Milwaukee Piscator's Rag

Monday, March 12, 2012

Fisheries Events

Regulations

February 15 to November 5- Fish stocking and regulation information for southeastern region available on 24-hour Urban Waters Fishing Hotline

March 10 to April 27- Special season for juveniles 15 years of age and younger and certain disabled anglers on urban waters

March 12- All ice fishing shelters must be removed from Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Lake Superior and inland waters north of Highway 64 by the first Sunday following March 12

March 15- All ice fishing shelters must be removed from inland lakes north of Highway 64, Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Lake Superior, and Wisconsin-Michigan boundary waters

March 15- Yellow perch season closes on Green Bay and its tributary streams and the Fox River from the mouth up to the De Pere Dam

Meetings

March 12- Presentation "Early Walleye Fishing Rivers and Lakes" by Jason Schenker at the Wisconsin Fishing Club meeting at Big Dog Pub & Grill at 7 p.m. Contact Cliff Schulz at (414) 453-0013 for more information.

March 13 - A public information meeting for the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads for the Kinnickinnic, Menomonee, and Milwaukee river watersheds and the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary will be held from 6-8 p.m. in the Firefly Room at the Wauwatosa Public Library

March 14- Presentation "Fishing New Waters for Muskies" by Tom Rozek at the Muskellunge Club of Wisconsin meeting at Thunder Bay Grille at 7:30 p.m. (optional dinner starts at 6) http://www.muskiewi.org/

March 14- Presentation "The shallow water connection to big walleyes and giant crappies" by Tom Neustrom at the Walleyes Unlimited meeting at Root River Lanes at 7 p.m. www.walleyesunlimitedusa.org/

March 15- Registration deadline for Basic Angler Education Instructor Workshop in Madison http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/kidsparents/anglereducation/workshopschedule.html

March 17- Basic Angler Education Instructor Workshop

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Menomonee Public Library with instructor Dennis Vanden Bloomen, UW-Stout http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/kidsparents/anglereducation/workshopschedule.html

Fishing

March 18- Midwest Winter Carp League Session #5 Group C in Milwaukee http://www.wintercarpleague.com/

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Lake Michigan Fishing Forecast

In Milwaukee, over the past week, there has been exceptional action from boats and the shore. In Port Washington, there has been decent action at the power plant and some action from the pier. Sauk Creek is running high, fast and dirty. In Sheboygan, there has been light effort throughout the area but a little action from the south pier.

Reports based on personal observations and angler reports from the past four years. Please comment or share information.

Fisheries News

Local
Ice fishing event builds bonds between students and teachers

Regional
Sturgeon spearing season closes with 36 trophy fish harvested

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to sample Green Bay for Asian carp

Great Lakes environmental programs slashed in President Obama's proposed budget

National
Sportsmen and conservation groups support drat Clean Water Act guidance

The New York Times covers the Winnebago sturgeon season

International
Scientists propose mobile marine reserves

Sea Shepherds escape Japanese pursuit in New Zealand waters

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Science: Fishing success not dependent on skill level

Catch inequality is a term that describes the phenomenon of a small number of anglers catching a disproportionately large number of fish. It happens commonly in recreational fisheries but it has never been the subject of a long-term study, and not much is known about how and why it changes over time. There have been studies that suggest catch inequality is related to catch per unit effort (CPUE). Generally, there is low catch inequality when CPUE is high and high catch inequality when CPUE is low. Catch inequality, therefore, reduces the usefulness of using CPUE as an indicator of fishing success and could reduce the effectiveness of management decisions. Seekell et al. (2011) tested the hypothesis that catch inequality increases as CPUE decreases because of resource scarcity.