I can’t wait to get back out on ML! In the re-opening window if possible, and if not this winter. And if not then, next spring. Frankly I’m sick of all the BS coming from the DNR, and don’t really care what they do regulation-wise anymore. I will follow whatever the laws are at the time, and if that means I’m fishing musky, northerns, smallies or CnR fishing eye’s so be it!
I sent an email to the DNR yesterday. Here is the reply today:
From: MN_Info (DNR) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 8:15 AM
To: Jordan, Jon K
Subject: RE: Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Regulations
________________________________________
Good Morning Jon,
Thank you for contacting the Minnesota DNR.
Walleye fishing will reopen at 6:01 a.m. on August 11th for catch-and-release only through Labor Day. A night fishing closure will remain in place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. through November 30th.
Please feel free to contact us if you have further questions either by email or by calling 888-646-6367 M-F 8:00 am – 8:00 pm and on Saturday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Have a great day!
Carly DeVries
Information Consultant | Office of Communication & Outreach
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN, 55155
Phone: 888-646-6367
Email: [email protected]
From: Jordan, Jon K.
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2017 11:02 AM
To: MN_Info (DNR) <[email protected]>
Subject: Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Regulations
Hello,
Can you confirm the Mille Lacs Lake walleye catch and release season will re-open on August 11th?
Jon Jordan
St Paul, Mn.
Well there you go, even though in the back of my head I still feel they might last min close it…i don’t even know what to expect anymore.
When calculated harvest totals (from hooking mortality) point to closing, or staying closed, they open it. And when their numbers point to keeping it open, they close it. It almost seems like the DNR doesn’t even like their numbers…
Let me start off by saying I’m not against Bass fishing whatsoever and enjoy catching giant smallies as much as anyone. While I don’t trust the DNR’s numbers, hooking mortality is still hooking mortality and the bass anglers catch LOTS of walleye during their prefish and tournament days. At last years BASS tournament most anglers stated they caught large numbers of walleyes while fishing. Many were quoted saying “There seems to be plenty of walleyes in this lake”.
What happens when anglers exceed the quota after it re-opens? will the lake be shut down to all fishing? No bass tourney?
Watch the final creel survey for the season come out the day after The BASS tournament ends….
You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Let me start off by saying I’m not against Bass fishing whatsoever and enjoy catching giant smallies as much as anyone. While I don’t trust the DNR’s numbers, hooking mortality is still hooking mortality and the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>bass anglers catch LOTS of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye during their prefish and tournament days. At last years <em class=”ido-tag-em”>BASS tournament most anglers stated they caught large numbers of walleyes while fishing. Many were quoted saying “There seems to be plenty of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes in this lake”.
What happens when anglers exceed the quota after it re-opens? will the lake be shut down to all fishing? No bass tourney?
Watch the final creel survey for the season come out the day after The BASS tournament ends….
You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
I expect another bizarre twist here. As of July 15, we were already 2,000 lbs into the 11,000 lb “Conservation Reserve” leaving 9,000 lbs available. It will have been almost a month since then and I personally have seen many more “floaters” after the shutdown than I did before the shutdown. Certainly because of high water temps, but the fact that walleye were not even being targeted during this time period would be the concern. It is almost impossible to imagine that the hooking mortality would not have used up or exceeded the remaining 9,000 lbs. 
I was up this past weekend and heard from a very reliable source that it will re-open this weekend. Whether it stays open through Labor Day is another debate.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Angler II wrote:</div>
Let me start off by saying I’m not against Bass fishing whatsoever and enjoy catching giant smallies as much as anyone. While I don’t trust the DNR’s numbers, hooking mortality is still hooking mortality and the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>bass anglers catch LOTS of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye during their prefish and tournament days. At last years <em class=”ido-tag-em”>BASS tournament most anglers stated they caught large numbers of walleyes while fishing. Many were quoted saying “There seems to be plenty of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes in this lake”.What happens when anglers exceed the quota after it re-opens? will the lake be shut down to all fishing? No bass tourney?
Watch the final creel survey for the season come out the day after The BASS tournament ends….
