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Posts: 999
| Staggs reminded anglers that with this action, the state’s current trolling regulations will remain in effect for the 2014 season with many waters remaining closed to motor trolling. “We know that some musky anglers would like to troll a sucker or minnow behind their boat while they are using a motor to position the boat for casting. That is still a form of motor trolling and will remain illegal in waters close to trolling.” Anglers should check the current regulations on trolling for the waters they plan to fish.
Stark says, DNR Law Enforcement policy is that some movement under power while position fishing will be acceptable and occasional deviation from vertical lines is expected. How much movement is some? Movement for up to several minutes may occasionally be necessary to reposition a fishing boat. Trailing a sucker or minnow behind a boat while casting an artificial lure with the use of a motor would not be authorized. Wardens should consider the totality of the circumstance in determining whether a violation has been committed.
There's a perfect example of the DNR not being on the same page with each other! Stark and Stagg have different views on what may be acceptable and what may not be. Bottom line is dont be hammering on your trolling motor. |
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Posts: 584
| Mr Musky - 9/18/2013 4:36 PM
Staggs reminded anglers that with this action, the state’s current trolling regulations will remain in effect for the 2014 season with many waters remaining closed to motor trolling. “We know that some musky anglers would like to troll a sucker or minnow behind their boat while they are using a motor to position the boat for casting. That is still a form of motor trolling and will remain illegal in waters close to trolling.” Anglers should check the current regulations on trolling for the waters they plan to fish.
Stark says, DNR Law Enforcement policy is that some movement under power while position fishing will be acceptable and occasional deviation from vertical lines is expected. How much movement is some? Movement for up to several minutes may occasionally be necessary to reposition a fishing boat. Trailing a sucker or minnow behind a boat while casting an artificial lure with the use of a motor would not be authorized. Wardens should consider the totality of the circumstance in determining whether a violation has been committed.
There's a perfect example of the DNR not being on the same page with each other! Stark and Stagg have different views on what may be acceptable and what may not be. Bottom line is dont be hammering on your trolling motor.
Actually, I didn't read the statements as inconsistent. Staggs says that anglers aren't allowed to troll a sucker "behind their boat" while positioning the boat and casting. Stark says that, too. He says "trailing a sucker or minnow behind a boat while casting an artificial lure with the use of a motor would not be authorized".
Again, the difference is whether the lines are "vertical or near vertical", versus "trailing", such as when "behind" the boat, as Staggs says. If you're positioning the boat in short bursts with the trolling motor while along a weed edge, such that you are keeping vertical or near vertical sucker lines, you're still OK under both Stark's and Staggs' statements.
"Stark's and Staggs' statements". Say that really fast 3x. Kind of fun.  |
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Location: minocqua, wi. | tonight IL 6494 GL didn't even worry about regulations and after seeing me on my spot, came in set lines and motor trolled the outside line i was taking right behind me ... LOL. |
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| My boat is 18'6" and on calm days with a sucker out I cast double 10's or larger and am able to cover pretty decent lengths of break line just by bomb casting big blades and just kind of end up dragging the boat down the shoreline myself. But Sometimes I get so paranoid about being accused of covering too much water too quickly I take my trolling motor out of the water altogether. Either way some of the best waters for Musky fishing in the world allow trolling, so if trolling is bad for the fish somebody forgot to tell the fish. If you are on a lake north of highway 10 and you don't want people driving around on what you think is "your lake" I understand. But as it pertains to the fish themselves and each individuals right to fish the way they want, or are able, most folks should just mind their own business and stop looking at trollers like they are SPEARING fish because they are not. Cold weather, fishing with your family, large bodies of water, physical limitation like arthritis, just changing things up, or just getting familiar with some new water on a short trip are all reasons that I troll. Sucker fishing and covering water does not need to be negatively conotated as "dragging" suckers around. Every time you cast you are "dragging" something through the water. Folks north of highway 10 need to realize that if the DNR would allow a little breathing room for sucker fishing that the push to allow trolling would be greatly reduced. THAT BY FAILING TO PROVIDE A REASONABLE, CLEARLY DEFINED, WITH NO ROOM FOR INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATION, "POSITION FISHING" REGULATION THEY ARE FORCING ANGLERS TO PUSH FOR STATEWIDE TROLLING. I believe that if anglers felt they could cover water sucker fishing without the worry over a ticket that there would be much less interest in legalizing trolling northern waters. Long and short of it is that if anyone is against "trolling" meaning multiple lines, planner boards, down riggers, ski's etc. doing laps around their favorite lake at 2mph to 5mph they should be for more lienient sucker fishing regulations. |
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Posts: 189
Location: Barrington, Il | Hey Sled,
Last fall saw one of your locals dragging suckers and casting. He had painted his bobbers black. New exactly what he was doing. |
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| millsie - 9/19/2013 10:18 AM
Hey Sled,
Last fall saw one of your locals dragging suckers and casting. He had painted his bobbers black. New exactly what he was doing.
