State Developing Plan for Panfish

The state of Wisconsin is about to have it’s first plan to manage panfish. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has scheduled nearly 30 public hearings around the state in February and March to gather input from anglers.

Panfishing may not get the notoriety of other types of fishing, but it’s very popular and it’s a year-round sport, according to DNR fisheries specialist Joanna Griffin. She says the DNR wants to gather as much information as it can to determine if anglers are happy with panfishing, or if changes need to be made to improve the sport.

“Unlike other species of game fish, there aren’t that many panfish clubs and organizations. We want to get people into the meetings so they can tell us what they think about the panfishing in Wisconsin.”

The current daily bag limit for panfish is 25 per day on most state waters, although the Wisconsin Conservation Congress has asked in recent years to reduce that limit on selected lakes.