Wisconsin is almost out of the dark ages....
Don’t pop any corks just yet, but it looks like – barring any nuttiness, always a possibility in Wisconsin it seems – Gov. Scott Walker is about to bring his state into the 20th Century of fishing.
Yep, that’s right, graphite rods, trolling motors and braid could soon be allowed in Wisconsin waters.
Okay, not those things, but something even more basic: culling. Word from WI is that the culling law has passed both houses and just awaits the governor’s signature.
If so, great.
Still, as with all things, there remains some opposition. One news report said that “opponents worry it could lead to higher fish mortality.”
“Could?” Gimme a break. So could meteors and water skis.
Tournaments…create conflicts beyond culling. [A] study found 52 percent of anglers not competing in tournaments said the quality of their fishing experience was affected during tournaments. Further, 48 percent said tournaments made access to the water more difficult, 56 percent said tournament boats congested launch ramps, and 34 percent said tournaments made them feel crowded while fishing.
The fact is, tournaments are a small niche in Wisconsin’s overall fishing economy. Certainly, more tournaments would generate more money for bars, motels, restaurants and myriad tourism outlets. But they would exact more costs, too.
Dude, they are a small niche in the economy because of the anit-culling rule! And like it or not, money talks and tourney anglers are spenders.
Next time launch your canoe in a local pond…but whatever you do don’t try to up the fun by betting some cheese curds on the outcome….
Sheesh.
5 Comments
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Dan Brovareny
May 11, 2011 at 3:21 pm
As much as I hate to say it our Launch Ramps are crowded……But that is mostly because the excise taxes that Wisconsin recieves gets dumped into hiking paths and other sillyness.
Maybe that’s the next thing that we should work on……access issues.
Bass Pundit
May 12, 2011 at 4:46 am
“Further, 48 percent said tournaments made access to the water more difficult, 56 percent said tournament boats congested launch ramps, and 34 percent said tournaments made them feel crowded while fishing.”
I find these kind of complaints to be petty. Everyone should have equal access to fishing water including individuals who are organized as a group. Sure it is frustrating if you get to the lake you want to fish and all the parking is taken up but that kind of thing happens at popular lakes or small accesses in the absence of tournaments all the time. Holiday weekends are notorious for creating the same problems.
I can’t speak for other state’s, but I know the state of Minnesota doesn’t do the greatest job of providing information about what lakes have tournaments on what days. There really should be wiki site where that information can be easily entered and searched.
Bassville
May 12, 2011 at 9:11 am
Pun-dent check this MN DNR website
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation/fishing/tournaments/tourneylist.pdf
Bass Pundit
May 13, 2011 at 2:47 am
That PDF is helpful but far from comprehensive.
BryanT
May 12, 2011 at 11:47 am
Access is mainly only an issue in SE WI. You have many lakes less than 1000 acres and millions of boaters. It really does not matter on most lakes if there are tourneys or not. The lots get filled. Since tournaments are an organized group, we of course are easier to blame for the access issues. While in reality access is an issue every Sat and Sun May-Sept.