Fishing is allowed year-round in Wisconsin, but the regulations on what you can catch and how much varies by season.
Fishing regulations are used to control angler impacts on fish populations, maintain numbers and sizes of fish in a lake or stream, provide different types of fishing experiences and make access to fishing as fair as possible, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
With summer upon us, it’s important for Appleton-area anglers to know the current regulations in place, like the daily bag limit, which is the maximum number of fish that anglers may keep in their possession.
These are fishing regulations for the Appleton area’s most popular bodies of water.
Lake Winnebago
The bag limit for Lake Winnebago applies to fish caught in all lakes in the Winnebago chain, including the Fox River, Lake Butte Des Morts, Cincoe Lake, Lake Poygan, Lake Winneconne, Partridge Crop Lake and Partridge Lake.
The fishing season for these lakes is open year-round for all species, excluding muskellunge, northern pike, flathead catfish and lake sturgeon.
Anglers are allowed to catch and release largemouth and smallmouth bass year-round, unless otherwise stated. Motor trolling is allowed with a maximum of three hooks, baits or lures per angler.
Specific fish regulations include:
Little Lake Butte Des Morts
Hook and line fishing is open year-round for all species except muskellunge, lake sturgeon, trout, paddlefish and threatened or endangered species.
Motor trolling is allowed with up to three hooks, baits or lures per angler.
Specific fish regulations include:
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources also has a guide for how much fish can be eaten from Wisconsin waters, with consumption advisory areas based on site-specific PFOS, PCBs, and mercury data. The guide breaks down how much an age group may consume of specific fish species and can be narrowed down to counties.
For more information on Wisconsin fishing regulations, visit dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/fishing/regulations.
Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-453-5107 or jburns1@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Here’s which, and how many, fish Appleton-area anglers can keep
Reporting by Jelissa Burns, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jelissa Burns, Appleton Post-Crescent | USA TODAY Network
