I will be taking the family on a trip to the keweenaw peninsula the last week of august. I lived there for a couple of years back in 99-00 and have some family up there that we'll be visiting. Being new to muskie fishing, I can't stop thinking of the possibilities of fishing in God's country. So after more than a few deposites into the "Bank of Marriage", I have convinced my wife to let me break away from her and the kids for a possible couple days of fishing for muskie. All the research I've done so far has pointed me to the southwestern portion of the state, nothing in the keweenaw. Is there any waters worth fishing in the keweenaw? I will drive south if thats my best option but would definately have more time if I don't have to make the possible two hour ride. Will water temps even be safe? Any help, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated….Jon
"Kingfisher" said:
Bond falls flowage
Bond Falls population has been dying for years. After they drained the lake a couple summers ago, I would be surprised if there are fishable numbers. The locals took a ton of fish out, of all species, when it was drained. Going to take a while for that lake to recover from a fishing standpoint.
Lac Vieux Desert is not far from bond though. Probably the best option in that area as far as fish numbers. It definitely gets fished though. Just a heads up if you do go there, there is no motorized trolling.
You can troll in all Michigan waters. I have been in this debate already. ACCORDING TO a Michigan D.N.R. office in the U.P. all Michigan waters are open to motorized trolling that includes all boundry waters Like Smokey, Lac vieux. Wisconsin fishermen will argue till they are blue in the face that you cant troll in Vilas county and they correct you cant. However much of Lac Vieux is in Michigan. I have trolled it and will again. The law is clear. In fact Wisconsin anglers can troll in Michigan waters. This was explained to me by a D.N.R. enforcement officer from the area. The license you hold makes no difference what you can do. Where states differ in regulations it follows the state you in at the time.
I didnt know about Bond falls being drained. Did they clear out some of the stumps?? That lake was mine field of stumps.
Mike
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The first paragraph explains it in clear English. You can troll on Lac Vieux or any other Wisconsin border lake on the Michigan side. I had words on Smokey lake with a Wisconsin boat trying to tell me that Michelle and I could not troll on this lake. They went as far as calling the Wisconsin D.N.R. who told them they did not have jurisdiction on Michigan waters AND AS LONG AS WE STAYED IN MICHIGAN WATERS WE COULD TROLL. Almost all of Smokey is in Michigan even though the launch is in Wisconsin. Mike
Ok, Mike… I'll bite! [smilie=biggrin.gif]
We can't fish, so we might as well argue, eh?
Yes, you can troll the MI side of all boundary waters. That's what it says. It also says You may fish (troll) from a motorboat with the motor running or a sailboat under sail except in Wisconsin boundary waters of Vilas County. That would include Lac Vieux. The way I interpret is that you cannot troll in any waters that are shared between Vilas Co and MI. Any other shared lakes, you can troll on the MI side only.
That is because Vilas county is the only county in Wisconsin that prohibits trolling. So you can troll in other Wisconsin waters just not in Vilas. The law is clear. When there is a difference you follow the laws of the state in which you are in. There fore on Lac Vieux you can troll in Michigan but not in Vilas county Wisconsin. It is the same thing on Smokey. The southern tip of the lake (about 75 yards out from the launch) Is a no trolling zone. The rest is in Michigan. Michigan waters are governed by Michigan law, Wisconsin waters governed by Wisconsin law.
I called the D.N.R. and have had altercations with Wisconsin fishermen on the water On Smokey Lake which has about 75 yards of it in Vilas County. The Wisconsin D.N.R. told the guy on the phone while he was side by side with my boat ( in Michigan)that I had every right to troll in the Michigan part of Smokey. The first paragraph is very clear and so is the part you quoted. You can troll in any other Wisconsin border waters except for border waters in Vilas county. That is what your quote means. That part is the one that gets misrepresented all the time. The law enforcers all know so just ask them if you dont believe me. I called the Baraga office for confirmation. I have been there and done that and it really got several guys pizzed off on Muskies first. I just gave them the number and they called. 906-353-6651
It is one of the most asked questions of this DNR branch. Call them. Mike
Jim you know what'S even funnier? Wisconsin anglers can troll lAC VIEUX AND SMOKEY in Michigan boundry waters WITH a Wisconsin license . Most of them dont even know that. I got in a huge argument on Muskies first and Steve Worral had to step in and verify that what I was saying was true.
