Regulations On Number of Fishing Rods

[NANNER]

Hello all. I've stumble across something in the Wildlife Code that might help some folks from getting a fishing violation. In the past I routinely used several rods out on the Mississippi River. If you read the code you will find that you are only allowed 3 (Unlabled Rods) for Catfishing. It also states that if fishing the Mississippi, or its tributaries you are only allowed 2 (unlabled rods). Lucky I didnt get a ticket. Now, its my understanding that if you label each of your rods with your name, address, and phone number that you are only limited by the maximum number of hooks allowed for trot lines and such. So, in theory you could have 33 rods and reals if they are labled. Can anyone elaborate on this for me. Thanks for your help. Good Luck Fishin !!! :)

[Kutter]

You must be reading last years regs. That was the way it was written. I emailed them to ask your very same question. After numerous emails asking, with no reply, they finally said, "Well, You would look funny carrying all those rods to the river". This year they changed the wording to cover that loophole. It eliminated the "labled" part and says total number canot excede 3 rods and 2 on the Mississippi River. I too got lucky over the years, not getting a ticket.

[NANNER]

So, we are only allowed to have 2 rods to fish with? Thats a bummer. I dont understand how it can be okay to run a trot line with 50 baited hooks, unattended, and return later to (reel in) your catch, but yet we can only fish with two poles. Dont seem fair to me. Hmmmm. Perhaps a nice letter to the Mo Dept. Of Conservation is in order. :cursing:

[jnjmeyer]

Kutter's correct...Talked to MODNR about this reg and they stated that it is more or less a reciprocal agreement with ILDNR. Since a MO license is suitable for MO fishermen to tie up or fish from the IL side of the MS river the two states agreed upon the 2 rod limit. Guess I should say MODNR agreed with ILDNR to a limit of 2 rods. Fishing from the pontoon I'm O'K with a 2 rod count per person, but kinda limits me on fishing from my dock. And since we have a friendly ILDNR living in Hamburg a block from my house, I get the feeling that he watches my dock quite often. Maybe I'm paranoid.....but since I'm over 65 and I don't need a license to fish from the dock even if it's in IL, I still get the uncomfortable feeling he'd like to nail me if possible.

[MUDHOLE KID]

Hey Men,I'm in South Carolina and our rules are the same.You can only have two on the bank ,but you can fish any number of rods you want from your boat.

[Dave53]

Guys, I don't know about the rules being changed. I fish with 6 poles at a time and I have all my poles labeled. I have been stopped twice on the Missouri and checked by conservation. I just checked the MDC web site and the rules still show 3 unlabeled poles. I have had as many as 8 poles out and 25 jugs out at once.

[Netmanjack]

Hey guys, I have tried to find the reasoning behind the rod limit here in Ohio by searching the Ohio revised code,no luck. We know how many we can use, BUT WHY! :know-big: maybe you can get an answer from your states.

[sal_jr]

michigan rules are 2 rods or total of 3 hooks. NO setlines, juglines, yoyos trotlines or throw lines allowed at all.

A treble hook counts as one hook as it shares a common shank

hearing you fellas fish thew way you do amazes me- I never saw it in my life.

[Kutter]

Well, folks, I am more confused now than before. I went online to the Regulations and couldn't find what we are talking about. I called the St. Louis regional office and spoke to Agent Chris Morrow, who advised he is the top ranking Conservation Officer in this region. I wanted to know the exact Code Rule on this matter. He was emphatic that the below is the rules regarding poles and said if ANY officer said different, get his name and send it to him.

Code Rule (3 CSR 10-6.410 2b):
(2) Number of Poles and Hooks.
(A) Not more than three (3) unlabeled
poles and not more than thirty-three (33)
hooks in the aggregate, for any or all methods,
may be used by any person at one time.
(B) On the Mississippi River, not more
than two (2) unlabeled poles and not more
than fifty (50) hooks in the aggregate may be
used by any person at one time. While fishing
concurrently on the Mississippi River and
other Missouri waters, not more than fifty
(50) hooks in the aggregate may be used and
not more than thirty-three (33) of those hooks
may be used in waters other than the Mississippi
River.

He insisted that if you label your poles, NO VIOLATION CAN OCCUR if you don't exceed the above numbers.

Hope this settles the question, but.................

