NORTHWOODS - Bass fishermen now think of Northwoods lakes as great fishing water. But twenty years ago, that wasn't the case. It was bad enough, the DNR voted to push the start of bass season from early-May to mid-June. That keeps spawning fish from being harvested.

But now, the DNR wants to let people catch and keep largemouth bass in early May once again. Eagle Sports Owner George Langley has been selling fishing gear for over 3-decades.

He's aware of how mediocre bass fishing used to be before the current rule.

“It just was not a large factor, everybody fished for walleye, and they fished for musky of course and northerns. We now have a world-class bass-fishery up here and it's because of the present regulations so why change it?”

DNR fisheries biologist John Kubisiak can see why people don't want a change. But on some lakes, the regulations might hurt the largemouth bass quality.

“The concern with the catch and release season going off isn't that we're going to harvest too many bass. It's that we're going to find the biggest fish in the lake and remove them. So trying to find a balance where there are enough special rules, but not over doing it where you don't know the ruling on any individual water.”

If you want to voice your opinion on bass-fishing---attend your county's Spring Fish and Wildlife Public Hearing on April 8th.

Check out the link below to learn about other topics the DNR will cover at this year’s public hearing.


Related Weblinks:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Spring Hearings

Story By: Ryan Abney