I had a friend get his truck keyed at the launch while he was out trolling Smokey. This prompted a post on Muskies first to try and find the culprits. I educated about 20 Wisconsin guys in that post. You see even the ones that know the truth still like to try and keep people from trolling both of those lakes. Smokey is like the Lake X of Vilas county guys. They think its some big secret and that Michigan Guys know nothing about the lake. The fact is it has 40 pound muskies in it. and has been stocked completely by Our D.N.R. not Wisconsin's. Wisconsin has a tiny little sliver of the lake and they think they own it.
I was always a firm believer that you just follow MI laws while in the MI parts of the lake, and the WI laws in their territorial parts. But, the more you read it, the more confused you get… Depending on how you read the 2 statements I will list below, it either contradicts itself, or the 2nd regulation is over and above the first paragraph.
It states: Persons shall comply with the regulations of the state in whose territorial waters they are fishing. If that's all it said, it would be a piece of cake to understand. But, then in the other quote that I had, You may troll except in WI boundary waters of Vilas. It doesn't say anything about which territory you are in. Just that you can't troll in any waters that are shared with Vilas County. Black and white. You cannnot troll in boundary waters shared with Vilas county. It's a given that you can't troll the water on the Vilas side of Lac Vieux. You can't troll ANY lake in Vilas county. So why would they put that special regulation in there if they didn't mean that you cannot troll even the MI side?
Because you cant troll in Vilas county. It does NOT say shared. It says Vilas county boundry waters. That means boundry waters in Vilas county not in Michigan. It means exactly what it says. There is no mention of shared water or overlapping regs. It states where there are differences you use the regulations of the state you are in. Michigan allows trolling Vilas county does not. Its the same way on Lake st. Clair. In Michigan waters you can run three rods each, you cross the line and you can only run two. St Clair is boundry water with Canada.
Most of Wisconsin allows trolling there fore they state you can troll in Wisconsin boundry waters (EXCEPT in Vilas County). Vilas county is a backwards area of the country. Im surprised they allow GPS, treble hooks and depth finders. It's the Wisconsin fishermen that keep spreading this so Michigan guys don't troll their honey holes. But all anyone has to do is call the D.N.R. and they will explain it. I even talked with the Wisconsin D.N.R. at the ramp at Smokey when we reported the vandalism to the truck. We knew what kind of boat they had so we turned them in. State police as well. We had two boats trolling that day.
Quote " Wisconsin boundary waters of Vilas County. Means Wisconsin boundary waters in Vilas county. It does not say Michigan Boundary waters. The first paragraph is the key to everything related to our boundry waters. Where ever there is a difference you revert to the state regulations that apply to the water you are fishing. Im wondering how they will apply our new one fish per year tag on Boundary waters. I am assuming they will use both. In wisconsin you will still be able to take one per day. Cross over into Michigan and you will need a tag and only be able to take one per year. They wont even have to change the rule book as the first paragraph will still apply.
Boundry waters are lakes or rivers that are along borders with other states or in the Michigan's case even Canada. Where regulations differ you divide the lake and each states regs apply to their side of the line. It really is best this way as no state has to compromise its regulations. Mike
"Kingfisher" said:
Because you cant troll in Vilas county. It does NOT say shared. It says Vilas county boundry waters. That means boundry waters in Vilas county not in Michigan. It means exactly what it says. There is no mention of shared water or overlapping regs. It states where there are differences you use the regulations of the state you are in. Michigan allows trolling Vilas county does not. Its the same way on Lake st. Clair. In Michigan waters you can run three rods each, you cross the line and you can only run two. St Clair is boundry water with Canada.
So our Michigan fishing regulations guide is just giving us one of Wisconsins rules about Vilas county, (the one little blurb about fishing Vilas County boundary waters) [smilie=eek7.gif] Who cares about the WI side? Why would MI include one of the rules about Vilas county? That's my point. That you can troll all boundary waters except those that are shared with Vilas. That is how I interpret it. If a CO interprets it differently, who's to say the next one will not see eye to eye? Who writes some of these stupid rules anyways? If there is room for interpretation, then it needs to be redone IMO.
Yeah the regs, and the way they are worded, are confusing. This goes back a ways and it may be different now, but we were told you could troll the Michigan waters. So we did, and my Dad got stopped and ticketed by the WI DNR. They claimed there was no trolling allowed anywhere on the lake. Like I said, this goes back a number of years so maybe its different now.
