Current state of Mille Lacs?

I grew up fishing Mille Lacs with my grandpa in the 80s and 90s and had some amazing days fishing out there in the early 2000s but haven’t been up since. I’ve heard about the crashing walleye population and the threats from zebra mussels to smallies, pike, muskies and netting. With the pressure it gets and the narrow slot I have to assume there is concern also for mortality with all the fish caught and released. My question is what does the current walleye population look like? I’ve heard skewed large but not enough reproductive size fish?

Its difficult to have this discussion without it getting highly politicized but its clear that many people here feel the lake is being mismanaged. Short of suspending netting/treaty rights (which seems to be out of the DNRs authority?) what other steps should be taken? Is there any mutually agreed upon step that the DNR is not taking? I don’t envy their task because it is difficult to keep everyone happy. Interested in thoughts and where you’re coming from (ie resort owner, walleye fisherman, guide).

-Rich (not a troll or trying to incite a riot-just a guy who’s interested in fishing Mille Lacs again and is saddened by the current tumult)

The good news is the state of Minnesota has a lot of your tax money. They will throw millions of dollars at Mille Lacs. The bad news is it won’t change a thing.

Cherish your memories of Mille Lacs, that lake is gone and won’t be returning any time soon.

Twins Guy wrote:

I grew up fishing Mille Lacs with my grandpa in the 80s and 90s and had some amazing days fishing out there in the early 2000s but haven’t been up since. I’ve heard about the crashing walleye population and the threats from zebra mussels to smallies, pike, muskies and netting. With the pressure it gets and the narrow slot I have to assume there is concern also for mortality with all the fish caught and released. My question is what does the current <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye population look like? I’ve heard skewed large but not enough reproductive size fish?

Its difficult to have this discussion without it getting highly politicized but its clear that many people here feel the lake is being mismanaged. Short of suspending netting/treaty rights (which seems to be out of the DNRs authority?) what other steps should be taken? Is there any mutually agreed upon step that the DNR is not taking? I don’t envy their task because it is difficult to keep everyone happy. Interested in thoughts and where you’re coming from (ie resort owner, <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye fisherman, guide).

-Rich (not a troll or trying to incite a riot-just a guy who’s interested in fishing Mille Lacs again and is saddened by the current tumult)

The state/DNR has court granted authority to renegotiate the Treaty harvest agreements IF they recognize a need to do so…as of now–your words– “a step the DNR is not taking”. Recall per the courts– treaty rights are above state regs ONLY if they are exercised at ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC SAFETY AND —“CONSERVATION”.

Does the DNR feel the need to impose all of these hook and line restrictions to justify some upcoming change to the treaty harvest agreements?

No, they have done it too little too late IMHO. the lake needed protecting the day the netting started. Instead they used tactics/means that might work with hook and line anglers using the resource, but have had little to no oversight of the raping that was/is going on every spring. People don’t load up their boats, drive 300 miles to “take their share to sustain themselves”… they do it for $$$$. Especially the blue eyed blonde haired “natives”… pretty sick to watch, keep your memories and stay away for at least another 5 years.. it will come back, just like Red… only to repeat the cycle again. Lot’s of mismanagement and illegal taking of fish at Red, yet again.

“Blonde/Blue eyes” LOL click on the image–it gets “better” lol..

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steve-fellegy wrote:

“Blonde/Blue eyes” LOL click on the image–it gets “better” lol..

How traditional, neoprene gloves, Goretex rain suit and a factory made plastic net. Wonder which model Lund boat and Merc motor he is standing using?
It’s following their heritage ya know…

Have I naively assumed that the band(s) were only harvesting a dnr specified allotment?

I do REALLY appreciate the responses. Trying to educate myself and catch up on the situation which is difficult to do when every thread seems to take on a political tone.

Am I understanding correctly that the current population skews large without enough natural reproduction taking place?

Twins Guy wrote:

Have I naively assumed that the band(s) were only harvesting a dnr specified allotment?

I do REALLY appreciate the responses. Trying to educate myself and catch up on the situation which is difficult to do when every thread seems to take on a political tone.

Am I understanding correctly that the current population skews large without enough natural reproduction taking place?

It used to skew large, but the big fish have been dying off. The 2013 year class is now the dominant one in the Lake. Despite all the negativity surrounding the lake, the fishing hasn’t been all that bad. And right now is a great time to go because people are not fishing it for the most part.

I love the fresh “warrior” haircut too…. sunburned face, white scalp. He is harvesting as his ancestors did…

The 2013 class got a foothold, because of late ice-outs. What is affected by late ice-outs …? Nets and spawning walleyes… Kinda of hard to stay away from politics, when that is what is ruining the lakes.

big_g wrote:

I love the fresh “warrior” haircut too…. sunburned face, white scalp. He is harvesting as his ancestors did…

The 2013 class got a foothold, because of late ice-outs. What is affected by late ice-outs …? Nets and spawning walleyes… Kinda of hard to stay away from politics, when that is what is ruining the lakes.

It could very be that the late ice out and lack of netting is the major reason the 2013 class is so strong. But the major reason could also be due to the fact that there were now so few walleye left in the lake that the eye’s who had been gobbling up little walleyes like M & M’s were no longer there to do so. Or it could be that having a late ice out is generally good for walleye spawning success and combined with the other two factors we ran into some amazingly good fortune with the 2013 year class.

Or it could be……….

The zeebs
The Pike
The Smallmouth
The South winds
The 8:13 sun rise
Trump running for President
Female minnow imbalance
Lack of traffic on HWY 169
My haircut
The Blue Ribbon panel
Zebco reels
Sternbergs report

or any number of other things that the DNR and others have blamed. But certainly NOT the nets.

Fished Mille lacs every weekend this winter, starting when they first let ATV’s out.

It usually starts out good with the catch and then as the season progresses tapers down for us. The first few weekend we caught a lot of fish, most in the 13-14 inch size. We only got 2-3 fish over 20″ the entire year. The previous year we caught 20+ fish over 20″ with some 28″, 26″

It has changed for us.