Border Water Rules
To help clear up the confusion surrounding border water regulations—especially between Minnesota and Wisconsin on the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers—I’ve created this informational guide. What you’ll find here is for reference purposes only and reflects the information available as of June 2019. For years, anglers have faced uncertainty about which state’s rules to follow while fishing these shared waters. Thankfully, the Minnesota DNR has made efforts to clarify things in their official regulations booklet.
A great way to understand border water fishing rules was shared by fellow guide Brian Klawitter—it’s like driving with a license. Think of your fishing license like a driver’s license: when you cross a state line on the road, you follow that state’s laws. The same idea applies on the river. There’s an invisible line running down the middle, and once you cross it, you're in a different state and must follow that state’s fishing regulations.
For example, if you’re a Minnesota resident fishing on the MN side of the river, you must follow MN rules—like using only two lines and no game fish as bait. But if you move across the center line into Wisconsin waters, you’ll need to follow WI laws, which allow three lines and game fish as bait. This same principle applies to shore fishing: regardless of your license, you must follow the laws of the state whose shoreline you're fishing from.
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When it comes to bag limits, you must follow the regulations of your state of residency—crossing the river doesn’t allow you to keep more fish. Non-residents must follow the bag limit rules of the state where they purchased their fishing license.
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Below, you’ll find a few key pieces of information I’ve gathered over the years, including an important letter from Greg Salo, the Assistant Director of Enforcement for the MN DNR.
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