Spring smallmouth now catch-and-release only on Green Bay

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. — After years of speculation, the 2026 spring and early summer smallmouth bass season on Green Bay waters is catch-and-release only for the first time ever.

A controversial change that came about after years of public meetings and a positive vote at the spring fish and wildlife rules hearings, the rule originated from considerable long-term concerns raised by the angling public for additional protection of spawning fish.

The new rule, which protects smallmouths in Green Bay waters as well as many bay tributaries up to the first dam, delays any bass harvest until July 1. This allows fish to wrap up the critical spawning period and reduce the related stressors of moving fish over long distances during catch, hold, and release tournaments.

The rule didn’t include waters within one-quarter mile of all islands in the town of Washington Island, which has a completely closed season for bass (no intentional targeting) until July 1, nor the Lake Michigan tributaries north of Hwy. 29, which opens June 20.

In addition to votes at the spring fish and wildlife hearings, the DNR held public meetings in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2024 to engage stakeholders who had an interest in the area’s smallmouth bass fishery. These meetings were structured to bring stakeholders together to discuss the status of the fishery, and its sustainability.

These meetings, in part, resulted in a new rule that went into effect in 2020, creating a fish refuge in the Mink River, which flows into Rowley’s Bay, Lake Michigan.

The DNR said heavy spring and early summer fishing pressure continues to raise concerns on bedding smallmouth bass. Anglers may take a look at some of those meetings archived on the DNR website.

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Tournaments

The new catch-and-release-only rules on smallmouth bass mean no weigh-on-shore tournaments this spring.

For the first time since it began in 1991, the Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament (SBOBT) at Sawyer Park didn’t weigh fish on shore. Instead, competitors took photos on a bump board and turned in a digital SDHC card. A verification committee converted length to estimated weight, and used computer software to verify photos and make sure all entered fish were different.

While the number of entrants was well below normal (38), the size of the catches was still impressive. The top 28 teams averaged between 4 and nearly 6 pounds per bass.

Meanwhile, the Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament (SBBT) committee, after a decade-long run (minus no event in 2020 due to COVID restrictions), made the decision to not have a contest this year. Organizer Gary Nault, who also founded the Sturgeon Bay Open in 1991 with his late wife, Cheryl, said it was a tough decision.

“One of the factors was the age of the committee members,” Nault said. “All have reached retirement age, and efforts to recruit new, younger members have not been successful.”

Nault said even after they switched to an immediate release, weigh-on-the-water format five years ago, the year-round effort was still extensive.

The first SBOBT in 1991 saw a mere 24 boats entered. Ten years later, a record 243 teams competed in the largest bass tournament in the Midwest. Nault also had a hand in Door County Invitational tournaments for local anglers, neighborhood pub tournaments, Angler and Young Angler tournaments, and finally the SBBT.

“All of those were not to make a personal profit, but to help the sponsors get their year started by tapping into our great fishery, and putting Sturgeon Bay and Door County on anglers’ radar as one of the best fishing spots in the country,” Nault said.