WCSFO members – mark your calendars now to attend the 2013 WCSFO Fall Meeting on October 19th at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will be held at the Walleyes for Tomorrow Office located at 224 Auburn St. Fond Du Lac, WI. More information will follow.
The Council has two meeting per year, one in Spring and one in Fall.
The Green Bay Area Great Lakes Sport Fishermen held its Annual Smelt Fry at the Stadium Bar & Grille in Green Bay last night. There were numerous pounds of the tiny fish consumed along with loads of French Fries, Cole Slaw, Rye Bread and sweet red onion by close to two hundred sportsmen/women and younger anglers in attendance.
Unlike most club meetings where one of the main attractions is a guest speaker who presents a seminar on locating and catching fish or the giant raffle where many of the attendees goes home with fishing tackle or a rod and reel of some sort; this one is dedicated to the kids and recognizing some of the members with Awards for their participation in Club activities.
The special raffle last night involved approximately 30 young kids. Each kid was provided a raffle ticket with the second portion of the ticket being placed in a pitcher for the drawing. Surprisingly or not, each kid was fortunate enough to have their lucky ticket stub pulled from the pitcher winning them their choice of a fishing rod & reel, a tackle box or a pillow.
Shortly after this raffle a second raffle was held with a young boy and girl each winning a chance to fish with fishing pro Jim Pyle in a fishing tournament. The winner of this Tournament would go on to the Championship in Canada.
Pictured below are some of the Kids with their winnings. Click on photos to enlarge.
Report by Rich Hehn from the Great Lakes Sport Fishermen of Milwaukee regarding the Kids Fishing Clinic on April 13th.
It was a slow day at Greenfield Park. The temperature was 34 degrees at 9am with snow showers on and off until noon. We had several fish caught, 2 rainbows, a small bass, and a perch that measured about 8". We had 31 kids show up. The guys from the Milwaukee Casting Club were the heroes, doing the outdoor part of the clinic in miserable conditions. The kids and the Casting Club guys enjoyed the hot beverages, and chili that went with the usual hot dogs. Our “kitchen crew” did their usual good job. We had 13 volunteers from GLSF, and a reported 9 more volunteers from the Casting Club. We had no new kids from 2:00- 2:40, so we started shut down, and cleared the building at 2:55. I had one guy bring his young son to the house this morning to pick up the rod and reel combo he won in the raffle/give away. The kid was around 4 years old, and was really excited to get his prize.
Hope everyone else had a good time too. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with the event next year.
Thank you to the Great Lakes Sport Fishermen of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Casting Club for their participation in this event.
The event was Sponsored in cooperation with the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations; Milwaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha County Parks; Hunger Task Force Fish Hatchery; and the Department of Natural Resources.
Photos we received from Friends of the Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse, Inc. who also participated in the Kids Fishing Clinics on April 13th.
The 29th Annual Kids Fishing Clinics were held last Saturday, April 13 at various locations throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. The free fishing instructions were provided to children 15 years and younger and taught by members of local fishing clubs.
Instructions included Fishing Techniques, Equipment Use, Knot Tying, Safety, Fish Identification and some kids even got to catch some fish.
