Hunting on Ice.....

Neighbor_Guy

Neighbor_Guy

New member
Quick question for the MN hunters.....

Tresspass laws say you can hunt an area if you can float a canoe on it. Does a similar rule apply to Ice?

Can a guy set up in the catails in an undeveloped area of a lake and call/hunt coyotes and fox? In the past I have walked the Ice of the river and called at night with good success, but now that I am older I am wondering just how legal all that activity was. Just looking for more options.
 
I've never gotten a straight answer on that. I'm pretty sure that water is water no matter if its solid or not. I do know trapping a location like you described would be legal. I know a couple pheasant hunters that hunt cattails like that also and have had no problems. I hunt lakes and rivers here but I always have permisiion for the surrounding land as well or it is public land.

Call the DNR info line and ask. I've gotten different answers from them and from wardens.

Tim
 
i called D.N.R. enforcement on this issue a few years back and it is legal. as long as you can legally access it. i knwew of a spot that is posted up tight on both sides of the river. once it iced over the deer had a major highway going across the ice. there are some BIG bucks here. i went on to the ice to sit with the intentions that if a monster stepped onto the ice, i was gonna put a muzzlegun bullet right through the shoulder blades and ancor him right there so it would'nt make it off the ice. the shot never came but was a good plan. HL you know where it is. county road #19
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I have a few specific spots in mind. I checked the river yesterday and it is looking like we will need a big cold snap to lock it back up enough to walk on.

As far as lakes go there are dozens of small undeveloped lakes around here that have dnr accesses on them so you can get on the water. I know you can duck hunt them, I was just wondering if anyone has ever spent time calling these areas. Just looking at finding more untapped options that most guys will overlook.

I spoke to a DNR guy at the bait shop and his answere was a little bit concerning. He basicly said that at night in the winter the odds of getting called on were slim because people are cooped up in their houses. His best advise was to keep clear of homes or ocupied cabins and have fun. But if the local county mounty or dnr officer gets called it will be at their descresion if you get ticketed or not.

Hmmmm.....
 
Tresspass, shooting across water, unlawfull access were the ones he cited as possibles.

I am not that concerned about it now. Its going to have to be a slow night for local LE to hastle a fox/coyote hunter out in the sticks.

Mabe wont be running the river or lake spots durring the day, but I will at night.... Just waiting on the moon now......
 
Yeah i saw a ton of deer out in your area when i went on a trapping adventure with Wagner. Never really thought of that before.

Granted depending on weather, what is the rough amout of dogs it would take to win one of those. 10 in two days?

I am getting an itch to try it, but thats all i need is another bad habit. lol.
 
HL, depending on the weather, but some years it takes 7-8 to win. the ones held earlier in the year,oct-nov. seem to have better #'s. deep snow and closed road can really put a hamper on things. the tournament in williston this year,(oct 30th) my brother and i killed 15 in 1 day. one team had 11 and 1 team had 8. those were really exceptionall 1 days tournament wise.win,lose or draw.. there a fun time and a great way to leann from some good guys. once the beer start flowing,(after the hunt) loose lips really start flappin. these tournys have very strict rules so anybody that plans to attend better forget it if they can't follow the rules by the letter. but for someone who can and have a chance of winning some decent money and have a good time, i would highly recommend them
 
Yeah i read the rules the only one I question is nothing over a 24 cal. Not sure why they have that other than to eliminate some of those long range setups. Would like to invest in one of those just for those stubborn coyotes.

I hope to head out and check some stuff out this week and then if i can talk my cousin or buddy into it i may give it a go.

We did manage to get 4 this morning, and my dad and buddy got one tonight. They were on the move after the storm.

