The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will host a public meeting to discuss the Door County smallmouth bass fishery from 6-9 pm, Wednesday, October 18th, in the lecture hall at Crossroads at Big Creek, 2041 Michigan St., Sturgeon Bay.
Door County includes Sturgeon Bay which was ranked as the #1 bass fishery in the country by Bassmaster Magazine in 2014 and was the site of the 2015 B.A.S.S. Angler-of-the-Year tournament. This meeting will give bass anglers, both locals and those from other parts of the region who fish the waters of Sturgeon Bay and Door County, an opportunity to learn more about the resource. And it will allow DNR staff to assess the public’s level of satisfaction with the fishery and learn what issues are important to them…including where bass tournaments fit into the management scheme.
Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. Conservation Director said, “In recent years we have been hearing that some Door County residents feel like the attention that the region has received and the resulting increase in numbers of anglers and bass tournaments may be having a negative impact on the quality of the fishing in their home waters. Here’s an opportunity to hear the facts from the biologists who manage this fishery and more importantly, allow the public to talk with agency officials, express their opinions, and be part of the management process.”
Gilliland urged B.A.S.S. members, both tournament anglers and those who do not fish tournaments, to attend the meeting to make sure that all stakeholder groups were represented and have a opportunity to express their views. “We need to speak up when opportunities like this present themselves or the opinions of vocal minorities will be all that DNR hears.”
