Was he good looking?

Ok, great body! Yum

The stall tactics are working... I can’t even stay focused on my own thread. Omg

Thanks for all the efforts gentleman... I'm not a big fan of people that sit back and complain, when you haven't participated in trying to change the outcome.
Your involvement is appreciated!

So is the general consensus 2 zones, with Hwy 64 as a boundary? Same as everything else.

Or do you think we really need 3 zones as in the past?

The general consensus is . . . there is no general consensus.

This horse was beat to death last year. I can still hear the final wails from the poor beast.

The northern guys want an early opener to at least get some open water trapping before ice up, but don't want the southern guys invading "their turf." So they want the statewide opener.

The southern guys want a later opener so 'rats can grow a bit bigger and be a bit more prime before legal harvest.

There are those who say trap when you want and open the state up early, but obviously don't trap large public marshes.

We wouldn't be in this mess if a couple of influential individuals hadn't diddled with the season dates for one reason only: greed.

The founders of the WTA worked hard to secure staggered season openers to coincide with muskrat fur primeness.

Now we play politics.

The one area were most agreed was the end. I think we can go in united on extending the season. If and when legislators ask about the start, we stay we are focused on the end because that is where we could find strong consensus. We are frustrated that it continues to get lost (and even made worse) as folks bicker about the start.

But if they want to know our thoughts on season start, we lay it out very similar to what you outlined Muskrat, minus the tone. Look, if we are together at the capital, we will have each side represented. If they want to give weight to all thoughts, we propose something like MN and their two zones that may or may not start on the same weekend. If they want simplification, then we say go with a common opener across the board. If they want to give more weight to the resource, then they go with three zones. If they are willing to keep us in the loop, and bounce their ideas off us as a group, then we will defend that decision coming out as a group.

Lastly, we notify the WTA, Conservation Congress, and the FB page Wisconsin Trappers of our intentions, and encourage them to participate in this discussion.

Here ya go. Simplification at its best for those who struggle interpreting calendars. Everything opens October 1, everything closes April 30. Statewide.

Have at it.

Sorry for the tone. What happened to the science and managing of wildlife.

Greed? How many guys will travel from Dane county to Vilas county to trap rats?

1 zone that keeps every one on the same page no zone jumping that should keep every one happy.
Fur primness? Do you really think 1 week will make that much difference In fur primness. It might have some effect if you were talking a Sept opening but starting In late Oct I can't see It.

1 zone with a Oct opening and a March 31 closing. And while were at It make It a Oct opening for all species.

Muskrat, you can't always take it to the extreme. Simplification can and is a good thing many times. Many times it makes it easier to prove your point.

Our focus on extending muskrat season with beaver will start to reinforce the need for at least two zones start without ever taking a stance on the start. We get to hammer the differences across the zone and when questioned why such a big difference between the two, we note the strong differences from the top of the zone to the bottom. I doubt we can get them to go to the three zones, but they will be much more likely to go with the two zone start.

We could do like SD did a few years ago to stop out of state trappers coming early. Set the season from December 15 till April 1st. That eliminates all most all the open water concerns and we can go anywhere we want when we want and most rats will be better. If we can't agree when to start and who should be where and when maybe we should just make it so all have the same deal. The north would lose out again if the ice gets thick and 3 foot of snow but maybe it is better than sniping over earlier rats and who is catching them.

Bryce

You have to be kidding right. No one In there right mind Is going to come to WI from out of state to trap rats.

I would tomorrow.

. Don’t you need to fix that NR problem on your side of the river first? Then you can do battle with Chris on his turf.

I did when they were 10 dollar rats. It was greed that made me do it.

Then you should have gone to ND where they have some rats. Even at $4.00 averages you couldn't make any money state hopping. But a $6.00 you could.

Even If you could you would be to late. LOL

Could we try this?

com·pro·mise
/ˈkämprəˌmīz/Submit
Learn to pronounce
noun
1.
an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.
"an ability to listen to two sides in a dispute, and devise a compromise acceptable to both"
synonyms: agreement, understanding, settlement, terms, accommodation; More
verb
1.
settle a dispute by mutual concession.
"in the end we compromised and deferred the issue"
synonyms: meet each other halfway, find the middle ground, come to terms, come to an understanding, make a deal, make concessions, find a happy medium, strike a balance; More
2.
accept standards that are lower than is desirable.

So far you have just been sitting on your hands and haven't come up with what you would support. Get off the fence. LOL

I’d start with combining all water animals.
2 zones hwy 64
Close March 31.& April 15
Open don’t care.