Locations included: Milwaukee County
Brown Deer Park, 7835 N. Green Bay Rd. Hosted by: Okauchee Fishing Club
Greenfield Park, 2028 S. 124th St. Hosted by: Great Lakes Sports Fishermen; Milwaukee Casting Club
Humboldt Park, 3000 S. Howell Ave. Hosted by: Lunkers Unlimited
McCarty Park, 8214 W. Cleveland Ave. Hosted by: Southside Sportsmen’s Club
McGovern Park, 5400 N. 51st Blvd. Hosted by: Badger Fisherman’s League
Mitchell Park, 2200 W. Pierce St. Hosted by: Bay View Rod and Gun Club
Oak Creek Parkway, Oak Creek Pkwy. and Mill Rd., South Milwaukee Hosted by: Friends of the Oak Creek Millpond
Scout Lake Park, 5902 W. Loomis Rd. Hosted by: Walleyes Unlimited, USA
Sheridan Park, 4800 S. Lake Dr. Hosted by: South Milwaukee 1400 Fishing & Hunting Club
Washington Park, 1859 N. 40th St. Hosted by: EB Garner’s Fishing Club
Wilson Park, 1601 W. Howard Ave. Hosted by: Wisconsin Fishing Club
Racine County
Quarry Lake Park, 3800 Northwestern Ave. Hosted by: Salmon Unlimited
Sheboygan County
Kohler- Andrae State Park, 1020 Beach Park Lane Hosted by: Great Lakes Sports Fishermen - Sheboygan County Chapter
Washington County
Sandy Knoll Park, 2064 Wallace Lake Rd., West Bend Hosted by: Trout Unlimited Southeast Chapter; West Bend Kiwanis Early Risers
Waukesha County
Fox Brook Park, 2925 N. Barker Rd. Hosted by: Wern Valley Sportsmen’s Club
Menomonee Park/Lannon Quarry, W220 N7884 Townline Road, Menomonee Falls. Hosted by: Wisconsin House Outdoorsmen
Muskego Park, S83 W20370 Janesville Road, Muskego Hosted by: Women’s Hunting and Sporting Association
The event was Sponsored in cooperation with the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations; Milwaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha County Parks; Hunger Task Force Fish Hatchery; and the Department of Natural Resources.
For more information about Fishing in Wisconsin and our wonderful resource in general check us out on Facebook.
March 22, 2013
By Marie Zhuikov
Although ice remains on many Wisconsin lakes, today is the start of another season of fishing tournaments for Sea Grant staff across the Great Lakes. No, they’re not competing; they’re working to ensure that aquatic invasive species (AIS) aren’t spread by tournament activities.
“Fishing tournaments are known for their excitement and payouts as large as a half-million dollars,” said Phil Moy, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s advisory services manager and lead on the project. “Events can host up to 300 boats, which unfortunately can pose a risk for spreading unwanted plants and animals.”
Today’s tournament in ice-free Spring Valley, Ill., is hosted by The Walleye Federation. Organizers are expecting record participation. Moy will be at the tournament as part of a regional project designed to identify how tournaments spread AIS and to discover the best ways to educate anglers about prevention.
The project spans four years (2010-2014) and is in its final stages. Funding started through the National Sea Grant Office and then continued through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Partners include the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, Wildlife Forever, the Bass Federation, the National Professional Anglers Association, Cabela’s Master Walleye Circuit and The Walleye Federation.
By talking to tournament organizers and surveying participants, project members have discovered that the vectors for AIS spread at tournaments include scales used to weigh the fish, holding tanks, hoses, measuring boards, and angler equipment.
The good news is that most anglers pay attention to the threat of invasive species. In a project survey of almost 200 tournament anglers, 90 percent said AIS are a serious to very serious threat. Many already take measures to prevent AIS spread, including draining water from their equipment, disposing of bait in the trash and inspecting their equipment for invasive plants and animals.
In another survey of Cabela’s Master Walleye Circuit champions, researchers discovered that the reasons some don’t take action is because they lack the time and motivation, they consider prevention measures inconvenient, or the anglers are unaware of the risk. They also discovered the best ways to reach anglers include word-of mouth, signs at tournament boat ramps and presentations to fishing clubs. The survey questions were developed by the Great Lakes project members with help from Wisconsin Sea Grant Social Scientist Jane Harrison.
To help reduce the chance of spreading AIS, tournament organizers used boat inspection lines that quickly checked boats prior to launch each morning, developed youth education clinics, and boat washing stations in cooperation with local scouting groups as well as adopting measures in the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers campaign.
“This year, we really want to reach kids,” said Moy. “Angling kids, high school kids, and younger kids; the next recruit of professional anglers who are working their way up through the ranks. If we can instill in them the importance of not moving AIS around to preserve fishing, we expect we’ll have a longer-term and more meaningful impact.” Organizers plan to work with scouting groups and fishing clubs, which often provide support for tournaments.