Sled is playing, he is well aware the tourist don't rank high in poaching issues. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | here we go again...evvvvvvery year another trolling suckers thread...and every year nobody knows anyone that can verify they ever got pinched.. keep your lines vertical, next to the boat, no bobbers, and you'll be ok.
now the guys from IL I saw with 4 bobbers 30 feet back w the trolling motor on constant...well they might get a ticket. IF a warden saw them... how many lakes in Vilas Oneida and Iron and how many wardens...chances are slim. but, that to me is illegal...but vertical, you are position fishing if you are casting and on and off the TM but let's talk about it again for the next 2 months... i'm sure we won't learn anything new...  |
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Location: minocqua, wi. | BenR - 9/19/2013 10:25 AM
millsie - 9/19/2013 10:18 AM
Hey Sled,
Last fall saw one of your locals dragging suckers and casting. He had painted his bobbers black. New exactly what he was doing.
Sled is playing, he is well aware the tourist don't rank high in poaching issues.
i originally figured he didn't knew one way or another. i saw him in the distance with oars out when i got to my spot and thought there was a local row-trolling. once he saw i wasn't a warden, the tiller got started, when i didn't say anything he just trolled right up where i was and started to run the line. tough fishing for him to start and i suppose he figured he was upping his odds on a night nobody was out there doing much of anything.
i just watched ... people who are trolling, know they are trolling.
Edited by jonnysled 9/19/2013 11:17 AM
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Posts: 182
| Guest - 10/1/2006 10:06 PM
Why can't you cast and fish a sucker at the same time? Why can't you use a trolling motor to ADJUST your position? You ARE NOT trolling when you cast and fish a sucker at the same time NO MATTER WHAT THE ANGLE OF THE LINE IS when using a trolling motor to position yourself!!! You CANNOT keep the trolling motor running to work a shoreline against the wind, but if you are fishing with the wind, you can move yourself in or out depending on what the wind is doing to you. DO NOT RUN YOUR TROLLING MOTOR AT ALL TIMES when fishing with a sucker, that is considered trolling.
Please show me or tell me one person, just one person, who continuously takes a motor in and out of gear or stops and goes to troll. They do not!!! They are NOT trolling. Show me a boat fishing Lake Michigan or Lake Winnebago that trolls by taking their boat in and out of gear or stop and go using an electric trolling motor. You will not find any.
Trolling is the continuous movement using a motor or sail.
The DNR can stop me all they want. I WILL fight them in court on this matter, AND I WILL WIN!!! Bring it on DNR, bring it on.
Relax Pally. You are way to high strung. Ok, take a deep breath through your nose and blow it out. There, better now. If you think that court case is worth it then go for it.
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Pretty simple really. If you want to avoid a ticket on lakes where trolling is prohibited, don't drag a sucker around while using a trolling motor. You know you're doing it, you know if you're in the "maybe I shouldn't be doing it" zone. Why ruin a trip up north by testing the DNR? Make things easier on yourself and troll where you can.
Duane Harpster the old warden who patrolled Vilas Co probably gave out more cites than any warden I've ever known. I watched him give out 3 in 15 minutes on Palmer. Boat to boat to boat. I asked hm how he did it so quick. ...."I pick a point on the lake in front of your boat. Cross that point with your trolling motor down while dragging a bobber, here I come." Had all three boats picked out before he even went to the first one.
