one fish limit

[theharvester]

One fish 19-21 inches Wow

[Juan Grande]

Depending on the harvest estimates, they may go to a half fish limit. You have to have two anglers in your boat to keep one fish and there's a slot of 19-19 1/2". Just make it C&R already...

[woodsmanmn]

The lack of reaction to these new limits on this forum is really telling. Is no one walleye fishing mille lacs anymore?

[Sculpin]

Not much a person can say really. 15 years of mismanagement, and a continued declining walleye biomass. Everything has been said 25 times, sliced, diced, dissected, and the debate has pretty much played out.

The sad part overall is that they waited so long to state/admit the obvious.

[Mike #1]

Yup, it's the same argument and everyone is sick of repeating themselves, all you have to do is copy and paste our comments from last year, and the year before, and the year before..................................

[nofishfisherman]

I agree that it should just be shut down. The one fish limit looks like a meaningless token gesture or like they just can't face reality and admit things are as bad as they are. Just shut the entire thing down and get busy sorting it out once and for all.

[rosspj59]

The one fish deal doesn't bother me as much as no fishing at night in the fall does. Somehow the musky guys can still fish at night. Good work Muskies Inc! If only the walleye guys could unite and lobby like they do. I would release them all at night if I could still fish at night.

I think the 1 fish plan will greatly reduce the pounds of fish taken since many people will not fish the lake any more this year. I still plan to get up there and fish smallmouth and walleyes even with the new regs.

[northender]

Who could have predicted THIS 15 plus years ago....

[walleye29us]

Really sad for the people that own homes om the big lake.

[Sculpin]

Dick Sternberg predicted it for one, he and many others. The DNR went into this having no idea, they learned as they went, but they didn't learn much. The "Blue Ribbon panel" came a bit late to the party. The average property owners on the lake will not suffer as much as the business owners. This will be the death knell for many.

[northender]

Who could have predicted THIS 15 plus years ago....

I say this tongue in cheek as, obviously, many predicted this using simple common sense--not needing a PHD. in fishery management to see the future obvious...

[Sculpin]

I walked away from the computer and I realized the error of my ways. You are correct in every aspect. My apologies, and a tip of the hat to you. It has been nothing but a complete debacle every year since day one. You know we've hit bottom when the Fond Du Lac band pulls out of gill netting from Mille Lacs and declares for Vermillion. Perhaps all the bands will move up that way. It's a start.

[BlackArrow1]

Not that many will notice the 1 fish limit who angle vs 2 fish. Was tough getting 2 in the 18-20 inch. It's still a great fishery. I'm glad the DNR is doing something to protect the small walleye that are abundant. Hind sight of drastic drops in young class eyes every year could have been intervened on earlier. Being from Mille Lacs band I don't feel that less poundage quota woulda raised problems. JMO. I think netting should be suspended with spearing/angling methods to continue for now. Until the DNR figures out this lakes changing Eco system. I'm kinda disturbed that FDL has moved on to Vermillion and read that their nets are not required to have size limitations on gap size in nets.

[Crappie Rage]

Why hasn't the DNR started stocking Mille Lacs like they did with Leech and Upper Red? Wouldn't 100 million fry help the lake out?

[leech~~]

Depending on the harvest estimates, they may go to a half fish limit. You have to have two anglers in your boat to keep one fish and there's a slot of 19-19 1/2".

I love that! You need to get a job with the DNR. They need creative thinkers!

[Mike #1]

You do not want to stock this lake, it would ruin the genetics of the fishery, it needs-and can-come back on it's own.

[northender]

You do not want to stock this lake, it would ruin the genetics of the fishery, it needs-and can-come back on it's own.

And what "genetic" characteristics are or have been so special at Lake Mille Lacs? Leech Lake/Red Lake stocked fish are less quality than the historical Lake Mille Lacs fish? If so--In what way?

[tolle141]

Why hasn't the DNR started stocking Mille Lacs like they did with Leech and Upper Red? Wouldn't 100 million fry help the lake out?

Until the strong year classes of small northerns have been thinned, 100 million fry would be fish food. they'd be better off putting a million fry in 100 lakes that can handle them.

[jigginjim]

Vermillion is the tribes next lake to ruin the fishing. Then the tribe will walk in buy out all the resorts and cabin owners. It will happen to Milles Lacs in the next two to three years. I will bet money on that, there you go guys keep spending your hard earned money in the casinos, giving the tribes money for court cases.

May be we should stop buying fishing licenses, maybe that would wake the Capital morons.... they dictate the DNR..

[Mike #1]

And what "genetic" characteristics are or have been so special at Lake Mille Lacs? Leech Lake/Red Lake stocked fish are less quality than the historical Lake Mille Lacs fish? If so--In what way?

[smallie_hawgin]

Why hasn't the DNR started stocking Mille Lacs like they did with Leech and Upper Red? Wouldn't 100 million fry help the lake out?

The main reason: There is plenty of spawning size walleye, plenty of reproduction and recruitment or said differently... plenty of age 0 survival and even survival to age 1, the neck down is the following year. Stocking additional fish would have no impact and could diminish the genetic traits the native stock has for Mille Lacs. Stocking is not always an answer.... If you have natural reproduction, it's basically the last thing you want to do, especially on that large of a scale.

[upnorth]

This is rather tongue in cheek. But I keep thinking another Crappie boom like URL.

[kelly-p]

Why hasn't the DNR started stocking Mille Lacs like they did with Leech and Upper Red? Wouldn't 100 million fry help the lake out?

