Featured Books Week: World Without Fish

Title: World Without Fish

Author: Mark Kurlansky
Publisher: Workman Publishing, 2011

Let's kick off our Featured Books Week with World Without Fish, a book that teaches kids-and adults- about activism and how our actions affect the environment.  Sometimes a chapter book, sometimes a graphic novel, World Without Fish explains what's happening to underwater ecosystems, and what kids of any age can do to help. On the dust jacket, author Mark Kurlansky says, "Welcome to a special moment in history: A time when your generation, more than any other, has the opportunity to save the planet, and it all begins with fish."

Fun text and pictures keep the book exciting for readers of all ages, although its message is important for everyone. The final chapters explain not only how to eat fish safely and sustainably, but how kids of any age can make a difference. Kurlansky also provides an annotated listing of organizations and environmental groups working on marine issues. Not only is this book a fun, interesting read, it's also an important call to action. As Kurlansky says in Chapter 11, "it's time to wake up and smell the fish!"

What can you do?

• Check it out!
• Find other books about aquaculture or environmental activism for kids at Wisconsin's Water Library
• Visit UW Sea Grant's website to learn more about Fish & Fishing and Aquaculture

"Healthy Dishes With Wisconsin Fishes"

Send your healthy fish recipes to the Wisconsin DNR for a chance to be featured in the DNR online cookbook or Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine!

Judging criteria includes species diversity, creativity, and ease of preparation, among others. Keep in mind, though, that the recipe must use a Wisconsin species of fish.

Click here for more information. The DNR will be accepting submissions via email until April 1, 2012. Good luck!

DNR Stocks Trout in WI Waters

In preparation for May 7th, opening day of the regular inland fishing season, the DNR has been making special deliveries of trout to local waters. Catchable size trout are being placed in waters where there would normally not be. These are areas where natural reproduction is not occurring, mainly because of reduced habitat.

Since trout numbers are up in other areas, it does no damage to relocate some of the trout for the benefit of the fishing season. Other trout for these drops have been farm raised at Lakewood State Fish Hatchery, Nevin State Fish Hatchery, Osceola State Fish Hatchery and St. Croix Falls State Fish Hatchery.

Photo credit: Brook trout, WDNR

Proposed: Fish Feed for Lake Wazee

On what was previously the site of the Jackson County Iron Mine, Lake Wazee formed after the quarry's 1983 closure and is now the deepest inland lake in Wisconsin. The hole simply filled with water as time passed and the lake currently has no inlets or outlets. Lake Wazee, part of the surrounding recreation area, is fed by springs and spans approximately 154 acres with a maximum depth of about 355 feet. While the lake currently holds some trout, bass and walleye (previously stocked by the DNR), fishing has been lower than expected due to lake of food for the fish.

The DNR has proposed to stock cisco, a smaller fish that is generally eaten by the more popular game fish, in the lake to improve the fishing overall. If approved, this study would introduce the fish into the lake and then monitor their survival over a three to four year time period. The cisco are not seen as a threat to surrounding waters because they require coldwater habitats to survive. Comments are being accepted by the public on the matter.

For more information about the study, read the WDNR release. For more information about Lake Wazee, see this page. Browse our recommended reading list for book suggestions on fish and fishing in Wisconsin.

Photo credit: Cisco by Cornell University DNR

Sturgeon Spearing Season Starts Big

Primary Wisconsin DNR reports coming out of Winnebago and Oshkosh are in. The third and fifth largest sturgeons have been added to the record books, which were started in 1941. Weighing 185 and 172.7 pounds respectively, these two female record fish are among seven sturgeon that have been added to the books in the last three years. A list of the top ten fish can be seen here.

Overall, 881 fish were caught during the first three days of the season. Out of those fish, 52 weighed over 100 pounds. Big fish are being caught because of DNR regulations that went into effect to protect the larger fish and increase their presence in WI lakes. The total maximum number of days the season could stay open is 16, and official are saying this is very likely. The final day of the open season will then be this Sunday, February 27th at 12:30pm. Read the full DNR release for more information.

Photo from the WDNR news release.

That's One Big Fish!

In Winnebago, February 12th will bring the first day of a new season of sturgeon spearing. Since the fish population has increased, the DNR has been able to raise the catch limit this season and it is expected to break even last year's hearty records. One record catch last season was a 212 pound sturgeon speared by a Wisconsinite. The DNR is confident that the sturgeon management system they have in place helps to pro-actively involve the public while increasing the sturgeon population and fishing opportunities.

For further reading on fish and fishing in general, see our recommended reading list. We have also recently added to our ice fishing reading list. For fish identification, try our section of field guides on Great Lakes fish.

