Info On New 2016 Trout Regulations
Here are two separate communications I received this week from:
Joanna Griffin
Trout Coordinator – Fisheries Management Bureau
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Hi Andy, Thanks for your interest. We just had a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday. As far as I know, they have 30 days from Tuesday to either vote pass it on to the next legislative committee. We hope things will be good to go and ready by January 1st, but I don’t know for sure on the exact date with all the steps in the process. If not January 1st, they should begin on February 1st. Let me know if you have other questions.
This one came yesterday;
trout regulation package update
The Senate Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining, and Forestry passed on the Clearinghouse Rule 15-023 to the next committee. They have 30 days from yesterday to move it on so we can finish the process. It is looking like it may all be complete in time to begin on January 1, 2016. I will keep you posted if I learn anything different.
Joanna Griffin
Trout Coordinator – Fisheries Management Bureau
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
A reason for my generality on these pages about specific data
The reason may be “old school” or dinosaurish, but it is how I roll from a teaching standpoint. Anglers who are passionate about their craft are explorers, they seek and learn from time on the water and digging into the questions to find answers they want to make more sense of. In turn they learn. They learn more about connecting the dots socially(people who poses knowledge), physically(the woods and the water) and educationally(reading, statistics). If I were to post on my blog that the Prickerbush Rd. survey sight has the highest fish counts, the largest fish, the best insect hatches, etc. Where do you think the anglers might go? There is a good chance anglers may concentrate there. What might that do to that stretch of water if a good portion of those anglers were harvesting trout? How might other anglers, who have put there time in exploring the entire river look at me for posting that data? I think it would be irresponsible. The web is a powerful, helpful, informational tool. This tool is relatively new. I believe if all of the information is just posted, it has a tendency to inhibit the ability of anglers to truly learn how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. So I stay reasonably general with the data info to protect the integrity of quest and the pass-time I am passionate about. Am I a Dick?
A bit on catch rates-
I view this information in the same light as any one of a hundred other variables involved in finding trends in trout fishing. Countless times I have been on the water by myself or with clients and have had the 10 to 30 fish day, Heaven! Because of that success, I return the next day with similar expectations, foolish boy! Mostly those expectations are not realized. The same patterns, the same drifts to the same spots under the same conditions, rarely produce the same results as the previous day. I am left to ponder, learn, adjust and take account . Something has changed. It is the only constant, as the old adage goes. I have communicated this year with numerous anglers who are having their best year of trout fishing. We all define “best” differently. Across the board, most all are in agreement that the numbers are down on the streams I write about. The data clearly proves that out. The why’s, exactly, are only educated guesses and it is noble and helpful to prognosticate with others. Good news is, most of the populations are still in the 99th percentile when compared to other trout streams across the state of Wisconsin. We are fortunate.
Short Report
The trout above came last week during our awesome cool weather snap. At 5pm I finished my “to do” list and was summoned to the stream by the conditions. I landed 3 fish, a YOY, a 10″brookie and this dandy boy. What a bully. The water flows in the area are running above average. The water temps are pleasantly cool for this time of year. The trout, for the most part, during this “dog day” period are surprisingly active, fat and pissy. 20 drifts through one small slot I knew had to hold a trout. One eat. This spot had been newly created after the high water episodes of the summer. Things have changed and it is fun to find new water. There were no human footprints, in a popular piece of water. There were no rising trout which floored me for a spot which rarely fails at producing the evening dry fly witching hour at dusk. I have not fished during this weeks heat, maybe tonight.
Cheers
10 users commented in " 2016 Trout Regulations, A Report And A Rant, kind of…. "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackBeast!! Could’ve eaten even my 13″ Brookster I got to snatch an Olive emerger in yesterdays humidity – after a 20 yd. stalk up in a quiet pool!!
All the rest were 3-4″ers…all 3 of ’em!
But – I got the boots wet!
Why does the Dnr allow lakes and ponds in the drffless area ? All of these are
man made (at least in Vernon County) & are detimental & destructive to the natural habitat. The drift less area is not lake country. Aside from the damage
to trout steams & more important is they allow toxic sediment to accumulate
and settle which is much more likely to contaminate our ground water than if
It was flushed thru with a free flowing stream. Water is one of the most important
resources in the world & to not protect it is beyond belief. If people want lakes
they should go to an area that is designed by nature to support lakes which the
drift less area is not.
Donald
It is a good question. Oddly enough I learned one answer to your question at the KIAPTUISH TU meeting last night. It pertains to the Little Falls dam, I believe, on the Willow River in the State Park. The Dam is currently being removed with plans to replace it at a cost of 8 to 10 million dollars. If I am correct 8 of the 10 has already been acquired by the DNR. The dam is 100 years old and a number of the gates that allow water to flow are inoperable causing elevated water temps in the river down stream of the lake. The dam is being replaced with bottom draw capability to alleviate this problem. When I asked why the dam was being replaced at all, I was told that the lake and its amenities provide significant economic enhancement that supports funding to numerous other parks in the state. Because it is one of the highest use lakes in the system it helps keep our other parks open and staffed. I am still sorting through the interconnectedness, but my initial thought is if there is no harm done, and both systems can flourish, I am ok with it. I am not sure if I have the full story yet or not.
Jeremy
Glad you got out. a 13″ brookie is a prize!
Boots wet, always a plus.
Is that an LDH net? What model if I might ask? I am actually looking at purchasing one right now.
David
Yes it is, the only nets I use. Craftsmanship and detail are beyond any other nets, period! This one is the wading net. The handle is made from Cherry crotch(the wood grain from the juncture of two large cherry tree trunks). There is magic in that net. Contact Lloyd soon, otherwise he will be stalking the Brule river and may not return until winters first snows.
A
Andy does that mean the willow is going to become a tailwater(because the water would be released from the bottom of the dam)? If so that would be fantastic!
Very Nice Andy. I am happy for you – now we both have a Walter this year.
Thanks Robin
Talk with you soon.
A
Kevin
From my understanding this dam was originally designed to do that, 80 some years ago. The very reason they are replacing it is to install a new bottom draw dam because the old hand operated gates seized up and were impossible to repair any more.
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