Public Access

[MTguy]

I do a lot of reading on here but not a lot of writing but I feel compelled to state how I feel. I just recieved the word of what was said by a person around the big pond about public access. I wonder if the resort owners realize that most of us do use their launces and not public access. I am willing to pay the 10.00 every time and I do buy my bait in the area not down in the cities. I wonder how much money would be lost to the resort owners, bars, hotels, and gas stations if all city prostiutes did not make the voyage to the big pond. I do appreciate the work that these resort owners do in the winter when i come up to ice fish. I know that it is safe. If they dont want the city prostitutes up there then done come down to do your christmas shopping, pick up your clients from the airport and visit people you know in the cities. We all live in the same state and should be able to enjoy what this state has to offer no matter where that enjoment may be located.

[Rainman]

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[Rainman]

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[hunting4walleyes]

By saying words were taken out of context is a very sorry excuse. As you can see from previous posts, this is not the first incident for this guy. If the guy in question improves customer service and watches what he says he could pull out of this fine. But if he continues to blame it on the paper and so forth he is in for some tough days ahead. Be a man and come clean, it is the only way to save face.

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[Shack]

The resort owner did clarify him self yesterday on this site.

[hunting4walleyes]

So what is the difference between apoligizing and trying to remove blame from yourself. If he came out and said I am sorry I made a huge mistake and I will make this right. Unfortunately he came out and said it was all the reporters fault. In context or out of context he still said it, right. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is probally a duck! He has shown that he is short with customers and does not respect them at all. Has anyone asked about that. I am sorry but I am going to a place that helps me out and makes me feel wanted to spend my money. Their are a lot of great resorts on the lake that will welcome you with open arms and make it a great experience.

[smnduck]

If public access is partily closed then should also resorts and private access. No dock fishing either.

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The people making a living off the public resource should look at the pictures on thier websites and bait countertops and thank the WHOLE state for the contributions that all fishing license and some hunting license fees have made for them to profit from. By the way he did not clarify a thing except that what he said is what was printed. Do not shift the blame on the DNR for what you have partly or mostly brought on to yourself.

[ikatcher]

lets not forget, this whole issue came up because the fishing is fantastic. i've been fishing m.l. since the 70's. i went back and found photos from back then, every walleye we caught was kept. (up to our limit) there were very few fish in these photos over 5 lbs. there were also many times when we caught very few fish, remember " the dead sea). now even with netting, modern technology, bigger faster boats, way more pressure, the fishing blows away what it was in my memory. some people will never be happy, you could give them a million dollars and they would complain if you paid them in twenties. if its so hard for you to release 16-28 inch walleyes, go to lake of the woods there are a ton of little fish up there you can keep.(don't forget all the big lakes have slots now but don't get the pressure M.L does) yes its hard to watch some of these big fish float away to rot on shore. but if it were'nt for slot limits alot more would not go back. as far as the comments go that started all this if you really are concerned about the lake maybe you should start by shutting down the launches that go out morning, afternoon, evening and night, i know if i light my boat up like the starship enterprise i would be handed a ticket for illegal lights. but the bottom line for these people is money, if it wasn't shutting down public accesses would never come up. so get off your soapbox enjoy the great fishing and before you blame someone else take a look in the mirror and ask yourself what are my motivations. my hats off to the dnr for turning the dead sea into a lake where a 7 lb walleye doesn't get a second glance. enjoy all this while it lasts because if some people get there way it will turn into a camp ripley deer hunt where drawing a permit will be the only way your going to be able to get on the lake. spend your tourist dollar wherever you want, i know where mine isn't going

[pawelski2269]

Some these resort owners are complaining about us buying our bait in the cities, all our gas, and everything else we need to fish. Well, almost every place up there has bad bait that they pawn off on the people at a higher price. The leeches are small, shinners are far more expensive and you get a dozen exactly. In the cities, a bait shop relizes business and wants you to come back. They give extra bait and better bait at $2.00 less. That adds up when you buy so much bait every weekend. Most resort owners see money, not adventure. Try to get every dime out of you that they can. They have money to run a resort and a launch but do not have nice equipment for the guy how wants to takes his kids out for the weekend that may not have the money for a boat, gas, etc. Charge a PUBLIC ACCESS, maybe they should have thought about that before owning a resort with 20 public access. And don't get me wrong, places like Gurrison Sports and others are great people and do care, but it's the others that make stupid comments that enrages people. That's okay, you just lost more money by having stupid comments. I guess you should keep your mouth shut.

