Wisconsin River Walleye Regulations
Gavin Hutchinson
I have been fishing the Wisconsin River’s Walleyes for many seasons. In recent years the regulations on the legal length for walleyes on the river has changed. Until this change occurred the legal length on walleye has been fifteen inches with a limit of five walleyes per day. Under the new regulations the legal limit is five walleyes between fifteen and twenty inches, none between twenty and twenty five, and only one over twenty eight not to exceed five total walleyes per day.
The purpose of the regulation is to protect the large breeding age fish in the river. Over the years I believe the regulation has definitely had an impact on the quality of the walleyes on the river. Before the regulation was put into place catching a walleye that was bigger than 14 7/8”inches was a miracle. Now it is not uncommon to catch a few legal walleyes every time you fish the river. I also have caught many more walleyes that are in the upper twenty inch range since the new regulation has been put in place. Has anyone else noticed this change while fishing on the river? I know not everyone agrees with the new law but I think it is a great thing. I understand that most people like to take home a dinner of fresh fish at the end of the day so throwing that twenty five inch walleye back into the river is sometimes hard. I would have to argue that a smaller walleye tastes better than a big one, and that without those bigger breeding age fish there would be less opportunity to catch walleye altogether. The river has plenty of pan fish if dinner is what you are looking for, but the Wisconsin River has great potential to grow trophy walleye so I think the sacrifice is totally worth throwing back a few fish. I just hope everyone shares these same values about growing walleyes as I do.
I know in other parts of the state there are regulations on some lakes so that you can only keep one walleye over and one under fourteen inches. This regulation might work well too by removing some smaller fish to reduce competition for food and yet not taking too many big walleyes to effect the population of breeding age fish. Reducing the total number of fish that can be taken home can be a great way of maintaining a healthy population of fish in a water body. What do you think about this regulation on the river? Do you think it would be better than the current law? Possibly there is a regulation that would be even better that both of these. If you have any Ideas I would love to hear them. Walleye fishing is one of the best hobbies in the world if you would ask me. It will take everyone who participates in this great sport to ensure its healthy fish populations continue. So next time you have to throw that big walleye back just remember, you just helped to grow a trophy for the future!
2 comments:
Gavin,
Personally, I believe things haven't changed much since they changed the regulations. I'm not saying some things haven't gotten better. It probably has saved some 20-28" fish that would have otherwise been kept by anglers. A 14 1/2" walleye is and, in my opinion, always has been the typical size of fish caught. A few legal walleyes were as hard to catch years ago as they are now.
There are a lot of sections in this general area managed for trophy fish. However, those areas managed for trophies are hardly proven worthy of actual trophy sized fish. The waters in proximity of Stevens Point are not what they are bragged up to be. Go south, east, west, or north and you'll find much more quality water for fishing.
Fishing on the Wisconsin River has been a different experience compared to other rivers I have fished. When fishing the Wisconsin River up by Mosinee the fish there are mainly catfish and bull heads. However, when I came down to Point and tried fishing here, the experience was much better then when I was home. There were more fish biting, but they were of the smaller size. To me, it is all about catching fish, and really not on the size of the fish. I tend to treat fishing as a relaxing activity that when the fish are biting becomes very enjoyable.
However, I am not an avid fisherman that I notice regulation changes, but I know that they do occur. To me, regulations have not been an issue due to me following them and practicing catch and release. If I was more of a fisherman for trophies, I am sure that I would be more versed in the regulations and their changes.
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