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Bass Tournament Pilot Program
As part of Wisconsin Act 249 [April 2004, PDF 14KB], the Wisconsin Legislature required the DNR to establish a bass fishing tournament pilot program under which the department would issue 4 permits per year authorizing participants to fish "cull" bass, as long as each boat used by participants in a pilot program tournament is equipped with a live well that meets standards set by the department by rule.
Culling is a practice that occurs in bass fishing tournaments in several states where anglers continue to fish after reaching their daily bag limit and replace fish in their live well with larger fish until the end of the fishing day when the angler brings their catch to the weigh-in. Culling is currently prohibited for all anglers, including tournament anglers, in Wisconsin. Wisconsin fishing regulations state that any fish taken into an angler's possession and not immediately released must be considered part of that angler's daily bag limit.
Pilot Program Evaluation - Final Results
Biological Impacts
Economic Impacts
- 2005 ESPN/BASS Elite 50, Lake Wissota Report [PDF 1.1MB]
- Tournament Angling in Wisconsin: Estimating Economic Impacts [PDF 819KB]
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