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| I was out on a lake close to home last weekend where trolling is prohibited and noticed
a group of 4 guys come trolling up the shoreline. At first I thought they had planer boards out but then I noticed they all had big bobbers out. Nobody was casting and they were all sitting down just cruising up current into the wind around the entire shoreline and back down the other side of the lake. I was completely amazed.
Now don't get me wrong, I drag suckers while drifting with the trolling motor down but I am trying to keep my boat along the weed edge. If I ever need to head to another spot more than 150 yards away I bring everything in and use the big motor to setup the next drift. I always drift in the direction the current or wind is taking me. More than half the time I am usually trying to hold myself on the spot with my trolling motor.
The next day I ended up hooking into a nice muskie and losing it after about a minute so about 10 minutes later I see this guy come cruising up to me and he has a huge bobber hanging off the back. He trolled up and down the bank next to me. After about 10 minutes I notice him just take off across the bay I was in and head off towards the other side of the lake. He wasn't even making an attempt to position fish!
Now I didn't call either of these guys in as I'm not even sure what I am doing is legal but these guys are blatantly trolling if I ever saw it. I've never seen these two boats on the lake before but all of a sudden last weekend people are out musky fishing this lake hard while trolling suckers around like it's perfectly legal.
I'm always a bit concerned while dragging suckers but now I don't know what to think.
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Location: Contrarian Island | yup, that is trolling....if / when a warden see's them they will be getting a fine... i fish a cisco based lake in vilas in nov and there are always these dudes from IL w at least 3 bobbers out the back trolling them around.... not even casting... they'll get a fine at some point |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | So you are upset that someone is breaking the same law you are? |
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Location: Contrarian Island | PP, you might want to read what he is doing and what the other guys were doing...not the "same" thing.... |
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| PP struggles with reading comprehension.
GL |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | BNelson - 11/1/2012 12:42 PM
PP, you might want to read what he is doing and what the other guys were doing...not the "same" thing....
Thanks Captain. That was hard to grasp.
He states he isn't even sure what he is doing is legal. If you aren't sure, you likely aren't doing it right. I've been stopped for simply turning the boat. Once I was under power the warden considered me trolling. So moving less than 150 yards would still be considered trolling. Breaking the law is breaking the law. Are these guys blatantly breaking it? No doubt. But hard to point fingers when you're breaking the law. If the poster knew he wasn't breaking the law he could have called a warden. He did not. Why? He stated exactly why, fear he was breaking the law also. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Guest - 11/1/2012 12:48 PM
PP struggles with reading comprehension.
"Now I didn't call either of these guys in as I'm not even sure what I am doing is legal"
Who has trouble? |
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Posts: 1220
| For those of us in the Southern climes here around Milwaukee, Waukesha and Madison, it is just totally second nature to drag these things around all through the fall with the bow mount on "constant." Naturally, trolling is allowed. My habit is to have one hanging straight down deep off the back (the way the "kinda-sorta-legal guys up North do it,) and one way back from the boat on a bobber quite shallow. And, because it's not an issue, I never even looked at like it was trolling. Anyway, to make a long story short (yea, tool late for that) I was up North prefishing a late fall event a few weeks ago and decided to let a few suckers help me out since the water was cold enough. I was casting away happily, cruising down the shore with complete abandon, when a fellow competitor shouted out, "Hey Junkman, I didn't know you were #*^@ violator.!" Well, you could have blown me away with a feather when I was given the "Free" reminder to clean up my act. So, my point is...maybe these guys were innocent of knowingly violating the rules...I was...and a little kind word of warning might have made them quickly change their ways since everybody knows you never see a warden when it's cold out! |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Actually, Pointer is right, the original poster IS breaking the law if he goes visibly out of a drift or controlled spot hold at ALL under power dragging a sucker. Controlling a drift, no problems.
People are breaking this law by the numbers everywhere I fish this Fall. The DNR could solve two months of budget shortfall if they had enough wardens.
I won't even fish suckers anymore out of anything but our row troller.
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Posts: 1141
Location: NorthCentral WI | From the WI DNR Regs:
Motor Trolling
“Motor trolling” is trailing a lure, bait, or similar device used to attract or catch fish
from a boat while being propelled (forwards or backwards) by a motor or a sail or while being towed by a boat being propelled by a motor or sail. Motor trolling is illegal except in some counties and waters as listed in the section titled Special Regulations—Listed by County, beginning on page 23. Motor trolling is allowed for certain disabled anglers and their able-bodied assistant(s) who have applied for and received special permits with trolling privileges. Casting and immediate retrieval of a bait or lure while being propelled (forwards or backwards) by a motor or a sail or while being towed by a boat being propelled by a motor or sail is not motor trolling. NOTE: Trailing a bait or lure from a boat that is being propelled by motor or sail at the same time casting and immediately retrieving another bait or lure is considered motor trolling and is not allowed.
