As I write this article today, I’m looking out at Lake Michigan from our cottage in Sturgeon Bay.  It’s foggy with wind and waves.  As I’ve talked about before, even if the water is calm the wind can shift quickly on Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  So, no matter the conditions “wear” your PFD (lifejacket)!  

Three years ago, I wrote a Q & A article “The Impact of Fishing for Nesting Smallmouth Bass” with David Philip, PhD, Chair of the Board, Fisheries Conservation Foundation and Emeritus Professor, University of Illinois.  He is the leading researcher on smallmouth bass in North America. That 3,000-word article can be summed up in one sentence. Don’t fish for smallmouth bass while they are guarding nests during the spawning period.  As soon as a male smallmouth bass is taken off a nest, even if it is quickly released, that nest is 50 – 100% lost as within seconds round gobies, which populate our waters, will be in the nest eating eggs and later in the cycle, the fry. Also, some of the released males will simply abandon the nest and being harvested or put in a livewell for a tournament weigh-in miles away eliminates that nest. 

Right now, from Little Sturgeon Bay to the tip of Door County on both the lake and Green Bay the spawn is happening. I was out yesterday north on a weekday and still saw several boats trying to catch smallies off nests.  And, on the weekends it’s nest fishing on steroids.  Our once top smallmouth bass fishery gets a tremendous amount of pressure, so if you care about our fishery, don’t nest fish.  

Door County residents are as environmentally aware as any in Wisconsin.  I do feel if our people knew the damage nest fishing causes, they would want to see more closed areas during the spawn, like the Mink River and Washington Island.  If any of you would like a copy of my article with Dr. Philipps, please email me at kayakfishingwisconsin@gmail.com.

(This article is a weekly series by Kayak Fishing Pro Bill Schultz)