Thanks for the info.
 
the .243 rule is in place to try to keep the pelts in better condition. all coyote must be donated to the tournament to help cover cost's.. i went out for a quick tour this morning. seen 2 fox and 1 coyote. got the coyote 1 1/2 miles off 75, south of kragness. 8th coyote shot there in the past month. what the heck their doing there stuptifies me
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Originally Posted By: borkon i knwew of a spot that is posted up tight on both sides of the river. once it iced over the deer had a major highway going across the ice. there are some BIG bucks here. i went on to the ice to sit with the intentions that if a monster stepped onto the ice, i was gonna put a muzzlegun bullet right through the shoulder blades and ancor him right there so it would'nt make it off the ice.

Wouldn't hafta worry about breaking the front shoulders in that scenario.
As long as you took the shot when the deer was on the ice, the "Unarmed Retrieval" law would allow you to recover the deer even if it ran onto adjacent private land before dying.
 
Originally Posted By: KillerHillerI have never heard of a law against shooting across water. Anyone alse ever heard of that?

KH


At least in Iowa(i would bet MN is the same), you cannot shoot a rifle over(or from) any publicly owned waters.
Any lake/wetland complex with a public access is prolly off limits, but if you have access to a lake/marsh that is completely privately owned, you would be OK to shoot from any part of the lake, provided u can access the shoreline without trespassing.

A guy would be OK shooting over streams and small rivers, but it gets touchy when u start talking medium-sized rivers........I would give your local warden a holler about that.
I'm guessing in MN your medium-large size rivers would be off limits......for example the St. Croix, Minnesota, Des Moines, and obviously the big Miss.
 
Originally Posted By: Black iceOriginally Posted By: borkon i knwew of a spot that is posted up tight on both sides of the river. once it iced over the deer had a major highway going across the ice. there are some BIG bucks here. i went on to the ice to sit with the intentions that if a monster stepped onto the ice, i was gonna put a muzzlegun bullet right through the shoulder blades and ancor him right there so it would'nt make it off the ice.

Wouldn't hafta worry about breaking the front shoulders in that scenario.
As long as you took the shot when the deer was on the ice, the "Unarmed Retrieval" law would allow you to recover the deer even if it ran onto adjacent private land before dying. not so in mn. if its posted, you cannot retrieve and animal without permision
 
Originally Posted By: Black iceOriginally Posted By: KillerHillerI have never heard of a law against shooting across water. Anyone alse ever heard of that?

KH


At least in Iowa(i would bet MN is the same), you cannot shoot a rifle over(or from) any publicly owned waters.
Any lake/wetland complex with a public access is prolly off limits, but if you have access to a lake/marsh that is completely privately owned, you would be OK to shoot from any part of the lake, provided u can access the shoreline without trespassing.

A guy would be OK shooting over streams and small rivers, but it gets touchy when u start talking medium-sized rivers........I would give your local warden a holler about that.
I'm guessing in MN your medium-large size rivers would be off limits......for example the St. Croix, Minnesota, Des Moines, and obviously the big Miss.
I wouldn't doubt there is some vague law that exists but have can't believe that shooting a yote on a frozen lake would be against the law. If ice is considered water than I have to apply the same to snow. Since it is frozen water and covers everything right now, I can't hunt at all if that is the aplicable law. If the snow all melted it would be standing water.

Now I hunt around the mississippi backwaters and call over some of the sloughs and lakes in there, and can't see how it could be illegal or enforced since the longest shot I have available is maybe 500-600 yds. Shooting over the mississsippi would be across state borders and a helluva poke.

I get where you are coming from but I am sick of some of the stupid laws we have to deal with. It can be hard to get a difinitive answer from anyone at the DNR. The info line and the wardens, I think, read different law books!!!
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I would think lakes are probably ok but border waters would be a no no. (and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night :D)

KH
 
Dealing with animals shot legally and then die on private land.

As long as you have no weapon you are allowed to retrieve the game, unless asked to leave then you need to get the warden to help you.
 
Originally Posted By: borkonnot so in mn. if its posted, you cannot retrieve and animal without permision

Interesting the differences between states huh.......i figured Iowa's version of unarmed retrieval was pretty commonplace.
 
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