My Take On Wisconsin Trout Regulations

I have read everything out there about wisconsin trout fishing. I have listened to the experts and the locals. The claim that regulations are too complicated is just plain wrong.

What is correct is there are just too many regulations. No stream should have its regulations change four times on a 4 mile stretch. The regulations are just too restrictive. The regulations cause many folks that like to harvest fish to ignore trout and go to the Mississippi River and catch 25 pan fish instead of three trout.

Almost every land owner I have spoken to in the last 15 years hate the catch and release season. They see it as wasteful and catering to the catch and release crowd. I will quote my wife: “Which season is it hubby?” “The Torture and Release Season or the real season?”

I went to the meeting at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve last week and was flabbergasted that if the season is extended early or late that the new extensions will be catch and release only and artificial only.

It is quite obvious to me why people are leaving trout fishing. There are too many regulations and the bag limit is too low. Top that off with the mandatory catch and release “rubber stamped” on any extensions to the season.

The WDNR guy at the meeting at the KVR said the stream populations are the best they have been at in the history of the state and he recommends the bag limit being changed from 3 to 5 trout with no size limit in his area??????? Why in the heck do any extensions of the season need to be C/R Only?

If the season are extended they could possibly be opened January 01. This would be two more months on the already catch and release season. This would total 4 months of c/r and artificial only in early season. Then add another month on the end that is c/r only. This would be 5 months for ALL to fish and 5 months for the c/r folks to fish. You want to alienate the locals? Just have them watch for 5 months while the catch and release crowd wanders up and down their streams and they aren’t allowed to soak a worm!!!

Open the season on January 01 and close it on October 31. Open the streams to all anglers. The c/r are not forced to stay home. They can still release everything they catch blindly. This way the family type anglers with little kids learning how to fish would get to fish with worms and keep their catch!!!!

I live fairly close to a ton of great trout waters, and don’t spend any time fishing them for these exact reasons. If I see a stream branch off, I have no idea what kind of lures/bait I can fish with if I go one way or the other.

I’d like to get back into trout fish 5-10 times a year, but that puts me behind the eight ball as far as current regs. I’d probably fish a different stream each time, and to be honest, it’s that much easier for me to hook up my boat and fish some Walleyes on wing dams instead.

As far as I’m concerned, trout regulations have turned into the elitists vs the every day anglers, and the every day angler doesn’t show up at the meetings, so they were left behind.

You are 100% spot on, Len! I don’t trout fish anymore for all the reasons you listed.

I just drove down a stretch of the West fork of the Kickapoo this morning and I saw 4 different people fishing. I’d guess that all of them were from out of the area, judging by the price of their vehicles!

There is a definate “elitist” attitude among some trout fishermen. I’m ok with them not keeping fish. They should be ok with me keeping a few for the smoker, the 2-3 times a year I choose to harvest a fish.

CPR and sustainable harvest can go hand in hand on the same water. I wouldn’t keep a 16″+ trout anymore than I’d keep a 5# bass. But a couple 10-12″ers make for a nice dinner. I shouldn’t be shunned for keeping a couple fish.

Im the opposite of them, trout fishing is almost too easy for me where Im located regardless of limits. My uncles routinely have me ‘guide’ them on the opener, and on any given day I can go out and get either a 5 brown or 3 brook limit usually in about 30 minutes if not less. Im one of the ones that never goes below the second dam because of its 10-14 throwback only one over 14 regulations however.

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Im the opposite of them, trout fishing is almost too easy for me where Im located regardless of limits. My uncles routinely have me ‘guide’ them on the opener, and on any given day I can go out and get either a 5 brown or 3 brook limit usually in about 30 minutes if not less. Im one of the ones that never goes below the second dam because of its 10-14 throwback only one over 14 regulations however.

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A good worm angler can out fish any other angler. My bud Joe Dirt is living proof.

Why does a simplification of regulations on a given stream have to be accompanied by chucking out C&R?

This is nothing to do with being elitist. The reason so many streams are seeing better trout fishing than they ever have is, in part, because rampant freezer fillers that looked at every trout stream as their personal fishmonger’s counter have been encouraged to leave the sport.

Good riddence, I say! The anti-C&R crowd made this “people will quit the sport” argument back in the 1980s when large scale C&R regs were just coming into effect. They’ve already been proved wrong, there are more people fishing than ever.

