Another Catch-and-Release Walleye Season on Mille Lacs Seems Likely

Should any of us be surprised…?

http://kstp.com/news/another-catch-release-season-mille-lacs-seems-likely-dnr/4779445/

or even care…?

Is there an question it wouldn’t be? Next year will be too due to the back door deal that the DNR signed with the tribe last march that was hidden from the public.

Per the “agreement”… If there is any increase in the take the band automatically gets 50% of that increase.

Any update on this?

Met with DNR staff yesterday and they intend on having a MLFAC meeting next week to inform us on the allowable harvest and regulations. Date and location was not locked in yet.

Utness wrote:

Met with DNR staff yesterday and they intend on having a MLFAC meeting next week to inform us on the allowable harvest and regulations. Date and location was not locked in yet.

I’m surprised they would bother meeting with anybody. It’s not like they are asking your advice or opinion.

Utness wrote:

Met with DNR staff yesterday and they intend on having MLFAC inform us on the allowable harvest and regulations. Date and location was not locked in yet.

There. Fixed it for you.

It would be nice if they would allow keeping fish in the summer one year and then the winter the year following.

You are correct. Shouldn’t be surprised it was agreed up last year that the harvest levels would not change for three years.

I’d predict an identical “season” to last year. Nothing has been shared that makes me feel like a change is coming. Hopefully the C&R season can stay open. I have a feeling with the forage shortage the bite will be solid early season again this year, causing anglers to proclaim the lake is “fixed” despite 1/3 of the fish having heads twice the size of their stomachs.

buckybadger wrote:

I’d predict an identical “season” to last year. Nothing has been shared that makes me feel like a change is coming. Hopefully the C&R season can stay open. I have a feeling with the forage shortage the bite will be solid early season again this year, causing anglers to proclaim the lake is “fixed” despite 1/3 of the fish having heads twice the size of their stomachs.

You obviously haven’t fished ML lately. Tons of small perch in the lake right now. The skinny fish thing was a couple years ago. I caught 18″ fish last year that looked like they ate a 15″er.

buckybadger wrote:

I’d predict an identical “season” to last year. Nothing has been shared that makes me feel like a change is coming. Hopefully the C&R season can stay open. I have a feeling with the forage shortage the bite will be solid early season again this year, causing anglers to proclaim the lake is “fixed” despite 1/3 of the fish having heads twice the size of their stomachs.

Have you fished Mille Lacs at all in the last 2 years!?!? I have not seen ONE fish that looks as you describe. There is absolutely ZERO shortage of forage.. Tons and Tons of little Perch around and somewhere in the fall netting survey they (DNR) commented on how they caught more Tullies than walleye’s.

Based on the stupid agreement signed behind closed doors last year, am I wrong to want to them to keep things the same as the last two years?

They should have never agreed to a 50% split. It set a bad precedence. To avoid setting the precedence of giving the tribes 50% of the harvest I’d prefer to see the same harvest levels until the agreement ends. Then we can go back to normal.

Sadly, by then the huge year class that they are protecting will be monsters that will be eating all the forage in site and we will be repeating the same problem over again.

These clowns can’t be voted out of office soon enough.

These clowns can’t be voted out of office soon enough.

Not voted in. They are appointed I believe.

Until they monitor the netting closely why would anyone think this ordeal will go away? If the lake was as important as they say (like asking for millions of dollars for surveys and facilities) they would spend the $12/hr and pay teenagers to be at every netting location and record the catch, just like they pay them to sit at other lakes and inspect boats….. They don’t actually care and they prove it with their actions plain and simple.

Dutchboy wrote:

These clowns can’t be voted out of office soon enough.

Not voted in. They are appointed I believe.

The person running the DNR is very political and runs lock step with the current governor. Luckily Gov Goofy won’t be in office much longer and there is hope for a change in the DNR when that happens.

Highly doubt anything will change till the lake is so far off most people’s radar, no one will notice five years from now when u can keep a single fish for opener. It is what it is and although sad, it’s not changing anytime soon. There’s no easy fix and great, the fishing is still good, but it’ll turn into a novelty lake vs a regular destination for many anglers. With red, low, leech, vermilion, big stone, kab, rainy, the Mississippi, St Croix, plus a mountain of other off the radar lake’s, the big pond will slip away from a power house, to the mis managed lake it already is.

basseyes wrote:

Highly doubt anything will change till the lake is so far off most people’s radar, no one will notice five years from now when u can keep a single fish for opener. It is what it is and although sad, it’s not changing anytime soon. There’s no easy fix and great, the fishing is still good, but it’ll turn into a novelty lake vs a regular destination for many anglers. With red, low, leech, vermilion, big stone, kab, rainy, the Mississippi, St Croix, plus a mountain of other off the radar lake’s, the big pond will slip away from a power house, to the mis managed lake it already is.