[wannaeye]

I can understand the comments made by a resort owner and by the Mille Lacs Area Tourism Council Director about wanting more business, but the word prostitutes is pretty insulting.

What really CHAPS MY HIDE is the Aitkin County Commissioner saying, "We don't need more free access, We have to think about the businesses trying to make a living, not the prostitutes from the cities." (This was in an article from a certain Outdoors Newspaper)

This guy is an elected official who wants to limit access to a resource we all pay to support??? As a sportsman I am fourious, I wish I lived in his district so I could not vote for him !!!

[Powerstroke]

I understand someone saying they were misquoted or the words were twisted, but I can't think of any word that sounds like "prostitute" or another way that the word "prostitute" could be used in a sentence that would not infuriate the person it was directed at. To make it worse, at least 2 different people were quoted as using the noun as a way to describe "tourists" to their area. People in Aitkin probably use the public accesses as much as people in the cities use the public accesses on Lake Minnetonka.

I head to the Aitkin area several times a year for fishing and hunting. As I head up 169 I can think of only 4 gas stations from the south end of Mille Lacs to Garrison. Also the roads are always jammed and no one wants to have to try to get back on 169 from the west side when you're trying to head north. So I buy my gas further south in Zimm/Princeton area. At least its not the cities. I still buy bait and other gear at Tutt's in Garrison. I whole-heartedly support the local economy when I can. If one owner/guide wants to make blanket statements than he will only hurt himself. But when an elected official to the area supports and reinnerates the same comment, that is a huge mistake and PR nightmare if I'm the area chamber of commerce.

People shouldn't have to pay money to access any lake in the this state unless the entire shoreline is privately owned. I pay for access when I want a safe, secure landing with less lines and fewer problems. If I got to the access and there wasn't a line and room to park, why would I pay a fee to someone else? If people were complaining about deteriorating conditions at the ramps and long lines and no parking I bet the private accesses would be making a mint. Are people in the area really gonna complain about the state investing millions to essentially subsidize their business. If the fishing and area attractions weren't so great they wouldn't be there trying to make a living.

There are certain words in the english language that have one meaning and only a negative connotation. Prostitute is one of them.

As far as this site goes, there is not a culture of censorship. Its about keeping a fun and educational site that is family-oriented. It is okay to be negative and have differing opinions. Its not okay to attack people and gossip. Its hard to go through 200 posts and edit out the bad apples. If people keep it honest and intelligent, both sides of the discussion can have their say.

[Steve Foss]

Good thoughts, PS.

[WildernessWarmth]

I am writing to let you know that not all resort owners have this mentality and dont agree with the resort owner that commented.I am a resort owner on this lake and even though our main bussiness is ice fishing,we do have our lot open for summer use.we do appreciate the bussiness from the (city people)which is 95% of our bussiness.I would also bet the number is the same for other resorts.I just want to make sure that everyone knows that even though we are not happy with the slot limit,we hope it is for the benifit of the lake and isnt just political reasons.we must all try to work through the reg's and political b.s and remember to just enjoy the good times fishing,and ignore the resorts that make stupid comments.look forward to great fishing in the winter and hope the slot's change.Get out and enjoy fishing and life as we know we have only so many years in life to enjoy!And yes we do need to improve our public acesses for everyone"s benefit!!!!

[Shack]

I was not going to respond back to this thread any more, but a good old fashioned Mill Lacs Resort owner chimed in.

Nice to see ya posted Jay. Good words, "work through it". It is all we can do.

[harvey lee]

I do understand why some are upset with the dealings as of late. I dont believe we can lump all the resorts and guides into 1 group as you cannot with any one group.I will say this about the resorts I frequent on the pond, they have went out of thier way to show many people the best time they can and I believe that thier fee's were fair.

Last winter I was at Appeldoorns Sunset bay Resort for the weekend and the weather was stormy. Jim McCrank from Appeldoorn's Sunset bay resort was out half the night checking to see if all rentals and other fisherman were doing ok. Jim recieved a call later in the evening that one rental had decided to go to town in the storm and they were advised not to do so as it was not safe.

Later that night or shall I say very early in the morning Jims phone rang and guess what, the ones that went to town were lost on the lake. Your right, good ole JIm hoped in his plow truck and went looking for them and yes found them. No fee for his extra effort.

I would guess that many other resort owner have done the same thing for thier customers and will continue to do so.

Kuddo's to these resorts & guides for helping out when one is in need.

