(WTAQ) – Saturday is Wisconsin’s 2020 Fishing Opening day – and DNR officials are expecting a lot of people to be trying to be hitting the water.
“Getting outdoors can soften that blow and give us a little mental relief,” says DNR Secretary Preston Cole.
The immaculate weather to kick off fishing season in Wisconsin has many people hook, line, and sinker convinced that they will get outside this weekend. But the DNR warns to not venture too far from home.
“What we’re trying to do is remind folks not to travel to the far reaches of the state or other states. We want you to be here in Wisconsin,” Cole says, “Many individuals in the Northwoods have told visitors – ‘Don’t come here yet, wait until it’s safe.’”
For those planning to launch their boats, launch sites are expected to be crowded. It’s advised to be patient and maintain social distancing as COVID-19 concerns continue to linger.
“I don’t want to see media footage showing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of anglers stacked up on each other at public launch sites because I know our sportsmen and women are better than that,” Cole says, “This is going to be different, it’s going to be inconvenient. But we can do it in a way that protects each other.”
“If you try to hurry up, you’re going to be congregated. There’s going to be a lot of person-to-person contact, those docks aren’t usually wide enough to accommodate good social distancing. So our expectation is that folks plan ahead,” DNR Conservation Warden Matt O’Brien says.
Things will be different in the way wardens conduct stops and checks as well. O’Brien says it could feel awkward talking to someone wearing a mask from ten feet away, but it’s for everyone’s safety.
“Our staff are going to have PPE, so if they have N95 respirators or surgical masks, just understand that it’s for bi-directional protection so that we don’t give germs to the anglers and the anglers don’t give them back to us,” O’Brien says, “We don’t need to be exchanging any documentation so we can stay apart and we don’t have common touch surfaces that we’re handling. And certainly we’re not moving between a bunch of anglers and moving those germs.”
Anglers may also be asked to read off the digits on their license – or wardens can look up their name and address. O’Brien points out that they’ll make sure it’s conducted in a way that people aren’t loudly broadcasting personal information to everyone in the area.
