The beginning of May signals the start of fishing

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And just like that, April stepped aside letting May bring us the start of the 2024 inland fishing season this Saturday. Far more people fish in Wisconsin than hunt. In 2021 the state sold 1.43 million fishing licenses. Considering that fishers under the age of 16 do not need a fishing license, the number of people that fish may exceed the number of gun deer season hunters by three times.

Opportunity exists throughout Wisconsin with over 260 miles of Mississippi River and another 42,000 miles of fishable inland rivers and streams. The eastern side of the state and much of Wisconsin’s northern region boast more than 1,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline. But the crown jewel of Wisconsin inland fishing season is our more than 15,000 lakes. And we don’t even put that on our license plates.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Kind of like asking a diehard Minnesota quasi-professional football fan directions to their wannabe professional football team’s “Hall of Fame.” I jest, I jest. It’s just too much fun. I don’t really care, but for some reason they do. I thought this appropriate for two reasons. First, I had friends at the draft in Detroit this past weekend, and second, those that care, stay out of the woods on Sundays so the grouse hunting’s better. Most Wisconsinites know that in 1949 Louis Spray caught the current world record musky recognized by the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. The fish weighed 69 pounds, 11 ounces. The IGFA doesn’t recognize that fish as the world record holder since it was shot twice in the head to subdue the fish. A common practice back then and very different to today’s catch and release ethos of musky fisherman.

I’m guessing that not a lot of us know about the 32 pound, nine ounce brown trout caught on five pound test line in 2021 from Lake Michigan. The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame recognized that fish as the current six pound line class world record.

But did you know that the largest fish caught in Wisconsin weighed 170.5 pounds? The fish measured 79 inches long with a girth of 39 inches and was over 100 years old. Not only do sturgeon grow to epic proportions in Wisconsin, but sturgeon thrive in Wisconsin with a vibrant population.

Small mouth bass get the reputation for putting up a fight far greater than their size. Wisconsin holds some of the best small mouth fishing in the country.

Managing all this fishing means a lot of regulations in our modern fishing model. This year alone holds bag and size limit changes for fishing in 25 counties. Hardly a county that I’ll fish this summer doesn’t have changes; Clark county being the only exception. Make sure to do a little reading to brush up on the rules and regulations. Changes like the new statewide bag limit of three walleye/sauger per day.

As of this writing, the 10 day weather forecast predicts rain Wednesday through Monday. The last time weather like this greeted us on opening weekend of fishing season a lot of fishers stayed home. Those that ventured out caught some of their best fish of their season and one I know, her personal best. A little bit of rain gear and warm cabin or house to come back to for a hot cocoa or I prefer a wee dram of the good stuff – but you do you, and life feels good.

Visions of big gamefish dance in our dreams this week. The old angler’s creed of “Early to bed, early to rise, go to the bar and make up lies” sits at the heart of every fishing story. As one buddy puts it, “It’s their story. They should tell it the way they want to, and make the fish as big as they remember it! They’re better stories that way!”

Most importantly, this weekend there will be a young girl sitting in the family boat or a little boy sitting on shore with Grandpa, both kids watching a bobber baited with a bit of worm. The bobber starts to move and bob a bit. Suddenly it disappears below the surface, the fish swallowing the baited hook deep and setting the hook on itself. The young child reels for all their worth and an epic fight lasting a couple minutes with lots of coaching ensues. Up from the depth comes a four inch bluegill. The best pictures of the weekend come from that.

Wishing you all the luck this season. Tight lines everyone.

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