What is different this year is that the LdF are the spearers and not the Bad River like in years past. As of Monday, 453 fish have been harvested including a whopping 299 in one night. Most are reportedly males but there are females in the mix.
To give some perspective, the previous TOTAL harvest for one season by Bad River was 300 in 1995.
This year, 4 spearers are working the lake. If they hit a total of 1191, the 2 fish bag stays in place for the entire season. If they fall short, then the adjustment back to 3 will be considered and possibly re-instated.
LdF has been increasing it’s quotas and there’s quite a stir going on over in their reservation. Many people worried that lakes were going to end up 1 per for angling. LdF put a vote to the reservation whether or not to claim the entire safe harvest quota. It was narrowly defeated. This is scary stuff for sport anglers and the communities supported by it.
I’m sure the FLW will be real thrilled with a 2 bag limit for their September event. LOL!
The whole “safe harvest” thing is a joke because winter spearing is not counted. So the data is bad because an entire category in the population is excluded.
For example, look at Bone Lake and Muskies. I believe “Safe Harvest” for the lake is 29 muskies regardless of method. I have a picture showing 10 muskies on the ice from one afternoon and not one is counted against the safe harvest level!
Now, the LCO is holding spearing “tournaments” up in the Hayward area. Who here is comfortable with spearing as a competitive sport? Thankfully, there were not a lot of fish killed in that tournament but a 40# muskie paid the price. More money in a fish like that if it’s swimming and not hanging in some bar or office.
I think the tribes are pretty short sighted on the economics and long term commercial benefits. The casinos are hurting now, imagine what happens when no one wants to stay in the area because of low bag limits.
Personally, I respect the right of “tradition”. I understand that. I’ve read Satz’s “Chippewa Treaty Rights” a number of times. But in this day and age, you can’t act like you’re the only one that uses the resource. Not all traditions endure. True, angling takes more fish but only because there are more of us. Fact is, we are all in this together.
True that the treaties ensure their rights, what is not ensured is the subsidies and other entitlements that state and federal governments send their way. That can be changed. Gaming compacts can be changed. Not much use in a dead walleye when the walls are falling down.
If this continues, I see another wave of trouble coming. No one wants to see that.
Jon Olstadt