Looks like a good day to be on the water!!

Stole a capture from the Bobbercam at Hunter’s Point Resort. Would love to see this on opener!!

I’ll take a little chop!

-J.

I’m with you Jon. Calm water is my biggest enemy out there. I think I’d rather have a 30mph wind than have it be hot and calm. I spend a lot of time out there and all I ever hear are people hoping for calm weather?? Not sure why? They don’t call it a walleye chop for nothin

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Stole a capture from the Bobbercam at Hunter’s Point Resort. Would love to see this on opener!!

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I don’t know… that ice doesn’t look very safe

That would be a perfect smallmouth day

Who said anything about fishing. The season is closed you goofballs. I’d just like to be on the lake.

As long as there is no rain…. Were due for 65′ and a 5 mph wind out of the west on opener.

big G

Ya, it hasn’t been the most pleasant the last few years. I just can’t wait to get up there. I’ve been spending way too much time on the Bobbercam day dreaming!!

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Who said anything about fishing. The season is closed you goofballs. I’d just like to be on the lake.

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Kooty,

You’d be surprised as to how many white men are already fishing on Mille Lacs, for walleyes, and keeping them too!

The DNR will not do anything to anyone they see fishing right now because the state does not want to have any political hoopla over tribal harvest. Imagine the trouble that would be caused if an american/Minnesota citizen was ticketed for fishing out of season while another citizen of a different skin color is allowed to do the exact same thing? Its just one of those things the state and US government are sweeping under the rug.

Hell, you could walk right up to a CO at the landing with a bucket full of fish and they will not do a thing to you.

Don’t believe me, ask Steve Fellegy. He’s done it more than once, trying to get arrested or ticketed so he could have his day in court, but they would not do a thing to him.

If the people here at IDO want to make a big statement about tribal harvest, and the unfairness of it all, we should sponsor a fishing outing and GTG next year during the tribal harvest and challenge the DNR and USFW to do anything to us. Invite the press too. We’ll all go home with plenty of fish.

I think I’m gunna go look for some “perch” sunday to see if they are in their normal spots this year

Jack, I’ve heard about this as well. Very interesting. I’d love to see what would happen if we had 20 boats go out there and fish walleye early??

I’ve heard of that in the past also Jack. Never witnessed it, but it would be intersting to see the looks if you showed up at the landing with your 4 fish in the slot. Maybe even get the natives to clean them for me.

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Jack, I’ve heard about this as well. Very interesting. I’d love to see what would happen if we had 20 boats go out there and fish walleye early??

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The last thing the government wants is to have a court find someone guilty for taking fish while other citizens can do so because they are of a different color or ethnicity.

Well, depending on the 09 rules, maybe Grow and I will have to get an early start next Friday.

“Don’t believe me, ask Steve Fellegy. He’s done it more than once, trying to get arrested or ticketed so he could have his day in court, but they would not do a thing to him.”

HHmmm.. That seems to be an interesting concept, Do something against the law and unethical is some eyes to show that a group of people are doing something wrong. From my understanding, Mr. Fellegy does not care for muskies or musky fisherman. What will be his next tactic? Snag spawning muskies out of season and rip the gills out and throw them on shore to prove a point? Some people need to understand that because they have fished Mille Lacs for 40 years, does not automatically entitle them to owning the lake.. I do not agree with what goes on with the netting, but I think if Mr. Fellegy is doing what is stated above, it reconfirms that he is way over the top.. Didn’t he go on a rant about GPS mapping technology, because now anglers can find “HIS” fishing spots?

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“Don’t believe me, ask Steve Fellegy. He’s done it more than once, trying to get arrested or ticketed so he could have his day in court, but they would not do a thing to him.”

HHmmm.. That seems to be an interesting concept, Do something against the law and unethical is some eyes to show that a group of people are doing something wrong.

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Can’t say I am opposed to this method. I believe this method of taking that amount of fish during the spawn is flat out wrong. We have been up and down this road. One race is getting special priveleges over another. I wonder humbly what our “President of color” thinks about that. I am serious, and I don’t mean anything derogatory about that. I really would like to hear his opinion on the special treatment of Indians on this and other lakes when you and I cannot do the same. Neither my relatives or I relinquished our rights to net and spear as they did back in the day this treaty was signed.