[spoonfish]

Dang Kutter, I better go buy some more rods LOL.Gonna look kinda funny with 33 of em strung aroud my boat though.Gonna need some more pole holders too i think.I do run 33 jugs per person thats plenty to keep me busy enough.
:eek:

[Dave53]

Kutter, that is the same thing I was told..I have fished with several poles for years now..during the winter when the fish are not biting very much I could have 8 or 9 baited lines..my boat looks like a spider web with the lines going out.. Last December a Conservation officer pulled along side of me and said "I sure hope those poles are labeled or you are not going to be able to afford the fine you'll have to pay!.. Showed him three of the of the poles with the labels on them and he laughed said he believed me and went on his way..

[NANNER]

Kutter, thanks a million for your homework. I just landed in San Jose and I'm settled into my hotel room. Sounds like I better get some labels on my rods. I usually only use three rods anyway, so if I label them I should be okay. Thanks again for checking into it for all of us.

[fishingbuddy4]

yea to bad they do not have what kansas does you can buy a third pole permit

[willisjj]

Here in AZ, the use of 1 pole come with your state fishing license. You can purchase a "2 pole stamp" for an extra 4 bucks. That really irritated me for a while, but then decided it works all right seeing as I have a wife and 3 kids that usually go with me and when we are all fishing, 1 or 2 poles apiece is almost more than I can handle, lol.

[Kutter]

Any ideas on a good way to label the rods? I will be looking for something longterm, not pen and paper type. Etched brass would work, but I wouldn't know where to get them, much less where to have them etched.

[steveg442]

Kutter maybe try a trophy shop. We get small tags or plaques for Eagle Scout projects. If the guy charges us it is very cheap. He can make them in plastic or metal.

[cook]

Good work Kutter

I know you don't want paper,but this is what I do.Somehow I got on a mailing list and am always recieving letters to join this or support that or make a contribution.These letters usually come with a sheet of adhesive mailing labels preprinted with my name and address(but no phone # )

I stick these on about every piece of camping/fishing/hunting equipt I own.I'm a honest person and would return anything I found if it was labeled,but 99 percent of it goes in my garage.

For a stamped/etched tag try calling a trophy shop or one of those do-it-all package/printing/mailing centers.

Woo-Hoo-2 posts,I'm on my way!!

[Dave53]

I did what Cook did..I have these labels that I attached to the pole and wrapped clear tape around it. It has been two years and you still can read it clearly. I first started out printing everything with an permanent marker that I found was not very permanent!

[cross_their_eyes]

Yep, Dave your right on target...that works best. I use a 2 inch wide piece of box sealing type clear plastic tape. Put your name and info on a piece of white paper and I stick it close to the butt on the fiberglass part of my rod (where the meat of the rod is).

[bull_head]

Talk to someone that runs a trap line

I dont know where they can it done off hand ... but in PA if you run a trap line you traps have to be labeled with the owners name , address and phone number ... they are normally brass tags that are etched or typed on ...

mike

[tater7905]

I might be a dumb ga boy but does anybody know anything about the regs. here in ga. i think i am goin to try and get some limb and or jug lines out sometime this week on the ocmulgee but i aint tryin to pay any fines. who thanks they can help me it's much appreciated. Also are there any pole limits.
:know-big:

[NANNER]

Go to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources or Conservation website and chase out the links. They should have all of the regulations regarding that posted on the web as a PDF. Hope this helps. :)

[Kutter]

Bill, the older I get, the less meat there is on my butt section.

Cook, glad to see ya made it over. I'll try to find the prices at a trophy shop and hold on to your idea in case it comes down to making my own.

Tater, I'll see what I can do. Right now I'm a bit busy. Got 14 five gallon jugs of wine to bottle up yesterday and today so as to make room for the new fruit coming in.

[Kutter]

Here ya go Tater:

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=7&txtPage=4

That is the full version, here is the short answer:

"There is no restriction on the number of poles and lines you can use to fish for game fish except:

Trout - one pole

Fishing on Public Fishing Areas - two poles

Sport Shad fishing - two poles"

[NANNER]

Kutter, You are truly Da Man. You make me seem like a lazy butt being as I didnt go find that link for him. haha.

[spoonfish]

Hey Kutter, what kinda wine are you brewin up there. With 70 gallons of it you may need some help disposeing of some LOL. Probably better stick to bank fishin and wear a life jacket just in case LOL.
;)

[Kutter]

It has been known.............Well, ask the guy who woke up behind his couch with a empty bottle of it and wasn't sure how he got there.

[turtle1173]

Hey Guys, it was always my understanding that you could use 3 poles in MO but on the Mississippi you could only use 2. That's what I've been doing for the last few years.

However, at the recent tournament here in New Madrid, they were very specific to say that each person was allowed 3 poles a piece. I was surprised but I figured this would be one event that they wouldn't make a mistake with. Especially with all the media coverage and everything.

