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| One of the topics that will be voted on this spring at the WI Conservation Congress will be to have the northern zone Musky season the same as the southern zone. In recent years, the southern zone opened the first weekend in May and the northern zone the Saturday before Memorial Day.
I don't know enough about musky biology to favor one time over the other. I live in the northern zone and am curious what others think about the proposed change. Should note that if it happens, would not be until 2024 season. |
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Posts: 330
Location: SE Wisc | I thought the reason for having the later opening season was to keep anglers from harassing spawning fish. Can’t see how this would improve the north woods fishery that already struggles with angler pressure(especially with the tech we have now), spearing, limited or declining spawning habitat, invasives, and generous bag limits with certain species. I know which way I’d vote. |
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Posts: 20181
Location: oswego, il | I'm against it. Muskies don't guard their spawn but there are so many lakes up north that rely 100% on the ritual to sustain. Don't interrupt it. |
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Posts: 1206
| There was good reason they pushed the muskie opener back. And look what it dad for the Bass fishery pushing it back with the C&R season. Being a older guy I remember having a general opener. And in my dad's day they had different dates you could use different live baits. For example you could only use a crawdad after a certain date. So they tried different things at different times. |
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Posts: 493
Location: NW WI | Chuck, there is no bass season anymore, that changed a few years back. I can't remember if there is season on keeping em though.
Does anybody know how an item makes it to this point-where it's mandated that the counties discuss and vote on it with attending citizens/online voting? DNR's online info on WCC isn't the easiest to navigate. I mean there's just no way this was put forward by musky educated persons. The only Pros I can fathom is the argument that not "all water" has natural reproduction and an earlier opener may = earlier tourism= weeks more of tourism income.
But those points are easily trumped by the potential long term negative impact. A no brainer to most of us I'm sure.
Didn't JD or somebody here catch a female that dropped her eggs in the boat a week or 2 after northern opener last year?
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Posts: 1206
| Yup Jay you are 100% correct on open season on Bass for fishing, but is only keep them in May 7th thru march 5 for Largemouth and June 18th thru march for Smallmouth. (I'm not sure who keeps a Bass anyway) Release has saved Muskie fishing, We don't have to go to the Boundary water for good Bass fishing cutting down on the Panfish limits was helped that, so the thing that is hurting the most is Walleye fishing between spearing (messing with something that's spawning) and we like to keep Walleye's to eat. |
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Posts: 1759
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | The bass fisherman locally catch muskies all May. I hear about it every year. Wisconsin and Minnesota. Light tackle and long fights with big fish.
Oh and Chuckski, we can't thank your father's generation enough for crawdad fishing! It's done the Northwoods wonders!
Awful hard to draw a line at highway 10 for the whole state and assume all lakes are on the same calendar. Not sure what to think about it. Micro management like walleye limits would be the right way. But probably too much to ask. |
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| jchiggins - 1/29/2023 4:47 PM
The bass fisherman locally catch muskies all May. I hear about it every year. Wisconsin and Minnesota. Light tackle and long fights with big fish.
Oh and Chuckski, we can't thank your father's generation enough for crawdad fishing! It's done the Northwoods wonders!
Awful hard to draw a line at highway 10 for the whole state and assume all lakes are on the same calendar. Not sure what to think about it. Micro management like walleye limits would be the right way. But probably too much to ask.
Should have added that another item on the agenda is to have 50" limit on all WI musky lakes. As to the crayfish, there have always been crayfish in WI waters, just not rusties and those are fairly recent. In the 1960s, I was a middle school kid fishing on an Oneida county lake for musky. Caught a nice 5# or so walleye fishing early morning. Tossed it into a live box at the rental cabin. Came down that evening to clean it up for dinner and the crayfish had eaten about half the fish. |
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Posts: 497
Location: Ludington, MI | Here's something to consider: I have observed panfishermen harassing and killing muskies here in Michigan. Of course I reported it to the CO, but don't you think having musky anglers around the spawning fish is better than just having panfish and walleye anglers around the spawning muskies? |
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Posts: 330
Location: SE Wisc | I think the highway 10 boundary is as good as you’ll get for dividing the season openers. The lakes north of there do freeze up sooner and thaw later, thus the different spawning times. It kind of is a magic line. When we hit 75 degrees in southern Wi in early May, it’s likely in the high 50s up there on that same day. |
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Posts: 493
Location: NW WI | tundrawalker00 - 1/29/2023 5:20 PM
Here's something to consider: I have observed panfishermen harassing and killing muskies here in Michigan. Of course I reported it to the CO, but don't you think having musky anglers around the spawning fish is better than just having panfish and walleye anglers around the spawning muskies?