Let the tournaments begin!
held at: GANDER MOUNTIAN, FRANKLIN, WI
The meeting was called to order by President John Durben at 10:05 AM. There were four members present, Mike Staggs of the DNR and two guests.
The notes as taken of our last meeting by Mona Durben were published and approved as the official minutes, as there was no secretary to take minutes at this meeting.
Treasurer Cornell Stroik read the financial report as was published for the meeting. The report showed that we had $5,742.80 in the checking account and $3,064.36 C.A.S.T. savings account. A motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the report as published.
The issue of finding a Secretary for the organization was addressed. Ron Gray noted that he had talked with Brenda Rosin Schaff of the Badger Fisherman's League about taking the position. He noted she had some questions but he felt she may be interested. She will be taking the chair position of the Kids Fishing clinics upon Wayne Avery’s retirement which has a direct tie to the WCSFO. She was unable to attend the meeting today because of a previous family commitment. He stated if she did not take the position he would find someone that will and the organization should move forward with that in mind.
Cornell Stroik reported on Wisconsin Bass Nation, Wisconsin Bass Federation and tournament fishing.
Mike Staggs gave the DNR Fisheries report. He reported on the following and supplied hand outs with some of the topics.
Wisconsin Wildlife Federation – No report
Kids Fishing Clinics – Ron Gray reported that we now have fishing clinics in the following Counties. Milwaukee 11 Parks, Racine 1 Park, Sheboygan 1 Park, Washington 1 Park and Waukesha 3 Parks and we have 19 clubs participating. The next clinic meeting date will be March 21st with the spring clinics taking place on April 13th. He also report on the ice fishing clinics which took place on February 9th.
Lake Access: North Lake access site — construction is planned for this spring based on the last information from the DNR.
Old Business:
1. Kids fishing hand books - It was reported that the supply has been used and we will need a new printing for next year. It was noted that some of the club logo info needs to be updated. Ron Gray will work with Ted Lind to get the information necessary for updating the books/logos for this printing. He will also try to get more donations and club participation through the clinic meetings for future printings.
2. Club Dues – After discussion a motion was made seconded and passed that the dues structure for membership in the WCSFO remain the same as last year and that invoices be sent out to the clubs.
New Business:
Club News — No Club news reported
Meeting Adjourned at Approximately 12:30 PM
Next meeting scheduled for October 19, 2013
Respectfully Submitted: Ron Gray – Acting Secretary
Click Here (for PDF version)
MADISON – Anglers and others are invited to share their expectations for fishing for panfish in Wisconsin at more than two dozen meetings across the state in February and March.
“We want to hear from the public on what they want from their panfishing experience to help guide us in developing a statewide plan for managing panfish populations,” says Joanna Griffin, the Department of Natural Resources fisheries specialist coordinating the effort.
The public meetings mark the opening phases of statewide outreach efforts by Department of Natural Resources’ fisheries management to better connect with anglers in Wisconsin. These first meetings will focus on panfish management although other local fishery concerns may be covered at the meetings, she says.
Attendees at the meetings will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire to help DNR understand their concerns, issues and priorities for panfish. The questionnaire and background materials presented at the meeting will be available online in coming weeks.
DNR has long had management plans in place for game fish species such as walleye, bass, musky and northern pike, and biologists and some anglers believe such attention is necessary for panfish.
“We know there have been proposals from the Conservation Congress in recent years and again this year to reduce the daily 25 fish limit on panfish on select lakes. Their concerns, along with our data analyses and modeling efforts, lead us to believe we need to take the next step and develop a management plan.”
As a category, panfish are by far the most common fish caught by anglers in Wisconsin although anglers report walleye as their favorite target. Wisconsin anglers reported catching 88 million fish in the 2006-7 license year, of which 57.7 million were panfish, according to a statewide mail survey done that year. About 25.7 million of those panfish were kept.
“We hope the feedback we get from anglers can help us understand whether to stay the course, or if they want changes in their panfishing experience that could require us to do something different, depending on the particular waterbody and its capabilities.”
The dates, times and locations of the panfish meetings are listed below.