Probably not likely but it is possible that one or more of the anglers was disabled and had received a "special permit" that would allow trolling.  Doubt it though.
Edited by MartinTD 11/1/2012 2:37 PM
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | sworrall - 11/1/2012 1:22 PM
Actually, Pointer is right, the original poster IS breaking the law if he goes visibly out of a drift or controlled spot hold at ALL under power (especially anything near 150 yards), dragging a sucker.
People are breaking this law by the numbers everywhere I fish this Fall. The DNR could solve two months of budget shortfall if they had enough wardens.
I won't even fish suckers anymore out of anything but our row troller.
I'm sorry could you repeat that first line for me? I struggle with reading comprehension. |
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Posts: 1516
| So, if the bait is not trailing from the boat while being propelled, it's not motor trolling? |
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Posts: 1220
| Put simply, it is my understanding that if you have a line hanging absolutely straight down from the rod tip (180 degress straight up and down AKA perpindicular to the surface of the water) and you engage your bow mount causing the angle of that line to become any sort of an angle (like the hypotenuse of a right triangle) THEN YOU ARE TROLLING! |
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Posts: 1270
| When is the DNR going to actually write this law in a black and white way? One warden says this is illegal while the other one says it's perfectly legal??? |
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Location: Eau Claire,WI | If you want the other boats to stop "trolling" then call the game warden,that easy. Let the Wardens decide if it is trolling... You could always move to a body of water that allows trolling,easy enough...A simple phone call could have saved all your heartache... |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | If you are patient and confident that you are in the "right area" you can use suckers and your trolling motor at the same time. Bobbers are a big no-no when using position fishing however. Slow going keeping a vertical line...but legal.
“Position fishing”
is fishing from a boat where the fishing line extends vertically into the water
while the boat is maneuvered (forwards or backwards) by a motor used to position or
maintain the position of the boat over underwater structure. Position fishing is allowed
statewide in all waters. |
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Posts: 134
| This has all been beat to a pulp year after year, again and again, but I will chime in with some additional food for thought. It all stems from inconistencies and "mixed" signals the laws present. As stated many times before the law is vague at best, say what you will, but as someone who deals with NR 500 regs on a daily basis, these are written with no room interpretation, the position laws-not so much, and need to clarified to this type of language. So it is OK to position fish-but what that is, is really interputated by angler/warden/ observer, or overzelous lake property owner. Yet it is legal to use 3 lines. For what?, if not trolling, or position fishing. I doubt other species camps fight amongst themselves about using crawlwer harnesses and a TM, jigging and using slip bobbers and using a TM, cuz I am sure no one here that sees this as black and white has ever done those two things in combination, which by there own definition is trolling. That is what I see as so crazy about all this is that, when fishing other species this seems to be a complete non-issue. So there are now 3 camps-the nazis who think any use of trolling motor is grounds for castration, those who truely try and position fish in the vaguness of the law, and those who will blatently troll. Until there is either legalized state wide trolling or a clear law...we can plan on this discussion next fall. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | reelman - 11/1/2012 4:12 PM
When is the DNR going to actually write this law in a black and white way? One warden says this is illegal while the other one says it's perfectly legal???
A proposal is underway to allow motor trolling on all lakes here in Wisconsin. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | '“Motor trolling” is trailing a lure, bait, or similar device used to attract or catch fish
from a boat while being propelled (forwards or backwards) by a motor or a sail or while being towed by a boat being propelled by a motor or sail.'
That's pretty darned clear. |
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Posts: 999
| Figuree your obviously not aware that the law was rewritten this year to clear the position fishing law up. Steve re posted the new law and its pretty clear. If your pulling live bait verticle or not your trolling. |
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Posts: 1270
| Pointerpride102 - 11/1/2012 9:37 PM
Doesn't it suck when Pointer is right? Gosh I hate when that happens.
Thankfully that doesn't happen very often! Just giving you crap! |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | reelman - 11/1/2012 8:50 PM
Pointerpride102 - 11/1/2012 9:37 PM
Doesn't it suck when Pointer is right? Gosh I hate when that happens.
Thankfully that doesn't happen very often! Just giving you crap!