Why should fishing be governed just to appease a bunch of freezer-filling meat fishermen? I fish trout because I like to fish and I like to catch trout. Why should my enjoyment of the sport play second fiddle to someone who only cares about fishing if they can fill the frying pan?

There are already ample opportunities for those who want to keep fish to do so. If the inability to keep whatever you want, whenever you want is what you’re citing as a reason for some quitting the sport entirely, I have to question if they really cared about the sport at all? Or is it just a way to put meat in the freezer?

The nature of all natural resources is that they are not infinite. If we want to enjoy fishing, we have to have limits on what can be kept and when.

Grouse

The resource is for everyone…
Not just the squeaky wheel that can afford lobbyists.

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Why does a simplification of regulations on a given stream have to be accompanied by chucking out C&R?

This is nothing to do with being elitist. The reason so many streams are seeing better trout fishing than they ever have is, in part, because rampant freezer fillers that looked at every trout stream as their personal fishmonger’s counter have been encouraged to leave the sport.

Good riddence, I say! The anti-C&R crowd made this “people will quit the sport” argument back in the 1980s when large scale C&R regs were just coming into effect. They’ve already been proved wrong, there are more people fishing than ever.

Why should fishing be governed just to appease a bunch of freezer-filling meat fishermen? I fish trout because I like to fish and I like to catch trout. Why should my enjoyment of the sport play second fiddle to someone who only cares about fishing if they can fill the frying pan?

There are already ample opportunities for those who want to keep fish to do so. If the inability to keep whatever you want, whenever you want is what you’re citing as a reason for some quitting the sport entirely, I have to question if they really cared about the sport at all? Or is it just a way to put meat in the freezer?

The nature of all natural resources is that they are not infinite. If we want to enjoy fishing, we have to have limits on what can be kept and when.

Grouse

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I kept 5 trout last year.

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Why does a simplification of regulations on a given stream have to be accompanied by chucking out C&R?

Grouse

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I did not say this…

Well said Len

this huge jump from sharing the water and equal rights

to

Filling the freezers?

Lame catch and release propaganda.

IMHO strict C&R has created many miles of micro trout. The Rush parts of the Kinni. Sure more trout per mile but small size. I eat a couple ayear but mostly c&r but like to have options. I mainly fly fish but hate restructions on methods. Let people use bait,lure or flys I hate TU elitist stuff. With all the antis we must stick together as fisherman reguardless of methods. Once one methods is gone then lures then flies it will not stop. I am all for simplifing regs and methods.

Mwal

The extending of the c&r season does not strike me as a great screwing of the kill season fans. The kill season is still there and unchanged…..there are just more options for all to fish with longer seasons. Artificial only is the only thing that makes sense to me for any c&r trout season. That part of your thread seems like nothing more than sour grapes to me.

As far as simplifying the regs, though, I wholeheartedly agree that regs could be greatly simplified. Perhaps two sweeping sets of regs,……one set for put and take streams that allow great harvesting and one set for natural reproduction streams that allow for longer c&r seasons and regular, standard kill seasons?

Tim

Im part-timing through school at a gander mountain and its unbelievable to see the animosity that SOME (not all) fly guys have towards spinner and worm fishing, you just don’t see that attitude in any other pursuit, I can be talking trout spots big fish, etc, and then comes the ever present “what is your go to fly” and my reply is always gold panther Martin with orange and red tail and you’d swear I said something really personal about their mother, just an offended look and end of conversation, lucky it stops there because if I told them I eat trout they might have an aneurysm, the perfect way to cap off an afternoon of sloshing through nettles and feeding the skeeters is pan full of trout and a six pack of leinies maybe that’s not upper crust enough for that demographic but fishing is meant for all of us

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Im part-timing through school at a gander mountain and its unbelievable to see the animosity that SOME (not all) fly guys have towards spinner and worm fishing, you just don’t see that attitude in any other pursuit, I can be talking trout spots big fish, etc, and then comes the ever present “what is your go to fly” and my reply is always gold panther Martin with orange and red tail and you’d swear I said something really personal about their mother, just an offended look and end of conversation, lucky it stops there because if I told them I eat trout they might have an aneurysm, the perfect way to cap off an afternoon of sloshing through nettles and feeding the skeeters is pan full of trout and a six pack of leinies maybe that’s not upper crust enough for that demographic but fishing is meant for all of us

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They are card carrying members of TU.