I believe you. But wouldn't panfisherman and wallete guys be angling deeper during that time period? |
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| 7.62xJay - 1/29/2023 9:14 PM
tundrawalker00 - 1/29/2023 5:20 PM
Here's something to consider: I have observed panfishermen harassing and killing muskies here in Michigan. Of course I reported it to the CO, but don't you think having musky anglers around the spawning fish is better than just having panfish and walleye anglers around the spawning muskies?
I believe you. But wouldn't panfisherman and wallete guys be angling deeper during that time period?
Early May by me (Oneida County) is prime time for panfish in the shallows, depending on water temps. |
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Posts: 2241
Location: SE, WI. | Ciscokid82 - 1/29/2023 8:19 PM I think the highway 10 boundary is as good as you’ll get for dividing the season openers. The lakes north of there do freeze up sooner and thaw later, thus the different spawning times. It kind of is a magic line. When we hit 75 degrees in southern Wi in early May, it’s likely in the high 50s up there on that same day. Like to know, Which musky lakes hit 75 degrees in early May in SE, WI.?
Edited by jdsplasher 1/29/2023 9:33 PM
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Posts: 330
Location: SE Wisc | Air temps not water temps. |
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Posts: 161
Location: Chicago, IL | I think this is a lousy regulation change personally. I’m supportive of the 50” statewide rule reg, and making the late season softwater only (no ice), which is also on the docket. But changing the northern zone opener to early May doesn’t make sense to me. The Bay of Green Bay is just starting to get some natural recruitment and they’ve spent decades rehabituating it, why jeopardize that. Also, I agree with the earlier point made about the Northwoods lakes that rely solely on natural reproduction, but already have so much stacked against them (spearing, advanced angling pressure, more pressure than ever, lack of spawning habitat). If anyone has any context or justification information for why the DNR is proposing this, that would be helpful to see. It can’t be biological b/c without question, fish in the Northern Zone are spawning throughout May. |
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| Slobasaurus - 1/30/2023 8:23 AM
I think this is a lousy regulation change personally. I’m supportive of the 50” statewide rule reg, and making the late season softwater only (no ice), which is also on the docket. But changing the northern zone opener to early May doesn’t make sense to me. The Bay of Green Bay is just starting to get some natural recruitment and they’ve spent decades rehabituating it, why jeopardize that. Also, I agree with the earlier point made about the Northwoods lakes that rely solely on natural reproduction, but already have so much stacked against them (spearing, advanced angling pressure, more pressure than ever, lack of spawning habitat). If anyone has any context or justification information for why the DNR is proposing this, that would be helpful to see. It can’t be biological b/c without question, fish in the Northern Zone are spawning throughout May.
Items on the ballot for the Conservation Congress do not all come from the DNR. Various groups propose items to be voted on. This could be something coming from the hospitality industry for instance, thinking an earlier opener may put "heads in beds" for lodging and restaurants. |
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Location: Vilas | Im 100% against the earlier opening of the muskie season. The spawn is the most important part of their life, leave them alone to do it. Ive heard some of the reason`s for the earlier date, more fishing oppurtunities, more tourism $$ for the area. Memorial weekend until ice up is at least six months of fishing, plenty of oppurtunity there to chase them. I doubt many will travel from the southern part of the state to chase after fish here in the middle of the spawn. If a business is struggling, 3 extra weeks of muskie fishing isnt going to save it. IMO, everyone that considers themselves a muskie man should be 100% against the earlier opening!! |
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Posts: 2280
Location: Chisholm, MN | I don't fish Wisconsin but that would be a terrible regulation. I'd actually like to see MN push it back one week even. |
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Posts: 599
Location: Duluth | This would be an awful move, terrible. But I don't live in sconny, just work here and fish a bundary water that already has earlier opener than MN. |
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Posts: 94
| Not a Sconny either, but unless there is a sound scientific justification provided by somebody, this feels like the good idea club run amok. Hard to keep fishing musky when we try to pick them off while they're spawning. |
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Posts: 8729
| There aren't many people in N/WI prior to Memorial day anyway, and the locals know better, so I don't see this killing the fisheries. That doesn't mean it's a good idea though. |
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| bloatlord - 1/30/2023 3:52 PM
Not a Sconny either, but unless there is a sound scientific justification provided by somebody, this feels like the good idea club run amok. Hard to keep fishing musky when we try to pick them off while they're spawning.
