July Closure

No I realize that, but maybe next year and future years.

I have said this before but I think that banning live bait the entire soft water season would save enough quota so that some fish could be harvested instead. I’d be for it and I think it’s worth a try. I’d rather use artificial lures all season and keep an occasional fish than use live bait and have it be catch and release with a July closure.

Joneser, it may not be so much the pressure, it may be the rapid temperature change. It may be difficult for a fish to adjust so quickly especially when it’s under stress of being caught.

This is also why minnows are pretty useless in warm water. They come from a tank that’s 50 degrees and people expect them to stay alive in 80 degree water.

I have heard of an item called barotrauma but I believe it’s more related to winter angling. It’s when a fish is pulled from deep water and it’s swim bladder can’t adjust.

Tom schmitt wrote:

No I realize that, but maybe next year and future years.

Next years numbers and future years has nothing to do with this years quota.

I just hope the July closure allows us to fish the rest of the year without another closure/shutdown.

The old saying of once you lose a privilege it’s very hard to get it back. I will be very surprised if this year isn’t year one of the annual July shut-down.

People are just use to getting jerked around on Mille Lacs that they don’t even complain anymore. Why would they go back to the way it was? You can wave bye bye to Walleye fishing in July.

Dutchboy wrote:

The old saying of once you lose a privilege it’s very hard to get it back. I will be very surprised if this year isn’t year one of the annual July shut-down.

People are just use to getting jerked around on Mille Lacs that they don’t even complain anymore. Why would they go back to the way it was? You can wave bye bye to <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Walleye fishing in July.

Sadly, I completely agree.

-J.

Its doubtful millelacs will reopen August 1.

joneser wrote:

The notion that pulling a <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye up from 30′ of water is going to kill it is absurd. These fish evolved to handle changing depths and fast. 30′ of water pressure is nothing. Measure 30′ on the side of a house or tree or think of your boat length and then add a dozen or so feet.

It’s not a lot. A human can free dive to that depth no problem. Humans evolved on land. Fish did not. They evolved in water.

The notion that a fish going from a depth of 30′ to the surface will kill it is insanely stupid. Walleyes that feed in the shallows don’t need days to adjust to deeper depths. They can literally swim in water a foot deep and then swim out to 30′ of water in a second or two and not die. They do this sort of stuff all the time because they’re a fish.

If you’re killing fish, or they’re struggling to swim back down, it’s not the water depth, it’s how you’re handling them.

I actually think bringing them up fast is better than bringing them up absurdly slow. Fighting a fish for an extra ten minutes wears it out and is going to leave it a lot more stressed.

I’ve caught a lot of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes deep trolling the basin with leadcore in July and August and have never had any issues with them swimming right back down without more than one slap of the tail and they’re gone.

They’re fish. They swim. Going up 30′ of water column is something they do all the time. When they’re chasing a school of tullibee do you think they’re going to stop after going up ten feet? No, they’re going to swim up until the catch them or they get away.

30′ of water. Think about it. It’s nothing. Humans can do it no problem but it it’ll kill fish? Seriously??

It’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. I don’t know who made it up but congrats to them for turning their stupidity into what is now mistakenly believed to be fact.

“From July through September, volunteer anglers that landed a walleye from deep water called a chase boat to transport it to holding cages that extended from the surface as deep as 56 feet. Fish were measured and dropped in at the surface, simulating anglers releasing walleyes within the protected slot limit. Anglers reported fishing depth and method, handling time and other factors. Cages were monitored for 120 hours.

In total, 31 percent of the 319 experimental walleyes died. Walleyes caught in 30 feet of water had about an 8 percent chance of perishing–fish from 40 feet 18 percent mortality, and fish from 50 feet 35 percent mortality. For each additional 10 feet of depth, mortality roughly doubled. ”

considering the flats are about 30′ +/- and these fish were put in cages for about 120 hrs, IMO, i’d venture to guess the actual mortality rate is probably pretty low.

Making money hand over fist during the ice season? Where do you pull your info?
The resorts that maintain roads are constantly burning gas in their trucks, and burning up trucks. Maintaining icehouses and other equipment is expensive and hard work. I am at Mille Lacs a lot … the ice business is extremely unpredictable, both for fishing success and financial success.
When everything converges with solid ice, decent weather (lack of snow), and some fish biting … yes, I bet the resorts do well. But they aren’t winning the lottery every year.

Gonefishin … Hunters is one of the best run resorts on the lake. They run a ton of tournaments and events thru their resort. Others should take note.
This is one complaint I have about resorts on Mille Lacs whining about their businesses … what did they do to help themselves, other than wait for the next fishing season waiting for people to come?
Hunters makes their business successful.

Bobberstop … the numbers came out. Thru June there is 35% of the quota left. I would guess there will be a small percentage adjustment thru the month of July because of Smallie fishing … but it should be very small considering the major reduction in fishing pressure.
Fishing will start again on August 1.

In total, 31 percent of the 319 experimental walleyes died. Walleyes caught in 30 feet of water had about an 8 percent chance of perishing–fish from 40 feet 18 percent mortality, and fish from 50 feet 35 percent mortality. For each additional 10 feet of depth, mortality roughly doubled. ”

Who is fishing 50 feet on mille lacs. Heck even 40ft is pretty rare.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Who is fishing 50 feet on mille lacs. Heck even 40ft is pretty rare.

I don’t think there is a 50 foot spot on that lake. There may not even be a 40 foot spot. The main basin in a high water year may reach 40 feet but I think it maxes out 35-40 feet out there.

gimruis wrote:

There may not even be a 40 foot spot.

The Tullibee hole on the south end is a little over 40. But yeah, no 50 foot spots in Milly.

-J.

Complete madness. Hooking mortality is just another tool to skew data. Plug as many potentials in as possible and you will reach the number you wish to justify. Complete bs. Might as well start factoring in prop strikes. So they figure that after a fish is caught, normal for them to not move nor eat for a period of 120 hrs? That’s 5 days of that fish sitting in a cage on the bottom of the lake, and that is considered good data and normal?

Typical government, throw darts at a board until one concept sticks or the people get tired enough of dealing with that they just learn to live with it. Follow the money trail and that is the issue.

White tail tip muskies are the new hybrid on the lake i guess.

joneser wrote:

Gas is cheap. You can buy a lot of gas for $400 and that’s roughly the going rate for a weekend in a permanent ice house. Now times that by two or three dozen for six weekends, plus quite a few additional rentals mixed in during the week. Granted, probably nowhere near full capacity like weekends. Then throw in bait sales, road pass sales, regular room and cabin rentals, possibly dining, bar revenue, etc.

Don’t forget beer. Lots and lots of beer. Can’t do any sort of ice drinking without the beer.