bag limits

[djcoop52]

This June being my first trip to the TFF I am dissappointed to hear that the bag limit has been reduced to 2. Reading thru the post and some rules it states that after you reach your limit you must stop fishing for that species including catch and release that seems unreasonable to me. So the ability to cull smaller fish to bigger fish is not an option. Being able to take home four fish is alright but if I put four fish in the freezer can I still fish and eat one or two a day? We are coming up June 4 thru 11 so we can not keep any bass I assume it is alright to catch and release bass? This a group trip that we do annually for the last three years first time to TFF. Had considered going to MInnesota but Tff sounded like a good walleye fishery and is closer to home Looks like first trip may be the last. I know regulations are needed and I always fish legal but with catch and release practices I would like to see some allowances to continue fishing. Thoughts from an Illinois fisherman.

[mkoeh475]

You're good to go on catch and release on bass. For walleye, I'd eat what you can when you're there and the last couple of days worry about Getting the 4 to take home. I'd also keep every northern that you catch if you want to take fish back home to eat.

[Randy]

Why is it legal to target smallies before the season even opens but I can't catch and release walleye after I have two in the livewell?

As a walleye fisherman travelling 300 miles each way to go on a walleye fishing trip I'm supposed to put my rod down after I get my limit of two?????? Looks like I'll be keeping the padlock on the livewell until 8PM each day.

As my dad said earlier, it's a fishing trip but it's not solely about catching fish. However, it would be nice to still legally catch and release walleye after a meager two fish limit is met.

[Mark Benson]

Randy:

I am not trying to stir the pot, but here come some other interesting factoids...

Did you know that we can't fish for smallies before the regular season opens May 7, but we can after May 7th until the opening of bass season in June???

Did you know that if you are fishing with your father that you can't catch and put all four (at this time) fish in the live well for your combined limit???

Both of these rules bummed me out, but they are the rules...

Also if we go to Canada, we can buy a licence (4 eyes to bring home, I think) or buy their conservation license (2 eyes to bring home)... seems like we might have it better in the years where the bag is three...

Mark

[mkoeh475]

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/regulations/2011/documents/FishingRegs11-12.pdf#lmbsmbmanzones
Page 9 leads me to believe that you can fish for bass, just can't keep them. Either way I'd say I"m fishing for northerns and not worry about anything.

[BlueRanger]

First, the bass season doesn't open on June 7, it opens on May 7 statewide. It just happens to have a daily bag limit of 0 in the Northern Zone until June 17. A fine point, perhaps, but that is exactly how it is printed on page 56 of the regulations. So you cannot target bass "before the season even opens," and the same goes for all other species with a closed season.

The way Randy makes it sound, bass fishermen have an advantage, which is the opposite of reality. Yes, from the May 7 opener through the end of the season, you can catch and release as many bass as you want. But from May 7-June 16, you can't keep any of them. However, from the May 7 opener through the end of the season, you can also catch and release as many walleyes as you want - but you can take home 2 fish a day throughout the entire season (subject to the possession limit). From June 17 on, the rules apply identically to both species - and even once you have a possession limit in the freezer, you can still go out the next day and catch and release as many as you want as long as you don't keep any. Clearly, if we're measuring this on a pounds of flesh basis, walleye fishermen get an extra 40 days to harvest their species and therefore have the better end of the deal.

There are two obvious (to me, at least) ways to play the walleye situation:

1. If you don't have much confidence in the day or your abilities and you care more about the meat than the fun of catching it, go ahead and keep the first two walleyes you catch and move on to something else.

2. If you really want to catch a bunch of walleyes or want a big one, throw them all back until you catch one you're happy with. Then continue catch and release fishing for as long as you like until you either catch another nice one or start getting bored (they're walleyes - could that really take all day? :D) and keep your second fish at that point. Bingo! You get to catch and release as many as you want AND go home with 2 fish. Problem solved.

[DonH]

I have one question Blue.

Let's say I was finally able to catch 2 walleyes in one day. I "move on to something else" and decide to target catch and release bass just to continue fishing. How do I prove to the DNR agent that I am indeed bass fishing? I often catch bass when I'm walleye fishing and walleyes when I'm bass fishing. It seems to me I'll be at the mercy of the agent as to how he/she interprets the situation.