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From my understanding, Mr. Fellegy does not care for muskies or musky fisherman. What will be his next tactic? Snag spawning muskies out of season and rip the gills out and throw them on shore to prove a point? Some people need to understand that because they have fished Mille Lacs for 40 years, does not automatically entitle them to owning the lake..

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First off, Steve is not a person who would even make wanton waste of any natural resource, so saying stupid things like that takes away considerably from any point you might want to make. Maybe he isn’t fond of muskies, or the people who fish them, or maybe he is, I do not know personally, DO YOU?

Also, as an FYI for you, when he and his brother, who happens to be in the fresh water fishing hall of fame, grew up on this lake and started earning their livelihoods on it there were no muskies in the lake at all. They are not a natural inhabitants of the lake, they are stocked, a non-native species. An invasive species in some peoples eyes. Steve and a handfull of other people have seen exactly what their pressence in the lake has done thru the years and he is more entitled to his opinion than most, because he has witnessed it all from day 1, and can speak from a point of fact. Can you?

The truth is that Steve was involved from the very beginning to get the original musky stocking programs started on the lake and is an avid muskie fisherman. He has caught and released over 600 fish in his time, and won more than a couple muskie tournaments on the lake.

Please tell me of one musky tournament that Steve Fellegy has won on Mille Lacs?? You said he won several, just post one!

By the way, Muskies are native to Mille Lacs, they may have been there in low populations, however are indeed native to the lake. A resort owner introduced more muskies in the 60’s, than the MN DNR stocked and managed the lake in the 80’s.. First with a Wisconsin strain fish and later with the Leech lake strain.

Does Steve like musky fisherman? well if he does he sure has a strange way of expressing that in his writings…

Point is, two wrongs does not make a right..”I hate that Indians catch fish in nets, so I am going to fish them out of season while they are spawning.”

You wrote “Steve is not a person who would even make wanton waste of any natural resource” If a person is poaching fish out of season to carry them around in a bucket to try to get arrested to pove a point, seems like a waste of a natural resource to me! Poaching is poaching and I do not agree with his tactics. I think we can all agree that we do not like the netting, but poaching fish out of season is not going to stop the netting.

Just because you are in the “fishing hall of fame” does not make you above the law…

“Steve and a handfull of other people have seen exactly what their pressence in the lake has done thru the years and he is more entitled to his opinion than most, because he has witnessed it all from day 1, and can speak from a point of fact. Can you?”

Please enlighten me on what exactly their presence has done to the lake? By the way one of my fishing buddies is one of the lakes DNR biologists, and I think I have some pretty good insight of truthfully what these fish have done to the lake.

It is amazing to me that many people will believe “opinions” from anglers versus fact based data collected through extensive research by the DNR fisheries..

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Point is, two wrongs does not make a right..”I hate that Indians catch fish in nets, so I am going to fish them out of season while they are spawning.”

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Josh,

Welcome to IDO!! Not sure what Steve did to ruffle your feathers, but it’s obvious you are not a fan. That’s cool, however, you may want to take it up with him directly.

His attempt to push the envelope was indeed a very ingenious one. If he had been ticketed, it would have laid the ground work for a law suit to challenge the 1837 treaty ruling. I think your personal issues with Steve may be clouding your judgement on how good of an idea this is. Unfortunately the DNR want nothing to do with this, so many of us who oppose netting are back to the drawing board.

I’m guessing if a couple hundred of us showed up and started fishing as soon as the ice is out, we may get bit more attention. We may also need the news stations to do a story on how the DNR is not ticketing us “law breakers”. You may disagree with this strategy, that’s cool too, but remember the Boston Tea Party??

Long winded, I know. Can we all get back to the point of this post, I just want to be on the lake when it’s glass calm like that with a little overcast.

Kooty,
I did not mean for a personal attack on Steve Fellegy, however I do believe his extreme opinions and tactics are doing nothing for the netting issues. I do not agree with the netting, but every year everyone gets all fired up about Indians netting. Even though they are netting, we still have the one of the best walleye lakes in the country. Resort owners and guides like to scream so loud on that lake, but the fact is, the lake has a phenominal walleye population. What will change if the netting stops? Now we can catch our limit in 2 hours vs. 4 hours? The fact is that the DNR has done an excellent job at managing the lake for several different species of fish.
By the way, your pictue does look great.. Those are the perfect days for a daytime musky bite..

this is no place to hang our dirty laundry out with personal attacks. I believe to this day that “Steve” does more good for the lake than harm. You want others to site proof, when all you have is opinion. Both Steve and his brother earn respect or they lose it, so what. Back to the snap shot, wish I was there.

