Fish Limits with a guide

Looking at all the fishing reports has me researching and unable to find the answer.   When fishing with a guide, do customers get to keep the guide‘s limit as well?  As if the guide may donate their portion of the total boat possession to the customer?

I'm sure the meat hoarders and haters-of-change will be throwing all kinds of accusations around now. FYI the ideas I presented were at the suggestion of another DNR fisheries staff as the best course of action to make change. However that's not to suggest that creel surveys or data collection are a bad idea at all.

Also, thanks for posting Dave M., although I'm not sure what your post means, could you explain it a little bit more?  

I see the social justice argument has now morphed over to fish limits and creating a more equitable harvest. In reality a large segment of the angling population can't manage to catch a legal walleye let alone a limit on a good day. Reducing the harvest of a specific group of anglers won't make a poor angler any better. 

Numbers don't lie (people might). Daily/weekly/monthly creel reports will show the actual harvest and can be measured against assumed rates. You can use that to address options for change. It's a much easier sell to the public and legislators if you quantify the impact. 

It's easy to say it's hurting the fishery, numbers would prove it. 

sure you can but try to do it.

Not mine, The people of Wisconsin. They asked for this and approved it at the 2021 Spring Conservation Congress Hearing by over a 2:1 margin. Resolution # 070220.

Well I don't want to step all over your Crusade to make fishing equitable or whatever

... so carry on

Regulations governing fishing have at least as much of a social component as biological.  Without that social component we could allow one commercial fisherman to take the entire harvestable population in one or two days. It'd make no biological difference if it was done that way, or by 100's of recreational fishermen over an entire fishing season. (I was told this by a DNR fisheries biologist BTW)

I think what we're asking for here is a social change that would allow for a more equitable harvest spread out over a larger group and create more fishing opportunities for more people. We're also seeing more and more people question the ethics of taking home two limits of fish per day, one being from a person you paid to take you fishing. The ethics of meat-hording in your freezer and overall conservation of fisheries are also being questioned here.

Other states have realized this and taken action to eliminate it. Time for Wisconsin to make some changes! It'd be great if someone, or some group, could make an organized effort to make this happen (Walleye's for Tomorrow?) I'd sure help write letters or anything else to make this work. I just have no experience or knowledge on how to make something like this happen.

I don't know how many guides are gifting fish ( every day ?? ) , does anyone else know?

how can it be an issue if you cannot quantify it?

I would bet that local wardens know the guides in their regions ( at least the successful ones )  

... I would also bet that IF they thought gifting was hurting the resource, they would probably contact their local guides first to see if it was the gifting hurting the resource....

.... or violators ( which is a way bigger problem than this subject )... of course that's my opinion, but have read about violators caught by the DNR  

.....there's almost professional violators that end up selling their fish to unscrupulous fish wholesalers and markets ... talking 100's and 100's of fish on a regular basis

I mostly agree, Badger. Freezers for too many are nothing more than prolonged wasting machines. People can somehow justify throwing out those two year old fillets to make room for more. 

There is no more damnable sin in the outdoors than wanton waste. 

I would love possession limit in WI to be the same as daily bag.  Would limit meat hogs greatly and end the gifting fish issue.  If people like eating fish so much they can just eat them as they catch them to avoid the issue.  I've seen too many freezers with 2 year old freezer burnt fillets anyway.  Throwing fillets away of a fish that could still be alive is quite disgusting to be honest.  

It's perfectly legal to give away your total daily bag each day and retain zero in your possession provided you accept no form of compensation in return. You can argue the ethics of it all day long but it is perfectly legal. 

Can I keep my limit of 5 walleye every day and give them away to friends each day?

nihsif said:  "this was brought up earlier by Fish Hound.. about how Charter fishermen on lake Michigan have to fill out daily surveys...I totally agree that would be good information for OUR DNR..    ...comments like the DNR doesn't care are not helpful, and frankly are offensive"

I apologize for offending you nihsif. I'd like to be more helpful. Can you give some ideas of how I can assist you in stopping guides from gifting fish to clients?

"I'd also like to see mandatory creel surveys for guides to see the true impact on the resource. It's minimal effort to record size and qty of fish kept per outing per person. That data would help the DNR to better manage limits and slots. You could even go so far as to have them fill out a form like some states do for game (Alaska's Transfer of Possession Form for example). "

..agree, this was brought up earlier by Fish Hound.. about how Charter fishermen on lake Michigan have to fill out daily surveys...I totally agree that would be good information for OUR DNR...

...comments like the DNR doesn't care are not helpful, and frankly are offensive

It was intended as a reference for how they handle gifting of fish in general, not same day by a guide. The point is that other states have a method to handle and track the gifting of fish and game that could easily be adopted by WI.