Not sure how many of you follow other sites in this world, but this has come up and I didn’t see it here and it needs to be.
The DNR has a new set of tournament rules/changes they are wanting to implement. They are outragous and it is 100% discrimination.
I ask that all tournament anglers…no matter what you fish, to stand strong on this issue and fight for our rights. Contact the DNR and attend these sessions when the dates come available.
Thank you.
I don’t have time to read the whole thing right now, what are the problems?
did i see that right 1500 just to host a tourney. ouch that will cut into some pay outs. ike
an excerpt from a letter from Mike Hoffman – WI Bass Federation President
“There are new rules that cover the amount of boats allowed on a particular body of water, and how many days a tournament can come to an area.(one needs a slide rule to figure this out) There are restrictions on what tournaments need to do for Invasive species control. There are NEW fees, and, ok let’s call them really what they are: TAXES on both tournament organizers and contestants alike.
There are many new restrictions in the new rules package but the worst of all is a proposed rule that not even the FTAC ever voted on or even mentioned-ever. The DNR and the NRB just decided by themselves to make 2/3 of the fishing season closed to all live release tournament fishing. From July 1st to August 31st!”
I can’t believe the WI DNR is trying to pull this stuff! For some reason it seems that the higher-ups in that organization really have a strong dislike for fishing tournaments. Everyone needs to get on the ball on this one and stand up for the rights of tournament fishermen across the entire state.
That’s very disappointing. The DNR and NRB are bowing to the anti-fishing groups and upset local people for the July 1-Aug 31 no-release tournament change. These are a very vocal minority set of people. Negative attitudes appear to have more weight in this argument than positive facts.
I don’t fish in any big tournaments, but besides restricting the tournament fishing I see these changes being detrimental to the WI economy. No wonder the big tournaments stay in the southern states where they don’t have to deal with stuff like this.
Like Slop said, no matter if you fish tournaments or don’t, hate tournaments or love them, we all need to stand united on this subject. Why??? Because they are trying to take this now, whats next? Whatever else is next may affect you too.
well what do you think tree-huggers will do when we have tournaments anyway but keep all the fish and eat them or give them to food pantries. hell start a program like the ones that allow deer to be given to the poor.
agree and disagree probably gonna tick someone off here but here goes a non-tournament anglers opinion. i disagree with rules of closing the season for july and august for you guys and also with raising the fees for you guys, however i would be for some sort of limitations set as far as how many tournaments or competitors per tournament are allowed on a body of water be it a pool or lake. your tournament anglers rights need to be protected but there also rights of recreational anglers to be remembered too. for me the last year or two on some outings has been just way to much competition in many spots that when i have my family out with me its frustrating to be working a stretch of water only to have a half a dozen different tournament boats come by and cut through within an hour or 2 time limit. i know i have choices such as finding new water or fishing evenings and thats what i probably need to do because we all know there is enough water for everyone. the river is a very busy place anymore and for everyone to enjoy it we all must compromise i guess. so there you have it a view from the other side, hope i didnt enrage anyone to much.
Den. I agree. Both tournament anglers and recreation anglers need to get together on this. If this happens in WI, it could happen in IA, MN anywhere. I would agree to limit the amount of tournaments, but kill tournaments in July and August or none at all? We all need to work together to save our resources.
Unbelievable. Absolutely ridiculous. I’m speechless after reading that. I think DNR stands for Department of Nazi Regulations in Wisconsin. I wouldn’t argue with some regulation of the number of events and posisbly even size, but prohibiting live-release tournaments for a period of time and charging a bunch of fees for nothing is B.S. It’d be interesting to see what they’re basing this on. But I guess all the tournaments on Pools 7, 8, 9, and 10 have really hurt the quality of those fisheries…NOT! Good luck fighting this one up there boys. 
And furthermore…
I’ve got a regulation for those numb nuts to put in place. Why not limit the number and size of cruisers plowing water up and down the river! In my opinion, they’re causing a LOT more harm than tournaments with their 5-foot rollers. 
We have disagreed in the past regarding tournaments and a few other issues. And I am not a big tournamet fan.
However, the Wisconsin DNR proposal is nuts. These folks can’t even keep their State Parks in decent shape, so they decide to take their hammer out and while sitting behind their desks implement additional law/regs regarding fishing tournaments. How silly, but typical of the Wisconsin DNR.
Despite not being a tournament fan, it is pretty obvious that whether it be Bass or Walleye the folks on this board do aheck of a lot to support their fisheries.
True. 
This is hard to respond to.
I live in Minnesota so it wouldn’t apply. But I do have an opinion.
I am not trying to stir anyone’s feathers but I know this might.
I have worked fishing tournaments for years(multispecies). Weigh-ins, boat checks and help in coordination of them.
I look at this from a couple of different perspectives.
As an angler I am not totally apposed to all of this. There are some good things that will come from some of this. Less traffic on vacation. Less pressure to the lakes and rivers. Little more peacefull on the water when you don’t have 45 boats go whipping past you 30 ft away at 50 mph. When you are sitting on your every year fishing hole and you have 4 boats around you casting within 15 ft of your boat.
From a tournament persective this could get a little heavy on the pocket book and more administrative to figure out.
From a tournament angler perspective, it come with the territory. The rules are different all over and they change. If I am serious about my fishing I will have to follow the rules.
From a conservation perspective this will be a win win for obvious reasons.
From a fishing league perspective well you have to keep it to 19 boats.
What troubles me more then anything is the program/study it looks like the addition money they are trying to pick up is just to pay for there prgram. Thats annoying.
I think this definitely needs to stay on the radar of all to make sure they don’t stick in stuff that is way out of line for all.
Read this article:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=502840
There is a lot of republican/democrate finger pointing so beware. But the key points are that the big wheels making the noise are getting their way. The system is corrupt.
With the tournement legislation the things that we are upset about are things that were forced by members of the advisory commettee that did not get there way. They went to the DNR board and forced the rejection of the original proposed law and had it sent back to be redone.
That seems to be the way that things get done.
Think about people outside of the DNR or people inside the DNR that are really making the decisions. Flood their emails with complaints.
Guys,
I don’t get much computer time these days so I’m way behind on reading and follow-up. This is a serious assault on tournament fishing. Even though I’m a Minnesota resident, these regulations will likely affect common boarder waters in the future so I’m very concerned.
So, how do we slow (I don’t think it well ever stop) the legislations? First the idea that I don’t want to get involved in politics will not fly today. I’ve been in and out of the MN BASS Federation active leadership over the years. I don’t know how many times I heard “I don’t want to get involved, all I want to do is fish tournaments” Well that attitude has brought us to where we are today.
In my opinion every sportsman/outdoors group needs to unite in opposition to this legislation. In the future if you are asked to support/oppose similar anti-legislation of a different nature you had best be willing reciprocate. What disturbs me the most about the politics of sportsmen’s groups are how narrow-minded we/they can be. Walleye guys don’t agree with bass guys; duck hunters don’t like fishermen in their areas and on-and-on. We need to unite in a common block to protect ALL outdoor causes.
I haven’t keep up on the happenings in the WI BASS/FLW split-up, but politically, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Right now a strong voice is needed. I hope both groups are actively opposing this legislation.
I also hope that the leadership of IDA, and other informational websites will encourage its readership to stay abreast with the issues, and take a stance when needed.
John
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