Under Scott Walker and the GOP controlled legislature, roughly 40% of the scientists working for WI DNR were fired, per Scientific American magazine. A waters scientist who retired from the DNR about 5 years ago told me over half of the scientists who worked on water issues were fired. He felt he was not because of almost 35 years on the job. He claimed that the former DNR secretary under Walker told the employees that it was not the DNR's job to do science. She made similar public statements as well. Not a lot has changed, despite a new governor because the same people in the legislature control the purse strings. |
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| North of 8 - 1/30/2023 4:21 PM
bloatlord - 1/30/2023 3:52 PM
Not a Sconny either, but unless there is a sound scientific justification provided by somebody, this feels like the good idea club run amok. Hard to keep fishing musky when we try to pick them off while they're spawning.
Under Scott Walker and the GOP controlled legislature, roughly 40% of the scientists working for WI DNR were fired, per Scientific American magazine. A waters scientist who retired from the DNR about 5 years ago told me over half of the scientists who worked on water issues were fired. He felt he was not because of almost 35 years on the job. He claimed that the former DNR secretary under Walker told the employees that it was not the DNR's job to do science. She made similar public statements as well. Not a lot has changed, despite a new governor because the same people in the legislature control the purse strings.
Wow!!!!!
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Posts: 166
| Minnesotas a large state North to South. If anything they should adopt a border for fishing season like Wisconsin has. Pushing back Muskie opener another week to me doesn't make sense except maybe in the way north range of Minnesota. |
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Posts: 1206
| The most important thing the late opener does is keeping people from poaching them in non fishing manner. In late spring years fish can be still spawning at the opener and if you ever seen a Muskie spawn you can reach out a touch them with a sick and they won't move. (I've seen people do this in April) Years ago Dick Rose caught a state record Walleye in November when they opened it up it still had evidence of spawning and that how he got caught. Old time DNR's messed up a lot of things like platting Carp, allowing bait people to sale Rusty Crawfish and on and on. |
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Posts: 8729
| It's one thing to allow some things when you just don't know any better. It's another thing entirely to allow them when you do. |
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Posts: 110
| No skin in the game here either as a MN resident. I do not travel to WI to muskie fish.
Early May seems awful early to target a muskie. Heck, some of our lakes still have ice here in early May. |
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Posts: 735
| Under normal circumstances, I would agree, bad idea. But, take into consideration what some of these businesses have been through, through no fault of there own,the last couple of years, with the ridiculous lock downs and mandates that damaged small businesses throughout the country. This could in a sense be viewed as a small business revival plan. What happened to some of those small businesses was just awful. Kdawg |
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Posts: 20181
Location: oswego, il | kdawg - 1/31/2023 4:49 PM
Under normal circumstances, I would agree, bad idea. But, take into consideration what some of these businesses have been through, through no fault of there own,the last couple of years, with the ridiculous lock downs and mandates that damaged small businesses throughout the country. This could in a sense be viewed as a small business revival plan. What happened to some of those small businesses was just awful. Kdawg
Fishing skyrocketed during COVID and since the border was closed they went stateside.
I am sure opening up the season will give the darkhouse spearers some confidence to continue to want to bring Wisconsin into their fold. |
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Posts: 735
| ToddM - 1/31/2023 5:03 PM
kdawg - 1/31/2023 4:49 PM
Under normal circumstances, I would agree, bad idea. But, take into consideration what some of these businesses have been through, through no fault of there own,the last couple of years, with the ridiculous lock downs and mandates that damaged small businesses throughout the country. This could in a sense be viewed as a small business revival plan. What happened to some of those small businesses was just awful. Kdawg
Fishing skyrocketed during COVID and since the border was closed they went stateside.
I am sure opening up the season will give the darkhouse spearers some confidence to continue to want to bring Wisconsin into their fold. |
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