WI Regulations

A place to put all of your thoughts on our Trapping regulations.

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Chris

I don't need a vacation from here.

scared?

As to otters. If we didn't have a stupid lottery system on otters there wouldn't be hundreds of incidental otter setting In DNR freezers. Instead they would be In the trappers freezer.
Some of those otter have been there for years and getting freezer burned as I type. This Is a huge waste of a resource.

For years I asked for salvage tags so if a trapper did get a incidental otter he could legally haul It out to the truck. But that didn't fly. So lots of those otter ended up floating down the river or getting pitched In the brush. They tell you can call It In then It's legal but In most cases you may not have cell service or believe It or not, not everyone has a cell phone In their pocket.

Bobcats are way to plentiful as well. I have nine years in and no tag, there are places I don't even set up because of it!

beaver dam

Do the work on line, pay the fees on line then print out your license on a piece of paper that won’t last 5 minutes in the rain. LOL

Have you brought this up at a spring meeting?

As of this coming trapping season I'm told that if you want a otter tag there Is no waiting period. You just apply for them and It's a done deal. So It looks like the otter thing has been resolved.

Know we just have to get rid of all the otters we know have on hand. But I believe that's being addressed. Back when NAFA was around The state had the skins auctioned off and the proceeds were used for trapper ed. NAFA didn't charge us any commission. It's probably why they went under. LOL

On our own property we should be able to nuisance trap coyotes with CR's after Feb 15th.

Allow trappers to cross RR tracks.

Railroad tracks is not a game rule. It's dealt with by the sheriff.

You must be in the northern part of the state and want the late season. If you can live with a southern tag or a northern early season, it takes 4 years or less. With the potential to extend the later season(question on the spring questionnaire), there is a possibility that draw time could increase down the road. https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/trap/draw.html

You should be able to use CRs from the start of the coyote season. If I was a dog hunter I would much rather have my bird dog caught In CR then MB650. Or at least let us use them on private ground.
This has already been addressed but for some reason It's not gone anywhere.

I'd like to see the rules written so a 12 year old can understand them. I shouldn't need a team of lawyers to figure out what fish I can keep or which tag I need to use.

Being the state is going away from pelt tags to harvest authorizations for fisher and otter, I am not sure the interest in having salvage tags. If you trap, work out a deal with your local warden. All I need to do is send my warden a text and he will text back when he can swing by to pick it up. The days of folks getting questioned about incidents should be over.

The fur harvest committee past a question to be on the spring questionnaire this year....
https://p.widencdn.net/d0xgfq/2020-01-4D-Congress-Matters-2020-spring-hearing-advisory-questions

[quote=The Beav]As of this coming trapping season I'm told that if you want a otter tag there Is no waiting period. You just apply for them and It's a done deal. So It looks like the otter thing has been resolved.

This is how it was this last year. A bunch of folks even received two tags because the quota allowed it. LOL

All I know is my buddy moved to WI for a short stint after retirement (from MN). He was going to trap as he always does. Until he read the laws and dealt with other trappers and landowners. He said "what a screwed up state" and moved.

I would like a list of things he didn't like. If I agree, I'll bring it to the spring meeting. It's the only way to try and make change.

Don't let the door hit ya, where the good Lord split ya!

It’s no secret many MN folks don’t like dealing with “other trappers”

In his defense our former czar did manage to screw things up. He erred believing trappers were more effective then they really are.

Northern early bobcat also takes 9 years, not 4 as stated previous

Good point Sprung & Rusty.

I am curios where you got your information from Hodag Catcher? Not saying your wrong, just trying to figure out if I need to send the state another email to fix something on their website. The otter one is wrong as everyone drew at least one tag that put in for a permit. I have the document from 2018 that shows the draw was 6 years for that tag and it should have decreased from there.


https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/trap/draw.html

The link above shows that the state gave out 685 permits for the northern early season for bobcat. Only 1791 applied so the minimum of four preference points listed sounds right.

Deer hunting will shine again some day again in Wisconsin.

On using CR's at the start of canine season, here is the question WIMarshRAT was referring to that should be on the 2020 Spring Hearings list.
Dave

22. Change the starting date for the use of cable restraints (550219, 610219)Currently, fox, coyote, and bobcat trapping seasons open on the third Saturday in October. However, trappers cannot begin using cable restraints in trapping these species until December 1. Cable restraints have been legal in Wisconsin for many years, but when they were first implemented, a later date was set for their use to reduce incidental capture of non- target animals until the effects could be more clearly understood. They have been tested for best management practices and found to be humane, and especially beneficial when non-target animals are caught. They are normally released without injury, or ill effect. Some trappers would like to be able to use cable restraints from the first day of the season.

Do you support a change which would allow the use of cable restraints in trapping fox, coyote, and bobcats beginning on the first day of the season for those species?

No, I don’t! Let the vast majority of deer hunters get out of the woods before cables get deployed!