Trolling in Iron County

[FFoldtimer]

Just wondering what everybodys thought is on new law that lets you troll 1 rod in iron county starting in 2014?

[Hot Runr Guy]

if it does actually become law, it looks like I'll have to invest in some rod holders. At least it eliminates the problematic "position" fishing issue.

HRG

[FFoldtimer]

if it does actually become law, it looks like I'll have to invest in some rod holders. At least it eliminates the problematic "position" fishing issue.

HRG
I think it's a done deal from what I read on musky hunters posts.Some counties you will be able to troll with 3 rods

[Hot Runr Guy]

watch the webcast of the May 22nd Natural Resource Board meeting, the issue comes up at the 26 minute mark.

http://dnrmedia.wi.gov/main/Play/4fd4023b2b0243e5ab186c82880f95cc1d?catalog=5449d65 2-227e-46a8-b511-bfc430ca79ce

From what saw and heard, it's not law yet, this was their proposal to the DNR & others.

[smallmouth99]

This would be a very good thing for the area. This will open up the possibilty of bringing some major walleye tournaments to the area. Just think what 150 boaters plus 150 co-anglers can due for the local businesses staying for a week.

[Nick L]

I'm not a fan. This clearly won't help the already stressed walleye populations in area lakes. Not to mention the increased boat traffic and potential confrontations with "position-fixed" fisherman. I believe this decision should be made on a lake-by-lake basis based on lake structure/size and fish population considerations.

On a side note though, trolling never really interested me. I would much rather cast or jig.

[St Croix Kid]

5 years ago I would have agreed with you Nick. some folks term it "raping" the lake. it can be a very effective technique in right situations. I fish Lake St Croix which is the very wide and deep area around Hudson WI. running shad raps 16- 25' foot when they aren't biting can save a bad day. also got some nice muskie trolling the super shad raps. like anything it has it's time and place.

[FFoldtimer]

You're right hot runner it was passed by DNA and natural resource board but has to go before legislative vote in June.

[Nick L]

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week:

"Statewide trolling: The Natural Resources Board on Wednesday approved a rule to expand motor trolling to all waters in Wisconsin.

The rule would permit motor trolling with at least one line per angler on waters where it wasn't previously allowed. Most waters of the state would be open to trolling with three lines.

The board's action would allow motor trolling with one line in all waters of the following counties not previously open to motor trolling: Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Iron, Jackson, Lincoln, Marathon, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oneida, Ozaukee, Sawyer, Sheboygan, Vilas and Waushara.

Motor trolling will be permitted with three lines per angler in all other counties, as well as in specific waters where it is currently legal.

The DNR had proposed a rule to allow statewide motor trolling with three lines per angler. However, the proposal failed to gain majority support in a vote at the 2013 spring hearings (2,775 to 2,391) and was opposed by some resort owners, fishing guides and anglers, particularly from northern Wisconsin.

The amended plan presented Wednesday was supported by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, said congress chairman Rob Bohmann.

Pending legislative review, the new trolling regulation will take effect April 1, 2014."

So apparently the NRB ignored the voting in the spring hearings, but the WCC did support the plan. Not sure why the disconnect there.

[George]

So apparently the NRB ignored the voting in the spring hearings, but the WCC did support the plan. Not sure why the disconnect there.

The NRB did not ignore the voting. The vote is tabulated and acted upon by county, not popular vote. The voting results by county were...44 Yes...27 No...1 Tie.

[Nick L]

The NRB did not ignore the voting. The vote is tabulated and acted upon by county, not popular vote. The voting results by county were...44 Yes...27 No...1 Tie.

Thanks George. Very interesting - I suppose I'd have to go though the county-by-county vote to determine why the discrepancy. Kind of a Bush v. Gore thing going on.

[George]

Yeah, it's kinda like the Electoral College. A person can win the popular vote, but lose the electoral vote and therefore lose the election...or win depending on your point of view.

[perchoreno]

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week:

So apparently the NRB ignored the voting in the spring hearings, but the WCC did support the plan. Not sure why the disconnect there.

You are right, they did ignore the voting in the hearings. Evidently they felt the need to let non residents interevene in what had constituted a form of home rule in various areas, and counties of the state. This is just one more example of angler's rights being impinged upon by government, and regulations. I am not quite sure why they felt the need to take this choice out of resident anglers' hands, but they certainly did. People complain all the time about too much government, unless the government is doing something that puts them in a beneficiary position.

I feel that this change is a bad, and destructive ruling in relation to the state's two largest flowages, the Chip and Flambeau. Think about a 150 boat tournament on either body of water with trolling as a major method. Ugly.

Unfortunately when these kind of regulations get passed they almost never get reversed. Sad story, imo.

[BlueRanger]

Actually, they're #4 and #6:

1. Winnebago
2. Pepin
3. Petenwell
4. Chippewa
5. Castle Rock
6. TFF

I don't like the rule change either, but I suppose one could argue that anglers from outside the area do the majority of the angling in the northern counties, not to mention providing the majority of the funding for management of the resource. And constitutionally, the state's waters are just that - the state's waters. At least they recognized the divided interests and tried to compromise with the one-line rule.

And I'm not too worried about any 150 boat tournaments on the TFF - it doesn't have anywhere near the infrastructure required to support one. Besides, it would be fun watching them all lose their lower units...

[perchoreno]

Actually, they're #4 and #6:

1. Winnebago
2. Pepin
3. Petenwell
4. Chippewa
5. Castle Rock
6. TFF

..

I yield, BUT they ARE the two largest that DON'T smell when the weather gets warm.