I know nothing about Mille Lacs other then what I have read. I did find these parts of 2 different articles interesting.

Part of article #1

Avoid walleye stocking. Natural reproduction in Mille Lacs is already very

high. Rather, the problem appears to be low survival from the first winter to

approximately the third fall. Stocked fish would suffer the same fate and could

exacerbate the problem by helping to sustain predator populations.

“The causes of the decline in survival are complex because of many direct,

indirect, and interacting factors. But I think that we succeeded at narrowing

the focus of the discussion,” Venturelli said.

According to Venturelli, the decline in the survival of young walleye started in

the late 1980s, well before the fishery began to decline around the year 2000.

“And yet the population has been reproducing at high levels throughout this

period and into the present,” Venturelli said. “The young just aren’t making it

through. This is likely the result of walleye predation, and to a lesser degree,

recent predation by pike and cormorants.”

Possible explanations for higher predation include fewer tullibee for larger

walleye to feed on, improved water clarity and quality since the Clean Water Act

of the 1970s and the possible effects of invasive species.

Part of article #2

Too Clear.

Mille Lacs has all of the physical attributes of a walleye factory. It has

diverse habitat that provides ideal cover for prey fish and clean, rocky

shorelines for walleye to spawn. The lake's vast open waters harbor tullibee—a

high-calorie fish and a staple for big walleye. Slightly murky water is another

characteristic of an ideal walleye lake.

But in the mid-1990s, the lake's water began to get clearer. This was likely the

result of improvements to septic systems around the lake, following passage of

the Clean Water Act in 1972. Walleye do well in low-light conditions, and better

clarity might give a competitive advantage to the lake's other predators such as

northern pike. Clearer water has also allowed invasive Eurasian watermilfoil to

grow in new places, providing more ambush cover for pike.

The change in clarity also points to a decrease in algae, or phytoplankton, a

fundamental ingredient for producing lots of walleye. These small one-celled

plants provide food for tiny critters known as zooplankton. Small fish, in turn,

eat zooplankton. "If you have enough algae, it can reproduce faster than the

zooplankton eat it," Jones explains. "And if enough zooplankton are produced,

they can reproduce faster than the little fish eat them. And when that happens,

you're going to have lots of little fish."

In 2005 Jones discovered invasive zebra mussels in Mille Lacs. Since then, he

has studied their spread and estimates the lake may now contain some 2.5 billion

pounds. Collectively, the tiny mussels filter large amounts of water, which

depletes phytoplankton and the nutrients it relies on. This means less food for

zooplankton.

More bad news for the backbone of Mille Lacs' food chain arrived in 2009 with

the discovery of spiny water fleas. This large invasive zooplankton eats native

zooplankton, leaving less to go around for the lake's larval fish including

yellow perch, the walleye's primary prey. According to Ahrenstorff's research,

yellow perch account for 50 percent of a walleye's diet in Mille Lacs.

Invasive species and warmer waters also threaten tullibees—the second most

important prey item for walleye. Like burbot, tullibees depend on cold water to

survive. During extended warm spells, large die-offs of tullibees occur on Mille

Lacs. Trends such as later ice-up and earlier ice-out suggest the climate is

warming, which could further stress the tullibee population, according to Jones.

[Stick in Mud]

The lack of reaction to these new limits on this forum is really telling. Is no one walleye fishing mille lacs anymore?

I'll be fishing it *almost* as much as normal, but I might venture out more to surrounding lakes in search of other species. Or I'll focus more on the smallies. I C&R pretty much everything anyways, so the limit doesn't affect me much no matter what it is (though I'll keep one here and there to give to my neighbor, who snowblows my driveway).

As others have said, the year-long night-fishing ban is what really bums me out. I *love* trolling the Pond in the fall for big eyeballs, so it'll be a bummer this year when that doesn't happen.

I know the lake will go to complete C&R as soon as the non-Native quota is met. Does anyone know if that'll also mean the night-ban will be lifted, if only for fall trolling? The hooking mortality has to be very, very, very small for those fish...the water is colder and they're (mostly) caught shallow. Just curious...

[Stick in Mud]

This is rather tongue in cheek. But I keep thinking another Crappie boom like URL.

Probably too many pike.

[Redlineracer12]

I plan on going about the same as last year, maybe more depending how the bite is. The limit doesn't bother me at all, you can always go troll for slimers if you want to grab a few fish for the pan. Actually the new regulations are BETTER for me, with Musky fishing now allowed after dark right from the opener.

As others have said, the year-long night-fishing ban is what really bums me out. I *love* trolling the Pond in the fall for big eyeballs, so it'll be a bummer this year when that doesn't happen.

Any of your fall go-to trolling baits 8 inches or longer?

[Stick in Mud]

We've used those monster Original Floaters before...I think they're F-18's. If I remember correctly, they're *just* short of 8'', but I could be wrong.

If I add a bunch of beads to a spinner rig, and maybe add about six inches of line between hooks, does that count?

[monstermoose78]

It does not matter to me if the walleyes are there or not. I fish the lake for perch, crappies, and bluegills. Only thing is with fewer walleyes more people are turning to the fish I target.

[tolle141]

To you guys who like trolling for big eyes, throw a few small-medium musky cranks on. That'll probably be a tourney staple in a few years. Don't be shy about 8 inches.

[BlackArrow1]

Just some 411 I heard from my bud. His bro speared some on ML the other day. Fon du lac member. They got some but not many. He said that his bro believed that gill net harvest is suspended this year. My bud said he didn't wanna harvest due to the state of the lake. Just throwing some info into the subject.