Feb. 12, Stevens Point, Ben Franklin Jr. High School, Learning Resource Center, 6:30 p.m., 2000 Polk St.
Feb. 18, Waukesha, DNR Waukesha Service Center, 7 p.m., 141 N.W. Barstow St.
Feb. 19, Eau Claire, DNR Eau Claire Regional Office, 7 p.m., 1300 W. Clairemont Ave.
Feb. 19 Horicon, DNR Horicon Marsh Education Center/lower level auditorium, 7 p.m. N7725 Highway 28
Feb. 20, Hayward, Hayward High School Auditorium, 6:30 p.m., 10320 N. Greenwood Lane
Feb. 21, Plymouth, Plymouth High School Cafeteria, 7 p.m., 125 S. Highland Ave.
Feb. 22-24, Madison, Madison Fishing Expo; Fri. 4 p.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m-7 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., DNR booth at the expo at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way
March 4, Shawano, Shawano Library, 5:30 p.m., 128 S. Sawyer St.
March 4, Burlington, Burlington High School Library (2nd floor) 6 p.m., 400 McCanna Pkwy
March 5, Mercer, Mercer Community Center, 6 p.m., 2648 W Margaret St.
March 6, Medford, Frances L Simek Memorial Library, 7 p.m., 400 N Main St.
March 6, Adams, Adams County Community Center, 6:30 p.m., M 569N Cedar St.
March 6, Florence, Wild Rivers Interpretive Center, Large Conf. Rm, 7 p.m., 5631 Forestry Dr.
March 7, Butternut, American Legion Hall, 6 p.m., 126 4th St. North
March 7, Dodgeville, DNR Dodgeville Office, Prairie Room 7 p.m. 1500 N Johns St.
March 7, Wautoma, Waushara County Courthouse, Demonstration Room, 6 p.m. 209 S Main St.
March 7, Fond du Lac, Fisherman's Road Fishing Club Headquarters, 7 p.m., End of Fisherman's Road on Lake Winnebago
March 11, Merrill, Merrill High School large conference room, 6 p.m. 1201 N. Sales St.
March 12, Brule, Brule Ranger Station, 7 p.m. 6250 S. Ranger Road
March 12, Menasha, Germania Hall, 7 p.m., 320 Chute St.
March 13, Rhinelander, Rhinelander Service Center, 7 p.m. 107 Sutliff Ave.
March 13, Green Bay, Brown County Library Auditorium, 6:30 p.m., 515 Pine St.
March 14, Woodruff, Woodruff Town Hall, 7 p.m., 1418 First Street (Highway 47)
March 14, Spooner, Spooner DNR Service Center, 7 p.m. , 810 W. Maple St.
March 14, Waupaca, Waupaca Area Library, 5:30 p.m., 107 S. Main St.
March 14, Black River Falls, U.W. Extension Office, 7 p.m., 227 S 11th St.
March 14, Woodruff, Woodruff Town hall, 7 p.m., 1418 First St. (Highway 47)
March 18, Balsam Lake, Polk County Government Center, East Conf. Rm. 7 p.m., 100 Polk County Plaza
March 18, Crivitz, Crivitz High School Auditorium, 6:30 p.m., 400 South Ave.
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location: Gander Mountain
6939 S 27th St
Franklin WI 53132
We are still attempting to fill the position of Secretary on our Executive Board. Anyone interested in information regarding the position please contact me at: chilihead@frontiernet.net or:
An agenda regarding the meeting will be posted at a later date.
The 2013 Annual Kids’ Ice Fishing Clinics sponsored in cooperation with the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations, Hunger Task Force Fish Hatchery, Milwaukee and Waukesha County Parks, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is set for Saturday, February 9th.
Click on the Flyer below for more information.
General | Northern Region | Northeast Region | Southeast Region | South Central Region | West Central Region
An early January thaw and rain in the forecast for this week has conservation wardens cautioning people about thin ice and potentially dangerous conditions on lakes throughout the state. There have been a number of reports this week of vehicles and ice anglers going through the ice at various locations.
