No More Licence for Portable Shelters!!!

[Joe]

Fee dropped for portable fishing shelters
Doug Smith,star tribune

Minnesota's ice anglers won't have to license their portable fishing shelters any more -- unless they plan on leaving them on the ice overnight.

That's the result of a new law passed by the 2007 Legislature. Owners of about 60,000 portable shelters will be affected. Few portable shelters are left on the ice overnight.

Ice fishing shacks left overnight, which obviously would include most of the state's 90,000 permanent shelters, still must be licensed.

"The Legislature decided we shouldn't be licensing portables anymore," said Bob Meier, assistant commissioner in charge of government relations for the Department of Natural Resources. "They wanted to give people with portable shelters a break."

That saves anglers with portable she! lters $11.50 a year but would cost the DNR about $768,000 in lost revenue. So the Legislature increased nonresident fishing license fees to offset that loss.

The cost of nonresident individual fishing license, now $34, will increase to $37.50 next year. The increase is expected to raise about $680,000 yearly.

Nonresident anglers took another hit: A $2 surcharge for aquatic invasive species management also is being added to all nonresident fishing licenses.

With the usual $1 issuing fee, that means a nonresident individual will pay $40.50 for a Minnesota fishing license. The state sells about 266,000 nonresident fishing licenses yearly.

Minnesota residents pay a $5 invasive species surcharge every three years with their boat registration fees.

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[Spinach]

Thats good news. ::cheers::

Our nonresident fees are still less than many if not most other states, so everyone wins in this situation.

I never have had a problem in paying the portable shelter fee, but it's nice to not have to worry about it any longer.

Thanks for the update Joe.

[holdemtwice]

 yes joe  thanx  .  good to know . i am new to the portable ice  house. that is very helpful for me.   as well as aprox. 60 thousand  others . HT 

[Ryan]

I can't believe the government would do this with asking the for outdoorsman's approval!  Who do they think they are to take away a fee that we all like to pay?

[icebanger]

im sure gonna miss that fee and the fee to replace it... ::

[thunderpout]

Hey Joe! (i love that song)  Thats great news when you have a permenent house, a drop down ultra shack and a large and a small fish trap!  My question is ...what does "left overnight" mean?  Its worded that way in the yearly fishin reg's that way also... does it mean left empty and not in use or if your in it fishing till sun up?  Or both...?  All I know is that its typical lawyer speak and when I asked 2 DNR folks, I got 2 different answers.  Go figure...  Joe, ya gotz ta get the answer to the people!     Thanx,    -thunderpout 8)l

[Joe]

I had 4 portables at one time, and I tell ya it sucked having to buy 4 licences for them. I know you could get duplicates, but when I took the kids I needed to use multiple portables at the same time . I'm glad the fee is gone, but it came a year late for me. I got rid of all my one man portables except one.

[Joe]

I guess we'll have to wait for the DNR to clarify it, but I would assume any shelter, occupied or unoccupied, left over night has to have a licence.

[GOGETTER]

Great News.  However just purchased my SD out of state and Mn. is a deal at $40.50.  SD's is $60 plus agent fees...

[thunderpout]

Joe....what constitutes "overnight"?  As soon as the sun goes down you'll need a tag?  Or, ya gotta be off the lake before the sun comes up?  Off the lake before the cows come home...wait, if youre on a lake how do ya know when the cows get in? ::  Im hoping its worded clearly in the DNR rules & regs......theres gonna be alot of tickets handed out on this mess, I promise ya dat.....                 -thunderpout 8)

[repoman]

i talked  to  a game warden at carlos avery about it and he said that if your house is unoccupied you need a liscense it dosent matter howlong your on the ice as long as when you leave the shack leaves with you . he  said its a real shakey deal  yet and they busy working out the kinks . he also said he wasent sure if it would actually take affect this year coming up or next .....    ::

[sunk1]

I'm still going to get a tag for my portable. It's not that much anyway. I never know how late I'll be out or whereI'm going. Better to be safe than sorry.

[hunterhunting]

Is this effective in the 07-08 or 08-09 season.