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2025 spring sampling going on in the Peshtigo Work Unit

Spring is here (I think) and I wanted to provide an update of the 2025 spring sampling going on in the Peshtigo Work Unit so far.

  • Green Bay walleye tagging efforts and the reward tag project are well underway with 2,212 walleyes tagged thus fur.  Tagging efforts on the Fox River are complete and efforts have now shifted to the west shore tributaries.  The recent cold fronts and rain/snow have led to a slower progression of the walleye spawn on the west shore tributaries with most fish still staging for the spawn.  Water levels had started out very low, but have now increased significantly.  Crews will continue tagging efforts this week and are anticipating that spawning activity will pick up and progress going into next week.  Staff will aim to tag up to 5,000 walleyes this spring, including 400 red reward tags.  See the press release link for more info on the reward tag project that is being conducted with funding support by Walleyes for Tomorrow:   Green Bay Walleye Reward Tag Study Continues In 2025 | Wisconsin DNR

-Fox River: Total Number Tagged: 1692 (637 males, 1035 females, and 20 immature). 150 reward tags (75 males and 75 females)
-Oconto River: Total Number Tagged: 136 (85 males and 51 females). 25 reward tags (15 males and 10 females)
-Peshtigo River: Total Number Tagged: 67 (60 males and 7 females). No reward tags
-Menominee River: Total Number Tagged: 317 (184 males and 133 females). 50 reward tags (28 males and 22 females)
-Sturgeon Bay: No tagging effort expended yet.

  • Green Bay staff completed northern pike netting efforts on Long and Bullhead Lakes in Manitowoc County with help from local volunteers, habitat and operations staff.
  • Fisheries monitoring associated with the Lower Green Bay and Fox River Area of Concern grant project is underway.  Staff began northern pike fyke netting in the Duck Creek area last week and have continued sampling efforts this week.    
  • Peshtigo staff are gearing up for fyke netting surveys and plan to set nets tomorrow on Kelly Lake and White Potato Lake.
  • Peshtigo and Florence staff are gearing up for fisheries survey work on the Menomonee River associated with the MEF funded comprehensive fisheries analyses project.  Staff recently placed remote camera kiosks for the project to conduct creel surveys. 

Good luck to all out sampling, be safe, and enjoy being on the water.

Submitted by
Adam Nickel – DNR

tagged Green Bay Walleye

Green Bay Walleye Reward Tag Study Continues In 2025

Press Release WISCONSIN DNR

Green Bay Walleye tagged

MADISON, Wis. – Together with Walleyes for Tomorrow, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announces the continuation of the walleye reward tag study in the Bay of Green Bay and its major tributaries.

The Bay of Green Bay and its tributaries support a world-class walleye fishery, allowing anglers to catch walleye of all sizes, including trophy-sized fish. The popularity of this fishery continues to be a major draw for anglers locally, statewide and throughout the Midwest.  

The DNR began the reward tag study in spring 2024 and will continue implementing the study with walleye tagging efforts this spring, thanks to funding from Walleyes for Tomorrow. The study aims to better understand the walleye fishery and gain estimates of walleye exploitation rates (i.e., the percentage of the walleye population that anglers harvest each year).

DNR staff will tag up to 5,000 walleyes with yellow floy tags throughout five major spawning areas around Green Bay this spring – Sturgeon Bay and the Fox, Oconto, Peshtigo and Menominee rivers. In addition to the yellow floy tags, 400 red reward tags will be distributed throughout these areas.

What Happens If I Catch A Tagged Walleye?

The fish can be harvested if it is legal to do so (within bag limits, season restrictions, etc.) or released. Any tagged fish not meeting minimum length requirements should be immediately released after collecting the necessary tagging information described below. Please keep the tag intact when releasing any walleyes and follow responsible catch and release practices.

Anglers are encouraged to report all walleyes that are caught with any color floy tag. We ask anglers to report the following information regarding their tagged fish: tag number, tag color, species, length, location caught, date caught and whether the fish was harvested or released.

Reward tags will be red and say, “REWARD $100.” All red reward tags will have a date printed on them, which is the date the reward is valid until. While the tagged walleye does not need to be harvested to receive the $100 reward, anglers must provide proper verification that they caught a walleye with a reward tag. Verification must be done in one of the following ways:

  • If harvested, present the physical tag to the DNR.
  • If released, take a close-up picture of the tag that includes the three-digit tag number and a picture of the angler holding the walleye with the attached tag visible.

To report your catch to the DNR, email [email protected] or call 920-662-5411. To mail in a floy tag from a harvested fish, send it to:

ATTN Fish Biologist
2984 Shawano Avenue
Green Bay, WI 54313

Anglers that report a yellow or green (from previous tagging years) floy tag will receive information about the fish, including date, location, size, sex and possibly age at the time of tagging. Anglers do not need to provide picture verification or mail in the physical tag when reporting walleyes with a yellow or green floy tag.

Reports of captured or harvested tagged walleyes will help the DNR guide walleye management throughout Green Bay and its tributaries by tracking angler harvest, exploitation rate, spawning site fidelity, summer movement patterns and growth rates.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Input to Increase Access to Refuge System Lands

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Input to Increase Access to Refuge System Lands (PDF)

As part of its ongoing effort to increase public access on federal lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced (news release attached) it is seeking the public’s assistance to develop a list of its managed lands that would benefit from new or increased access routes. 

On March 12, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (S.47, the Dingell Act), which directs the Service and other federal land management agencies to develop a priority list of lands that have significantly restricted or no public access where that access could be improved. The public is encouraged to identify national wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries and other lands managed by the Service that meet the complete criteria. 

Comments will be accepted over a 30-day comment period from February 10-March 11, 2020. 

Some of the criteria for nominated lands include: public lands must be managed by the Service and 640 contiguous acres; have significantly restricted or no public access; and be open under federal or state law to hunting, fishing, or use of the land for other public recreational purposes. 

For additional information and a full list of required criteria for consideration as specified by the Dingell Act, visit: https://www.fws.gov/refuges/realty/Public-Access-Nominations.html. 

Commenters are encouraged to review the required criteria and include additional information as to why the parcel should be on the Service’s priority list. Once the comment period closes the Service will evaluate the nominations to determine which lands meet the requirements and considerations specified by the Dingell Act.