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Posts: 189
Location: Barrington, Il |
I know. I just still can't believe the guy actually painted his bobbers black. And people from all over are intentionally breaking the law.
jonnysled - 9/19/2013 11:15 AM
BenR - 9/19/2013 10:25 AM
millsie - 9/19/2013 10:18 AM
Hey Sled,
Last fall saw one of your locals dragging suckers and casting. He had painted his bobbers black. New exactly what he was doing.
Sled is playing, he is well aware the tourist don't rank high in poaching issues.
i originally figured he didn't knew one way or another. i saw him in the distance with oars out when i got to my spot and thought there was a local row-trolling. once he saw i wasn't a warden, the tiller got started, when i didn't say anything he just trolled right up where i was and started to run the line. tough fishing for him to start and i suppose he figured he was upping his odds on a night nobody was out there doing much of anything.
i just watched ... people who are trolling, know they are trolling. |
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Posts: 8866
| The wardens I've talked to about it all said basically the same thing. "you know when you're breaking the law. So do we."
I suspect as is the case with most LEO's is that most folks who get violations have actually talked themselves into a ticket trying to talk their way out of it. |
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Posts: 999
| Gander, what if the wind was blowing them along and the trolling motor was down but not in use? |
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Posts: 4342
Location: Smith Creek | Bobber+trolling motor=ticket
Especially west of Mercer. |
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Posts: 656
Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | So why not allow motor trolling with only 1 line per angler like we do in Mn?
As far as the argument of trolling catches to many big fish, well I've spent 100's of hours trolling and have gone home skunked. Trolling is no sure guarantee of catching fish of any species. |
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Location: minocqua, wi. | fishpoop - 9/20/2013 12:05 PM
So why not allow motor trolling with only 1 line per angler like we do in Mn?
As far as the argument of trolling catches to many big fish, well I've spent 100's of hours trolling and have gone home skunked. Trolling is no sure guarantee of catching fish of any species.
that's one element of what many would consider an agreeable solution and how it may finally get resolved. it gets conflicted when you consider the tradition of the area than row-trolling in Vilas and Oneida Counties of WI.. There remains a strong defense of the 3-line tradition, right or wrong ... depends on your viewpoint. most locals don't think they blend well (3-lines and motor trolling) while many outside the area believe they do, or should. it's not black and white.
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| fishpoop - 9/20/2013 12:05 PM
So why not allow motor trolling with only 1 line per angler like we do in Mn?
As far as the argument of trolling catches to many big fish, well I've spent 100's of hours trolling and have gone home skunked. Trolling is no sure guarantee of catching fish of any species.
People allow themselves to get blinded by ideaology. BR |
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Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | BenR - 9/20/2013 12:26 PM
fishpoop - 9/20/2013 12:05 PM
So why not allow motor trolling with only 1 line per angler like we do in Mn?
As far as the argument of trolling catches to many big fish, well I've spent 100's of hours trolling and have gone home skunked. Trolling is no sure guarantee of catching fish of any species.
People allow themselves to get blinded by ideaology. BR
Yeah, I think so too. |
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Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | jonnysled - 9/20/2013 12:19 PM
fishpoop - 9/20/2013 12:05 PM
So why not allow motor trolling with only 1 line per angler like we do in Mn?
As far as the argument of trolling catches to many big fish, well I've spent 100's of hours trolling and have gone home skunked. Trolling is no sure guarantee of catching fish of any species.
that's one element of what many would consider an agreeable solution and how it may finally get resolved. it gets conflicted when you consider the tradition of the area than row-trolling in Vilas and Oneida Counties of WI.. There remains a strong defense of the 3-line tradition, right or wrong ... depends on your viewpoint. most locals don't think they blend well (3-lines and motor trolling ) while many outside the area believe they do, or should. it's not black and white.
Sorry, I missed your reply. I saw Ben R's below yours and thought that was the only reply to my post. Didn't mean to blow you off.
I guess compromise is the only answer, allow motor trolling but with only 1 line per angler. As for traditions, well sometimes traditions have to die as the world changes. Like darkhouse spearing for Northerns here in Minnesota. The spearer's make the same argument, it's tradition and people wonder why it's hard to catch a 20+ pound pike here.
As far as row trolling goes, why would that change if they allow motor trolling? A person could still go out and row troll if they wanted too. Maybe write the law that you can use 3 lines if you row troll but only 1 line if you motor troll. Seems like a simple and easy workable common sense compromise solution to me.