You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
I expect another bizarre twist here. As of July 15, we were already 2,000 lbs into the 11,000 lb “Conservation Reserve” leaving 9,000 lbs available. It will have been almost a month since then and I personally have seen many more “floaters” after the shutdown than I did before the shutdown. Certainly because of high water temps, but the fact that <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye were not even being targeted during this time period would be the concern. It is almost impossible to imagine that the hooking mortality would not have used up or exceeded the remaining 9,000 lbs.
Completely agree. If the quota isn’t already exceeded it will happen shortly as many will target large fish in the basin. Myself included.
One would think the lake would have to shut down completely to all angling as there is always some hooking mortality.
Or is a BASS tournament being hosted by the band excluded from the rest of the public?
Silly Andy. There’s no reason to be concerned about floaters. You as much as anyone knows that the dead walleyes have nothing to do with hooking mortality totals.
Hooking mortality is nothing but numbers and estimates. Bast on what I see, I’d guess it’s a mortality rate that is predetermined based on an average water temp during a given period. No idea how the catch totals are determined though.
The mortality numbers are over stated. The mortality number is a factor (percentage) of the CPR’d fish that is out of the water maybe a minute then returned to swim freely.
The factor was calculated last year from a new study. The study that traumatizes the fish then keeps them in a pen. In the study, a fish was caught, put in a tank in a boat (livewell?) for a few minutes(how long?), until a DNR staff member could take possession of the fish. At that point it was transferred to a new tank in the DNR boat and driven across the lake to a holding pen. Before landing in the holding pen it was measured, weighted, and documented, maybe even marked to be referenced later. Then it is released into a pen in the lake where its range is limited.
After a time, the fish in the pen are counted, dead/live = mortality factor.
I’d like to know how much all of that extra handling and holding them in a pen over states the mortality and if that is also factored into their mortality calculation. Because if it isn’t, then the mortality rate is grossly overstated.
The mortality numbers are over stated. The mortality number is a factor (percentage) of the CPR’d fish that is out of the water maybe a minute then returned to swim freely.
It also includes water temp. The rates change for every survey period. Higher rates for warmer periods, lower rates for cooler periods.
Do you know if the pens were set to the depth the fish was caught out of? This is the single biggest factor to mortality. Keeping a fish above its acclimated depth is what kills them.
I’d have to look it up because I don’t remember.
The mortality numbers are over stated. The mortality number is a factor (percentage) of the CPR’d fish that is out of the water maybe a minute then returned to swim freely.
The factor was calculated last year from a new study. The study that traumatizes the fish then keeps them in a pen. In the study, a fish was caught, put in a tank in a boat (livewell?) for a few minutes(how long?), until a DNR staff member could take possession of the fish. At that point it was transferred to a new tank in the DNR boat and driven across the lake to a holding pen. Before landing in the holding pen it was measured, weighted, and documented, maybe even marked to be referenced later. Then it is released into a pen in the lake where its range is limited.
After a time, the fish in the pen are counted, dead/live = mortality factor.
I’d like to know how much all of that extra handling and holding them in a pen over states the mortality and if that is also factored into their mortality calculation. Because if it isn’t, then the mortality rate is grossly overstated.
I don’t disagree with this one bit. I’m just waiting to see how this all plays out with the DNR’s OWN numbers.
Freak, here is the research take on dead fish (researching articles in Journal of Fisheries and talking with fish biologists from many States) : The conclusion is that whether or not a dead fish floats depends on why it died, whether it was on the surface or not when it died, the role of scavengers and other decomposers after the fish dies.
Some fish that are still alive will float belly-up when released as well, and some of these fish will rest enough that they can then swim down far enough that the water pressure compresses the gas bladder, and then they remain upright near the bottom. That does not guarantee survival. They may still die later. Another group of fish, and by far the largest group of fish, swim away looking healthy. They make it back down to near the bottom where the bladder is compressed. Most of us anglers feel good about releasing these fish and imagine that they all will live. However, most of the fish that die (in numbers, not percent) actually come from this group.
3-mile-dead-tlc.jpg
I don’t disagree with this one bit. I’m just waiting to see how this all plays out with the DNR’s OWN numbers.
In my opinion, leave it closed and start over next year. Do not borrow anything from next year’s quota.
I know, they already did and I wish they hadn’t.
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