Photo credit: WDNR by Rachel Piacenza

'Tis the Season for Fishy Gifts

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to start thinking about presents! The UW Aquatic Sciences Center (ASC) Publications Store might have just what you need for that special fishy someone in your life.

The Great Lakes Fishes poster (shown right) pictures and identifies 35 varieties of fish you may encounter in the Great Lakes. What kid (or grownup) fisherman wouldn't want to have this on his wall?

For the all weather fishermen, the free "Ice Fishing" booklet is available by mail or as a downloadable pdf. "This guide to successful winter ice fishing includes: fishing gear and gadgets, tips on how to catch bluegill, yellow perch, northern pike and walleye, safety advice for thin ice and how to stay on top of the ice, clothing advice and Wisconsin regulations."

For the fish lover who does not partake in fishing, “People of the Sturgeon: Wisconsin’s Love Affair With an Ancient Fish,” a coffee-table book, is a beautiful addition to any collection. This 320 page award winner contains images, stories and interviews about lake sturgeon and their connection to Wisconsin's history and culture.


For further details on these and other available treats, see the ASC press release. For the non-givers, Wisconsin's Water Library provides reading lists on related topics including: Ice Fishing, Fish and Fishing in Wisconsin and Cooking.

Book Review: New Fish Cookbooks

Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking is written by Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything. Bittman begins by explaining the best ways to buy fish and a brief review of the nutritional value of adding fish to your regular diet. Then, from Anchovies to Wolffish, he provides recipes and preparation organized by type of fish. This guide includes more than 500 recipes for 70 kinds of fish and seafood.


The Freshwater Fish Cookbook: More than 200 Ways to Cook your Catch is written by food columnist for Gray's Sporting Journal, A.D. Livingston. With wonderful color photos, this is a fisherman's cookbook. Many recipes have personal anecdotes and stories that add interesting flair to each fish.


In Cleaning and Cooking Fish, Sylvia Bashline gives you expert advice on preparing fish. Bashline has won several awards for her articles and photos dealing with a variety of outdoor subjects, particularly fish cooking techniques and recipes. This book also has a section dedicated to preserving fish, as in pickling and canning, that makes it quite unique from other fish cookbooks.

US Fish and Wildlife Service resource: Eddies

The mission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. In an effort to complete this mission, USFWS publishes Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation. Eddies seeks to inform its readers of the work – past, present, and future – of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Conservation. Each issue has several feature stories and five regular departments.

To look at the current and past issues of Eddies, go to US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fun and educational resource: The Why Files

The mission of The Why Files is "to explore the science, math and technology behind the news of the day, and to present those topics in a clear, accessible and accurate manner." Based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, The Why Files look into science at all institutions of scientific exploration and discovery. They strive to explain the relationship between science and daily life.

Many topics of science are considered, particularly water-related topics. Check out How Many Fish in the Sea? as an interesting example.

To look into the Why Files on your own, click here.

Book Review: The Clinch Knot

The Clinch Knot
By John Galligan
Bleak House Books, 2008

Author John Galligan lives and teaches in Madison, WI. The Clinch Knot is his third fly-fishing mystery, a subgenre he has made his own. 2003's The Nail Knot and 2005's The Blood Knot introduced Ned "Dog" Oglivie, a trout fisherman with a drinking problem who always seems to get caught up in a whodunit mystery of small-town Livingston, Montana. This time, Dog finds a young couple, the girl shot to death on the ground while the man is unconscious in a sealed car, nearly dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. Thus, it falls to Dog to find the murderer. Recommended for the fisher who likes to catch clues and suspense, The Clinch Knot is sure to please in and out of the boat.

If you are a Wisconsin resident and would like to check out this or any other book, please fill out our book request form. If you are a UW student, faculty or staff, please request books through MadCat.

Attention Wisconsin fishers!

The 2009 Wisconsin Fishing Report from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is now available. Happy fishing!

Ice anglers urged to follow VHS rules

With a new statewide poll showing that some anglers aren’t taking all needed steps to prevent spreading VHS fish disease, state fisheries officials are asking angler to redouble efforts year-round, including during winter when water temperatures are the coldest and the disease is most active in fish. Information on the poll is available on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Web site.

“The good news from the Badger Poll results is that the vast majority of anglers and boaters took some steps to prevent the spread of VHS,” says Mike Staggs, Wisconsin’s fisheries director. “Our sampling in 2008 showed that VHS hadn’t spread beyond Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan, and that’s a great credit to everybody who followed the VHS rules. But the problem hasn’t gone away, and the survey results suggest that we can do better and we must do better if we want to protect Wisconsin’s great fishing.”

Read more about the VHS rules...