[eyebjim]

I agree with you Harvey. I wouldn't lump all of the resorts together by any means. Like everything there are some very good ones, some ok and some not so good. I would guess the ones doing to most greiping are the not so good ones. I can undertand how all of the resorts are frustrated with the new slot. Keep in mind they are looking out for their interests as they should. There are some very good resorts with very good service on this lake as Harvey outlined.

[metrojoe]

I copied this.

From Terry’s Boat Harbor, Terry Thurmer:

After reading the article in the Mille Lacs Messenger, I now know why a lot of professional athletes, politicians, and people refuse to talk to the media.

I will first address the newspaper article and I will then tell you about the input meetings and issues that the input members have suggested to the DNR over the years.

I said we need to keep the fishing prostitutes away from the public access. What I meant by this is that anytime there is a super hot bite on this lake you can go to these accesses and see the same trucks and boats fishing every single day for weeks at a time. These same people also do this on other lakes and once in a while they get caught and then you read about all of the fish they got caught with in the newspaper. As far as people spending money up here the people that use the public accesses, some do, some do not. This does not make them prostitutes. Those of you that do spend money in and around the lake I can assure all of the businesses up here are thankful for your support.

As far as closing all public accesses on the lake I never said this. The DNR at a previous input meeting had asked for ideas on how to control the amount of fish taken out of the lake. I told them that one way they do it in some of the western states is to limit the number of hours that the public access are open. This would then eliminate some of the fishing pressure, which would help reduce the number of pounds of fish being taken. Yet, it would still provide public access fishing on a daily basis.

If this had been done this year they would have not had to reduce the slot limit. I think the majority of fishermen out there would have preferred to fish fewer hours and be able to fish all summer with the same slot.

Charging a fee to users of the public accesses, this was not even my idea. One of the people who works at one of the newspapers who published the article called me a day before our input meeting and brought this up to me. His idea was to charge for admission to public accesses and that money should go to the state to pay for restocking of the lake.

Input meeting and suggestions made to the DNR:

The entire Mille Lacs Controversy, and ever changing slots began when the Treaty Bands began exercising their Treaty Rights. The DNR no longer was going to manage the lake from a Biological standpoint, but rather by pounds of fish and the lake is still managed this way today.

The idea I brought forth to the DNR at the input meeting to end the controversy was to build a fish hatchery on Mille Lacs and raise Walleyes to the 14 to 16 inch range.

When the treaty harvest was over whatever pounds of fish they took out could be put back into the lake. If they had more fish in the hatchery than what Mille Lacs needed, the extra fish could be put into other lakes around the state.

The hatchery could also raise Perch, Northern Pike, or fish for forage to keep the lake population stable. Over the years, I’ve asked thousands of fisherman if they would be willing to pay extra money for a fishing license, if that money, would go towards a Mille Lacs hatchery. The answer from all of them was, Yes. The answer from the DNR was no. I then asked fellow resorter, former politician, and at that time a consultant for the Mille Lacs Band, Ron Maddox, for help on the hatchery idea.

I told Ron that Montana had a new state of the art hatchery on the Fort Peck Reservoir and that the Federal Government had paid the entire cost for building of the hatchery. All the State had to do was pay the costs of running it. Ron checked this out and found out that this was true.

Ron then went to the Mille Lacs Band and presented the hatchery idea to then Chief, Marge Anderson and Don Weidel the Mille Lacs Bands DNR Commissioner. To the Band’s Credit, they thought this was a good idea and were willing to discuss building the hatchery.

I visited with Ron this summer and asked him why nothing has been done on the hatchery. He told me even though the Mille Lacs Band was open to discuss the idea, that St. Paul wanted nothing to do with it. I brought this same hatchery issue up at the last input meeting, but this never appeared in the newspaper article.

Another idea we brought up to the DNR in the past and again at the last meeting the possibility of purchasing the fish from the Wisconsin Bands. The Wisconsin Bands talk a lot about commercial fishing. Commercial fishing means dollars.

I suggested that they meet with the Wisconsin Bands and offer them the dollars for the fish they were allotted. This way those Bands would not have to come over here to net, which would give the state more fish for the anglers to harvest each year. The DNR promised they would do this and as of the last meeting to my knowledge, they have never even talked to the Wisconsin Bands about this subject.

The state of Minnesota pays Two Million Dollars a year to the Leech Lake Band for no netting and yet, they will not spend ten cents on Mille Lacs to improve the lake. Again you never read this in the newspaper.

