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| Does anyone know why the WI season closes at the end of November? There are many more options when fishing muskies later into Nov. such as Madison, Pewaukee Area, Green Bay, etc. that a later closing date would be beneficial. Is there any chance the DNR would ever consider a later closing date? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i don't remember many times when you could fish after thanksgiving even if you wanted to. the water starts to get pretty hard about that time of year. i guess i'm not a proponent of muskies through the ice at least for up here.
you can always drive to indiana. they could use some more people on their water cause it's pretty quiet down there ....  |
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Posts: 32879
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I think that date is as traditional as the 9 day deer season. It's VERY hard to change tradition up here... |
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Posts: 327
| Minnesota changed the 9 day deer season to 7 so ther'll be less bucks and more does taken , they should have a doe season only like they do for bucks . Just keep it open until about June !! |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | It's all a plot to get more folks to "Fish Ohio". C'mon down. m |
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| there is an effort currently underway sponsored by the Capital City chapter of Muskies Inc to extend the season south of Hwy 10 so that it lasts until ice-up.
i'm not sure exactly where things are at with it, but i know they're working to get it on the agenda for the spring Conservation Congress hearings.
i'm sure someone from the club who's been involved and has more info on it will chime in...
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| Minn sced to close Dec 1st starting 07 |
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Posts: 2361
| Nothing wrong with a closed season imo.
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Posts: 1243
Location: Musky Tackle Online, MN | happy hooker - 10/20/2006 2:23 PM
Minn sced to close Dec 1st starting 07
Has that been officially announced? And what's the purpose of naming December 1st as the closing date? Just to pick an arbitrary date or is there logic behind it?
Aaron |
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Posts: 786
Location: Minnesota | Agree with Aaron. I have seen high 30F-40F days in Dec perfect for some fishing. My opinion would be different if a lot of people kept muskies but most do not.
JMO,
James |
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Posts: 1243
Location: Musky Tackle Online, MN | My understanding is that the reason for the December 1st date is to eliminate fishing for them through the ice. I have no problem with wanting to end ice fishing for them (if this is the goal). But why not simply put that in the regulations. You can not angle through the ice for muskies.
By setting a date such as December 1st you're doing two things. You're ending open water fishing early during warmer falls when that's not the goal of the regulation. And during cold years, when lakes freeze up early, you're still allowing ice fishing for them during that first ice period. Again, if ending ice fishing for them is the goal, there seems to be a much better way to do it.
Maybe I'm not undertanding the true intentions here or the reasoning behind it. I've asked this question of others before and have never been given a reason that makes sense. But then maybe I'm just missing something......
Aaron |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | lambeau, is right. There will be a question on the April Conservation Congress Hearings and that is to have the muskie season remain open until the end of December, south of HWY 10. The Capital City Chapter of Muskies, Inc has endorsed the idea, but it was put forth by Scot Stewart, WDNR Madison Area Fisheries Manager.
So make sure that you attend the April Hearings (2nd Monday, I'm not sure what date that falls on) and be heard. For those outside of WI or unable to attend, I'm sure that you will be able to chime in with your thoughts as well. I will post a email address as soon as I have one to post. Will be seeing Scot on Thursday and will let you know when I know.
Gerard
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | To answer JJS original question, "Does anyone know why the WI season closes at the end of November?"
I think the reason it closes Nov 30th is it is noramlly the time ice forms on the lakes, for sure most cases in the north. Please bear in mind that when the WDNR made this season, there was (most likely) no muskies in the lakes in the southern part of WI.
Edited by muskie! nut 10/22/2006 6:21 PM
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| I would be in agreement to just end the season at the end of December and have the regs state no ice fishing for muskies. I don't think that the law should be based on "well, that is usually when lakes are iced over". It doesn't make sense, especially in the day of catch and release. While it is a small number, I am sure that bait shop owners and tackle suppliers would welcome any extra business during the last days of open water fishing, especially in the northern areas.
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Since when does the WDNR ever make sense?
I bet the WDNR needs a drop dead certain day for closure so that the warrdens have written law to work from. I can't ever imgine that the DNR would ever go along with a "floating" closing date. |
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Posts: 149
| I agree with the Nov 30 closing. A 'floating' date would never work, and would be a nightmare for enforcement. And the argument 'I've fished open water in December' that many here seem to be using works both ways.
I ice fish in northern Wisconsin on very safe ice in late November during most years. Looking back in my log, there are several years where I've ice fished on safe ice in early to mid November as well. In 1996 I ice fished on November 8, and the lake certainly had solid ice for some time before that as it was quite safe to walk out on the 8th.
