14 – 18, It’s official!

In case this news slipped out of your net….Effective Dec. 1, the slot changes to 14-18.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/information_center/news_releases/nr1006291096.html

Thanks Jon. I noticed they lowered the “over” slot down to 28″. I wish they had left it at 30″. A 28″ fish is no trophy in my book but those fish over 30″ are really awesome specimens. I realize that the quantity of fish caught and kept over 28″ will be small compared to the over-all harvest numbers but in a perfect world, or my version of it, ALL those 28″ and 29″ fish would go back.

What are your thoughts?

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

James, I agree 100%.

I don’t understand the change either. No one would have complaind about the 30 inch rule if it stayed. At least I had not heard any talk about it. I know there was a lot of pressure from the resorts that run ice operations to open up the slot a bit. Adding the 14 and 15 inch fish in there certainly will keep that group happy. (Me too!)

Should be a pretty good run on those 14-16 inch fish. I was tossing back quite a few there this fall.

Jon J.

I think the new 14-18 slot will greatly help the resorts

rental business this winter. It would be great if they kept the 28″ rule and not went back and forth with it? I like the 28″ rule for tournement ‘s, It’s tuff to catch fish over 30″!!!!!!

It’s just fun to catch those Big Pig’s and put them back for another day!!!!

I dont agree with James but do agree with Bobber. Putting back 28’s and 29’s because they are not trophies??? Hellooooo. Their are many folks who have never caught walleyes that big that might want one for the wall. Also, I think it does lend itself more logical for tournament fishing. Those fish get released anyway. Most of the people Ive talked to arent getting 30 inch fish on Mille Lacs during the day for most of the year. The fall night bite is a time when big fish are chompin period so its much easier to catch any fish at that time period.

Steve Hougom – FTL Webstaff

Edited by hougie on 11/28/01 10:04 AM.

I consider the 10 pound mark as a true trophy. 28 and 29 inch Mille Lacs walleyes don’t hit that mark. Setting the mark at 30 inches basically says put all of the big fish back except for that rare 30 or 31 incher.

Mille Lacs walleyes seem to get stuck growing much bigger than 28-29 inches. I’d venture to guess a big portion of these fish are old and near the end of their life. Is it going to hurt taking these fish? I doubt it.

I’d still like to see a more balanced approach taken towards slots. Remember how we got here. Ten years of 6 fish, one over 20 inches. Seemed to work just fine. (Even with million pound harvest years!) I’d like to see a reduction in the limit to 3 or 4 fish rather than this constant tinkering with slot limits. Hammering the snot out of one year class will screw up this lake in short order.

This might be good poll material for the homepage!

I agree more attention should be paid to the lower end of the slot. 28 + fish are OLD fish. The prime spawners are from 22-26 I think. But I really still think that the majority of anglers are not going to agree with or want a high end of 30″. And like I said can you imagine fishing a tournament and releasing a 29.75 inch walleye? Like it or not Tournaments are an important part of life to alot of anglers. And these fish when released should survive if the tournament is run right. Telling people how big their trophy is or should be is not going to win any popularity contests I guarantee you that. Ive seen this same thing happen with Deer hunting in regards to bucks. When youre talking trophy, youre talking about one fish not 6. Its the practice of keeping mutliple fish over 20 + that needs to be dealt with in my opinion. All this being said, Im certainly not a fisheries manager and they should ultimately know what is best for the resource although I am aware that their are politics involved in these decisions unfortunately.

Steve Hougom – FTL Webstaff

Edited by hougie on 11/28/01 01:41 PM.

In response to your past years notes and how the various poundages taken in some years have not really affected the lake, its my opinion two things have made the biggest difference on the lake. 1. The night restrictions early in the season( puts a dent in the meat hogs party). 2. The C+R craze has really caught on. I know Bobbers and I have even convinced my Dad to start throwing some back and I never thought i’d see that day. I wouldn’t care if they imposed the night ban the whole open water season, don’t get me wrong i’d really miss the fall bite but i’d take that over the rediculous slot imposed last summer.

