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I’m probably completely uneducated when it comes to smallies, but is there really that much harvest of smallmouths out of Mille Lacs annually?

I feel like a shell game is being played here a bit. Quick blame the pike and smallies instead of tackling the real issue of targeting the same year class of fish year in and year out. Now I get all these species compete for the same forage base, so agressive predators such as these two species can have a direct impact on walleyes. My concern is will the new slot regs really increase the harvest enough for these two species to matter? Maybe there are more meat eaters out there for these two species than I think???

Sorry, rambling a bit with some random thoughts.

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There is no harvest in Mille Lacs accept a few 21+ inchers. Most Bass guys go grafite and release. The DNR has finally figured out what we have known for over 5 years. Predation is 1 of the many factors that the DNR has ignored for years. This isn’t about a war on bass guys.

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So what I am getting out of this is that if you net the walleye, trophy bass and pike take over.

Hmmm………

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What I get out of it is this. If you want a balanced, healthy, sustainable sport fishery, stop the netting.

-J.

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And since more walleyes are harvested by hook and line anglers than by netting, maybe that should stop too. Don’t be mad at bass anglers just because we were the ones to invent catch and release. Walleye fishing in general emphasizes harvest, bass fishing in general emphasizes sport fishing. I like the part about resorts and MN tourism promoting smallmouth fishing. Bass fishing is far and away more popular than walleye fishing in America. If the walleye crowd really wanted to get rid of all the bass they’d just lobby the DNR to allow the Bassmaster Elite Series to hold a tourney on Mille Lacs.

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Bass may be the most popular fish in America, but we are in Minnesota and it is our state fish.