Adventures Outdoors

Adventures Outdoors'

IN WISCONSIN

Fishing

Season Dates

For boundary and outlying waters and size restrictions as well as all regulations consult Wisconsin DNR

Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass

Northern Zone - catch and release	First Saturday in May through the Friday preceding the third Saturday in June
Northern Zone - harvest	Third Saturday in June through the first Sunday in March of the following year
Southern Zone - harvest	First Saturday in May through the first Sunday in March of the following year

White Bass, Yellow Bass, Rock Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Cisco, Lake Herring, Whitefish, Crappie, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed, Sunfish and Warmouth.

General Inland Waters

Continuous

Gobies, White Perch and Ruffe

General Inland Waters

Closed all year, one of each may be killed and possessed for transport to a Wisconsin DNR office

Lake Sturgeon

Lake Winnebago system waters	Closed all year to hook and line.
Spearing on Lakes Poygan, Winnecone & Butte des Morts	Second Saturday in February for 16 consecutive days unless harvest cap is triggered (participation dependent on random drawing for license purchase)
Spearing on Lake Winnebago	Second Saturday in February for 16 consecutive days unless harvest cap is triggered
Chippewa River: West Fork downstream from Moose Lake Dam (Sawyer Co.) and East Fork (Ashland Co.) downstream to the confluence of the Mississippi River (Pepin Co.) including sloughs, bayous, and flowages. Flambeau River: N Fork from Turtle-Flambeau Dam (Iron Co.) and S Fork (Price Co.) downstream to the confluence with the Chippewa River (Rusk Co.) including sloughs, bayous, and flowages. Butternut Lake (Price Co.) Jump River from the North and South Forks to the confluence with the Chippewa River (Rusk Co.); Yellow Lake, Little Yellow Lake, Danbury Flowage, Yellow River from Yellow Lake downstream to the Danbury Dam (Burnett Co.) Wisconsin River downstream from the Wisconsin Dells Dam	First Saturday in September to September 30th

Shovelnose Sturgeon

General Inland Waters	Closed all year - no fishing for shovelnose sturgeon
Wisconsin River downstream from Prairie du Sac dam	Open all year

Muskellunge (includes hybrids)

Northern Zone - inland waters north of U.S. Hwy 10 (excluding Wisconsin - Michigan boundary waters)	Saturday nearest Memorial Day to November 30
Southern Zone - inland waters south of U.S. Hwy 10	First Saturday in May to November 30

Northern Pike

General Inland Waters

First Saturday in May to the first Sunday in March of the following year

Trout and Salmon

Early inland trout waters Catch and Release	5 am on first Saturday in March to Sunday preceding the first Saturday in May
General Inland Trout Season	First Saturday in May at 5:00 AM to September 30

Rough Fish and Bullheads

General Inland Waters	Continuous
Trout Streams - artificial lures with barbless hooks, only	5 AM on first Saturday in March to Sunday preceding the first Saturday in May
Trout Streams	First Saturday in May at 5 AM to September 30 (closed from the Monday preceding the first Saturday in May to first Friday in May)

Walleye

General Inland Waters	First Saturday in May to the first Sunday in March of the following year
Fox River downstream from DePere	Continuous

Catch & Release

By Ralph Spoerl

You know, nearly every time I stick my hand in the Tackle Box, I either get poked by a sharp hook or stabbed by something else pointy. I’m sure you’ve all been there. Today, trying to be more careful, I reached in again and this time found a safer object-- no sharp corners or points. I found my jar of "Catch and Release" formula. We all know about it (or we should), but do we use it? Some thirty plus years ago, when I started fishing, it wasn’t even available. However, when I got into Catch and Release Tournament Bass Fishing about 10 or 12 years ago, it seemed that everyone was using it. In my opinion, it was a no-brainer. The stuff only cost a couple of bucks and hey, that’s cheaper that most lures I own. After all, weren’t bass fisherman the original "catch and release" guys? "READ MORE"