Chomps,

This was not a personal attack on Steve, this was a attack on the extreme tactics that are doing no good, unethical and illegal (that is a fact). If some feel this is a good avenue, fine.. I believe that all muskies should be catch and release only. Many others felt the same way and a group of intelligent musky anglers work hard WITH the MN DNR and created a comprimsed to a 48″ size limit (fact). This group continues to work hard to increase the size limit to 54″ (fact). Screaming the loudest does not always get you what you want(opinion). Do you really think that this tactic is going to do a whole lot of good? It’ll get some media attention, it may create a long drawn out court case that will last for years, but in the end the Indians are still going to have the right to net(Fact). Do we think the Indians do not have lawyers and are just going to lay down? And let say we live in a far fetch fantasy world where the Indians are no longer allowed to net, what is this going to do for you? The lake has a great population of walleyes, and it really is not a problem to go out and catch a limit of fish on any given day(fact)..

You are absolutly correct that Steve has done more good for the lake than harm, however I believe if he is poaching fish out of season to prove a point, he is creating more harm than good.

how may muskies are netted in the spring or fall? Just a question I think your DNR fishing buddy should know. What is the neting mortality of walleye which are suppose to just “bounce” off the net before becoming entangled? Your DNR budy should know that answer also. These are questions I have E-mailed both the DNR and the tribal DNR. Last year there was a big hub-bub about the lost nets, the law was broken, what if any penalties and fines were imposed? Again ask your buddy. We sure could use you as a source for some information, because sometimes it seems as though there is a cover-up. I sure wish I was given the same rights. Thanks for any input.

I’ll be more than happy to ask those questions. When you are talking nets are you refering to tribal nets or nets set by the DNR? Tribal nets catch several muskies and they do kill the fish. I am not happy about it, but not in a million years would I go fish for muskies right now to prove a point. The muskies are spawning and the last thing I want to do is disrupt my future 50″ fish. This action would not only harm the fishery I love, it is unethical. Catching walleyes while they are spawning DOES harm the fishery. Yes it sucks that the netting takes place, but it doesn’t make much sense to harm the fishery more knowing that your “point” is never going to be proven.
As for a “law broken” with the lost nets, this is not true. A BAD choice was made and a decision was made to allow netting to take place, even though their was a strong risk of wind shifting and blowing ice back over the set nets. This did indeed happen, however unless you have some further insight, no laws were broken, just a bad choice was made..

sorry, not a “law” just a self imposed regulation ie hot air. To be sure that there is not going to be another fiasco like last year, there is more self imposed regulations. I find it interesting that a band can bring at it’s own discretion their own tribal DNR personel, who pays for these “personel”?

I have been doing a lot of homework on my own to try and get some data on whether or not walleyes come back to the same spots each year to spawn. The most recent FLW magazine does reference data showing that. We have spots on the East side that in years prior to netting were prolific spawning spots, and fishing was fantastic, year after year. Since the nets have come out, males and females alike have been down in out catch rates in a BIG way. I have to believe in my own mind that when year after year you rape the same area of fish, you are destroying whole year classes of fish that may come back in following years. And what if the spawn does not go well in other parts of the lake, and the spawn on the east side rocks is the best? You would not have those fish to contribute to the population to the lake. Doesn’t make that much of a difference you say?? Just look at the poundage of fish taken, and do the math. We did, and it comes out to more than 2 semi trailers of fish from end to end, top to bottom.

I know that is not where this post was going. But being vigilant is the only way to get changes made. Didn’t Rosa Parks do a little something illegal to force change? I believe two negatives can make a positive.
But that’s just me…or is it?

Anyways, everyone have fun this opener! May there be fish on your spots!

(Except Kooty, Big G, Big D, and anyone else fishing the “Big D Classic!”)

Every man to their own opinion.. I do apologize, I did not have my facts straight about Steve Fellegy writing negitive comments about Mille Lacs muskies. He was not the author of the article that I refered too and I should of had my facts straight. Another Fellegy wrote about the GPS and I should have not included it in the first place as it had no point. I am also told that Steve Fellegy did win a Hartman musky tournament several years ago, once again, if this is true than I am sorry.. Good luck this weekend…