Tip ups and children

[dwayne]

I brought my daughter out fishing with me last winter but didn't set any tip-ups for her.  She will be 4 this year and think it is time for her to have a tip-up or two of her own.

I know some ECO's feel if the child is not old enough to completely set them up by themselves they aren't considered to be their tip-up and the parent could be ticketed for having more tip-ups than what is allowed by law.

Anyone have any first hand experiences with their children and ECO's giving you problems?

[Haywood]

When my nephew was 3 I gave him a pick stick to man on his own and a CO came over.  He told me there was no way a kid his age could man his own rod and that I needed to take it out or he would ticket me.  While he was lecturing me, the bobber went under and my nephew grabbed the rod and ran away from the hole until the fish came popping out.  The officer was decent about it the whole time, but I suggested that if the DNR is going to promote take a kid fishing, maybe they should refrain from harrassing people who are doing just so.  
I think as long as she can show the officer she can handle it on her own, there isn't a thing they can do to you.  

[dwayne]

Oh sure dwayne try and use your child to sneak in some extra tipups, I see what you're up to     

darn skippy.....  about time the kid puts some food back into the old man's mouth......    

no seriously...I've just heard mixed stories from several other ice fisherman in our neck of the woods on when ENCON recognizes someone as a fisherperson

[adkRoy]

We have hade extra tip-ups out for our younger cousins. As long as they get to bring in the fish they have fun. Never had any problems but then again I would suggest fishing a small lake that they could get a lot of flags fishing. When the flags slow down they get bored and want to go in.

[camo_fish]

I haven't been stopped while fishing with my son. I've had him out on the ice since he was 3 years old and could pull the fish in my himself. I'd set them but he would pull the fish in. I would say that it was his tipup.
And yes, I'm guilt of putting 10 tipups out for the 2 of us. Same address and initials on the tipups, so they were legal. And I wouldn't spread them out over 100 yards, Keep them fairly close together in one area, so even with the extra tipups your not covering trying to cover tons of extra water. And I'll continue to set my son out 5 tipups when he comes with me, and sometimes will have all 10 out,  and I let him pull in over 75% of the fish under a flag.  If the line is just spooling off, I tell him that, I think daddy will take care of this one.  but for the most part, all flags are for my son. 

Need to keep them into it. 
  Fish On!

[pieman1998]

when my son was 10 i put out tipup for him now he has his owen

[bshirtd]

My dad has been taking me out  since i was 5 (im 19 now) and we have always set up 10 tip ups and never had a problem.

[rob-s]

the problem i have seen is some ceos or wardens are educated in school and law enforsement and procecution of the rules.
 they didnt grow up in the outdoor sports.
 its just not the same, in the ole days a sport went into becomeing a  gamewarden because thats what he knew. its not that way nowadays

[cold_feet]

Well the time is now to teach your kids how to set up a tipup, rig the bait on the hook watch for telltail signs for when to set the hook or not When the ECO comes over to ask why you have 10 tipups out I guess your kids will be able to show them their stuff. In my opinion actions speak louder than words. If the kid knows everything there is to know about it no problems right. Just run through this for few weeks a couple times a week and just before you take them  out fishing to make sure they have it down pat. If the kid has no intrest in learning this then in my opinion there is no reason to set up tipups for the kid to use. At any age the kids are willing to learn especialy if it is for haveing fun. If I was to do this I would take a 5gal bucket put it on the floor and bring a tipup out and see what they know about it let them figure out how to set it then help them through the steps till they can do it right. You might be surprised how fast they will pick it up. If all fails then my sugestion is take 1 or 2 of your set up and desegnate those 2 to the kids again no questions asked when a ECO shows up.
Just my .02
Coldfeet

[dwayne]