With no new snow since the late December snowstorm, snow levels have dropped statewide, and most counties have now closed snowmobile trails, according to the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s Snow Conditions Report (exit DNR). Trails remain open in the most northern tier of counties but are in poor to fair condition. Cross-country ski trails were faring better as of Thursday, but rain in the forecast Thursday night could change that. Lake Kegonsa State Park in Dane County had cancelled a candlelight ski scheduled for Saturday night, but candlelight events at Kohler-Andrea and Wildcat Mountain state parks and the Lapham Peak Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest were still scheduled. People interested in attending these events should contact the properties directly on Saturday to confirm if they will be held.
In the cold snap before the recent warm-up, ice had been forming on Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay with some people beginning to drive vehicles out, but extreme caution is needed as an ATV went through a pressure ridge with the operator getting out after a cold and wet wake up call. Ice was also forming on Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, but there was still open water off Oconto. Ice conditions along Door County are extremely poor at best, with ice only present on a sheltered bays. Several anglers had to be rescued this week when a section of ice they were fishing on near the southern end of Door County broke off and began floating away with the anglers still on it.
Inland, lakes in the Northwoods have ice depths up to 9 to 10 inches, with only about 2 to 3 inches of snow on top. Some undisturbed areas of the lakes may still only have 6 to 7 inches of ice and not enough to support larger vehicles.
Despite nice fishing weather, walleye action has continued a generally erratic trend into the new year. Northern pike success has been fair to good. Panfish action has been sporadic, with a few nice catches of crappie, bluegill and perch reported but anglers have had to move around quite a bit to find the active fish.
In the south, ice conditions vary greatly, with some larger lakes like Mendota still having open water, to smaller lakes having ice ranging up to 4 to 6 inches, but still highly variable. Anglers have been having some decent success in the south for panfish, and open water anglers have been fishing walleye and sauger below the Prairie du Sac dam.
While the warm-up is not favorable for human winter recreation, wildlife have been be enjoying the weather. Deer are somewhat grouped up and have been able to paw through the snow, or use exposed south-facing slopes. Raccoons have ventured out of their dens for a stretch and a snack. Squirrels are also out of their nests looking for a bite to eat. Otters have been running and sliding on the ice in the backwaters. Muskrat and beaver trappers were pretty active until the ice got too thick to easily chop through.
Bald eagles have begun to congregate along open water stretches of the Wisconsin, Baraboo, Fox, and Mississippi rivers. Visitors to backyard feeders have included juncos, chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, cardinals, blue jays and red-bellied, downy and hairy woodpeckers. It's been a good season for varied thrushes in Wisconsin so far with no fewer than 10 reported. A female northern shrike first banded in March 2006 has returned to its winter territory near Ashland for at least an eighth consecutive year, making her at least 8.5 years old and by far the oldest northern shrike ever known in North America.
General | Northern Region | Northeast Region | Southeast Region | South Central Region | West Central Region
Some of you may not be aware however W.C.S.F.O lost a very Dear Friend as well as our Secretary, Larry VanVeghel some time ago. He also went by the name L.A. VanVeghel on the many articles he authored as a freelance sport writer.
Since Larry passed, the Club has been unable to fill the position of Secretary including through our Election process last fall. We are posting this “Notice” to solicit a volunteer to fill the Secretary position of W.C.S.F.O.
The duties of the position as per the Organization’s By-Laws are printed as follows:
Secretary
“The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the W.C.S.F.O. meetings in one or more books provided for that purpose. Shall cause all notices regarding meeting of the W.C.S.F.O. to be duly given to the editor of the NEWSLINE for announcement, shall be the custodian of the W.C.S.F.O.'s records and in general perform those duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the President or the W.C.S.F.O.”
W.C.S.F.O. has two meetings per year. The Spring Meeting is held on the third Saturday of March (normally in the Milwaukee area) and the Fall Meeting is held on the third Saturday of October (normally in Fond Du Lac).
We urge our Member Clubs to solicit their memberships for a volunteer to fill this position so that we can continue into the future.
If anyone is interested or has questions regarding the duties or the position itself please contact me.
