Smith: Walleyes are a hit at Wisconsin Governor's Fishing Opener in Phillips
PHILLIPS - The sky hung low and dark over Price County at 6 a.m. Saturday.
Every so often it spit drizzle and pocked the surface of the Phillips Chain of Lakes.
The conditions were enough to bring smiles to our faces.
"I've been telling everyone to fish with confidence," said Barb Carey of Oxford as we loaded her boat at Elk Lake public landing in Phillips. "This (weather) makes me feel even better."
Confidence is always valuable, but especially when fishing unfamiliar water on opening day, and even more so when your dance card includes taking out the state's chief executive officer.
I joined Carey, a fishing guide, Great Lakes charter captain and founder of WI Women Fish, as well as Jane McMahon of Poynette and Rikki Pardun of Oxford, on Saturday morning to kick off the 2023 Wisconsin general inland fishing season.
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The outing was part of the Governor's Fishing Opener, held this year in Phillips. The Phillips Chain covers 1,236 acres of impounded water along the Elk River. It is divided into sections called Duroy, Elk, Long and Wilson lakes.
The game plan was for the four of us to fish for three hours and try to dial in a bite before Carey would take out the main act, Gov. Tony Evers, from about 9 to 10:30.
With a slight chop on the water and thick overcast sky, Mother Nature seemed to be cooperating.
Carey piloted her boat through the chain to Long Lake and we set out five trolling lines, each with a crank bait on the end. Planer boards helped separate the lines across a 50-foot swath from port to starboard.
"Now we'll learn what we can and adapt," Carey said.
The Phillips Chain holds a diverse fish population, including walleyes, northern pike, muskellunge, smallmouth bass, black crappies and bluegills, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
Walleyes or northerns were the target for the Governor's Fishing Opener
The water temperature was 48 degrees and the walleyes, Wisconsin's favorite game fish, would likely be at the tail end of their spawning period or just after it.
Carey thought trolling would be the best way to cover water and find some active fish, likely walleyes or northerns. We kept the boat in about 15 feet of water and ran a variety of lures to test various depths.
At 6:50 Carey's hunch was answered with a surging rod. Pardun took the pole and reeled in a chunky 17½-inch walleye. It went in the live well.
One fish can be an outlier. But 30 minutes later as we trolled an adjacent flat another rod buckled and Carey took the reel. It turned out to be a 22-inch walleye with a bulging belly. After a few photos, it was released in accordance with a 20-24 inch protective slot regulation on the Phillips Chain.
A third fish at 8:05 left no doubt about the tactic of the day. I reeled this one in, a 16-inch walleye. It also went in the live well.
At about 8:30 we headed back to the public boat launch to pick up Evers. Dozens of fishing boats dotted the chain, most anchored near bridges and fishing with jigs or live bait beneath slip bobbers. We saw several crappies caught.
WIsconsin Govvernor's Fishing Opener dates back nearly 60 years
The Governor's Fishing Opener was started by Gov. Warren Knowles in 1966. Knowles, a Wisconsin native, graduate of the University of Wisconsin's law school and World War II veteran, served three 2-year terms as governor from 1965-71.
A Republican, Knowles was an avid angler who is remembered for pro-conservation and pro-environment policies; the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, Wisconsin's signature public land acquisition program, bears his name.
The annual event is an opportunity to highlight Wisconsin's fishing opportunities and the tourism industry. Each governor after Knowles has continued the tradition, held on the first day of the Wisconsin general fishing season.
Organizers typically rotate the host sites around the region.
Fishing is an activity I like to say hits on all cylinders. It not only connects people to the outdoors and to each other, but it helps fund science-based resource management, can provide meals of local, free-range protein and contributes to the economy.
Wisconsin receives about $1.5 billion annually from direct expenditures for fishing trip-related equipment and about $2.3 billion from fishing-related economic activity, according to state tourism officials. The fishing industry provides 21,500 jobs in the state, too.
Northwest Wisconsin tourism group runs the Governor's Fishing Opener now
This year marked the second Governor's Fishing Opener run by the Northwestern Wisconsin ITBEC’s Tourism Committee. The marketing organization took the reins in 2022 from Wisconsin Indian Head Country, Inc., which had run it for decades.
The ITBEC (International Trade, Business & Economic Development Council) group covers 12 counties in northwestern Wisconsin – Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Douglas, Iron, Price, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer and Washburn – and markets the region to visitors.
The 2023 event included a tour of St. Croix Rods in Park Falls on Friday, a Friday evening banquet and a slew of events Saturday, including fishing, meals, educational displays and tours of local sights and businesses.
Friday's banquet was held at Northwoods Supper Club in the Town of Fifield.
Several state officials threw down fishing bets at the dinner, including Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez who wagered a McDonald's ice cream cone she would catch a bigger fish Saturday than her boss.
She was smart to not have wagered more.
Because for the third time at an opener, Evers was fishing with Carey.
Guide Barb Carey started a group to help women become more active in fishing
I've known Carey for 15 years through the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers, have fished with her several times and know she is highly skilled.
Carey is a retired police officer and nurse who formed WI Women Fish in 2005 to help fellow female anglers become more active in the sport.
Carey said when she was trying to learn more about fishing she was often rebuffed by people who didn't want to share knowledge. But she kept at it, got more experience and eventually even earned a Great Lakes charter captain's license.
She knew that path wasn't right for everybody, however.
"I decided a group like this could help speed up the process and help more women gain confidence in the outdoors," Carey said. "We don't have secrets (at WWF). Helping people succeed is where all the fun is."
When Carey started the organization, most outings were conducted by shore fishing and on the ice. As time went on, more and more members bought boats. Now dozens of members own their own fishing craft. Some have also become guides and tournament anglers.
Today the club has 630 members in 22 states and two provinces of Canada; the ages range from 18 to 86. Outings are scheduled throughout the year, most in the Upper Midwest.
McMahon and Pardun (vice-president) are also members, and it was McMahon, the 2014 Wisconsin teacher of the year, who introduced Carey to Evers.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had success on opening day of fishing season
After two prior successful outings, Evers' staff arranged to have him fish with Carey at this year's Governor's Fishing Opener, too.
We pulled into the landing at 8:35, Pardun and I got out, and a few minutes later Evers and a state photographer got in. A couple of security boats with DNR wardens idled nearby.
If you have to get bumped, it might as well be for the CEO, right?
Carey motored off with her new crew and again found success. Text message reports from her boat showed at 10 a.m. Evers reeled in two walleyes, about 23 and 10 inches.
According to my unofficial records that 23-incher is the biggest walleye caught by a governor at the opener since Knowles in the 1960s.
In keeping with regulations both fish were released. But Evers took home fresh walleye fillets from the two fish we caught earlier Saturday.
I'm sure he'll also soon be enjoying dessert courtesy of Rodriguez.
Wagers have consequences. But at the Governor's Fishing Opener, designed to highlight Wisconsin fishing and tourism, there are only winners.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WIsconsin Governor's Fishing Opener in Phillips produces walleyes