Or when you say "move on to something else", do you mean head in, clean the fish and call it a day?

[mkoeh475]

You're innocent until proven guilty correct? Say you're fishing for bass or northerns and that should be the end of the discussion, as long as you don't keep adding/removing walleyes from your stringer

[Randy]

Hi Blue, I was merely trying to point out the inconsistency in the regulations. I don't know how you read into it that bass fishermen have an advantage.

Smallmouth bass have a bag limit of zero until June 16th, yet you are still able to fish for them on a C&R basis. After you keep two walleye your bag limit for additional walleye is also zero yet you cannot fish for them on a C&R basis. That is grossly inconsistent.

Truth be told, I'd rather throw back all the walleye we catch so we can play cards when we return to the cabin instead of filleting fish. Don H taught a few of the guys in our group how to play poker so it can be very profitable for the rest of us.

[Mark Benson]

This a group trip that we do annually for the last three years first time to TFF. Had considered going to MInnesota but Tff sounded like a good walleye fishery and is closer to home Looks like first trip may be the last.

dj:

Where had you gone previously on your group trip???

According to the Fishing Report, it would seem that your choice of walleye fishery has been substantiated. "The walleye population has held steady at a desirable level of about four adults per acre for more than a decade without any stocking. There is no length limit on walleye here, but more than a third of all walleye in the lake are 15 inches or longer."

The reason I ask is we took a trip out of Lac Suel Canada and moved to Mille Lacs, great walleye fishery, got a guide, bad year, over abundance of bait fish, next year went back to Mille Lacs, better year and then last year went to Leech and we are considering another location this year...

The one thing I have found and I feel like our group is a decent bunch of fisherman, is that even with a guide on a great body of water catching a limit of fish on new water is not easy.

If you are able to keep a limit among your group, you have done a great job of deciphering the code!!! If you want to continue fishing, there are places that are close to check out, i.e., the Flambeau River ('eyes, smb, musky), Happy Creek (brook trout), Butternut Lake ('eyes) or to the NE limitless lakes in the Mercer area or even run up to Trude Lake (north end of the TFF).

I am lucky I live here and I still don't fish the TFF as much as possible, but that is because there a numbers of great lakes to fish 'tween here (Minocqua) and there. My best friend is now living in Mercer, so I am hoping to spend lots more time on the flowage again!!!

Good luck with your trip, be safe (Lots of Hazards), you will absolutely love the TFF!!!

Mark

[BlueRanger]

...unless of course you're "fishing for bass or northerns" with a jig and minnow. Maybe it's because I don't have any cynical ideas about the wardens being out there to issue citations to people who aren't doing anything wrong, but on those occasions where I have a limit of walleyes or perch in the livewell and I'm tossing a spinner or Rapala at the shoreline, I honestly don't give it a first thought, much less a second.

Randy, I don't think it's inconsistent. With a bag limit of zero, there is no opportunity for culling or group bagging, and I believe the primary intent of the rule is to deter and make it easier to enforce those prohibited activities.

[djcoop52]

Last year we went to the Chippewa flowage Walleye bite was tough but we caught a few. Did not target bass due to season not open yet we did catch a few nice bass and released, Crappie were biting so we went hard after them and got alot to eat and take home. Weed growth made things tough so opted for a change. Year before that we went to Pringle Lake in Canada thru Mattice lake outfitters. Catch and consume only we ate walleye every day and caught 930 fish in 5 days. My boat this year with my son in it with me will catch and relaese unles we get some nice size keepers then will eat a couple each day and not fill freezer until end of trip just hope things go well. Wife will be P>O if I don't bring any walleye home to eat. Thanks for everyones clarifications of the rules. Just like at work don't have to like it just have to do it.

[DonH]

After giving it a little thought last night, I realize it's nothing but an enforcement issue. You have a situation where fishing season is open. Catching and keeping walleyes is legal, but not the same for smallmouuth bass. Yet both can be caught on the same tackle, both consume the same prey, frequent the same areas, how could the DNR possibly determine a person is fishing for smallmouths out of season and give that person a ticket. So they make it legal to fish for them as C&R.

