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Alert! Major Changes to Trout Regulations Being Proposed
Hello fly shop friends and supporters. I’m writing to all of you today to let you know that DNR is putting a couple of questions on the Spring Hearings questionnaire that would lead to some HUGE changes in the trout season and the base regulations. I have concerns about whether these proposed changes will be good for the resource. I want to share those concerns with all of you. As you continue to read my message keep in mind that the changes being proposed would be STATEWIDE!
The first question I am concerned about would change the opening of the general trout fishing season to the first Saturday in April instead of the traditional first Saturday in May. This would add a full month to the harvest season statewide. It would also allow anglers who now have to decide which species to target when several seasons open together in May to focus specifically on trout when trout are the only species opening in April. DNR openly states in their reasons for suggesting the change that moving to an earlier opener would provide more opportunities for harvest anglers. I have concerns that, while some waters may be able to support a larger harvest, when looked at statewide many waters could suffer from the increased harvest. Large areas of the state have not even had an early catch and release season because of harvest concerns and would now be faced with a month longer harvest on all of their waters.
The other change being proposed by DNR would be a significant change to base regulations. Currently two base regulations, chosen by fisheries biologists, are available to counties. They are color coded as either green or yellow. Yellow is a 3 fish bag with an 8 inch size limit. Green is a 5 fish bag with no size limit. The proposal from DNR would eliminate the yellow category statewide and make the green regulation the base for the entire state. Doing away with the yellow regulation would up the harvest on streams previously under that regulation and would take a tool out of the biologist’s toolbox, giving them one less option when managing the fishery.
These proposed changes are of concern to me. As a shop owner who talks to the fishing public nearly every day I have heard no public outcry for the changes being proposed. I have to wonder where the pressure to make these changes is coming from. I also have great concerns about the direction these changes are taking us and the impact the changes would have on the trout fishery. I would also say that the current early season is very popular with a large number of people who fish for trout, and those people will generally not be happy with a season change. The early season was offered as an opportunity to extend fishing opportunities without impacting trout populations and does not exclude anyone from fishing. Perhaps an extension of the early season into areas that do not currently have that season might be a good conservation minded alternative to what is being proposed.
If you share my concerns and would like to have a say in whether the proposals should become law you will need to vote on the changes. They will be presented on April 8 at the annual Spring Hearings. Please know that you do not have to attend the hearings to vote. The questions will be discussed on April 8 and then DNR will open the questionnaire for online voting from Noon on April 10 until Noon on April 13. All you need to do is go to the WI DNR website, scroll down and click on Conservation Congress, and locate the 2024 questions and ballot.
These are the questions of concern for all of us!
2. Do you favor changing the statewide general open season for trout and salmon in inland streams, springs, and spring ponds to the first Saturday in April at 5 a.m. through October 15? ANSWER NO!
3. Do you favor having only one statewide county base regulation of 5 trout in total with no minimum size limit? ANSWER NO!
You will be a able to attend the hearing on April 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. in each county or online starting at noon April 10 to noon on April 13, 2024.
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