Bottom line is that there are too many seasonal and local variables to have any type of a floating date. Nothing wrong with Nov 30. |
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| EsoxCPR,
You get to take advantage of the seasonal fluctuations with respect to ice fishing, why would it be so hard to extend that to open water fishing? I don't see where the difficult for enforcement is, any individual lake will either have open water or it will be frozen over. You can't ice fish for muskies in WI regardless. Seems pretty simple to me. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | I can see a warden writing a ticket for a person breaking ice with a boat and fishing muskies. Another gray area like "postitioning" fishing. |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | What is wrong with ice fishing for musky? |
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Posts: 149
| "You get to take advantage of the seasonal fluctuations with respect to ice fishing..."
Not sure I follow your logic on that one. I don't take advantang of anything except open seasons. If I want to walleye fish November 20, I couldn't care less if it's from a boat or through the ice. You seem to want to compare a closing date for a fishing season to a method used to fish, and that simply isn't making any sense, nor is it comparable. Now, if I got to 'take advantage' by wanting to walleye fish on March 15 after the season is closed your comparison would be a valid one. There isn't anything wrong with ice fishing for muskies, and I've done it in late November several times.
The fact is, that for whatever reason the WDNR biologists have determined that musky season should be closed from Dec 1 through the first Friday in May (southern) or the last Friday of May (northern). I'm quite certain it doesn't have anything to do with a certain method of fishing, but is there simply to protect the resource. There are other examples of fish where closing seasons are for extended periods of time. Take sturgeon as an example of a species that is fairly rare to catch with a very long closed season that has more to do with simply protecting the resource than just protecting them only during spawning.
It's also quite logical that if musky season in Wisconsin were open well into or through the winter, far more muskies would be harvested than are with the current season framework.
Edited by esoxcpr 10/25/2006 6:23 PM
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Posts: 688
Location: Northern IL | It wouldn't bother me if the season was open all year,, (below 10) because the rule is protecting a fish that is STOCKED.. Look at the states where they rely solely on stocked fish, most have NO closed season, heck they even allow sucker fishing,,,, and that evil "TROLLING"., the bottom line is: People who don't troll, (1923 law) don't want you to troll, but they’ll sell you suckers all day knowing many fish are gut hooked... protecting fish, my rear end!!
As stated above "It's VERY hard to change tradition up here" and I'll add "minds" as well.
Show up in April and vote to change the rule to "Muskie Season Ends At Ice".
Jerry Borst
Spoonplugger/Instructor |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Jerry Borst says "Show up in April and vote to change the rule to "Muskie Season Ends At Ice".
This will not happen. Why? Let's look at Lake Monona. Monona Bay can freeze up enough to have folks ice fish on it and the main lake is wide open. Then the questions is, "Is that lake open to muskie fishing or not?"
Folks on this and other boards complained about the "positioning fishing" being too gray to enforced. Why? Because it is not writen out in black and white. The date certain closure does that. If we are worried about ice anglers taking muskies maybe we better increase the size limits on those lakes first?
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Posts: 405
| What Date?
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| If you can get your boat out in the open water regardless if a portion is frozen over, the season would be open. If you can't, its closed. Pretty simple in my mind. |
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Posts: 1168
| If we get an early hard freeze, everything ices over and signals the end of the muskie season. Then catch a little bit of wind, perhaps rain, and warmer temps a couple days later does it re-open? Some rivers will stay open year round near "hot pipes," spillways, rapids, etc. I just think a standardized date is the way to go. If you have different bodies of water freezing at different times and basically a rolling season end date it would cause nightmares for enforcement.
There are many many fish harvested in the winter as it is by guys that just don't know how to identify them. On some well known muskie lakes there are even locals who won't acknowledge they are in there. To me this is the bigger concern...educating people to know what they have caught so they can be released during the winter. Weather there is a Dec. 1 closing date, Jan. 1 closing date, or simply close it at ice-up it won't matter...that harvest would still occur. We can do so much more in protecting these fish during that time through education of the difference between a pike and a muskie than we can do by changing season dates. |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | By the last 1/3 of November, we usually have 3-4" of ice up by me. I ice fish with small suckers and a single trebel. I don't understand why Wisconsin has a closed season for any fish. Alot of states don't close at all. |
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| Alot of states don't close at all.
most of those states don't have viable natural reproduction for muskies.
i sure as heck wouldn't want an open season on muskies up north during the spawn!
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | JJS "If you can get your boat out in the open water regardless if a portion is frozen over, the season would be open. If you can't, its closed. Pretty simple in my mind."
JJS, What about shore anglers??? If we did what you suggest, now we have two sets of rules. One for someone in a boat and another for someone on shore. Is this fair?
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| I hate being politically correct.
Close the freakin' season and find something else to do and let the muskies eat and get bigger and fatter for next year.
That way we don't have to worry about discriminating against the people north of Hwy 10 by showing favoritism to the people south of Hwy 10.
Enough already. |
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| MuskieNut,
Sorry for the confusion, if you can get a line in the water rather than a boat, then the season is open. This should take care of the discrimination issue. |
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