in their group who take possession of them and does not have more than a legal possession limit from all sources, it clearly looks to me like the next day the first person can go out and take 6 more for their daily and possession limit. Then if some of the first persons fish are consumed, the next day they could go out and catch more.

On this thread there has been some well intentioned pushback about not maximizing the catch. I appreciate that (having never kept a limit in my life), but ask how much worse is it for a person to use the existing rules to catch 12 walleye over several days vs anyone catching and eating 2 walleye every day for a week? Or 6 walleye every weekend week after week? Numerically it doesn’t seem much different to me.

And to Guest Paddler who wants us to “call a spade a spade”, there are plenty around hear who also have a name for those to post harsh comments but hide behind anonymity. I’d hope next time you disagree, you craft your words online more in a way you might express them if we were all sitting together discussing this at a wing night somewhere.

*For most fish: in MN the possession limit for ducks is 2 times daily limit, and for pheasant 3 times daily limit.
 
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