So, lately, I've been thrilled to use 3 poles :p Incidently, I've never even seen a conservation officer down here. I'm not complaining though.

Shane

[NANNER]

Yes Shane. Matter of fact, you can have up to 33 rods on the river if you like. However, they must be labled with your name, address and phone number. I think most guys like to use three rods, including myself. I now have mine labled. Kutter did some homework and contacted the Mo DNR, and spoke with an agent Chris Morrow and he confirmed the information for us. Good Luck Fishing!!!!

[cross_their_eyes]

Since I haven't been catching any big ones lately, I may try the 33 rods in my boat! I could use the extra help...

I may need a bigger boat tho :-) Oh, and maybe a partner to help me untangle them LOL.

[Dave53]

When they are not biting I like to have between 6 and 9 poles in the water with really large hooks just in case one would swim by I can snag him! :D

[BKS72]

My wife, always supportive, just said "why, so you can watch up to 33 poles not get a bite" when I told her about it.... :) Apparently she's not as happy as me about the whole thing.

[Dave53]

yea, but you got to appriciate the ironey in what she said! :D

[theaudiowiz]

You guys make me jelous here in California, its $32 for your liscense, then an extra $10 for a 2 pole stamp. No option for more after that.

[roofermike]

stolib, your wife has a great sense of humor

[BKS72]

Yeah, she's pretty funny. I take 4 with me now, but that's about it. I'm too lazy to throw the net to catch enough bait to keep more than that baited up. Hey, on the subject of rules and regs, MO regs say 3 poles per licensed fisherman. Since my kid is too young to need a license, does he count? Doesn't matter because of the pole-labelling deal, just curious. I would think that by default he would be a licensed fisherman, but I'm not a lawyer....

[Kutter]

Don't ya just love finding loopholes?

MO regulations are quite vague. I asked MDC about that once, they told me it was on purpose. They SAID it was so that the agents in the field could use common sense discretion! Well, I must say, they do use their own interpretation a lot. It's the common sense part I have trouble with sometimes. I think the vast majority of us have no problem following the law, IF we know what it is. When you get different answers from different agents, it serve nothing but a means to upset folks. I make sure when I DO get a response from headquarters, I get the persons name and position and keep a record of it. Problem is, I rarely will get answers in writing, only over the phone. In this day of fast communication, you would think they could set up a Q & A section to the most common questions on their web site.

[BKS72]

It's no big deal, but I would hate to get cited for my 3 and 6 year olds poles. They usually fool around catching bluegills while I fish. Probably never happen, but ya never know. Thanks for the info, Kutter.

[NANNER]

Kutter, On behalf of the Brotherhood Of Catfisherman, I hereby bequeath thee Liaison to the Missouri Department Of Conservation. :)

[Kutter]

Thanks Wolfi, but I already got him on speed dial. LOL

John, I don't need no fancy title, just bow your head in respect whenever my name is mentioned. :worship:
:0a10:

This ol former cop just loves to dig up stuff. For instance, John,,,,, never mind.

[Rainman4u2]

I guess I was reading the MO regs wrong, I tought it was 3 poles with reels unlabled, but you were allowed 33 bank poles that were labled if you were not in close proximity to watch them.

I'm so confused, thank God I only fish in MO 3-4 times a year!!!

Ray

[Dave53]

Rainman, the easiest way to remember Missouri regs is you are allowed 33 hooks... if you are fishing by pole you can only use 3 unlabled poles at any one time. If you only fish with poles with one hook on each you can have 30 marked poles and 3 unmarked..or 15 marked poles with 2 hooks on each with 3 unmarked poles... :rolleyes:

[TOPS]

Dave, I sure glad I do not have to remember that.That is alot of numbers. Here in Arkansas one can put as many as one can handle.(Rods) :D

[Dave53]

I found out a few years ago when my brother and I were fishing in Wappapello when a guy came by us with 6 poles strung out on each side of his boat..as we were leaving he explained the rule and when I got back the first thing I did was call conservation and they confirmed what he said. If you just remember that you have 33 hooks then it is not that bad.. Kinda hurts those guys that run trotlines..but a lot of the ones I have met on the river were not following that rule anyway..kinda hard to have 20 to 30 hooks on one line and you see them check several lines :glare: Rules, are rules but sometimes, depending on the officer, they go a little overboard. My friend and his wife were out with their 2 small girls one day fishing when the conservation officer walked up on them as his wife was trying to get one of the kids poles un-stuck..he gave her a ticket for fishing without a license even though he could see it was the kids pole. ( Think it was a Scooby rod and reel) I have been checked several times and never had a problem..so far.