I was over at the FishWrench.com forums and there was a thread reminding us Minnesocoldians to pick up our new fishing licenses. I was under the impression that a MN fishing license is good through the end of April. I went and looked it up and I was right. It is a little bit confusing because on the 2008 fishing license it says: "Expires Feb. 28, 2009" but right under that it indicates that the license is good from 3/1/2008 to 4/30/2009 which is the correct info.
Anyway looking into this got me checking on the Minnesota Fishing 2009 Regulations booklet online. Always of interest is the new stuff.
This year MN state residents can buy what is called a Conservation License for $11 which restricts the holder to half the normal State daily/possession/bag limits. In the case of odd numbers you round down, so Muskie which have a limit of 1 cannot be kept by someone with a Conservation License; Northern Pike which have a normal limit of 3 means a Conservation License holder can only keep 1 and so on. To be honest I don't see the point in this one with the regular license being just $6 more plus in some lakes selective harvest where you keep the normal bag limit is the best conservation move. "Catch and Release" is not always the best conservation measure.
Another new thing this year is the Walleye Stamp for $5. Unlike the Trout & Salmon Stamp, which you must have to possess and sometimes even fish for Trout & Salmon, there is no legal requirement with which you have to have the stamp in order to fish. The Walleye Stamp is 100% voluntary and you may fish and keep walleye anywhere in the fish's open season without the stamp. I think I will put in a donation for this stamp because I do fish for Eye's on occasion.
I want to know when they will be coming out with the Smallmouth Bass Stamp. I think this state could use some smallie stocking. It sure would be nice if more lakes had smallmouth in them.
New Fish Gifting Regulation:
"Lawfully taken fish may be transferred as a gift if accompanied by a receipt containing: Name and address of the owner, name and address of the recipient, date of transfer, description of the gift, and license number under which the fish was taken. The recipient cannot Possess more than the statewide possession limit."
I think this regulation will be significantly ignored. Why does fishing need worthless paperwork? If someone were to get pinched for not doing the paperwork it would be a total injustice. What business does the state have in regulating a gesture of kindness? This is a regulation begging for civil disobedience.
I see that my home lakes West & East Sylvia have been newly put on the infested with Eurasian watermilfoil list. Who knows maybe the milfoil will turn those lakes into trophy bass lakes some day. Also they didn't put any slots on the bass, panfish, or wallere which had been rumored, but they did put a new protected slot of 24-36" on pike.
"You cannot practice catch-and-release for a species during it's closed season."
This one is a guideline and not a regulation, at least I don't think it is a regulation. If it is a regulation then what are we supposed to do with a fish on the line out of season? You can't keep it and you can't catch and release it??? Are we supposed to not land the fish and cut the line?
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