Surf Cat

Now it’s up to the anglers who are expected to drop a line in any one of Wisconsin’s more than 15,000 lakes to do it safely.

It’s definitely a sign of the times.

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Preston D. Cole said in an online Zoom press conference with statewide media Friday that safety will be priority No. 1 — but he hopes the chance to venture outside for some recreation will give residents a break from the ongoing safer-at-home orders.

“It is the fisherman’s holiday here in the state of Wisconsin,” he said. “We’re asking folks to stay close to home. We have about 15,000 lakes and 84,000 miles of river and streams, so there has to be a river, stream or lake close to you.

“That’s important because we’re guided by the safer-at-home executive order. We want to remind folks not to travel to the far reaches of states or other states to take up fishing. We want you here in Wisconsin.”

Cole added that, even though people may be tempted to head to their favorite spot at a second home in the northern part of the state, the message from those communities continues to request them to stay home for now.

“They’ve told homeowners and visitors to not come there yet,” Cole said. “Wait until it’s safe. … Take a timeout from traveling to the far reaches of the state of Wisconsin, and let’s be safe. Our mandate (from the DNR) is to do the same thing.”

The difficulties faced by everybody at the moment isn’t lost on Cole, who said he hopes a trip outdoors can help lessen some of the stress people may be feeling.

“Things have changed, and because of that, we believe at the DNR, that getting outside can soften that blow and provide us a little mental relief,” Cole said. “We want folks to be safe, and above all, be safe.”

From a compliance standpoint, DNR Conservation Warden Matt O’Brien asked the public to use patience as they venture out this weekend.

O’Brien said he’s confident most will follow the social distancing guidelines, but with nice weather in the forecast, some delays in getting boats in the water certainly are to be expected.

“We’ve seen fishermen at landings out in the water now for a number of weeks,” he said. “By and large, folks are doing a really good job of being compliant.

“We’re going to need a full-court press this weekend, which means not only our staff and local law enforcement partners, but all of our anglers and sporting groups are going to have to help us get the message out.”

O’Brien said all the typical licensing regulations remain in place. A recent addition in software makes it possible for fishermen to acquire their license either from a mobile phone or a computer, and that information can be accessed by officers with limited to no physical interaction.

“Without planning for COVID-19, we’ve already gotten to this point where we can maintain status quo from a compliance check perspective, while respecting social distancing,” O’Brien said.

Here in Kenosha County, the fishing season begins today for general inland trout, general inland fishing, large and smallmouth bass, muskie, northern pike and walleye.

The trout season here runs until Oct. 15, muskie until Dec. 31, and the others through March 7, 2021. The DNR also has a free fishing weekend planned for June 6 and 7.

Purchasing licenses, or stickers for entry into state parks that just reopened this week, appears to be running at a high volume, Cole said, but the DNR staff has been able to handle the workload.

At one point Friday, wait times were about seven minutes with roughly 30 people waiting on the phone to make their purchase, both manageable numbers, he said.

That being said, it’s expected that all fishermen have the proper licensing in place before they put a line in the water.

“We would be hard pressed for us to waive a fee for someone who said they’ve been on the phone for a certain amount of time,” he said. “There’s no way for us to verify that. We just go by the data we have at our call center.”