Fine by me!! You all take your rod and reel and move on and leave me to enjoy the fishing. I have no problem with that, except it will never happen. That lake will never NOT have fisherman on it. It’s just too good

buckybadger wrote:

I’d predict an identical “season” to last year. Nothing has been shared that makes me feel like a change is coming. Hopefully the C&R season can stay open. I have a feeling with the forage shortage the bite will be solid early season again this year, causing anglers to proclaim the lake is “fixed” despite 1/3 of the fish having heads twice the size of their stomachs.

Also have to disagree with this. I have a place on the lake and have fished it extensively the past 5 years. The last 2 years, while the bite has been good, I’ve only seen one skinny walleye. One, out of the hundreds we have caught and released.

Plus there seems to have been a big perch hatch recently, which is likely why winter fishing was slower this year. They have lots to eat right now.

Shhhh. Don’t tell people that the lake is healthy. The fewer that know the better.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Utness wrote:</div>
Met with DNR staff yesterday and they intend on having MLFAC inform us on the allowable harvest and regulations. Date and location was not locked in yet.

There. Fixed it for you.

I wish that were the case!!! MLFAC is the “advisory” council that they take no advice from. I’m sure you mean GLIFWC, the Tribes DNR that tells everyone else’s DNR what to do.

It’s official:

News Release
Catch-and-release summer walleye season announced for Lake Mille Lacs

March 19, 2018
Walleye fishing expected to be open all year; bait restrictions only apply to night walleye closure
2018 season regulations part of strategic effort to protect Mille Lacs’ walleye population

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources today announced plans for the 2018 walleye fishing season on Lake Mille Lacs that seek to maximize fishing opportunities for anglers while protecting the health and sustainability of Mille Lacs’ improving walleye population.

When anglers hit the water on Mille Lacs for the fishing opener on Saturday, May 12, catch-and-release only regulations will again be in effect. The lake’s spawning walleye population has improved from last year, so no mid-season closures are planned.

Similar to prior years, night closure for the 2018 walleye fishing season will be in effect on Mille Lacs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday, May 14. The night walleye closure remains in effect throughout the entire open-water season, which ends Nov. 30.

The catch-and-release summer season and night walleye closure are part of the DNR’s continued strategic efforts to understand and improve the walleye population in Lake Mille Lacs.

The population has undergone a decline over the past two decades that has coincided with significant aquatic system changes including increased water clarity and decreased walleye productivity; the introduction of zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil and spiny water fleas; a changing zooplankton community that may be altering the aquatic food web; and declines in certain forage species, including tullibee.

“Improving the walleye population on Mille Lacs is a top priority for the DNR,” said Tom Landwehr, DNR commissioner. “We want to see as much walleye fishing on Mille Lacs as possible this year. Anglers have had a very good winter walleye season on the lake and we will be able to continue that trend into the open-water season with no mid-season closure planned.”

DNR Fisheries Chief Don Pereira said DNR analyses as well as external review indicate that the walleye spawning stock has increased significantly in Mille Lacs and the lake can support a larger safe harvest level of walleye in 2018, as long as a catch-and-release rule is in place.

“Implementing a catch-and-release policy this season is important not only for the sustainable growth of Mille Lacs’ walleye population, but for area anglers, businesses, and Mille Lacs area communities,” Pereira said. “We want anglers to get out and enjoy the abundant fishing opportunities on Mille Lacs.”

Pereira added that a catch-and-release season should also allow the state to account for a portion of the excess walleye kill in 2016 and 2017. With catch-and-release measures in place this summer, some of the fish caught and returned to the water may die, a condition known as hooking mortality. The likelihood of fish suffering hooking mortality increases as water temperatures warm. Fish that die as a result of hooking mortality are counted against the state’s harvest allocation.

State and tribal allocations
The state of Minnesota and Chippewa bands that cooperatively manage Lake Mille Lacs have yet to set the safe harvest level for 2018 and discussions are ongoing. These discussions follow the process outlined in protocols and stipulations arising from the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1999 to uphold the bands’ treaty rights.

Seeking new solutions to improve and sustain a healthy walleye fishery
In June 2017, the DNR announced that a new external review team of scientists would take a fresh look at Lake Mille Lacs walleye fishery. Led by walleye expert Dr. Chris Vandergoot of the U.S. Geological Survey, this review showed that the DNR’s survey methods met or exceeded accepted best practices, and that interpretations of changes in the lake are correct. A summary of the team’s conclusions and recommendations will be available later this year. DNR staff are currently exploring the feasibility of implementing some of these recommendations.

