TOPIC:

Heard a story from a fishing buddy today that said his buddies sisters boyfriends cousin ( okay maybe not that far fetched but someone her knows) was a threatened a ticket by a CO for keeping all the fish in one cooler. 2 Fisherman 8 Coho 1 Cooler......... So I called the BS flag and texted a friend who is married to a CO. She said he confirmed that technically that is correct, you are suppose to be able to identify who's fish is who's whether it's zip ties or splitting them up to "make sure boat owners arn't keeping over their limit" I'm sure its up to their discretion and their mood that day but they can fine you if they want too. I personally never heard of this and thought its a little cattywampus. Just something to keep in mind, as we know there has been budget cuts being made and I'm sure they are going to need to replenish funds somehow.

You are correct as most of the regulations are written to be left to the discretion of the CO. Most will say that they will not give you much of a problem other than ask. Now if they see on angler catch and keep, add to a common cooler/stringer, more than his/her daily limit that is a problem. If they get a feeling there is something less than honesty coming from the question they will pry and can become an issue. Also always know that the CO's word will be the facts unless you have something to prove otherwise, time stamped continuous video let's say. Not usually that big a deal for big lake fishing as you can usually say who had caught what, but panfishing with larger limits good luck.

This is also a big topic on another site must be the same buddies sisters boyfriends cousin. Replies from a couple of fisherman have been they use seperate livewells/coolers/baskets to avoid any questions/confusion. Zip Ties would be an easy way to seperate big lake fish if you are concerned. They are used at some tournaments to identify big fish in a cooler.

Yea I'll be using two live wells from now and for bigger fish keeping a set of zip ties or maybe hole punch a fin

If that is in fact the literal interpretation of the law then 99.9% of the boats on the lake are in violation.

I'm not going to give this a second thought.

Untrue. I've never heard of a CO question more than one limit in a cooler. I've had COs on board and never had them bring their own so they could be in compliance. Most of the time, the laws aren't that subjective. They are black and white. So just to be sure before posting this, I called the District 10 HQ and asked a CO. Still untrue.

There are rules. If a CO comes on board and there are three anglers, there better not be 16 salmon/trout in the cooler. If they are all 18 inch coho, they don't have to be ziptied, fin clipped or otherwise marked. They have to be legal sized.

Short story: Don't buy a fish cooler for all on the boat. I didn't call IL, MI, WI, MN, OH or NY officers, but I've fished on charters on all of these states along with Ontario. Good lord, if any place would have such a stupid rule, it would be Canada.

Once you are off the boat and away from your fishing partners it is a bit different. Say you don't want your fish but your buddy does. If you give him the fish (or the filets) to be legal, you need to provide him with a note claiming your catch has been gifted to him. If you give a filet to your mother, provide her with a note. If your buddy or mom gets a ticket that way, have them buy you a lotto ticket - they have the gift - but don't stand near them in lightning storms.

Doesn't salmon fishing fall into a grey area of literal interpretations of the rules anyway on multiple fronts besides worrying about a common cooler?

Of our 12 rod spread, which 3 poles belong to each fisherman? Can we have community poles? Can I bring in a fish on Jeff's pole when it's my turn?

If I have 19 fish in the cooler and 4 people on board do I need to remove 9 rods from my spread? Limiting out would be way harder this way.

I'm sure technically and literally these could all be enforced but the ridiculousness of it would be laughable.

BN, I don't do facebook but I heard there is a post on District 10 facebook page about this same question.
I myself in all my years of fishing on charters, pier, beach, inland, ocean and the 9 or 10 states that I have resided in have been asked the question once, a few weeks ago on the Portage pier. My son and I were fishing keeping our fish on the same stringer. The officer that was checking us asked who caught which fish, we answered with how many each of us had caught but didnt seperate or point out. The officer said "nice catch, thank you", and turned to walk away. I responded thank you for checking on us and that was it, so it is not necessarily untrue. I wouldn't buy a cooler for everyone on my boat either but you very well could be asked that question as there are regulations on daily bag limits and it is a fair question.

CO's do have to interpretate the law and it is their interpretation whether you are in compliance or violation, then their discretion if you are cited for a violation. Remember, Lawyers write the laws, they leave interpretation room in there on purpose.

Short Scenario:
A CO walks up on 2 guys with 10 fish in a lake with a 5 fish per limit daily catch limit. He has watched the anglers catch fish for 45min and has seen on angler place 6 fish on the stringer and the other 4. The one placing 6 fish on the stringer is getting a ticket. If he did not see all of the catch he can ask who caught what in conversation. Will he give a ticket probably not as he did not see a violation. Now if one of the guys seems a little on edge or he gets a confusing answer he may press the issue.

Agree 100% with giving and receiving fish from other anglers and that also includes venison, waterfowl, etc.

Once again my 2 cents from discussions I have had with CO's and Lawyers over the years.

Makes you wonder if something else went on during said confrontation? Sounds like the officer in question was wanting to pile on some extra charges when he found an issue and was getting some unwanted conversation about it. That has happened to me before during a traffic stop.

I bet you are correct Don. If someone gives the officer a hard time and attitude the officer will get the last laugh.

Yea, I agree with you guys too. I've never had a bad experience with CO's or officers because I'm usually compliant and don't have much to hide. I just thought it was weird when my friends husband said technically it was correct.