Is your fish house propertly registered and licensed?

Talk about it

Some law changes have necessitated alteration in the way fish houses on wheels will be licensed. A fish house on wheels has been one of the those items that was not specifically named in our statutes and therefore various state agencies (DPS, DNR, DVS) came up with an agreement on how to handle the licensing of them. That being basically that since a fish house was licensed with the DNR we would not require that fish house to be licensed as a trailer when on the road. However, today the fish house on wheels is not like the model of years ago. Check with your local conservation officer as to when a fish house is required to be licensed with the DNR or not, as that depends on a number of circumstances.

We now look at this matter in a more simplistic fashion. Minnesota statute 168.011 Sib 13, in part, states a trailer is “any vehicle designed for carrying property or passenger on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle.” So a fish house on wheels is in fact a trailer under Minnesota law and therefore it is required to be licensed as one. Depending on the type of equipment the trailer is equipped with, it could be registered as an RV or camper trailer.

There are two things you have to make sure of before you use your fish house this year. Before taking your fish house out on the road this winter, check to make sure that you have it properly registered. Then before you use it on the ice of a lake, make sure you have it properly licensed with DNR.

Here are some simple tasks to help you avoid being in a crash: Turn on your lights; drive sober; stop talking on the cell phone; slow down; and because not every driver out there is as careful as you, buckle up.

If you have any questions concerning traffic-related laws in Minnesota, send your questions to Trooper Andy Schmidt, Minnesota State Patrol, 1000 Highway 10 West, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501-2205. Or reach me at andrew. schmidt@state.mn.us.

As always, please be careful out there.

Tags: fish, house, licensed, registered, department, of, natural, resources