Bass, northern, and muskellunge regulations
In addition to walleye, the DNR encourages all Minnesotans to visit Lake Mille Lacs to fish the other abundant species that the lake has to offer. The lake is nationally recognized as one of the nation’s top smallmouth bass and muskellunge fisheries. In 2017, Mille Lacs was named the number one bass fishing lake in the nation by Bassmaster Magazine. The lake hosted the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship in 2016 and 2017.

Bass season opens Saturday, May 12, but is catch-and-release only through Friday, May 25. Beginning on Saturday, May 26, Mille Lacs’ bag limit will be four bass per angler. All smallmouth and largemouth bass between 17 and 21 inches must be immediately released. Anglers may keep only one bass over 21 inches.

Lake Mille Lacs has special regulations that exempt it from the new statewide northern pike zone regulations. The northern pike season opens May 12 and anglers may keep up to five fish. All pike between 30 and 40 inches must be immediately released. Only one northern over 40 inches may be included in the bag limit of five.

For muskellunge, the season opens on Saturday, June 2, with the statewide rules of a one fish bag and a minimum length of 54 inches.

Beginning June 2, anglers may fish for muskellunge and northern pike at night, but may only possess and use artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches. Bowfishing for rough fish also is allowed at night but possession of angling equipment is not allowed and only rough fish may be in possession.

More information about fishing on Lake Mille Lacs, ongoing DNR management and research, and Mille Lacs area recreation opportunities is available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/millelacslake.

-J.

I’ve listened for years to the state telling anglers how the resource must be managed and protected by night bans,slot limits, catch and release etc… None of these things ever apply to the tribe.what I’ve come to believe is that the lake isn’t being managed or protected,it’s being sold to the highest bidder by politicians in ST.Paul. guess what non native anglers,you’ve been outbid.

If hooking mortality is deducted from state quota, shouldn’t they deduct a portion of the lost spawning mass from the band’s quota. I’m sure the DNR could figure out some arbitrary number.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Utness wrote:</div>
Met with DNR staff yesterday and they intend on having MLFAC inform us on the allowable harvest and regulations. Date and location was not locked in yet.

There. Fixed it for you.

NO, you did not. What you DID was to misquote the previous poster by deleting a portion of his sentence. Effectively putting words in his mouth.

BigWerm wrote:

I wish that were the case!!! MLFAC is the “advisory” council that they take no advice from. I’m sure you mean GLIFWC, the Tribes DNR that tells everyone else’s DNR what to do.

Ha! You’re right. I totally missed that. I meant GLIFWC.

Huntingdave, it was intended as a joke.

Here’s a thought. For 10 years have half the lake “tribal” and the other half no netting/spearing, etc. After 10 years I predict that even the tribes will have to admit that wiping out the spawners makes a difference….

Bassn Dan wrote:

Here’s a thought. For 10 years have half the lake “tribal” and the other half no netting/spearing, etc. After 10 years I predict that even the tribes will have to admit that wiping out the spawners makes a difference….

Will Mexico pay for the wall?

I am surprised that we have to keep reminding people on this forum about how we got into this mess. I understand J Q Citiot not getting it because they don’t follow these things and react to the misguided press that has their own agenda.

ML problem is a management problem. It was not caused by over harvest. It probably was not caused by nets. It was caused by management and their targeted limited slots that decimated select year classes, by hooks and nets, combined with the over protection of large fish.

Guess what large fish do? They eat little fish. Eventually the lake became too heavily weighted with large fish and they ate the little fish. The DNRs own surveys concluded that the spawn was happening but young of year fish were not surviving to be two years old. Year classes disappeared.

Fishermen, hook or net, were not targeting those 4″-6″ fish. Guess what was. Predation from the overly protected larger fish. The large fish were eating the young fish at the same time that targeted narrow slots were decimating single year classes. Eventually the lake ran out of both bait sized fish and single year class sized fish because of the combination of predation and targeting of a single year class through the narrow slot.

In my mind, the blame for what happened to Mille Lacs lands squarely on the DNR.

Here’s the kicker. They are setting the lake up to repeat the cycle, except without the hooks targeting narrow year classes. The nets are still targeting them.

We should be angry. Angry at the DNR. Angry at the press for not covering this correctly. Angry at the politicians that appoint and direct the DNR.

Kyhl wrote:

I am surprised that we have to keep reminding people on this forum about how we got into this mess.

Don’t be surprised. This discussion has gone in ever since the DNR implemented slots and Dick Sternberg wrote his report in 2003. The facts need to keep getting shared.

http://m.startribune.com/why-mille-lacs-fishery-faltered-and-what-we-can-do/318376841/