Just a heads-up, some legislators are proposing to legalize noodling and bowfishing for catfish in Wisconsin. This is being proposed by a guy who lives way up north, and doesn't seem to know anything about catfish.
First, bowfishing and handfishing are two totally different practices, with different consequences, and if they are up for discussion, should be discussed individually, not lumped into the same law.
Second, particularly with bowfishing, the legislation is essentially relegating catfish to rough fish status (as the only fish available to bowfish are rough fish), something many of us lifelong catters have been fighting against.
Catfishing is rising in popularity, precisely because people are learning that they are not rough fish, but a great game fish that is good eating. Why change that?
With noodling, this is introducing something with no cultural history here, that can have damaging effects to the flathead catfish population. Noodling is essentially climbing into a catfish 'nest' and pulling out a huge male while it's guarding eggs. This isn't the best practice for a fish that is growing in popularity.
Basically, if the catfish is a game fish, treat it like one.
I plan on introducing a resolution at the Conservation Congress, you should too.
Terry, welcome to the USCA forum. Your first post is well written and I hope all Wisconsin residents here read it. The rule of thumb seems to be that laws will be approved to appease those making the most noise. Because of that it is very important for residents of Wisconsin to voice their opinions and not just to their friend but to their representatives. Since these types of regulations are not made over night, it is not just one response that is needed but a constant roar over the deliberation time.
Killing a large fish with a bow sounds like a huge waste to most of us but ripping a male catfish out of it's nest where it is protecting it's species is even worse.
i have cought catfish by hand my whole life.we only took what we needed for a cook out and never any over 30 lbs.well not sense we took off the overals and brogan boots.but 6 or 7 years ago out game and fish made it legal to catch em by hand and even tie a big hook on the end of a cane so you could reach way back under the rocks or banks.our rivers filled up with out of staters that would spen a week end fishing a hole of water then move to the next.we use to catch a few flat heads on rod and reel but any more they far and few in between.if you can get enuff folks behind you you really need to stop this bill .
As a licensed fishing guide I would not like to see a bill like that passed. I'd rather watch a 9 year old boy or a 73 year old lady fight a 15 pound catfish on a rod and reel. That's what fishing is all about.
I also became aware of this bill when the representative first came out with it. I wrote him a email along with the governor why I was so against this. I also made posts on Lake Links and Facebook hoping to stop this thing. It would be very sad if this thing goes through. I have not heard the status of this thing. The governor nor the representative ever returned a response to my email.
When we were working on a rule change here in Indiana There was a meeting open to the public where each person attending got a chance to voice their agreement or disagreement with the proposed changes. Those comments were typed up and provided to the council that actually made the decision.
Your process may be the same or may not but it is very important for you to find out what your states process is and get involved. And it takes numbers. The more that attend and voice their concern the better your chance of affecting the outcome. It is also important to do some research as to how it will affect the state. It may reduce the fish population that could affect commercial businesses like guide services and even tax money collected by the state from fishermen. The population of fish in your waters can also affect the State Parks revenue. If your fish are hard to come by, those fishermen will go elsewhere and spend their money. There are many ways to approach this but primary way is to use your voice where it counts.
Looks like it was signed into law on April 16th. Sucks! I have been away from the forum for a while and only got out catfishing a couple times last year. I was totally unaware of this. There are already a number of guys that bow fish carp around my favorite spot and it's going to hurt to watch one of them shoot a big cat right in front of me.
I can't believe that something like this would be allowed in a state that actually does a fairly good job of protecting trophy flatheads.
I swear, catfish get no respect, even in a state where In-Fisherman is heavily involved (you would think that Doug Stange would have stepped up and done something about this).
I'm mad at myself for not being aware and proactive about this. I'm mad at lawmakers for allowing this. I can't use a cast net to catch my bait but I can blast a trophy fish with my bow.
Catfish surely get no respect. There are no limits here. According to reports, there were over 700 flatheads caught hand grabbing on the Ross Barnett Res. here in our state. Of course, if you add nets, limblines and trotlines to the mix with no limits, it takes alot of flatheads out of the water.
Yep, they get taken out by rod n reel as well, but it's probably not even 5 percent of the total take. Hope you folks can keep flatheads as a gamefish, instead of a gross non gamefish as they are here with no limits.
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