Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 1-99 - Fish, Game and Enforcement, Forestry and Recreation
Chapter NR 22 - Wisconsin-Iowa Boundary Waters
Section NR 22.02 - Definitions

(1) "Bait net" means a hoop net that uses bait and does not include a lead or leads.

(2) "Bank pole" means a set or bank pole as defined in s. 29.531, Stats.

(3) "Buffalo net" means a baited or unbaited hoop net and does not include a lead or leads. The net may have one or more internal funnel-shaped throats whose tapered ends are directed inward from the mouth leading to a closed end of net that allows for accumulation of fish in the far end of the net. The closed end is tied off creating a holding place for fish.

(4) "Closed season" means that period of the year not included in the open season for each species of fish as provided in this chapter.

(5) "Commercial fish" means species of rough and detrimental fish as defined in this chapter, shovelnose (hackleback) sturgeon 27 inches and over but less than 34 inches in fork length, catfish 15 inches or over in length or 12 inches or over dressed and bullheads of any length when taken with commercial fishing gear under a commercial fishing license.

(6) "Commercial fishing gear" or "commercial gear" means that equipment specifically authorized for use in commercial fishing by this chapter.

(7) "Commercial fishing licenses" means those licenses issued under ss. 29.523, 29.526, 29.529 and 29.533, Stats., authorizing commercial fish harvests.

(8) "Daily bag limit" has the meaning given in s. NR 20.03(8) except as used in s. NR 22.13, where it means the maximum number of a turtle species or group of turtle species which may be reduced to a person's possession in a single day.

(9) "Detrimental fish" has the meaning given in s. NR 21.02(10).

(10) "Dressed fish" means fish with the head and viscera removed but the tail on.

(11) "Drift set" has the meaning given in s. NR 21.02(12).

(12) "Drive set" has the meaning given in s. NR 21.02(13).

(13) "Fisher" means any person engaged in fishing.

(14) "Fork length" means that distance measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the tip of the median caudal fin rays of a fish.

(15) "Frame net" or "fyke net" means a unbaited modified hoop net with no more than two leads of netting attached to the first hoop. The wings are staked out from the net providing a barrier that funnels fish into the hoop portion of the net. Internal funnels within the frame net are designed to lead fish to the fish holding area of the net. Any mesh size is allowed with a front not to exceed four feet by eight feet if rectangular or eight feet in diameter if round.

(16) "Gill net" has the meaning found in s. 29.522(2) (b), Stats.

(17) "Hooking", as used in s. NR 22.13, means any activity which utilizes a dull-pointed, metal, barbless hook attached to a staff to remove a turtle from a body of water.

(18) "Hoop net" means a net constructed out of multiple round, rectangular or oval hoops covered with a nylon or other stretchable fabric mesh that is not wire. The hoops are made of wood, fiberglass, or steel. Maximum hoop diameter is eight feet for round hoops and four feet by eight feet for rectangular hoops. The netting is constructed with a funnel entrance at one or both ends which are tied off to the sides or the opposite ends. The opening in the funnel may be round, rectangular or oval in shape. "Hoop net" includes bait nets and buffalo nets.

(19) "Lead" means a length of net strung outward from a fish net or trap that is used to obstruct the path of a fish and cause the fish to follow the lead net toward the fish trap. Leads may have a maximum length of 300 feet and a maximum mesh size of two inches.

(20) "Length" for the purposes of measuring a fish, unless otherwise specified, means the distance measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the outermost end of the tail or caudal fin fully extended.

(21) "Minnows" mean all species defined as such in s. 29.001(54), Stats., and bullheads not exceeding 4 inches in length.

(22) "Mississippi River" means all waters lying between the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific railroad tracks on the Iowa side of the river, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroad tracks lying on the Wisconsin side of the river.

(23) "Possession limit" has the meaning given in s. NR 20.03(31), except in s. NR 22.13 where "possession limit" means the maximum number of a turtle species or group of turtle species set in s. NR 22.13 which may be possessed by a person at any time.

(24) "Rough fish" means all species defined as such in s. 29.001(74), Stats., and detrimental fish including grass carp which is also known as amurcarp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).

(25) "Seine" has the meaning found in s. 29.522(3), Stats.

(26) "Seine haul" means a single setting, retrieval and emptying of a seine, including placement of the net, driving fish in the direction of the net, drawing or lifting the net, or both, to entrap fish by retrieving one or both ends of the net, bagging the fish in the net, sorting and removal of the game fish in the net and removal of all fish from the net.

Note: A single seine haul may take more than one day to complete from the time the net is set until all fish have been removed from the net.

(27) "Setline" has the meaning given in s. NR 20.03(36) and is also known as a trotline.

(28) "Slat net" or "basket trap" means a fish trap made of wood slats. The slat net may not be more than 6 feet in length and not more than 72 inches in circumference. A slat net will have square or round ends with a funnel made of wood slats on one end, one or more wood slat funnels inside the trap leading to a fish accumulation area and cotton or nylon webbing at the closed end of the net to hold the fish in the net.

(29) "Sport fishing" or "angling" means any fishing, including the methods commonly known as hook and line fishing or angling conducted without a commercial fishing license and with other than commercial fishing gear.

(30) "Stretch measure" means the extension measure of net mesh size whenever the size of mesh of a net is specified and is the distance between the extreme angles of any single mesh with the mesh fully stretched. Such measurements shall apply to all nets except basket traps or slat nets.

(31) "Supervisor" means any department employee assigned or designated to oversee fishing activities conducted under this chapter.

(32) "Trammel net" has the meaning found in s. 29.522(2) (a), Stats.

(33) "Turtle", as used in this chapter, means a reptile having horny, toothless jaws and a body enclosed in a bony or leathery shell into which the head, limbs and tail may be partially or fully withdrawn, and includes parts of turtles and turtle eggs.

(34) "Wisconsin-Iowa boundary waters" for sport fishing purposes, means all waters of the Mississippi River as defined under this section. For the purpose of taking turtles or commercial fishing, "Wisconsin-Iowa boundary waters" means all waters from the Burlington Northern and Sante Fe railroad tracks on the east side of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin extending west to the state line between Wisconsin and Iowa.