Early Season Trout Fishing: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Spot

Trout Anglers Protecting our Streams from Aquatic Invasive Species

Wisconsin’s Early Trout Fishing season starts Saturday, January 7th and runs until midnight on May 5th. Wherever our rivers and streams stay open and the trout run, anglers will be out for the catch and release season in the brisk cold. It’s important to keep in mind that those same waters may also be home to aquatic invasive species (AIS). Something picked up accidently in one stream can easily be transferred to the next you visit if we’re not careful.

New Zealand mudsnails have one of the highest potentials of spread from one water to another. Only 4-6 millimeters in length, they can easily get stuck in mud picked up on boots, waders, and gear. Felt-soled boots are especially able the harbor the snails which can lodge into and under the felt. Even if you don’t step foot into the water, thoroughly clean off your boots because the snails can also live in the mud along shore. Seeds and fragments of invasive plants that can grow throughout winter under the ice are able to spread if we aren’t careful to remove them.

During the winter, cold can be an advantage to anglers since leaving your gear where it can freeze 8 or more hours will kill most AIS, including New Zealand mudsnails. Other methods to kill any hiding in your gear is to steam clean the gear OR soak it in 140° water OR soak in 2% Virkon solution (5.4 tablespoons per gallon) for 20 minutes. Many people will also switch to a completely new set of gear, especially if they have been fishing in a stream known to have the mudsnails.

Following these simple steps before leaving every fishing site can protect our trout fishing legacy:

· Inspect fishing equipment for attached aquatic plant, animals, or mud

· Remove all attached plants or animals

· Drain all water from buckets and containers

· Never move live fish away from a waterbody (fish out of water = dead)