The Milwaukee Post

At 7 p.m. Monday, the annual Spring Hearing will take place at West Allis Central, 8516 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis, as well as at a site in each of the state's 71 other counties. In neighboring Waukesha County, it will be at a new location, the Waukesha West High School auditorium, 3301 Saylesville Road, Town of Waukesha. Interested peo- ple can provide input by voting on various rule changes that could affect the way we fish, hunt, and trap in the state. In addi- tion, people can vote on open seats in the Conservation Congress. Below are a few of the hotter questions for 2018. ■ Question one asks to establish a statewide, continuous open season for bass fishing but only allows harvest during the current traditional season. This is interest- ing because bass anglers have been asking for it for years but nothing has transpired. While some people felt the closed season was needed to protect bass during their spawning season, that is not the case because bass generally spawn from May through June, when the current season is currently open. In addition, many rivers, their impoundments, as well as Lake Winnebago, currently have year-round bass fishing without any adverse effects. I'd say let it open up so long as it's catch and release anyway during the offseason. ■ Question two, which involves alter- nate size and bag limits for permitted, catch-and-release bass fishing tour na- ments, is a little dicey. It asks if certain bodies of water that have 18-inch size limit should allow tournament anglers to have catch-and-release-only events on said bod- ies of water, but with a 14-inch size limit. I wouldn't have a problem with this change as long as the events were held early in the year when the water is cool, and bass have a greater chance of not being affected by delayed mortality. I would be surprised if it passed simply because traditionally Wisconsin people tend to vote no on questions that do not serve their own best interest. Tournament anglers, and I myself have been one, are the minority in the state. People will prob- ably vote against this change even though tournaments bring millions of dollars in to the state. While there aren't any questions this year specific to Milwaukee County, there is one for Lake Koshkonong and the Rock River, which are the closest bodies of water that offer consistent walleye angling. ■ Question six asks if anglers favor increasing the minimum length limit for walleye, sauger and their hybrids from 15 inches to 18 inches and reducing the daily bag limit from five to three and maintain- ing the year-round open season on Lake Koshkonong and the Rock River from the Indianford Dam to the Jefferson Dam. Question seven asks if anglers if they'd favor a season closure during the standard gamefish closure for all gamefish on Lake Koshkonong and the Rock River from the Indianford Dam to the Jefferson Dam, but maintaining the five fish bag and 15-inch size limit for walleye, sauger and their hybrids. These bodies of water receive a tremen- dous amount of pressure and the DNR is looking for input. Once again: Are anglers more concerned about extra fillets or bet- ter overall fishing? There's bound to be compelling reasoning for both cases that night. ■ About 90 miles to the north of Milwaukee is Winnebago, and question eight asks if anglers would like to reduce the daily bag limit from five walleye to three. While most people know that Winnebago is a walleye factory, people are worried that if we don't ease up on the har- vest now, the system could suffer later. This one ought to get a little hot because a lot of people around southeaster n Wisconsin love their trip or two to 'bago each year to get some walleye fillets. I'd give that one a 50-50 chance of pass- ing. ■ On to deer for question 10 that would require that deer harvested in a CWD- affected county (like Waukesha) must only be transported within that county or an adjacent CWD-affected county, unless taken to a licensed taxidermist or meat processor within 72 hours. This could be somewhat of a hassle and would require hunters to pay very close attention to not just the county they are hunting but those around them. Still, if hunters feel com- pelled that this restriction would help slow down the spread of CWD, I could see it passing. The real questions is: Do hunters buy into the DNR's claims about how CWD is spread and would this restriction do any- thing? ■ Questions 16 asks if we'd support a $5 annual fee for all users between the ages of 16 and 64 of state fishery, wildlife, natural areas and leased public hunting grounds and dedicating that money to directly sup- port fish and wildlife habitat management and infrastructure on those properties. Hmmmm, seems like a pretty cheap date, that I would gladly pay. ■ While the crossbow debate has died off somewhat, question 18 asks if we'd sup- port the DNR adjusting the length of the crossbow season, for those that are not dis- abled or elderly, to better reflect harvest success. My guess is that enough people have paid their $1,000 for a crossbow that the crossbow hunters will have the majori- ty vote in nixing this question. (Dan Durbin writes an outdoors column for the Post. Call Durbin at 644-7940, or email him at ddurbin@bastdurbin.com if you have a story idea.) Bass, CWD deer changes possible at hearing DAN DURBIN To take place at West Allis Central, 71 more locations statewide Monday OUTDOORS 10 • Milwaukee County Post • April 6, 2018 HOW TO SUBMIT A 259582041 The Milwaukee County Post will publish the wedding, anniversary and engagement announcements of people who have some connection with Milwaukee County. FORMS: Announcement forms will be available at the Milwaukee County Post, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee,WI 53207. Call 414-744-6370 ext 10. COST: The cost of publishing an announcement is $25 per mod, (size 2.58" by 2.55" is one mod) Build your ad by mod size, payable by cash, check (payable to Milwaukee County Post) or credit card. Payment is required before publication. DATE OF PUBLICATION: Although the Milwaukee County Post tries to run all announcements in as timely a manner as possible, spatial constraints occasionally prevent the publication of every announcement received in a certain week. To ensure your announcement runs on a specific date, please submit it at least two weeks beforehand. SUBMITTED PHOTOS: Please provide a photo with your announcements. Black and white pictures are preferred, but color pictures are acceptable. If desired, photos can be emailed if they are saved in a .jpg format. Do not submit computer printouts of photos, as they do not reproduce clearly. RETURNING PHOTOS: Photos can be picked up at the Milwaukee County Post office after publication. Photos will be returned by mail only if a self- addressed, stamped envelope is provided with the announcement. Please allow four weeks for photos to be returned by mail.The Milwaukee County Post is not responsible for pictures left with wedding, anniversary and engagement announcements. CONTACT INFORMATION: For further information call 414-744-6370 ext. 10 or 262-513-2626 or email dmuck@conleynet.com. 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