I was planning on putting the dock in tonite. But I’m unable to as my shore line is full of gill nets.
I can’t afford a new boat! but my native friends have new ones……tonite I had four boats setting nets out front of my home on Mille Lacs. Two of the boats had Wis.Lic. on them and the other two were brand new rig’s.
After a number of years of this activity…….it still burns my behind 
Oh well enough……..belly aching
That is a sad site Bob 
That sucks big time.
That’s an unfortunate site. But the lake looks nice in the background. Can’t wait to get out there. It’s burning me alive to be sitting up here at school.
Josh
I’m sure it’s been said before, but my way of thinking is that our red brethren should be allowed to exercise their right to hunt and fish as their ancestors did. The catch phrase in that statement is “as their ancestors did”. Birch bark canoes with torches and wooden spears.
Do you think that they would help me pay my property taxes that are due next month?
na……….
Makes ya sick, doesn’t it! I watched them pulling their nets last year, they take ALOT of fish out. Big eyes, muskies, everything. It’s B.S. they get to do this, let alone while they spawn!!
Dam shame Bob, Dam shame……
Not a pretty sight. This is part of why I hope Gov Pawlenty gets going on the state run casino, or at least some competition for these guys.
Bobber, other than common sense, is there really anything stopping you from getting your dock in? Are there laws against it?
Sorry to see Bobber Josh: YOU have school work? Last we talked you were just napping 
Need help getting that dock in? , then after we get that dock in we sit on it drink some cold beer 
and throw rocks towards nets
Josh is headed back to WalMart to pickup some clearance stuff for me! 
Josh, Hook & Denise, Bob, we are missing you guys! We need a Mille Lacs fix BAD! Hope to get up there soon and look for fish houses before opener!
Take care!
Tuck
I’m sure they had two PFD’s and a throw-able on-board too..
Doesn’t look like the guy in front with the net needs much more to eat by the looks of the boat out of water.
Bobber, we watched Jim’s video of this activity last year. The only thing worse I could imagine is to see it live. Not sure what I would do, but it probably would have to be nothing. Those are the fish that Winston wants to catch off Jim’s dock.
Anyway, see ya on opener.
That looks like the perfict time to throw out a big fire cracker.. 
What most of you haven’t picked up on yet is that many of the boats these guys use to gill net Mille Lacs are actually paid for by US!! Thats TRUE!! Tax funded gill netting!
The Great Lakes Tribal blah blah blah (?), is funded by our tax dollars, and they bought many of the boats for these people to use so they can come over here to wipe out our lakes just like they have done to all the northern Wisconsin lakes already.
Another thing is that 50% of the tribal harvest is allocated to the Mille Lacs band, and the other 50% is divided between the other 6 bands signed on the treaty. The Mille Lacs band has never taken their full allocation, but the Wisconsin bands do EVERY YEAR! Plus, they are starting to hassel the Mille Lacs band to either take all their share, or to give it to them so they can take it out of the lake.
I could go on for a long time, but I’ll digress for now.
a few years back, well when I was still in school. I had heard through round about sources that someone had found piles of fish that where netted out of the big pond on the side of the road just rotting away and not even used. I also remember a few years ago, more recent, that someone was driving around the big pond taking pot shots at the netters with a .22 rifle.
shane 
Bobber,
Another very big point…. keep your eyes open to see if these guys lift any northerns in their nets. The last couple years they have been throwing back dead, or almost dead northerns from their nets because if they reach their quota on northerns, ALL gill netting stops. They are trying very hard to have the northern quota raised so they won’t have that problem. What is actually happening is there are dead northerns floating all over the lake because they are trying to keep from hitting that quota by throwing back these dead, or almost dead fish.
If you see any northerns lifted, get the # off the front of the boat, and run over to the landing and report it to the DNR, or U.S.F.W. officer at the landing.
you should of put your dock in but don’t make that mistake of not to to bring your knife with you and accidently slip and cut one or all of the nets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sad day for all of the real anglers!!!!!
Bob —
Sorry to see that pic, but I truely thank you for taking the time to raising awareness and post it.
I wonder what restaurant that will end up in?
I saw piles of rotting fish when I was Stationed in Dulth as Navy recruiter. I also know the resort owners and the natives were shooting at each other in northern Wisconsin over this same issue about 15 years ago.
I also agree. Conoes and wooden spears are how their (and some of my) ancestors did it. They should have to do the same.
Crying Shame Bob and I am sorry to see that you have to see this every spring. The rage would fill my blood veins…
Just curious….Does anyone know the price in which these fish are sold from the native americans? Price per #?
Last year we watched one boat pull in a big northern out of their net. The northern did a job on the net…….they can really wrap themselves up when they get caught in a net, the natives were a little upset having to deal with the pike. On this day, they did keep the big northern……..my neighbor was watching all this activity. He asked how many walleye they were getting in their net’s. They reported that they were averaging around 75+ fish per net. On that day we had more than 8-10 net’s off our shoreline…….that average=600-700 walleyes taken each setting. They netted our shoreline for 3-4 day’s. I think after pulling in that many fish, why would you need to take any more?
Sure wish I a meal (2 fish) of walleye in the freezer, guess I’ll have to eat a meal of perch soon!
NO comment here. I once did a paper on this topic back in college. JLD I know what you mean. If the public knew have of the information, the majority would come unglued. Lets just say I feel a lot like you Steve. This really gets my blood boiling
My cousin used to live on Lac Du Flambou reservation land ( Northern WI ) for many years. He told me ( more than once )of seeing piles of Walleyes and a few Muskies, Northerns rotting away at the local dump there during the Indians Netting/spearing season.
I personaly ran across a hoop net that was abaondoned on a lake not far from Minoqua one spring Crappie fishing. I got ahold of the local warden about it and when they pulled it up it was full of dead/rotting fish. GRRRRRR
Personaly , I would’nt have too big a problem with the netting/spearing IF ( A BIG IF ) there was a need for those fish and it was done with respect to the resourse. If a family relied on those fish for food then that would be a little different. Seeing as some of these fish are being left to rot tells me that’s not the case tho.
If they want to spear and net then do it the old way I say. I’m sick and tired of seeing spearing/netting used as a political tool by the tribes like it has been in Wisconsin and I’d assume in MN. I know in the past the state of WI has paid the Indians to NOT spear thier quota of Muskies in some northern lakes here. The state paid out 100 k one year alone a while back so the tribes would’nt spear Musky that particular season. Can you say blackmail ?
I think it’s time the state/states grew some stones and addressed this issue like it was important ie: Casinos OR spearing/netting.
Where it me and I wanted to put my pier out but nets might be in the way I would do it anyway and let the chips fall where they may legaly. Non native Americans have rights too … Don’t we ?
I think a good pair of shears or an old about 90 horse motor could take care of those. Just chaps a guys hide and is really sad that it needs to happen.
I’ve got a 14 ft. duckboat and a 9 hp motor. We could buzz the shoreline from sundown to sunrise. I guess that means they will just take more somewhere else.
Bobber, I am kind of suprised that you said the boat had a Wisconsin license on it. I can’t imagine them being forced to pay for a license.
How can it be that the earliest and latest immigrants have such a hard time with conservation? I really think that Gov. Pawlenty needs to take a hard look at what is going on up there. Something needs to change. I have looked at both sides of this one (2 research papers in strong opposition, and 1 semester in a college Ojibwe class). I am still strongly opposed and believe something has to be done. I think some more pictures posted here and at some resorts up there might get a little more emotion stirring.
Bobber, bring on the pics of all those walleyes being thrown into the boat hand over fist.
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