Setline, Set or Bank Pole Regulations for 2008-2009

Wisconsin offers opportunities to harvest fish by licensed set or bank poles and setlines. A set or bank pole is defined as a pole equipped with one line and a maximum of two hooks that is fished from the bank of a lake or river. In this case, a "pole" is a long cylindrical rod and does not include tree branches or dead falls. A setline is a staked line equipped with no more than 25 hooks. Bank poles and setlines are passive gears that, once deployed, can fish without the angler being present.

Licenses

No one can use or possess a set or bank pole or setline unless they have a license and comply with the regulations for that particular gear. License and tags can be purchased from a DNR office, some county clerk offices, or through Automated License Issuance System (ALIS) vendors. The current fee for a setline license is $11 for the license and tag.. Set or bank pole licenses are $3, which includes 5 tags for the maximum number of poles allowed. Setline, set or bank pole licenses are only available to residents of Wisconsin. For additional information on setline and bank pole licenses and the agents who issue these licenses, see Setline and Bank Pole Licenses.

Setline, Set or Bankpole licenses are issued for the license year April 1 to March 31 of the following year.

General Restrictions Governing the Use of Set or Bank Poles and Setlines

• A set or bank pole license authorizes the use of a maximum of five poles and a setline license authorizes the use of 1 setline.
• No one can use or possess a bank pole or setline that is licensed to somebody else.
• It is illegal to possess sport angling equipment while setting, lifting, or attending a set or bank pole or setline.

Tag Requirements

• A metal tag stamped with the authorizing license number must be securely attached to each set or bank pole and setline.

Lines and Hooks

• Hooks on set or bank poles and setlines must have a gap no smaller than 3/4 of an inch (gap is measured from the juncture of the barb across to the opposite shank).
  
• A set or bank pole cannot be equipped with more than one line which cannot have more than two hooks. Hooks can not be smaller than 3/0.
• A setline cannot have more than 25 hooks.

Bait

• Because of the threat of the fish disease, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS), minnows can not be harvested from VHS infected waters. Minnows harvested outside of VHS infected waters can only be used on the water it came from. Bullheads and bluegills may be used as bait as long as they conform to any bag or length limit regulation and are not taken live away from the bank or shore of a waterbody. They may be held in a holding tank in the waterbody as long as the tank is properly labeled with name and address and permission is granted to place it on private property.
• There is no restriction on the type of bait that can be used, except live crayfish and whole or live fish less than 5 inches cannot be used on any inland water.
• Whole or live fish cannot be used on lakes Butte des Morts, Little Butte des Morts, Winnebago and Winneconne, Winnebago County, Poygan in Waushara and Winnebago counties, and the Black River in Jackson and La Crosse counties.

Frequency of Lifting/Hours of Use

• Each set or bank pole and setline must be lifted and the catch removed at least once each day following the day it was set (unless a longer period is authorized by the Department or its agents).
• No one can set, attend, or lift a set or bank pole or setline between one-half hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise.
• No one can place, use, set, or fail to remove a set or bank pole or setline prior to or following the close of the open season.

Length, Bag and Possession Limits

• The general inland water length, bag and possession limits for rough fish, channel and flathead catfish apply to people who fish with a bank pole or setline except there is no bag limit on channel catfish caught in lakes Winnebago, Butte des Morts, Little Buttes des Morts, Winnecone, Poygan, and in the Fox River downstream from Lake Butte des Morts to the dam in the city of DePere, Brown County and the Wolf River from 500 feet below the dam in Shawano, Shawano County, downstream to the mouth, Winnebago County.
• The bag limit for flathead catfish from the waters described above is 2 each day with a possession limit of 10.

Sale of Fish; Release of Game Fish

• Channel catfish taken on a set or bank pole and setline can be sold only if taken from the waters described above. Flathead catfish taken on a set or bank pole and setline CANNOT be sold.
• Rough fish taken on a set or bank pole or setline can be sold from any waters where such fishing is permitted.
• Except for catfish taken in compliance with the regulations, all other game fish taken by set or bank pole or setline must be immediately returned to the water.

Setline, Set and Bank Pole Flagging

• Any one using a setline, set or bank pole must place a white flag 10 inches square (or larger) on a staff or pole 3 feet or more above the surface of the water or bank at one end of the setline or within 2 feet of the set or bank pole with a cord attached from the flag staff to the set or bank pole. The flag cannot be placed in the main channel of a navigable waterway.
• The flag must be numbered with figures that are at least 3 inches high and that correspond to the license number authorizing the use of the setline.
• The flag staff or pole cannot be more than 2 1/2 inches in diameter and the portion of the pole extending above the water or bank must be banded with horizontal, alternate black and white markings of 2 inches to 6 inches wide.
• When a buoy is used to hold the setline's flag staff or pole, the buoy must be cylindrical in shape, have a diameter of 15 inches or less, and be banded with horizontal, alternate black and white markings of 2 inches to 6 inches.
• In the Lower Wisconsin River, setlines must be marked as described above, but set and bankpoles need not be marked.

Waters Open to Set or Bank Poles and Setlines

From the Saturday nearest May 20 to September 30 of each year, set or bank pole and setlines can be used in the following waters:

• Embarass River beginning 500 feet below the dam at Pells in Shawano County downstream to the Wolf River, Waupaca County.
• Fox River From Wicks Landing Road, Green Lake County downstream to the Eureka Dam, Winnebago County and from Lake Butte des Morts in Winnebago County downstream to the dam in the City of Depere, Brown County.
• Lakes Buttes des Morts, Little Butte des Morts, and Winnecone, Winnebago County, Lake Winnebago in Winnebago, Fond du Lac, and Calumet counties, and Lake Poygan, Waushara and Winnebago counties.
• Shioc River, Outagamie County
• Waupaca River begininning 500 feet below the dam at Weyauwega, Waupaca County, downstream to the Wolf River, Waupaca County.
• Wolf River from 500 feet below the dam at Shawano, Shawano County downstream to its mouth, Winnebago County.

There is a continuous open season for set or bank pole and setline fishing in the following waters:

• Black River from US Highway 12 bridge in Black River Falls, Jackson County, downstream to the Burlington Northern railroad tracks, La Crosse County.
• Blue River from the State Highway 133 bridge, Grant County, downstream to the Wisconsin River.
• Grant River from Porters Bridge on State Highway 35 downstream to the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks, Grant County.
• Kickapoo River from 200 feet below the Gays Mills Dam, Crawford County, downstream to the Wisconsin River.
• Pecatonica River in Green and Lafayette Counties and the West and East branches of the Pecatonica in Lafayette County.
• Platte River from the State Highway 81 bridge downstream to the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks, Grant County.
• Lower Wisconsin River from the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific railroad tracks, Sauk County, downstream to the Burlington Railroad tracks, Grant County.

Waters Open to Set or Bank Pole Fishing Only

There is a continuous open season for set or bank pole fishing in the following waters:

• Buffalo River from State Highway 37 bridge downstream to the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks, Buffalo County.
• Chippewa River from the dam in Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, downstream to the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks, Buffalo County.

Download the Setline, Set and Bankpole Fact Sheet [PDF 119KB]

For more information, please contact:
Karl Scheidegger, Fisheries Biologist
(608) 267-9426