DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp statement on 2014 walleye declarations by Chippewa tribes

MADISON - In response to annual tribal walleye harvest declarations from the Chippewa tribes for waters in the Ceded Territory covering the northern third of Wisconsin, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp has issued the following statement:

"Responding to Chippewa tribal declarations, the DNR is obligated to establish a one-walleye daily bag limit for anglers on 173 lakes in northern Wisconsin to ensure a vibrant long-term walleye fishery. Once the spring spearing season concludes, the DNR expects the number of lakes that are set at a one-bag limit will be significantly reduced as has been past practice.

"In the years to come, the DNR anticipates less user conflict. As the Governor noted in his State of the State address, all Wisconsinites love walleye. Through the Wisconsin Walleye Initiative, the DNR and partners are making tremendous investments into stocking efforts and habitat improvements that will produce more fish in years to come. We are also pleased that the Natural Resource Board approved our scope statement in March, which will allow us the opportunity to explore management initiatives based on the latest science.

"We are confident that our long-term efforts will yield less fluctuation and more consistency with bag limits while still effectively managing and protecting the resource for all to enjoy."

The full list of walleye bag limits by county and lake is available at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/ceded/baglimits.html.

Wisconsin Chippewa want to spear 63,488 walleyes

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s six Chippewa tribes say they’re looking to spear a record number of walleyes across the northern part of the state this spring, a goal that could lead to tighter bag limits on non-tribal anglers and rekindle tensions with tourism-minded lawmakers.

The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which oversees the Chippewa’s off-reservation rights, forwarded the tribes’ 2014 goals to The Associated Press on Wednesday. The goals call for taking a record 63,488 walleyes, breaking the old record of 59,659 set in 2010.

Source: Fond du Lac Reporter

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52 fish over 100 pounds speared in first three days of sturgeon season

OSHKOSH - Big fish and challenging travel conditions were the story during the first three days of the Lake Winnebago System sturgeon spearing seasons.

Josh Genske of Sheboygan speared this 185 pound, 80.2 inch female sturgeon Feb. 14, the largest fish taken in the first three days of the Lake Winnebago System seasons.
WDNR Photo

Through the end of spearing hours Monday, 881 fish system-wide had been harvested, with 52 of them, or 5.1 percent, weighing more than 100 pounds, according to Ron Bruch, Department of Natural Resources fisheries supervisor.

That includes the 185-pound, 80.2-inch female that Josh Genske of Sheboygan registered at the Calumet Harbor Station on Valentine's Day, and the 172.7-pound, 76.9-inch female registered by Jeffery Nozar of Oshkosh on opening day.

Those fish weigh in as the third and fifth largest sturgeon speared since DNR began keeping harvest records in 1941. Registration of all harvested fish began in 1955.

Seven of those top 10 fish have been speared in the last three years, Bruch says.

"The big fish we see now began growing into the ‘big fish’ category (100 pounds or more) just at the time when our new regulations were put in place to provide greater protection to them," Bruch says. "That's resulted in the impressive numbers of big fish in an expanded population overall of lake sturgeon we currently have in the Winnebago System."

Bruch says it's possible that the season could run the full 16 days allowed under law.

"Given the changing travel conditions on Lake Winnebago, it appears spearers will have many more days, possibly a full 16 days this year, to add to the top 10 list of biggest fish."

A list of the top 10 largest fish can be found on the Lake Winnebago System Sturgeon Spearing Season page of the DNR website.

Travel will likely be difficult for spearers

The deep snow and drifts spearers encountered on opening day of the seasons, Feb. 12, made it difficult to get around on the lake. That problem was compounded when warmer temperatures melted snow and made travel very sloppy. Windy conditions forecast for this week will push ice around, although colder temperatures forecast for the weekend may freeze up the slop and improve travel conditions by next week. "There's going to be a major adjustment for spearers to contend with over the next few days," Bruch says.

Spearers were closing in on the number of adult females that would trigger closure of the Upriver Lakes season. After Monday, there were 16 adult females left before hitting the trigger for the Upriver Lakes adult female harvest cap.

Lake Winnebago spearers after Monday were about one-third of the way to hitting the trigger for adult females on the big lake. Current updates are available on DNR's Lake Winnebago 2011 Sturgeon Spearing Season page.

Upriver sturgeon season

An annual lottery for permits to spear sturgeon on the Upriver Lakes began in 2007. Spearers need to apply for an Upriver Lakes sturgeon lottery tag by August 2 and are notified no later than October 1 if they were successful in receiving authorization to purchase an Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing license.

Group lottery applications of up to four persons are also accepted. Group applications must be submitted through the DNR Online Licensing Center. Spearers who applied for but not authorized to purchase an Upriver Lakes license receive a preference point, and can still purchase a license for Lake Winnebago, but must do so by the Oct. 31 license sales deadline (spearers can only buy one tag or the other, not both). Sales for both Lake Winnebago and Upriver Lakes sturgeon spearing licenses end Oct. 31. The Upriver Lakes sturgeon lottery fishery limits participation to 500 tags in 2011 and will have a small sub-allocation of the overall sturgeon harvest cap.