The DNR makes a five year plan with Tribal Bands, this is the last year of the current plan. The input committee feels that if you have a five year plan that any pounds that you are under the allotment in a year, should be carried forward to future years where more pounds could be used to offset overages in years such as this year.

The DNR plan does not work this way. This year they reduced the slot to the point that one can hardly even keep a fish. Yet, when this five year plan is over in November, we will be hundreds of thousands of pounds under the total allotted pounds for the last five years.

The input meetings for us involved are very frustrating. The DNR does not care what we say. They have their minds made up to as what the slots and pounds are going to be before we ever get to a meeting. Because of the DNR’s reluctance to use any of the advice suggested to them by the committee, only a fraction of the people who belong to the input committee even showed up for the last two meetings.

The members of the input group and the Business Community want stability for the lake. We are tired of ever changing slots and controversy, a hatchery would accomplish this goal for stability. We need the help of all the hunters, fishermen, and sporting groups to stand up and tell our Legislators this is enough. We want a new direction for Mille Lacs to end the controversy and if they do not want to help us then they should not be re-elected.

Anyone who would like to talk to me about this or any other matter pertaing to lake Mille Lacs please feel free to give me a call.

320-692-4430

[smnduck]

It sure reads a lot like a blame shift and DNR bashfest.

[metrojoe]

Hearing both sides doesn't always clear things up, but it does make it fair.

[ozzie]

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[metrojoe]

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[mad_muskie_07]

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[pawelski2269]

What he doesn't relize is that our license fee goes towards maintaining those public access.

[MuskieSlayer]

The reporter, Vivian Clark, has responded to the allegations that she took Terry's comments out of context or that she misquoted him. She stands behind her reporting and vehemently denies misquoting or taking Terry out of context. She even mentioned there is a possibility of a follow up interview with Terry regarding his comments.

[ozzie]

oh i know what was said....just like the post you put up from him was also already displayed......I do not believe this guy what so ever and I don't think many people should......to let him get off the hook with what he said would be just plain wrong!!!! The Mille Lacs area does not need his type up there ruining things for others!!!!

[rufishin]

Here is what Vivian Clark reported in the Mille lacs Messenger:

Regarding the crowded public accesses, Terry Thurmer, of Terry's Boat Harbor, on St. Albans Bay, suggested closing the public accesses or charging a fee to the users. The basis for making the statement was, in his opinion, "those people who come up and use the public accesses buy their bait in the Cities, buy their gas in the Cities, take our fish and go home without spending a dime here," Thurmer said.

"There shouldn't be any free access to the lake," Thurmer continued. "The guys using the public access are not the guys paying real estate taxes here. You are making it really easy for them and make it really hard for us to make a business. We need to keep the fishing prostitutes away from public access."

The premise of Minnesota lake management is to make access free and open to the public. "Whoever wants to fish can come up and fish whenever they want," Payer (DNR) said.

Bailey(Aitkin County Commissioner) would like the DNR to consider a moratorium on building more public access. "We don't need more free access," Bailey said. "We have to think about the businesses trying to make a living, not the prostitutes from the Cities."

Director of Mille Lacs Lake tourism Judy Cain agreed. "There is already a public access every couple of miles," Cain said. "You need to think about these people," referring to the guides and resorters.

Not all resorters are complaining. Barry Hines, Izatys marine manager was unable to attend the meeting, but called the Messenger. "We need the tourists - all of them," Hines said. Our numbers are up for May, June and July and we are booking into Aug. We haven't lost any launch trips since the slot change. Of course people want to catch fish, but our customers are still happy.

[Ray Mysterio]

I think I've got it.

I think the term he was looking for was hookers not prostitutes

because we are all hooking fish

I'll be here all week!

Mysterio

[metrojoe]

I never saw Terry's post in the original topic.

[Shack]

Ya, his screen name is Terry1.

His explanation of what he meant by "prostitute" was very clear and to me it did not have anything to with "law abiding" fisherman.

[james_walleye]

So people from the cities drive up too Mille Lacs and fish day after day for weeks on end up there? Are you sure Terry thats its the people from the cities that are at the public access day after day for weeks on end when gas is over $3.00 a gallon? Sounds more likely and realistic that those people might be locals? Guys that drive a couple hours too get too Mille Lacs arent going there too fill their freezer. I'd bet over 95% of the people that drive from the cities go because its a virtual guarantee too catch 25" or bigger walleyes.