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With the hot bite at home, we left on a scheduled fishing vacation anyway.  I'm missing the action on the south end, but it's just as good here at Northpoint. 

Easy limits close to the marina in 15 to 25 feet of water. So easy, we stashed our Illinois fish in a cooler in the truck, bought Wisconsin licenses and headed back out. We decided to try for some bigger fish across the Wisconsin line so we boogied offshore to about 120 fow and set up for kings and lakers. On Wednesday we did get one laker, but the cohos swarmed us and we ended up with our limit of them in short order.  Thursday was a repeat except our last fish was a 15 pound king.  

Fog was thick on Wednesday and we had 28 million tiny crawling flies on the boat. My fishing pard put on his covid mask.  Back home soon.  Keep it going down there.  

Correct me if I'm wrong.   I was under the assumption an angler who had limited out (5 fish) had caught his/her daily bag limit on Lake Michigan and was done for the day.  I wasn't aware as a holder of two state licenses I could drop my fish off at the dock and head back out crossing state lines and catch another limit.  

I was always under the same impression. The great lakes have daily bag limits for the lake, not the state who's waters you are in. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how we've always fished it.

How could Wisconsin tell you that you can't catch any more because you already got your limit in Illinois?  If that was the case, they need to sell one license for the entire lake.  

Joez wrote:

I was always under the same impression. The great lakes have daily bag limits for the lake, not the state who's waters you are in. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how we've always fished it.

StormJunkie post=34443 userid=1842
Correct me if I'm wrong.   I was under the assumption an angler who had limited out (5 fish) had caught his/her daily bag limit on Lake Michigan and was done for the day.  I wasn't aware as a holder of two state licenses I could drop my fish off at the dock and head back out crossing state lines and catch another limit.  

Nope, each state's daily bag is there own

What Mike described doing is the exact correct procedure - put the first state's limit somewhere on shore, travel to new state, fish in that state with that state's license

Just to be clear, I can leave Michigan City in the morning and catch my limit of Coho along the beach in Indiana waters, return to shore, swap out coolers and then take another limit across the state line in Michigan waters with my Michigan license and then return to Michigan City? 
 

StormJunkie wrote:

Just to be clear, I can leave Michigan City in the morning and catch my limit of Coho along the beach in Indiana waters, return to shore, swap out coolers and then take another limit across the state line in Michigan waters with my Michigan license and then return to Michigan City? 
How many fish would I be allowed total in possession if I did this two days in a row? 

Yes, correct you can catch an Indiana limit, return and swap coolers (if you want to be really solid, take a pic/write a description of where caught), and then you can launch from Indiana waters, travel to Michigan waters, catch a Michigan limit on your Michigan license and return with them. 

Regarding possession limits, this is what the Indiana regs say - 

The possession limit is two times the daily bag limit and does not apply to a wild fish that is processed and stored at an individual’s primary residence. 

Assuming you cleaned and stored those fish at your Indiana primary residence, there would be no possession limit issues. 


Here's Michigan's wording on possession limits - last two sentences are particularly relevant, and why people are always advised to not have their fish from another state with them on the boat. Otherwise you're gonna get a ticket for overbagging

Possession Limit: In addition to 1 day’s daily possession limit of fish, a person may possess an additional 2 daily possession limits of fish taken during previous fishing days provided the additional limits of fish are processed (canned, cured by smoking or drying, or frozen). This provision does not apply to lake sturgeon or muskellunge. Anglers who have not attained the age of 17 are entitled to the possession limit even though they do not have a fishing license. A person fishing waters bordered by other states or provinces AND possessing multiple fishing licenses may possess the limit allowed for ONLY ONE license while in transit. When fishing in Michigan waters, Michigan possession and size limits must be followed.

Learn something new every day. Thanks for the clarification. 

It used to be even more confusing, but the rules are now more or less standardized - just different wording to say the same thing.  Used to be we could catch our limit in Illinois or Michigan and then come back to Indiana, without dropping off any fish, and continue to catch Indiana fish.  Couldn't fish Indiana first, then go to IL however. IL had "five in possession" rule, regardless of where they were caught.  Rarely took advantage of it, but it was legal. Not now.  

Even more tricky was when I fished reciprocal waters at Cal Park under those rules.  I have friends from Iowa who fish with me every year. So they were non-res for both IL and IN.  Under the reciprocal rule, anyone with a resident Indiana license can fish the reciprocal waters and catch a limit. A resident of IL can fish the reciprocal waters and catch a limit, only with an IL license, not an IN non-res. However, a resident of any other state can choose to fish with either state's non-resident license so my Iowa buds would choose to fish with their IL non-res first, then once they limited out they'd begin to fish with their IN - non-res and catch "Indiana" fish.  Only happened once, but it was then legal. No more, unless they'd stash their fish on shore and then continue fishing.  

These "rules" are necessary because an officer has to visually see where you are fishing to make an arrest for fishing without a license. Otherwise, if you left Portage, went to Michigan and only possessed a Michigan license, the CO could stop you at the mouth of the ditch and check your fish and ask to see your IN license. No IN license they'd have to prove you were fishing in IN.  Didn't see you - no proof.  You are just transporting legally caught fish - not against the law.  

If you had no Indiana license and they saw you fishing in Indiana, however, busted. 

 Anyway, it's not like myself or many people do this legal "double dip" very often or even that the conditions are right to do it. 

When we went out to Wisconsin after catching our Illinois limit last week, it wasn't just to beat up on the cohos again.  We'd limited out by 7:30 and were far from home on a fishing trip.  I'm sure we could have stayed in 20 feet of water in Wisconsin side and caught an easy limit of cohos.  With nothing better to do, we just decided to buy a Wisconsin license head out to deep water and try for bigger fish after putting our IL cohos in the truck.

Two guys, six lines. We put out two wire divers, two downriggers a 150 weighted steel and a 200 weighted steel. Half mag spoons and half 8-inch dodgers or flashers with either a spin n glow or big fly.  We wanted kings or lake trout.  The deepest downrigger right at the bottom caught nothing, but all the other lines caught at least one coho.  I added some photos - the trout and the king.   Note the fog on day two.    

Thanks Ben for answering in such detail.  Catching a boat limit in either states waters can be difficult and there is nothing more gratifying than putting that last fish in the boat.  I have always assumed we were finished for the day. Years ago we would load more ice in the cooler, grab some minnows and head back out for perch.  Good to know on a hot summer day we can go back out and fish over the line.