Register April 2024 No. 820
Chapter NR 20
FISHING: INLAND WATERS; OUTLYING WATERS
Subchapter I — Purpose and Definitions
Subchapter II — Prohibited Methods
NR 20.05 General restrictions.
NR 20.06 Hook and line fishing.
NR 20.07 Lake sturgeon carcass tags and registration, hook and line fishing and spearing.
NR 20.08 Restrictions on the use of bait.
NR 20.09 Spearing restrictions.
NR 20.10 Special lake sturgeon spearing restrictions.
NR 20.105 Sturgeon spearing licenses.
NR 20.11 Ice fishing and fishing shelter restrictions.
NR 20.12 Setline and set or bank pole restrictions.
NR 20.13 General netting restrictions.
NR 20.14 Minnow collecting restrictions.
Subchapter III — Authorized Methods, Open Seasons, Daily Bag Limits and Size Restrictions on Specified Waters
NR 20.15 Authorized methods.
NR 20.16 Special early catch and release season for trout.
NR 20.18 Total daily bag limits.
NR 20.19 Possession limits.
NR 20.20 County and statewide table.
Subchapter IV — Department Authority
NR 20.30 Department permitted to take fish.
NR 20.33 Special open and closed seasons.
NR 20.35 Alternate size and bag limits.
NR 20.36 Modifications in daily bag limit and minimum size limit in response to tribal harvest.
NR 20.38 Control of detrimental fish.
NR 20.39 Permits for use of nonstandard minnow gear on inland waters.
NR 20.40 Fishing tournaments.
NR 20.41 Experimental waters.
NR 20.60 Monthly sport trolling fishing reports.
NR 20.65 Report of licensed guides.
Ch. NR 20 Note
Note: Chapter NR 20 as it existed on May 31, 1999, was repealed and a new chapter NR 20 was created effective June 1, 1999. This chapter interprets ss. 29.014 and 29.041, Stats.
NR 20.01
NR 20.01
Purpose. This chapter establishes open and closed seasons, bag limits, possession limits, size restrictions and other rules governing the taking of fish in the inland and outlying waters of Wisconsin.
NR 20.01 History
History: Cr.
Register, May, 1999, No. 521, eff. 6-1-99.
NR 20.03
NR 20.03
Definitions. In this chapter:
NR 20.03(1)
(1) “Angler" means any person engaged in fishing.
NR 20.03(2)
(2) “Artificial fly" means a single hook dressed with fur, feathers, hair, silk, tinsel, thread or similar material to imitate the natural food of fish.
NR 20.03(3)
(3) “Artificial lure" means a spoon, spinner, jig, plug or other fish bait made of hair, feathers, cork, wood, rubber, metal, plastic or other synthetic materials, or combinations of these materials. An “artificial lure" may not include natural or organic foodstuffs such as corn, marshmallows, dough, cheese, meat, living or dead organisms or parts of those items, except hair, feathers, cork, liquid scents, wood or rubber.
NR 20.03(5)
(5) “Barbless hooks" means hooks with no barbs, or hooks with barbs that have been compressed to be in complete contact with the shank of the hook.
NR 20.03(6g)
(6g) “Carp” means common carp (
Cyprinus carpio), grass carp (
Ctenopharyngodon Idella), silver carp (
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (
Aristichthys nobilis), black carp (
Mylopharyngodon piceus), and goldfish (
Carassius auratus).
NR 20.03(6m)
(6m) “Circle hook" means a hook that is curved in a circular or oval shape so that the tip of the point is turned and perpendicular to the shank and is designed so that the tip end of the hook is not offset or angled sideways and is in alignment with the shank.
NR 20.03 Note
Note: The top picture displays a J hook (left) and a circle hook (right). The bottom picture displays a non-offset hook (left) and an offset hook (right).
NR 20.03(8)
(8) “Daily bag limit" means the maximum number of fish that may be reduced to a person's possession from a specified waterbody or portion of a waterbody in one day.
NR 20.03(9)
(9) “Department" means the department of natural resources.
NR 20.03(10)
(10) “Dip net" means a piece of netting suspended from a round or square frame that does not exceed 8 feet in diameter or 8 feet square.
NR 20.03(11)
(11) “Fish length" means the distance from the tip of the snout in a straight line to the utmost end of the tail fin fully compressed.
NR 20.03(12)
(12) “Fishing" or “fish", when used as a verb, means to take, capture, kill or attempt to take, capture or kill any variety of fish in the waters of the state.
NR 20.03(13)
(13) “Fishing shelter" means any building, tent, vehicle, shanty or similar enclosure used for the purpose of fishing.