Bottom line is that trolling isn't going to kill a lot of fish or a fishery. The only thing that is going to do that is... keeping fish! As long as people are practicing catch and release then trolling isn't going to destroy a fishery because if trolling was going to do that we wouldn't have decent fishing here in Mn or in Ontario or the St. Lawrence. So that argument is folly.
Edited by fishpoop 9/21/2013 8:59 AM
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Posts: 999
| Too avoid all this controversy it would be simple to let anglers troll up to 3 suckers per boat. Now thats suckers only. This would eliminate the headaches and not interfere with row trolling and still keep the vilas lakes to no motor trolling artificial baits. |
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Location: Elgin, IL | Personally, I don't care either way. This rule as it stands doesn't bother me much, I've learned to work with it...instead of against it.
This is nothing compared to WI DNR Waterfowl regulations. At least when I hunted birds in the late 80's and all of the 90's. (in the Mauston/Castle Rock/ Petenwell area.) Holy Cripes, You had to study that little book like a med. student before a final, just to be sure you were legal. And the language was so muddled that it was a joke. We did well though, and after my partner got 6 DUI's in 2 years, I stopped duck and goose hunting in WI entirely. He had to move to Mexico. My point is, they made it really tough to shoot a few birds up there.
The sucker/trolling debacle is nothing. I'll be looking for some of you in the next 2 months. I wish I was up there now...cooling down some, it's a peach out there.
Good luck. |
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Location: minocqua, wi. | Pontoon trolling Mille Lacs ... maybe didn't kill it, but may have put a dent in it.
try darkhouse spearing sometime, it's a hoot and won't go away in our lifetime. |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | LOL - Did moving to Mexico solve his drinking & driving problem?
I don't see a issue with trolling a single line. I do know there are folks in Vilas county, etc. who are against trolling. I trust part of their objections are based on people just being rude and not maintaining a comfortable space. It seems to me, common sense is not so common today. I've been cut off by folks casting, while I'm casting, its not that they couldn't see which direction I'm going either. I just shake my head and leave, and come back later, no need for an on the water argument with idiot's, it just ruin's a good day on the water.
Have fun!
Al |
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Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Mr Musky - 9/19/2013 4:30 PM
Gander, what if the wind was blowing them along and the trolling motor was down but not in use?
If that were really the case the boat would be broadside to the wind. |
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Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Mr Musky - 9/21/2013 10:07 AM
Too avoid all this controversy it would be simple to let anglers troll up to 3 suckers per boat. Now thats suckers only. This would eliminate the headaches and not interfere with row trolling and still keep the vilas lakes to no motor trolling artificial baits.
Enforcement would be a nightmare. Sorta like casting big baits for "northerns" on walleye opening weekend.
I've been fishing Vilas co my entire life. While part of me loves the tradition and being separate from the lakes down south, part of me also thinks that trolling one sucker behind a boat while casting isn't really hurting anything and for the most part 99.9% of the guys up there are doing it anyways.
Thing that really gets me now, irritates me to no-end, is guys blatantly trolling up there with their kids. Knowing darn well that what they're doing is illegal and teaching them that's it ok. Last weekend a guy and his kid were casting and trolling on Tenderfoot, they saw me come up past, the dude had his kid pull the sucker out. As soon as I went by, he had his kid put it back in and off they went.
Sportsmanship isn't Gamesmenship. |
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Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Don't troll in N WI unless you intend to break the law. Everyone should know if they are trolling or drifting, so it's pretty simple. Don't drag a sucker behind your boat while moving about. A odd law based on tradition, but it's the law here. |
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Posts: 999
| Steve is it acceptable to drift sideways down an edge with the wind, sucker mid boat over the side, can you bump your pedal to move like 5 yds to stay on that edge? Line never leaving the verticle position over the side straight down? Is this acceptable or not? |
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Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I've seen alot worse than that, I'd say you'd be ok. Personally, I'd pull the TM up after adjusting position. |
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People allow themselves to get blinded by ideaology. BR
So true, so true and most never ever realize it... |
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Posts: 999
| To the Northern WI guides out there will you guys be running suckers and allowing your clients to cast with your trolling motor down whether you are using it or not? Like you have always done in the past or will this new wording on postion fishing change how you and your clients fish this fall? |
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