Why and how great fishing will be restored
As recently as the mid 1980’s, northern Wisconsin was an excellent fishing destination. On the opening day of fishing season continuous lines of vehicles, pulling boats of all kinds, headed north to places like Boulder Junction, Eagle River, and Hayward to catch fish, with walleyes especially sought after. Anglers and their families making the trip pumped millions of dollars into Wisconsin’s economy, booking cabins, hotels, and guides, going to restaurants and bars, and buying licenses, gas, bait, and tackle. They only stopped returning after the fishing there was ruined, because Wisconsin failed to protect the walleye resource by equally protecting all citizens.
But the great fishing that northern Wisconsin once provided, and boon to the economy it once was, will be restored. The following is why and how it will happen.
Why it will happen
All Chippewa tribal members born in the United States since June 2nd, 1924, are U.S. citizens; the date the Indian Citizen Act was signed in to law by President Calvin Coolidge. Citizenship has given the Chippewa all of the benefits that every citizen enjoys, including the right to participate in U.S. elections and the protections of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection of laws for all citizens.
Walleyes in northern Wisconsin are a valuable resource that belong to all citizens, not only the less than 1% (.04%) known as the Chippewa. But for more than forty years the State of Wisconsin has been violating the 14th Amendment by allowing only Chippewa tribal members to fish for the walleyes out of season, while preventing all other citizens from participating. Because the ongoing out of season fishing by the privileged few takes place as the fish are spawning, it has resulted in the destruction of northern Wisconsin’s walleye resource and caused great economic harm to the entire state.
Since 1985, On Wisconsin Outdoors has calculated that, 34,697,302 “keeper walleyes” (fish weighing 1 ¾ to 2 pounds) have been removed from northern Wisconsin lakes by Chippewa out of season fishing. In 2026 alone, as seen in the adjacent table, the 33,169 walleyes that were directly removed by Chippewa out of season fishing will result in the removal of a calculated 979,918 keeper walleyes from northern Wisconsin lakes.
The destruction of the walleye resource caused by the State of Wisconsin’s failure to provide equal protection of laws for all citizens, is the reason great fishing will return to northern Wisconsin. It’s illegal for the State of Wisconsin to make and enforce laws that apply to one group of citizens and not another. Either we all get to fish out of season, or no one gets to fish out of season.
How it will happen
As the citizens of Wisconsin celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America, they are becoming reacquainted with The Constitution, including its 14th Amendment. Their eyes are being opened to the fact that citizenship is the tie that binds us all, and that the equal protection of laws is critical to our freedom.
The promise to restore great walleye fishing in northern Wisconsin, by restoring equal protection of laws, will turn Wisconsin’s army of 950,000 fisherman out like no other issue during the November election. The next governor of Wisconsin must make it clear that he will accomplish this through the following steps:
1. Because fishing out of season for spawning Wisconsin walleyes by less than 1% (.04%) of U.S. citizens (Chippewa) has been proven to severely damage the resource and harm all but a few, the State of Wisconsin must file a federal lawsuit on behalf of all citizens to stop it, based on the 14th Amendment and the Indian Citizen Act.
2. Because the State of Wisconsin cannot “deny to any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws”, until all out of season fishing for spawning Wisconsin walleyes is stopped the State of Wisconsin must allow non-tribal U.S. citizens to participate in it.
3. The State of Wisconsin must stop paying the less than 1% (.04%) of U.S. citizens (Chippewa) allowed to fish out of season for spawning Wisconsin walleyes, to restock them. The money for restocking comes from the more than 99% of non-tribal U.S. citizens who are denied equal protection of the laws.
After the equal protection of laws is restored, and all out of season fishing is stopped, the great fishing in northern Wisconsin will quickly return through natural reproduction and reasonable bag limits. The fishermen, and benefit to the economy they once were, will follow.
