Encouraging News from Northern WI!

[Tom Dietz]

This was in the Vilas County News Review recently, and we will have to stay tuned to see how this is received by the locals and resort owners up there. Many of the people have been vehemently against raising musky size limits in the past based upon the fear that it will "hurt" their tourism numbers. It is a prehistoric way of thinking and hopefully the DNR will educate enough of these locals to inform them that bigger muskies WILL INCREASE tourism to the area! What a novel idea!! Seriously, here is the information below, and I hope this will pass the local fish and game hearings in 2011.

From Kurt Krueger, Vilas County News Review:

A Department of Natural Resources (DNR) committee is finalizing a proposal for a statewide 40-inch minimum size limit on muskies, a rule that would affect more than 600 lakes that now carry a 34-inch size limit.

Tim Simonson, the DNR’s lake monitoring coordinator in Madison, said the committee’s consensus is that it’s time to simplify the rules.

“Right now, 25% of the lakes have a 40-inch minimum size limit. There are five counties in the northwest that are all at 40 inches, and a variety of waters in other parts of the state have the same limit,” he said. “Mostly, the new rule would simplify things.”

Simonson said there are 613 lakes statewide that have the 34-inch minimum size limit on muskie. He said there are also some lakes with limits that range from 28 inches to 45 inches and 50 inches, though limits on those waters would not change.

“We have 12 waters in the state, for instance, where there is a 28-inch minimum size limit because they are slow-growth, high-density waters,” he said.


Stay tuned!

[CPR]

I think they ought to make it 50" and be done with it. There are 2 lakes that have a 50" minimum and one lake that opposed the 50" limit because it would attract too much attention to the lake as homeowners were concerned about the asian milfoil issue. That particular lake, by the way was the one I was on for the opener--there are some monsters in there. If they increase the size limit, they'll also decrease stocking efforts as they aren't looking to increase the number of fish but expect the quality to improve. They look for an average of 1 fish per 3 acres.

[Tom Dietz]

Please take a few minutes and vote on this important musky size limit subject for Wisconsin. Here is the link:

http://www.wisconsinoutdoornews.com/

Vote Yes!

[CPR]

85% Are In Favor Of It