I know we've had days where all we could catch were smallmouth bass, yet we were targeting walleyes in areas where we've has success before. I've had hits where the first thing out of my mouth was "let this be a walleye, pleaseeeee".

That's one of the reasons I love walleye fishing. The overall challenge compares to either smallmouth or largemouth bass fishing. I've tried muskie fishing. I own 2 muskie rods and a load of baits, yet I don't consider muskie fishing a challenge. No, it's a lot worse than that.

[beelzebob]

What do you mean a guy fishing with his father - 2 licensed fishermen - can't put 4 fish in the livewell? What am I missing?

[Nitroboats]

I understand that the tribes put out a number of fish they want to harvest but what is the usual percentage that they actually harvest? Are these fish a food source or are they sold? How many walleyes are returned thru the hatchery efforts? What is the purpose behind the regulations? In my estimations it is to manage the resource for all. That's why the closed season on bass during their spawning cycle. Taking out adult walleye during their spawning cycle doesn't make sense. We all know that up there with your shorter growing season it takes a long time to produce an adult walleye. It would seem to me that you need all the spawners and some supplemental stockings to bring the populations back up due the high natural mortality rate for fry and predation. If you could bring numbers back up and then put a size limit even maybe a slot limit depending on what DNR finds from electroshocking to try to keep the year classes balanced,you could maybe bring the fishery back.
I understand you pretty much have a bullet proof treaty to deal with. Why cant they spear northern one year? To protect the spawn let them net outside of spawning season or fish without limit or license? I'm not sure what your food source situation is on the flowage but maybe stockings of native minnows or crayfish to help with growth rates and take some pressure off young of the year.
I've never been to the flowage but am considering it and the Chip for a vacation cottage. So I don't know how much cover you have both natural and any that you guys have put in to to give shallow water place for young to survive in. I have seen old pics when all the timber was there and that could have been a reason the fishery was so healthy. Brushy cover is better than a stump or broke off tree.
Oh well just some thoughts from a flatlander. I used to live in Rice lake for a while though. Long enough to lose the tourist moniker lol.

[Mark Benson]

What do you mean a guy fishing with his father - 2 licensed fishermen - can't put 4 fish in the livewell? What am I missing?

The example that I gave is "group bagging" and is not legal... I did not find out the hard way, but I found out...

Mark

[The Frog caster]

Hi Mark, where did you ever hear of such a rule as a dad and his son or any two people can't combine their bag limits in a boat, live well or cooler.
The "so-called" rule DOES make sense however, as a person could have a truck load of walleye and get stopped while pulling his/her boat from the launch and say to the DNR that he was fishing with 40 people but they just went home for the day and left all their fish with me !!!! I thought I knew the rule book pretty well, but wonder what page of the regulation book states such a scenario ???? ......... Regards, Larry F.

[Mark Benson]

• to group bag. For example, if an angler catches a limit of 25 panfish and gives them to
another person, the person catching the fish has attained their daily bag limit and can
no longer keep panfish that day. Any fish received are considered part of the recipient's
possession limit, but not part of their daily bag limit unless they are possessed while on
the water, bank or shore of the water, ice, or while fishing.

frogcaster:

On page 8 of the fishing regulations, 4th bullet point under the "Seasons, Bag Limits, Length Limits and Possession Limits"

Here is a link to the 2010-2011 regs, which should be updated already. I'll try to find that copy.

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/regulations/2010/documents/FishingRegs10-11_web.pdf#restrictions

Mark

[beelzebob]

First, I was not clear by the previous post I was questioning that group bagging was the issue - it was cleverly phrased, congratulations.
Secondly, last year in the raft of boats at the dam, was an "unmarked" boat with wardens that were watching who was catching what and how many. A group of 3 gentlemen I know were ticketed for their 9 fish bag because 1 guy caught 6 fish. The wardens also followed these folks to their island campsite to check the whole camp (a group) - no violations.
WEAK.