Cory & Laker

Fishing Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan

By Rick Spoerl

I never want to here a fisherman tell me there’s no place for him to fish in Wisconsin. You could never in a lifetime fish all of Wisconsin’s some 15,000 lakes. But what about the big lake? The amount of species of fish as well as different types of fishing opportunities on Lake Michigan can be overwhelming. From the smallmouth bass up in Door County to the spring Coho salmon run along the Wisconsin, Illinois border and every county in between is host to unbelievable fishing. "READ MORE"

Hunting Bluegills in the Shallows

By Rick Spoerl

Normally I always carry a rod and reel with me in my truck in case I see a fishy spot in my travels. When it starts to warm up a bit after a long winter in Wisconsin I’ll occasionally cast into one of our dog training ponds at our club to see if the pan fish are biting. More times then not I’ll catch a few. But late spring every year always seems to be the best for me. This is also true on bigger lakes and rivers. The fish are shallow and hungry. "READ MORE"

Live Bait for Mr. Red Eyes

By Rick Spoerl

The first Smallie I brought in the boat was a respectable fish at about sixteen inches. The thing that surprised me was the fight this fish put up. Everyone that’s chased the smallmouth bass knows that for a fresh water species this fish is second to none in the pound for pound fight factor. I caught this fish on a crayfish colored rattle trap while Largemouth Bass fishing.

"READ MORE"

Musky’s in Minocqua

By Rick Spoerl

My Son Sean and I had it all planned out. We had a musky fishing spot picked out of our hot spots book on Lake Minocqua in Vilas county Wisconsin. It was an underwater island near the end of the lake with walleye potential also.

The sun was just rising as we left the pier at the point resort in Minocqua. We motored to our spot and noticed three boats fishing around the underwater island. We motored over to a nearby bay to wait out the walleye anglers. I dropped the troll motor and decided to pound the shoreline for bass. "READ MORE"

On Vacation, From Wisconsin

By Rick Spoerl

Occasionally we Wisconsinites do vacation out of state. Some of us break out the credit card and do a family outing to Disney or just the beach in Florida. Whose to say we can’t combine a little deep sea fishing with our fun park vacationing.

For those of us that have done it, one of the most exciting things is the fact that you never know what’s on the other end of your line until you real it in. There are countless ways to fish the ocean from fishing bridges, parks, and piers to going on a bottom fishing deep sea boat, chartering your own boat and captain for the day or renting a boat and giving it a go on your own. I have done them all, and they all have their own allure. "READ MORE"

Jillian Spoerl

Poppers and Flies for Big Bluegills

By Rick Spoerl

My reflexes were a little to fast this time as the white popper floated back to the surface. It was sucked under by an undersized pan fish. My Son Sean said "Dad I got another one", as he reeled in a big eight inch bluegill. "Ok, lets pack it in, the misquotes are getting bad". We had a dozen nice bluegills for dinner and released another fifty plus to spawn. We had caught them all on top water baits. My fifteen year old son Sean was using his own flies he had tied himself and I was using poppers. It was the end of May in Wisconsin and the bluegill bite was on.

"READ MORE"

"THE TACKLE BOX"

Click above for a look at articles relating to tackle, tournaments and other fishing tips.

Easy Wild Fried Fish Marinade

By Rick Spoerl

Ingredients –

3 to 6 large fillets (mackerel, dolphin fish, etc.) or 6 to 12 medium to large fillets (walleye, bass, northern, etc) or 12 to 20 small fillets (bluegill, perch, crappie ect)

1 large jar lemon juice (approximately 1 quart)

1 quart buttermilk

1 box corn flakes

Mix lemon juice and buttermilk together in equal amounts, so that it will cover all fillets well.

Soak fish fillets in marinade overnight.

Crush handfuls of cornflakes onto plate.

Roll fish onto plate to cover fish in flakes.

Fry fish in skillet until tender.

I was given this recipe from a passer by on the Cocoa beach pier in Florida while I was cleaning a 30 pound King Mackerel I just caught. She said it would make the fish taste as good as a dolphin fish. Since then I have tried it on nearly everything I have caught id have found it delicious with any fish. It’s easy and tasty. If you don’t have corn flakes you can even use plain flour. If you have problems getting the breading to stick, dip the fillets in egg before you bread them.

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