Just my 2 cents worth

Hook

I could live with an open water night ban and go back to the one over 20 rule. Actually, had not givin that option any thought.

Plenty of other place to chase walleyes at night.

J.

I would be crushed if we had to go to an all night ban. I do catch many fish during the day but a fall without trolling would be disappointing.

In response to some of the above posts, I see both sides of the coin here. I myself, see a fish over 30″ to be a trophy in any man’s book. On the other hand, my brother is a taxidermist and I get a chance to see some people bring in some fish that are maybe not a trophy in my mind, but to see their excitement on their faces and to hear all the stories on how they caught the fish, what they were doing when they caught it, it brings a smile to my face. I feel everyone should be entitled to one trophy fish, whether it meets our standards or not. Not everyone is fortunate enough to see fish of this caliber on a regular basis.

As far as the slots, I stopped fishing tourneys on Mille Lacs when the slots really started to get strict. In my opinion, it kind of took something away from it when we had to release fish that were 27.5″ or so. I know everyone is in the same boat here and everyone has to abide by the same rules, but I just chose not to be a part of it and I know alot of fellow tournament anglers as well that did the same thing. We just go elsewhere (tournament), thats it. It is still my number one body of water to fish. The quality of fish is second to none. I would rather see the lower end of the slots opened a little and keep it there and possibly reduce the bag limit.

Will the large portion of the 25-28″ fish get a chance to grow to 30″+? How old are these fish.

To Hougies response, I agree, the DNR have the slots there for a reason, They are the big water specialists. I would hate to see the quality of fishing go down the tubes just by trying to make everyone happy and open it up on both ends

Forgive me if I got off the beaten path here.

I agree with Dinosaur-Fall night fishing is a privilege that should not be banned. This year was my first opportunity, and we fished both the October and November full moons. October was excellent with over 40 fish, half above slot, half below slot. We kept 4 slot fish. November was only a 4-hour trip with 4 fish caught, but 3 were from 27″ to 28″.

These were my 3 biggest fish, and it was a great experience I hope to repeat. These fish would be released by me regardless of the slot. Personally, I would release anything under the 30″ milestone. Kind of like a 21″ smallie.

On Mille Lacs Lake, a 28″ walleye is no more a trohy than a 5 LB bass in Texas! Its a nice fish, for some a personal best, but too darn easily had to make that 28″ mark the makings of a “trophy” class fish.

Why is it tought to catch 29″ walleye on Mille Lacs? Because the top of the slot has been 28″ for several years. If the slot was topped at 30″ and left there for 4 – 5 years I’m sure we’d see a heck of a lot more 29″ and 30″ fish.

Each year I’ve made the trip to Mille Lacs the average size fish we catch increases about 1″ from the year prior. 3 years ago my catch was dominated by 21″ – 22″ fish. This year it was 24″ – 25″ fish with more 28″ – 30″ fish than I can ever remember. Talk to the old-timers that fish up there. They’ll tell you they’ve never seen anything like the fishing we’re seeing now on that body of water. I truely believe that many more 28″ fish are taken off the water each year than the DNR will ever know.

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

James,

I couldn’t agree with you more. Growing up in SD a 28″ fish was our goal. That’s what everyone considers a trophy there, but on Mille Lacs or even in Minnesota as far as that goes, I would say a trophy is a 30 inch fish. If we are going to see 31 or 33 inch fish coming out of that body of water, then we need to keep the one over 30 rule year round.

Don’t get me, I still believe a true trophy is in the eye of the beholder. I was lucky enough to get my 30 this summer, but I’m going back for that 32 now. I know she is swimming around in there somewhere. I just hope I have the strength to release her when the time comes. Here piggy, piggy, piggy!!!

James-Amen, man. If only more people would finally figure this out. It’s not a coincidence you can go down to pool 2 and catch numbers of big fish nearly year round. Regs. work!