They are automatically smarter than you.

You are a freezer filler.

Get use to the derogatory it goes with their cards.

Ill second that and as far as freezer filling goes they gotta be nutz, freezing stream trout is like fruiting your beer, ya jus don’t do it

I think people are distorting it on both sides. There is nothing wrong with keeping trout… period (and I am a TU member and I keep plenty of trout throughout the year). If someone asks you what gives you the right… show your fishing license and trout stamp.

I also don’t think the regulations are overly complicated. I wouldn’t mind a little simplification, but each stream is its own environment and, unfortunately, has to be managed as such. If you don’t know where you are or where a stream bend goes… skip it… look at a map and regs, and go back there again.

As for elitism… it’s there… it’s unfortunate… but again… who cares? Why would you let someone else diminish your enjoyment. Turn the tables… tell them how much you enjoy your style of lawful, responsible trout fishing and a darn good trout meal. Offer them a recipe… put it on them to go away upset… not you.

As for C&R as it exists and for extensions… it’s simple… those seasons exist to extend our time on the water without impacting pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn trout. All that = more trout. I’ll probably be the unpopular one too, but i would like to see the reinstatement of barbless in the C&R season **shiedling myself from rotten vegetables** there… i said it.

As for all of those self-title “purists” out there who think C&R and fly angling are the only respectable ways to fish trout… good for you… have fun… enjoy… but unless asked… keep your critical opinions, scolding, and admonitions to yourself.

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I think people are distorting it on both sides. There is nothing wrong with keeping trout… period (and I am a TU member and I keep plenty of trout throughout the year). If someone asks you what gives you the right… show your fishing license and trout stamp.

I also don’t think the regulations are overly complicated. I wouldn’t mind a little simplification, but each stream is its own environment and, unfortunately, has to be managed as such. If you don’t know where you are or where a stream bend goes… skip it… look at a map and regs, and go back there again.

As for elitism… it’s there… it’s unfortunate… but again… who cares? Why would you let someone else diminish your enjoyment. Turn the tables… tell them how much you enjoy your style of lawful, responsible trout fishing and a darn good trout meal. Offer them a recipe… put it on them to go away upset… not you.

As for C&R as it exists and for extensions… it’s simple… those seasons exist to extend our time on the water without impacting pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn trout. All that = more trout. I’ll probably be the unpopular one too, but i would like to see the reinstatement of barbless in the C&R season **shiedling myself from rotten vegetables** there… i said it.

As for all of those self-title “purists” out there who think C&R and fly angling are the only respectable ways to fish trout… good for you… have fun… enjoy… but unless asked… keep your critical opinions, scolding, and admonitions to yourself.

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Here, here, but I don’t belong to TU!!!

Mark

I grew up in a trout fishing family. Trout opener in Mich was right up there with deer opener in our family. We used what caught fish. Mostly worms but flies when the big mayfly hatches were on later in the season. The night before opener was spent tying leaders and wrapping them on a stick picked up from the yard. Crawlers were gathered in the yard weeks in advance. Clear beautiful steams were easy to find and man did my dad have a thing for brookies. I’ll admit I was spoiled in Mich. Over here it seems hard to find water and the regulations definitely are a part of me not wanting to pursue them but if I ever start again and its not flys only water, watch out because I know how that game is played.

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Open the season on January 01 and close it on October 31. Open the streams to all anglers. The c/r are not forced to stay home. They can still release everything they catch blindly. This way the family type anglers with little kids learning how to fish would get to fish with worms and keep their catch!!!!

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let me say part of that again

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This way the family type anglers with little kids learning how to fish would get to fish with worms and keep their catch!!!!

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I’m all in favor of c&r but also I have lost stream and rivers here in mn to fishing with my kids..
streams I grew up being able to worm fish.. you fly fisherman that think your so good and ever freaking stream needs to be managed for you can go !
(FILL IN THE BLANK)

here is the deal, I had to buy a stamp just like you I’m all for managing the waters and keeping conservative limits but by all means most streams have a 75% or higher mortality rate on trout weather they are catch and release only or not.. seems like a waste to me..

I would be more in favor of keeping the smaller limits and throw artificial bait laws right out the window.. your greed is robbing others of a opportunity.. pretty sad when ya own the land the stream runs threw and cant take the kids fishing.. real sad!