Don’t hold your breath on Culling Law changes

For those waiting for the positive impact of the Culling study to show up do not hold your breath.
While the study does not support the fallacy that culling in Bass tournaments will negatively affect Bass populations we should not look towards the DNR to champion our cause and do the right thing.

From some correspondence on the BASS federation website the Wisconsin DNR’s position on the subject is clear. The statement from Andrew (who has taken over the project from the now departed Patrick Schmaltz) was as follows:

“We have no evidence to suggest that culling has a negative impact on bass populations. However, although the task of evaluating the effects of culling was put forth in Act 249, there is also a provision that specifically states that the proposed rules may not allow a participant to engage in any activity in which the department would not allow an angler who is not a participant to engage at the same time on the same body of water. Currently, anglers in Wisconsin are not allowed to cull and this Act does not give the Department the authority to allow general anglers (and therefore tournament anglers) to cull. That would require separate legislation.”

So if we really want Culling in permitted Bass events we need to get the issue brought back up and legislation written.

So waiting for the DNR or the Wisconsin Natural resource board to solve this is not going to do it. We must put pressure on the state house to make this happen. It is clearly possible as the catch and release musky season up north that passed with the budget bill clearly demonstrates.

It is time to stop fighting the DNR on this issue and take them up on their recommendation to go around them.

IF I AM READING THIS RIGHT AND YOU WANT BASS FISHERMEN TO BE ABLE TO CULL(SORT)BASS IT IS WRONG. WHY SHOULD THEY BE ANY DIFFERANT THEM ME OR ANYONE ELSE.NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP FISH IN TANKS FOR HOURS AND THEN SORT THEM.,THROW THEM BACK.I SEEN LOTS OF FISH DIE WHILE WATCHING A WEIGHT IN ON LAKE MINNETONKA HERE IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTE.

THEY THE BASS WERE TAKEN OFF THE LAKE TO THE MALL OF AMERICA TO GET ON A SCALE. THEN IT IS NOT A GOOD THING FOR ANY TRUE FISHING TO DO TO OUR RESOURCES

BUT THATS JUST ME WITH MY LITTLE FISHING POLE AND PLAIN HOOK OUT FISHING

your statement doesn’t really have anything to do with culling jig…this law would apply to all fisherman, not just bass fisherman. Besides this is Wisconsin, so it won’t effect those of you living in “Minnesote” …
If your gripe is off site tournament weigh ins, try calling your tournament director.

The Mall of America weigh in was a one time thing back in 1996. There is no way an event like that would get a permit now, which is one of the reasons FLW and BASS haven’t been back since then.

The overwhelming majority of bass tournaments in MN have a live release percentage of over 98%.

Not that any of this is relevant to the WI culling discussion, which I agree is not something the DNR will ever resolve. It will have to come from the legislature and it will have to apply to all anglers.

Dear Mr. Jig,
I really have no idea what you are talking about. Off site weigh-inns are a completely different subject in itself. Culling which the thread was inteded to talk about is the issue. The DNR is stating that they can not find any evidence of culling hurting the fish population. But they still feel that it should not be changed. I am concerned about a lot of people out there who feel that tournaments are bad because they kill fish, period. The DNR feel tournaments are bad because we kill, in there studies up to 20% of the fish we weigh in. What will they say when we obide by there silly rules and kill 100% of the fish we catch. How long before you plain hook guys “thats a quote” realize that they are not catching as many fish because the tournament guys are following the rules and killing all the fish they catch. But then again we will not have to worry about it because we will all have a huge fish fry after weigh-inns. Heck maybee even the winners will have to clean them all to get their checks. All I ask is to make an educated response. If you have a problem with culling fine. Why? If you have a problem with tournaments. Why? If you have bass boat envy get a job and buy one. By the way culling in tournaments is so silly I mean you take a fish (alive) out of your livewell, put it back in the water where it came from. Is that not what we do after the tournaments anyway. We are letting them all go at the end of the day anyway.

Excellent reply. In all reality what is the difference if they get put back in the middle of the day, or the end after the weigh in. I do not know of a guy that would throw back a dead fish to put a live one in the tounament, so that arguement does not work “for the majority of the fisherman”. And if you think about it, the amount of fish being returned to the water that live, is a lot better than it would be if we had to kill them after the events, so with that being said, why wouldn’t you go htat route?

Darin

Okay I am going to put my two cents in here. One, the Wisconsin culling bill dates back to 1974 at the April Conservation meets, that are held statewide. the Milwaukee county meeting was held at the Eagles club of that year. I happen to be sitting in the front row, when Jim Wrolstad, then of the Fishing Facts staff, introduced this bill. The major intention of this bill was the following, forcing guys to keep the walleyes that they caught,especially because back then, walleyes were kept on a stringer, instead of sorting and dumping dead walleyes back into the river.

This was the sole intention of the bill. No sorting once you caught a fish, but also eliminating dead fish from being wasted.. that was the key ELIMINATING DEAD FISH FROM BEING WASTED.

back then this was a very common occurrence and even the Sentinal Outdoor writer, wrote about seeing dead walleye bobbing away from the boats fishing below the dams.

who knew how things would change? No one. Remember, the Lindners worked for Fishing Facts back then, so did Roland Martin. Dan Sura still lived in Milwaukee and was the President of the Okauchee Fishing club. Dave Csanda was still in college just about to graduate.

no one preached catch and release. very few guys had a live well. My good friend John had the “big Ranger” with the 35 on the back. and no bass boat had ever sold for $10,000, EVER.

Now bass boats and most other boats have an equipped live well. Ever tourny boat must have one.
this is not about culling per se’..

this is so you can sort fish during the day.

why do I say that this is not about culling, because, at the end of any catch and release tourny.. EVERY ONE CULLS..

by the act of releasing their fish back into the water. You caught the fish, you held them, now you release them, thus you are culling. You have decided to release. That in its purest form is culling.

this is an antiquated law designed for a different time in the state of Wisconsin.

any catch and release tourny, by the nature of releasing the fish at the end of the day, Is culling.

I am sorry but, its important to know where and why this bill came into existence, what its intent was, and then decide how it applies to the fishermen of today.

I am sorry for the great amount of wind.

Old Rat….

That was one of the most insightful things to come up on my screen in a very long time.

Thank you

glad you liked it, you may send me my free jigs now.. ROFLMAO…

its very important to know why a law was put in place and then review how it reflects on this current day.

what this law should read is that ” any fish placed on a stringer or a non aerated, non functioning live well, may not be released at any time”. and that “No Dead FISH shall be released at any time”…

that is the intention of the law, thats what it should read.

It’s good to see folks thinking rationally about the objectives and alternatives…may also take a while to find the right folks to champion the cause…but I’m guessing if you all go in with the right info you’lll find a way to get it done…

It’s a whole lot easier to re-direct a 300 lb lineman than stop him dead in his tracks…or the 800 lb gorilla that is the ‘government’…

That said, those same folks in the gummint who are raising the roadblocks may well be the most valuable resource in helping you to determine best route…find the path to enlist them as a resource…not the enemy..