Well the time is now to teach your kids how to set up a tipup, rig the bait on the hook watch for telltail signs for when to set the hook or not When the ECO comes over to ask why you have 10 tipups out I guess your kids will be able to show them their stuff. In my opinion actions speak louder than words. If the kid knows everything there is to know about it no problems right. Just run through this for few weeks a couple times a week and just before you take them  out fishing to make sure they have it down pat. If the kid has no intrest in learning this then in my opinion there is no reason to set up tipups for the kid to use. At any age the kids are willing to learn especialy if it is for haveing fun. If I was to do this I would take a 5gal bucket put it on the floor and bring a tipup out and see what they know about it let them figure out how to set it then help them through the steps till they can do it right. You might be surprised how fast they will pick it up. If all fails then my sugestion is take 1 or 2 of your set up and desegnate those 2 to the kids again no questions asked when a ECO shows up.
Just my .02
Coldfeet

She has all ready been practicing.  I have the same thinking.  As long as she can operate the tip-up with moderate proficiency then she should be able to fish with a couple of her own. 

She is asking to replace the orange flag with pink though.   

[camo_fish]

She has all ready been practicing.  I have the same thinking.  As long as she can operate the tip-up with moderate proficiency then she should be able to fish with a couple of her own. 

She is asking to replace the orange flag with pink though.   

yes, very nice, those pink flags would be kewl. Then there won't be any questions as to who's tipups they are. 
very true about knowing how the tipup works last year at 5 years old my son was almost a pro.  But no treble hooks and bait for him yet. 
  Fish On!

[eyedoktr]

I don''t think that your child is too young to start fishing with tip ups.

I do think though that the law in NY requires not the name of the owner but the name (and address) of the user. A few years ago, my buddy got reprimanded for having 10 tip ups out for him and his daughter. The problem was that they all had his name and address on them and none with his daughter's. Just something to check ahead of time to save a headache later.

[jayswimmer09]

any tip up works great. theres no other way to teach a kid to ice fish. they can run around on the ice so they dont get bored and fish at the same time!

[Hard_H2O]

Here in Minnesota once the child is 3 years old they are allowed to have all the lines out allowed by law without the need for a license. For us that means two lines. For my daughter I usually put out two tip-ups or one tip up and a bobber rig. She can run around all she wants and still grab a line if the mood strikes.

From 3 yo to 16 yo they do not need a license.

My buddy and I took out our daughters in my boat. I am licensed my buddy is not. As long as he didn't fish we were fine. I was the licensed angler for both girls.

My daughter is 7 and my son is 2. He will be 3 in February. I can put out 2 lines for myself and my daughter. I have to wait until February to put out 2 for my boy.

From: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/fish/fishregs/fishlicense.html

Who Needs a License?
Everyone must have a valid fishing license in their possession while fishing, except:

Persons under 16 years of age.

What does "Persons under 16 years of age." mean? In MN they give us a 3 year minimum. Looks like you guys do not have a minimum.

[deadsmelthead]

I have have been taking my 10 year old daughter since she was 5 never have been bothered. First couple of years I only set 2 for her then we went  out one time and she says in front of 2 of my friends, "daddy  how come you don't use 2 tip ups like me, I catch more fish than you just using 2 maybe you ought to try it out sometime"

[kirkwooders]

Anybody that has ever taken a kid fishing anywhere knows that the key is to keep the kids interested.  This means catching fish, jumping bobbers or flying flags!

Having said this, I will always put out as many lines as allowed by law. Just be sure to label them properly.

When kids are in my fishing party they always chase the flags, no matter who's tip up it is.  I once had a friends 5 year old daughter reel in a 5 pound cat fish on one of my poles.  For me it would have been just another nice fish, for her it's an experience of a lifetime (for me too!). To see the excitement turn to a look of horror on her face when she finally landed that fish will be with me for years to come.  That's what it's all about!

And if a ECO has a problem with that you tell him that I said that it was OK, just be sure to explain our stupidity to the judge.

[devo]

I agree w/Kirkwooders,it's all about keeping them interested.Kids LOVE tip-ups.My boy is now fourteen and he still can't wait to set out tip-ups each year.He's fished since he could walk, and something about the anticipation of that flag popping up keeps them coming back for more. It is a great way to spend quality time with your kids.Many times he would bring a friend (that "allowed " me to set out 15 rigs and six jigging poles).We never have been bothered by john law,other than to ck. me for NYS license.Take the kids out and you'll be glad you did!

