Wisconsin makes unlimited goby, ruffe and white perch harvest permanent

Wisconsin anglers can now keep round gobies and ruffe without a bag limit under a permanent Natural Resources Board rule that took effect Nov. 1, 2026. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said each fish must be immediately eviscerated, decapitated or have its gills removed. The same unlimited possession applies to white perch, and white perch taken from inland waters must get that processing treatment too.

The rule replaces the older approach that generally treated these detrimental species as no-harvest fish except for one specimen delivered to a DNR office. Managers want harvest that cannot leave live fish able to start a new population. On Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and other outlying waters, white perch stay unlimited without the inland processing requirement.

DNR still wants every Winnebago System goby reported through its online tool. A round goby population is not established there yet, so angler harvest and reporting help track any invasion. Inland catches of detrimental species should also go to the local fisheries biologist.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Wisconsin DNR — DNR Announces New Statewide Detrimental Species Possession And Bag Limit (Nov. 6, 2026).