[George]

And I'm not too worried about any 150 boat tournaments on the TFF - it doesn't have anywhere near the infrastructure required to support one. Besides, it would be fun watching them all lose their lower units...

The marine dealers would love it, that's for sure!

I heard that the TFF was, in fact, considered for a bass tournament. However, it was rejected because they felt it was too hazardous. Works for me!

[The Tiny Fisherman]

And I'm not too worried about any 150 boat tournaments on the TFF - it doesn't have anywhere near the infrastructure required to support one. Besides, it would be fun watching them all lose their lower units...

I'm with ya Blue, looking way back in the time machine (at least 15 years ago(where the time goes I don't know)) the Muskie league alliance had a tournament on the TTF. It was a disaster, so many boats were damaged, that they said it was the last one on the TTF.

[BlueRanger]

I guess I hadn't considered the odor factor... I admit that two of those are questionable - Winnebago isn't really considered a man-made lake, but it does have a dam at Neenah and I think if they took it out now, the lake would lose a few feet and a lot of acreage, so by that logic I figured it should count. And if you only count the Wisconsin half of Pepin, then it's about even with the TFF.

But on the tournament topic, they don't have "trolling tournaments" anyway - tournament anglers are well-versed in all tactics and while they may have their specialties, they do whatever works best on the body of water they're fishing. If they were going to have a tournament here, I think it would have happened already. Imagine them trying to launch and land 150 boats out of Springstead Landing two or three days in a row - it's just not going to happen. And I can't imagine that trolling is going to be all that effective for TFF walleyes anyway, except during a few limited windows during the season - we don't have a significant open-water forage base, and most of the year, the fish relate to structure that would be very hard to troll effectively. I'm more worried about the big muskies that might be roaming the deep basins, and about places like Trout Lake, where trolling may well wipe out the lake trout if enough people target them.

[Flambeau Vista Retreat LLC]

Blue: Are you adding Trude into the acreage of the TFF?

[BlueRanger]

No, Scott, and that would bump it up one slot. But the reference I looked at didn't include that acreage, and the DNR considers them separate bodies of water when calculating stocking allocations.

[Flambeau Vista Retreat LLC]

Blue,

For what it's worth, Lawrence Eslinger, DNR fish biologist from Mercer DNR station, spoke at the May TFFA meeting. He talked aboout the new bridge and channel giving full access to Trude Lake from the TFFA. He said that once that was complete that the DNR bag limits, stocking, calculation, etc. and other DNR management would be inclusive of both bodies of water that have actually been one anyway. Ergo, taking Lake Pepin out of the calculation since it is partially in the Viking State, the TFF would be #4! We could also remove others for other reasons (e.g. wilderness area; natural shoreline; public land; islands; walleye, loon, osprey, and eagle population; beauty; etc); however, for those that love the TFF, we already know that it is #1 in our hearts! As the gals say: "Size doesn't matter"! LOL OK! Maybe the guys say that!

Either way everyone, enjoy the TFF, Wisconsin's Scenic Wilderness Waters Area.

For more information on the TFF, including lodging, dining and guides, along with ordering a free TFF map, go to www.turtleflambeauflowage.com.

Enjoy!

[George]

Agree with your #1 in our hearts Scott. As far as size doesn't matter...that's walleyes right? No minimum size? :rolleyes:

[BlueRanger]

Heck, the only people who lie more than girls are fishermen! But I certainly agree on the other point.

That change could really hurt us when it comes to musky stocking - does that mean the TFF and Trude combined will be subject to the 2,500/lake limit?

[Hot Runr Guy]

anyone else hear about this? http://www.muskyhunter.com/musky-matters/wisconsin-statewide-trolling-rule-in-question/

HRG

[ski2313]

Unfortunately when these kind of regulations get passed they almost never get reversed. Sad story, imo.

Like the original trolling ban in the first place? :p Glad to see it was reversed. For those people who have some experience trolling, it is far from "easy fishing". I can't see this affecting the TFF much, though..

[BretRobert1]

anyone else hear about this? http://www.muskyhunter.com/musky-matters/wisconsin-statewide-trolling-rule-in-question/

HRG

HRG, I just read about that today, too. Sounds like the trolling laws are far from a final decision.

As for the topic of trolling and it's impact on a fishery, here's my 2 cents. Most highly skilled musky fishermen I know utilize a combination of trolling/casting depending on the body of water, conditions, time of year etc. And to think that allowing anglers to troll is going to allow anyone and everyone to just start raking fish, just isn't true.

If a lake stratifies in the summer and forms a distinct thermocline, then yes, accomplished musky fishermen are going to put more muskies in the boat by using trolling techniques. And in late fall, we'd see a lot more pigs being caught in N. Wisconsin with legalized trolling.

To be clear, there's A LOT more to successful trolling than just dragging your line behind the boat, hoping for a bite. Fishermen that are good at it have it broken down to a science, which it actually is, since they view the water as a 3D puzzle. IMO the major advantage to trolling is: you have the ability to position your bait very accurately in the water column and have it in the "big fish zone" non stop.

As Blueranger mentioned, much of the Flowage is shallow & a lot of the musky spots I like are structure related. Due to this, & it's overall size, I don't think trolling would impact the Flowage as much as other bodies of water in N. Wisco. However, there are some select deep water basin areas that have the potential to hold big fish, and if anglers were able to troll, the odds of seeing these fish would be much better. Which IMO would be beneficial for the Mercer area.

In regards to the fishery being wiped out, once again, I highly doubt that would happen on a BOW like the Flowage. And IMO that's much more of a catch and release issue than a trolling issue.