Marty, you're allowed. You're good #*#*. |
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Posts: 4266
| If I wanted to, I could head up to Vilas County with my livewell full of the biggest suckers I can buy and take off from the launces at a couple of lakes that I love to fish, and I could set out one sucker under the boat somewhere and then set out 2 other suckers at different depths suspended under balloons and put down my foot-controlled motor and work my way all around the lakes changing batteries if I have to. If my girlfriend wants to go, we could have a 6 sucker spread. How? We are both disabled. A disabled lisence gives us the right to troll up to 3 lines apiece as long as we use the electric motor. I don't think that the DNR put much thought into the licenses for disabled people, or they never asked for our input. Trolling with an electric motor is ridiculous unless you are going to troll live bait. I'd rather motor troll than drag suckers all over the place, but as I get worse physically, I might have to resort to it. I wrote to the DNR and told them that personally I appreciated the effort that they put forward to keep me fishing, but that I thought limiting myself to trolling suckers was a bad idea. I received a nice letter in return thanking me for utilizing the system that they put in place for disabled anglers and their efforts to keep disabled people fishing, but they suggested that if I wanted to keep on fishing muskies late into the season that it appeared to be my only option. Then they suggested that I change to walleyes instead of chasing muskies, stating walleye fishing was far easier anyway. So if you see a Tuffy with 2 people in it dragging 4-6 balloons behind it, ask me if I have a disabled license before you call the warden. |
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| figuree - 11/1/2012 6:14 PM
So there are now 3 camps-the nazis who think any use of trolling motor is grounds for castration, those who truely try and position fish in the vaguness of the law, and those who will blatently troll. Until there is either legalized state wide trolling
That pretty much sums it up. I guess the whole point of my thread was I myself believe to be position fishing or at least #*^@ well trying to be, and the others are blatantly trolling, yet I'm scared the Nazis are going to call me in and yet I don't really want to get involved in calling anyone else in because the whole point of me going fishing this late in the fall is to avoid the crowds and the drama. I'd hate to call in someone who happens to be handicap(Possibly a Vet) also. It's just so confusing.
I thought dragging a sucker behind the boat in the fall was a traditional Wisconsin staple for musky fisherman.
The whole thing stinks yet I know by me spending $125 dollars a month on suckers has to be helping someone out. Let's allow trolling statewide. Maybe lakes under 1000 acres can only the use a trolling motor to troll?
Somethings got to give.
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| I know, why don't the people in Northern Wis. get together and push to allow trolling just like 49.5 of the other states. No motor trolling is an absolute joke and has not destroyed the fishing everywhere else in the US |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | If you obviously are towing around suckers while casting and NOT drifting at the speed of the wind and pulling the suckers around you are violating the law. Position fishing allows for minor adjustments, not dragging a sucker for 25'.
Keep adjustments to a minimum, do not drag the sucker against the wind or for that matter, at all, and you are fine.
Better yet, row troll.
Wisconsin fish and game regs are rife with 'tradition', because we as Wisco residents are allowed to vote on every proposed change. Most changes that are considered by the attendees at the CC hearings each Spring as against 'tradition' are rejected on social basis, not necessarily good management practices. The impact of the vote was recently reduced some, but we still have a voice in what regs are put in place here. Statewide trolling has been voted down a number of times.
Not on MY lake, you don't!!!  |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | By tradition we cannot motor troll on several lakes in WI. Isn't it also tradition to pull suckers around with your bow mount late in the fall? Which tradition will win?
I agree that position fishing to me seems like fishing vertically while moving the boat as little as possible, not slowly moving down structure against the wind.
With that said, I've drug suckers around on non motor trolling lakes but move slowly in an attempt to keep the lines straight down and not "troll" the suckers. I guess I'm a rebel.
Tucker |
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Posts: 1270
| So if the key thing is that the lines need to be vertical can I put suckers on my downriggers and troll all around the lake? Not that I would but it would be an interesting question to ask. Like I said before the DNR really needs to clarify this law. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Geeez.
'“Motor trolling” is trailing a lure, bait, or similar device used to attract or catch fish
from a boat while being propelled (forwards or backwards) by a motor or a sail or while being towed by a boat being propelled by a motor or sail.'
So the law for trolling is clear, and no, you can't rip around using a downrigger...obviously.
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Tradition was to row along shorelines with suckers. People started using their trolling motors to troll (relatively) recently.
Some traditions die off quickly (rowing). Others, like the use of single hook rigs take longer. It's happening, but slowly.
When I was at the Price County CC meetings a short while back, a few very vocal "locals" (property owners from out of state) thought the tradition of not allowing motor was stupid but when the single hook rigs and 40" size limits came up they cried "using single hooks and keeping muskies to eat is a tradition to us".
There's no science to support the theory that allowing trolling will adversely affect the fishery, just like there's no science to support the theory that using live bait (with quick sets) or multiple lines will adversely affect the fishery.
It is what it is. If you want to use 2 lines, fish in Wisconsin. If you want to troll, fish in one of the many counties where its legal, cause if you don't follow the regs in the county your fishing you better believe someone who disagrees with what you're doing and has the law on his or her side will report you.
Edited by Flambeauski 11/2/2012 11:02 AM
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