Madison fishing
April 27th, 2006 by Fishing admin
MADISON – State fish and wildlife officials are saying the if the warm weather holds anglers should have good fishing on May 6 — the opening day of Wisconsin’s regular inland fishing season.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says that reports from fish biologists and their fish survey results indicate that fish populations are in good shape statewide. Regional fishing reports can be found in the 2006 Wisconsin Fishing Report, available on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us.
The DNR reports that typically 1.4 million fishing licenses are sold annually in the state.
A recent DNR survey of adult recreational participation (pdf; 185 kb) revealed that 48 percent of Wisconsin adults fished, and that figure climbed to 60 percent for northern Wisconsin residents.
Wisconsin trails only Florida in the number of days non-resident anglers spend fishing here.
Altogether, these anglers fish 22 million days in Wisconsin, generate $1.2 billion in retail sales, a total economic impact of $2.3 billion, and $90 million in tax revenue for state and local governments, according to the American Sportfishing Association.
The game fish season opens May 6 on inland waters for walleye, sauger, and northern pike statewide.
The 2006-07 Guide to Wisconsin Hook and Line Fishing Regulations are available at all license outlets and on the DNR Web site.
The largemouth and smallmouth bass southern zone opens May 6, while the northern zone opens for catch and release only from May 6 through June 16.
From June 17 to March 4, 2007, there’s a minimum length limit of 14 inches with a daily bag limit of five fish in total. The northern zone is the area north of highways 77, 64 and 29.
The musky season opens May 6 in the southern zone and May 27 in the northern zone, with Highway 10 the dividing line.