[iceenut]

When I was a kid my grandfather gave me a set of rickety old tip-ups and we put my name and address on them,used them till I was a teenager.My son(8yrs old) now wants his own set of tippers and when we get them his name and our address are going on them.Never had a problem with these as a kid and it earned my grandfather alot of praise to be passing on the fishing tradition to the youngsters.

[Retired ECO]

  I feel compelled to comment,lots of great answer's, eyedoctors was the most correct. Law states that "the name and address of the operator must be affixed to the tip-up" or any other type of devise that would allow you to fish 5. As there is not any minimun age for persons to fish, allowing your five year old to have her own tip-ups would be legal (pink flags) included. You may wish to have just a couple to start, as stated by many and as I did with my son and grandchildren, I let them run all the flags. Sure makes a true fisherperson of them !!!!!

[dwayne]

  I feel compelled to comment,lots of great answer's, eyedoctors was the most correct. Law states that "the name and address of the operator must be affixed to the tip-up" or any other type of devise that would allow you to fish 5. As there is not any minimun age for persons to fish, allowing your five year old to have her own tip-ups would be legal (pink flags) included. You may wish to have just a couple to start, as stated by many and as I did with my son and grandchildren, I let them run all the flags. Sure makes a true fisherperson of them !!!!!

Thanks for the chime in.....I was hoping you were going to eventually pop in.  I am going to give her 3 tip-ups to start.  They all ready have her name and address on them and she has beep practicing how to actually set the flag and pull in a fish (well me right now).  She is extremely excited about the pink flags too....   

[FingerLakesFisher]

My daugher has been going with me for the past two years. This winter will be our third and she is now 5 years old.  When I first took her out she used mine and I pretty much did all the work.  She enjoyed the excitement of watching the fish coming out of the hole, scimming, carrying the frozen fish off the ice to the buckets Oh and of course playing with the minnows.  Last year my father made her her own tip-down.  She is great with it, easy to do.  Tips down, run over, pull and run backwards.  grab the fish, daddy takes off while she nets a minnow and she puts back down the hole.  No re-setting of depth, worrying about a flag popping up and hitting her in the face(eye) etc.   This year I am going to let her do 5.  She has demonstarted that she is capable of doing everything but taking the fish off the hook.  I would recommend trying tip-downs if it applyies to the lake and species of fish you are going for.  Just my two cents

[adkRoy]

  I feel compelled to comment,lots of great answer's, eyedoctors was the most correct. Law states that "the name and address of the operator must be affixed to the tip-up" or any other type of devise that would allow you to fish 5. As there is not any minimun age for persons to fish, allowing your five year old to have her own tip-ups would be legal (pink flags) included. You may wish to have just a couple to start, as stated by many and as I did with my son and grandchildren, I let them run all the flags. Sure makes a true fisherperson of them !!!!!

I have a question for you Mr. ECO, I have a lot of family and friends that want to try icefishing, is it ok for me to bring them out and let them use my spare tip-ups or do they have to have their own with their name and address on them?

[eyedoktr]

adkRoy, just write their name and address on a piece of tape and stick over your name and address. If there are more than 5 tip-ups being used with your name, they can ticket you.

[Retired ECO]

 FingerlakesFisher: Eyedoctor gave you the definitive answer, just make sure that you don't operate the tip-ups with thier names on them. I used to watch a family to make sure dear old Dad didn't just bring the crew along to cover him running fifteen or twenty tip-ups. Had a father in May one year on the south end of Canandaigua that was pulling wire for lake trout and I was out fishing also. His six year old was in the front of the boat the whole time and most of the time was asleep. When Dad landed and killed his fifth lake trout it was summons time. Cost, after I explained to the judge that he never even called his son back to pull one in, $50.00 per fish ($250.00) and that was back the the early seventies !!!!!