FISHING WISCONSIN
recommended reading

Gone Fishing. Madison: Wisconsin Public Television, 1999.

This video celebrates the sport and the culture of fishing in Wisconsin. Meet anglers statewide who view fishing as an important aspect to life in the Badger state.

Lathrop, Richard C. The Fishery of the Yahara Lakes. Madison: Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 1992.

Besides summarizing a vast amount of data about the fishery and environment of the four Yahara River lakes, the report provides in-depth information on the 17 most important fish species in the lakes.

Born, Stephen M. Exploring Wisconsin Trout Streams: The Angler's Guide. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.

Information about fishing opportunities in Wisconsin for both veteran and novice anglers with an emphasis on the importance of environmental preservation.

Becker, George C. Fishes of Wisconsin. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983.
This encyclopedic reference to 157 fish species found in Wisconsin has become a model for all other such works. Many of the species are also found in much of the Great Lakes region and Mississippi River watershed. In addition to thorough species accounts, Becker discusses the history and policy of water resources and fisheries management.

Lyons, John, Philip Andrew Cochran, and Don Fago. Wisconsin Fishes: 2000 Status and Distribution. Madison: University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, 2000.

The first complete assessment of Wisconsin fishes since George C. Becker's landmark publication, Fishes of Wisconsin, this book updates the current status and abundance of all fish species in Wisconsin (including nonnative species).

Bogue, Margaret Beattie. Fishing the Great Lakes: An Environmental History, 1783-1933. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.

Bogue has written the definitive history of the decline of the Great Lakes fisheries. She documents how over fishing, pollution, political squabbling, poor public policies, and commercial exploitation combined to damage the fish population before the arrival of the sea lamprey in the 1940s.

Crawford, Stephen Scott. Salmonine Introductions to the Laurentian Great Lakes: An Historical Review and Evaluation of Ecological Effects. Ottawa: NRC Research Press, 2001.

Beginning in the 1870s, salmonines have been introduced into the Great Lakes.  This is a historical review and evaluation of the ecological effects associated with those introductions.

Halla, R. Chris. Wisconsin Blue-Ribbon Trout Streams. S.l.: Frank Amato Publishers, 2001.

An introduction to fishing in Wisconsin's 2,500 trout streams, complete with recommendations on nearby places to eat and stay.

Dann, Shari L. and Brandon C. Schroeder. The Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery. Ann Arbor: Michigan Sea Grant, 2003.

This publication describes the current status of the Great Lakes fishery, outlines the fishery of the past in terms of the social, technological and environmental changes it has faced, and discusses issues to consider for the future.