Mike, they drained the lake to work on the dam. To my knowledge, they did not remove any of the stumps. Thats part of what makes that lake fun to fish! Definitely helps to know the lake well. Also limits the number of skiers. [smilie=2thumbsup.gif]
"Vito" said:
Yeah the regs, and the way they are worded, are confusing. This goes back a ways and it may be different now, but we were told you could troll the Michigan waters. So we did, and my Dad got stopped and ticketed by the WI DNR. They claimed there was no trolling allowed anywhere on the lake. Like I said, this goes back a number of years so maybe its different now.Mike, they drained the lake to work on the dam. To my knowledge, they did not remove any of the stumps. Thats part of what makes that lake fun to fish! Definitely helps to know the lake well. Also limits the number of skiers. [smilie=2thumbsup.gif]
For your dad to be ticketed he had to be in Wisconsin waters or alledged to be. Even if it was close. Today with G.P.S. There are no disputes. You are either over the line or not. The line is marked on any map chip. Like I said Wisconsin D.N.R. does not have jurisdiction in Michigan. Legally they cant ticket anyone in Michigan waters. Best to call Michigan D.N.R. when there is an Altercation. If you are in Michigan you are under Michigan jurisdiction, Michigan law and the protection of Michigan law enforcement. Wisconsin likes to tout their side of the argument and they are clearly out of touch with what the laws say. You get stopped by Wisconsin D.N.R. IN MICHIGAN WATERS you call Michigan D.N.R. They have to respond and protect you. Mike
"Jim tenHaaf" said:
[quote="Kingfisher"]Because you cant troll in Vilas county. It does NOT say shared. It says Vilas county boundry waters. That means boundry waters in Vilas county not in Michigan. It means exactly what it says. There is no mention of shared water or overlapping regs. It states where there are differences you use the regulations of the state you are in. Michigan allows trolling Vilas county does not. Its the same way on Lake st. Clair. In Michigan waters you can run three rods each, you cross the line and you can only run two. St Clair is boundry water with Canada.
So our Michigan fishing regulations guide is just giving us one of Wisconsins rules about Vilas county, (the one little blurb about fishing Vilas County boundary waters) [smilie=eek7.gif] Who cares about the WI side? Why would MI include one of the rules about Vilas county? That's my point. That you can troll all boundary waters except those that are shared with Vilas. That is how I interpret it. If a CO interprets it differently, who's to say the next one will not see eye to eye? Who writes some of these stupid rules anyways? If there is room for interpretation, then it needs to be redone IMO.
They probably should re write it. They include that little blurb to warn us that if you cross into Wisconsin while trolling you are in violation of Wisconsin or to be more specific Vilas county law.I have it right from the director of the Baraga office Michigan D.N.R. and they say Vilas county does not include Michigan waters. Michigan D.N.R. will intercede and stop any tickets from being issued. I have trolled Smokey multiple times and have been asked by Wisconsin D.N.R. who were called by a Wisconsin fisherman if we had trolled in Wisconsin waters. I showed him My GPS. trails. He then informed the Wisconsin fisherman that we were legal and he had no jurisdiction in regards to what we did in Michigan waters. . Then he warned me that if he caught us trolling in Wisconsin waters we would be ticketed. The Officer was as ticked off as the fisherman but he had no legal ground to stand on and he knew it. I came real close to telling him where to shove his warning. They have Zero right to harrass you, ticket you or ask you for anything while you are in Michigan waters. I showed him my Michigan fishing license at the boat launch which was in Wisconsin and he waited until we came off the water to ask me. I made him wait until dark. He was pretty harsh and did not show any professionalism in representing the Wisconsin D.N.R. I called the Wisconsin D.N.R. the following week and filed a complaint. Nothing happened over the incident. They did not even bother to respond. Like I said Vilas county is a backwards thinking out of date out touch area of the country. Mike
"fishcorpse" said:
thanks for the suggestions, didn't mean to spark the controversy though. lol.
Not really a lot of options these days for 'skis in the NW U.P. The Craig Lake area would be relatively close too, although there are restrictions on motors. I have also heard some decent reports on Lac La Belle, but have not fished it personally. Otherwise, some good suggestions have already been made. If you're planning to troll, I would not suggest LVD. Grass and weeds are really tough this time of year.
My understanding of the "rules" align with what Mike has said and there absolutely are some pretty strong anti-trolling beliefs in Vilas. Keying a vehicle over it is definitely not cool though.
There are other counties in Wisconsin that ban trolling as well on certain lakes. Gets pretty confusing at times….there are two flowages in WI that are relatively close to me and in very close proximity to each other—Caldron and High Falls. You can troll in HF but not in Caldron. And if you are running live bait with your trolling motor engaged, be ready for a fight with either the locals or the DNR. Interpretation of that rule has been debated many times on the 'net.
Kind of funny about the cheeseheads getting wound up about "their" lakes. Would be nice if our U.P. launches weren't filled up with vehicles by WI guides who are illegally guiding "our" lakes the first two weeks of the season.
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