Rules revised after concerns surface

Number of issues addressed in changes to state's fishing tournament package
By BOB RIEPENHOFF briepenhoff@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Sept. 23, 2006

A proposed rules package for fishing tournaments held in Wisconsin has been revised to address concerns raised by members of the Natural Resources Board, including costs, the spread of aquatic invasive species and tournament-related fish mortality.

Last month, board members delayed action on a Department of Natural Resources request to hold a series of public hearings on the rules package after receiving letters from the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and the Wisconsin Association of Lakes raising concerns about the proposed rules.

The letters were written after more than 600 bass were found dead in the La Crosse area after a tournament was held there in July. The DNR was conducting a study of the impacts of tournament fishing at that tournament.

The federation wants to know whether the public supports a statewide moratorium on bass tournaments in July and August or at least in waters where largemouth bass virus has been detected. The association's concerns include fish mortality, the potential spread of aquatic invasive species, the impact of tournaments on small lakes and costs associated with regulating tournaments.

"We decided to put into the rule a ban on live-release tournaments from July
1 to Aug 31," said Patrick Schmalz, regulations coordinator with the DNR in Madison.

"The wildlife federation wanted us to raise the question at the hearings and we decided the best way to do that was to include the ban in the draft. That will stimulate discussion."

Revised rules package

The revised rules package would also require tournament organizers to have a plan, approved by the DNR, to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, such as zebra muscles and Eurasian milfoil.

"If the plan is not approved, they would not be able to conduct the tournament," Schmalz said.

The new rules package would also reduce the amount of tournament fishing activity allowed on small lakes.

"The Wisconsin Lakes Association was specifically concerned about the density of boats on lakes of smaller size," Schmalz said.

On Lakes from 100 to 449 acres, the number of tournament boat days allowed per month - the number of boats in a tournament multiplied by the number of days of the tournament - was reduced from 100 to 50.

On lakes from 450 to 999 acres, the number of boat days was reduced from 450 to 300.

Board members had asked about the costs associated with requiring tournament participants to purchase permits that would allow them to participate in an unlimited number of tournaments for the year.

"The cost would be $1,500," Schmalz said. "That's a one-time programming charge. It's pretty cheap."

Permit process

Some board members had also asked that the DNR consider including local units of government in the tournament permit approval process.

"We didn't believe that was something we could easily do," Schmalz said. "It would be overly cumbersome. We did add language that would require tournament organizers to notify the appropriate local unit of government of the dates and locations of tournaments."

The board is expected to take up the revised rules package this week. If approved, the hearings would be held around the state between Oct. 30 and Nov. 17.

"This is going to be controversial at the hearings," Schmalz said of the rules package. "We did our best to address the concerns."

Mixed results

In a related matter, the DNR has completed three simulated tournaments conducted to test the effects of culling fish, with mixed results.

Culling is when an angler can keep a fish if he releases another one to stay within his daily bag limit. Normally in Wisconsin, an angler must immediately release a fish after it is caught for it not to be counted in his daily bag limit.

For the tests, Schmalz said, anglers caught bass which were kept in live wells in their boats, then transferred to net-pens where they were held for five days.

A test held on Balsam Lake in Polk County in June resulted in an estimated fish mortality rate of 13%, while a test held on Tomahawk Lake in Oneida County this month resulted in no fish mortality.

A third test held on the Madison Chain of Lakes in August was inconclusive because musk rats chewed holes in the nets and most of the fish escaped.