29.403 Fishing tournaments.

(1b) In this section, “live well" means a container designed to hold, and capable of holding, live fish on a boat.

(1g) The department shall promulgate rules to establish a program to authorize and regulate fishing tournaments. The rules shall establish the scope and applicability of the program.

(1m) Any person conducting a bass fishing tournament authorized by the department under this section may allow participants to fish for, and cull, both largemouth and smallmouth bass. Any participant in a bass fishing tournament shall ensure that the boat from which he or she is fishing has a functioning live well. Section 29.055 and any rule promulgated pursuant to sub. (3) (L), as they relate to bag and possession limits for bass, do not apply to culling that occurs in a bass fishing tournament authorized by the department under this section.

(2) The department may require a permit under the program to conduct a fishing tournament and may impose terms and conditions that apply to a specific permit. The department may issue a specific permit under terms and conditions that vary from the requirements of the rules promulgated by the department under sub. (1g).

(3) The rules promulgated by the department under sub. (1g) may include any of the following:

(a) Rules governing the circumstances under which a waiver for a permit may be granted under s. 29.197.

(b) Rules establishing training or educational requirements for persons who seek a permit under sub. (2).

(c) Rules for controlling crowding, preventing unsafe conditions, or preventing conflicts among the users of the body of water on which fishing tournaments are held or at facilities for public access to those bodies of water, including boat ramps and parking lots.

(d) Rules relating to the prevention of the waste of a natural resource.

(e) Rules relating to the protection of the bodies of water of this state, fish, and other aquatic resources in those bodies of water.

(f) Rules specifying the number of fishing tournaments that may be held on a body of water.

(g) Rules governing the frequency with which fishing tournaments may be held and the dates on which they may be held.

(h) Rules specifying the number of days over which fishing tournaments, or practices for fishing tournaments, may be held.

(i) Rules governing the hours during which fishing tournaments may be held.

(j) Rules specifying the location of the bodies of water on which fishing tournaments may be held.

(k) Rules specifying the species of fish that may be targeted by fishing tournaments.

(L) Rules specifying bag and size limits for fish that are caught at fishing tournaments.

(m) Rules governing the time of year when fishing tournaments may be held.

(n) Rules specifying the qualities that the bodies of water on which fishing tournaments may be held must have.

(o) Rules governing the reporting of the results of fishing tournaments.

(p) Rules specifying fees for fishing tournament permits and for training or educational programs, including rules specifying reduced fees in appropriate circumstances.

(4) Notwithstanding subs. (2) and (3), the department may not, under the program established under sub. (1g), allow a participant in a fishing tournament to engage in any activity in which the department would not allow an angler who is not a participant to engage at the same time on the same body of water. This subsection does not apply to participants in a bass fishing tournament authorized by the department under this section.

(5)

(a) The department shall deny an application for a fishing tournament permit or suspend or revoke a fishing tournament permit if the permit applicant or holder does any of the following:

1. Makes a material misrepresentation on a permit application.

2. Violates this section, a rule promulgated under this section, or a term or condition of a permit.

3. Violates this chapter as it relates to fishing in connection with a fishing tournament.

4. Fails to adequately supervise a fishing tournament.

(b) If the department denies a person's application for a fishing tournament permit or if the permit is revoked under par. (a), the department may not issue a fishing tournament permit to that person for a period of 2 years after the denial or revocation.

(6) Any person who participates in a fishing tournament shall comply with the terms and conditions imposed by any permit issued for that fishing tournament under sub. (2).

(7) This section does not apply to any fishing tournament that is conducted on a body of water where persons who are normally required to have fishing approvals are exempt from having such approvals.

History: 2003 a. 249; 2011 a. 24.