Wisconsin's new rules to prevent the spread of VHS

[Lee Borgersen]

Wisconsin's new rules to prevent the spread of VHS (viral hemorrhagic septicemia) announced March 26. The rules affect anglers and boaters.

VHS is a disease that has been found in all Great Lakes except Lake Superior and can cause fish die-offs.

Here's are the new rules, according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fact sheet:

--Anglers and boaters may not leave a lake or riverbank or shore with any live fish or live fish eggs, except for minnows purchased from a Wisconsin bait dealer, including fish farms, and transported under the following conditions. Anglers may keep purchased minnows leftover after a fishing trip and use them on the same water; or they may take these leftover purchased minnows home and use them on another lake or river if the minnows were not exposed to any other fish or water from previously fished lakes or rivers.

--Anglers and boaters must drain all water from boats and equipment when leaving any state waters or before entering the state over land. Anglers who are allowed to take live, purchased minnows home under other provisions of this rule may transport the minnows in up to two gallons of water. No other fish may be kept in the same container with the minnows. Containers of drinking water need not be drained.

--Anglers and boaters may use dead fish, fish eggs or fish parts for bait in certain instances. Fresh or frozen fish are OK to use as bait on Lake Michigan or Green Bay and their tributaries upstream to the first barrier impassable to fish or for use on the water from which it was harvested. Fish preserved by a method that does not require refrigeration or freezing is OK to use as bait on any water.

--Anglers and boaters may not use or possess live fish or live fish eggs for use as bait if obtained outside Wisconsin. Exceptions: Bait from Iowa or Minnesota may be used on the Mississippi River "between the tracks," and imported bait may be used it if was imported in compliance with Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection rules.

r Anglers may not use fish as bait for trapping crayfish or turtles unless the fish was harvested from the same water on which the trapping occurs or was purchased from a Wisconsin bait dealer.

--Anglers who harvest wild bait for personal use may not harvest minnows or fish for minnows for any purpose or use or operate any minnow harvesting gear in Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Lake Superior, the Mississippi River, Lake Winnebago, the Fox River from Lake Winnebago to Green Bay, or any bay, slough or backwater of these waters, and all connecting waters upstream to the first barrier impassible to fish, or in any other water where the department has determined that the Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia virus is present. However, suckers from these waters may be harvested but may not be transported away live. A list of VHS waters can be found on the DNR's Web site at http://www.dnr.wi.gov/fish/vhs.

--Anglers who harvest wild bait for personal use, on waters where minnow harvesting is not prohibited, may harvest minnows for bait for their personal use only if they harvest the minnows from the water they will be fishing in. Live minnows harvested cannot be transported away from the water, bank or shore where harvested. Anglers can drain the water from their container carrying wild minnows and take them home for later use as dead bait in compliance with the dead-fish-as-bait rules. Harvest minnows for personal use does not require a bait dealer license or wild bait harvest permit as long as the total is less than 600 minnows.

-- People who live on a lake or are vacationing at a resort may keep live bait in floating or submerged containers tethered to a dock or boat. Any unattended containers holding minnows or fish must be labeled with the owner's name and address.

-- Other rules apply to commercial bait dealers. Go to http://www.dnr.wi.gov.