New 5 Year Agreement Between DNR, Red Lake Nation & BIA

[walleye101]

IMO

Any lake where netting take's place in this day and age

should be left to the people doing the netting period

I dont want my money (taxes..license fees..etc etc )

being spents on managing nets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure the Band would gladly accept our 48,000 acres if we offered it to them............now that would show 'em!

[laportian]

Like I said before all of the big walleye lakes in minnesota are netted. This list includes Red Lake, Leech, Winnie, Mille Lacs, Cass Lake, the canadian side of Lake of the Woods. Plus many more lakes that are on reservations. Natives on all these respective waters retained their right to net. So get over it. Quit complaining and just enjoy the fact that the state and all the various tribal entities do get together and do manange all these wonderful waters.

[Ogema]

Give me a break...7/8th of the fishery armed with gillnets??? Whos calling the shots here? Sorry...just callin'em hows' I sees' em.

I wouldn't say that the 7/8th of the fishery is "armed"!! with gillnets.

That would be an overstatement.

[Ogema]

Amen! 2gether it will work.

[harvey lee]

One thing is for sure, the arguing over this lake will never end.

[leech~~]

“Red Lake Band members are pleased that our walleye have come back and our fishing community is revitalized, Upper and Lower Red lakes were outstanding walleye fisheries, but they collapsed in the mid-1990s due to over harvest.

I like these parts. Who took and who put back Our Walleye?

[Jim Panfish Uran]

It was a joint effort Leech, get over it.

[leech~~]

It was a joint effort Leech, get over it.

I don't really remember netting on both sides of the lake?. You should read a few really good books on the Red Lake area history called: {They use to call us Game Wardens} Books 1 & 2 really gets into some good info, on how the Netting of Red was handled and managed! Back before it got empted! Lets just not go back to that!

[Ogema]

Leech, it is too easy to point out the obvious, especially after the fact! No Duh, netting was only on one-side, bcuz it was legal there! but I know guys on URL and both sides weren't exactly following the rules, read up on that! Fast forward to today, and it has rebounded, fishing is on, most people are happy, I know I am.

I not only read about netting, I lived it as a kid, the whole family pitched in and had a job to do. It was a way of life around here, not just a sport or hobby, or something we did on our free time. This place had little to no jobs, and still does, although things have improved tremendously since I was a kid, and I am only 34!

I find it interesting that you have so much stake in the Red Lake's considering your location says the metro. Our chairman called em "our" walleye, and so do I, and I do so with no disrespect to "non-members" Our history says that when the last treaty was signed, our Chiefs "wished that the warehouse(lakes) be kept intact for future generations" as you can see, that didn't happen. So I call em our walleye because I live right on the shore of the lake, which my daughter called "her lake" since she was 5. Tribal and non-tribal officials took and we put back on both sides, so move on and do your part, life is too short to be worried over fish in a lake, especially in the land of 10,000 lakes.

[bobbers up!]

Some people like to live in the past and they waste there lives away thinking about it. It is what it is at this point in time so everyone should enjoy what they have and dont be greety!

Leech, stick to the city lakes if you dont like it.......

[leech~~]

Leech, it is too easy to point out the obvious, especially after the fact! No Duh, netting was only on one-side, bcuz it was legal there! but I know guys on URL and both sides weren't exactly following the rules, read up on that! Fast forward to today, and it has rebounded, fishing is on, most people are happy, I know I am.

I not only read about netting, I lived it as a kid, the whole family pitched in and had a job to do. It was a way of life around here, not just a sport or hobby, or something we did on our free time. This place had little to no jobs, and still does, although things have improved tremendously since I was a kid, and I am only 34!

I find it interesting that you have so much stake in the Red Lake's considering your location says the metro. Our chairman called em "our" walleye, and so do I, and I do so with no disrespect to "non-members" Our history says that when the last treaty was signed, our Chiefs "wished that the warehouse(lakes) be kept intact for future generations" as you can see, that didn't happen. So I call em our walleye because I live right on the shore of the lake, which my daughter called "her lake" since she was 5. Tribal and non-tribal officials took and we put back on both sides, so move on and do your part, life is too short to be worried over fish in a lake, especially in the land of 10,000 lakes.

Ogema, I appreciate your very open and clearly written thoughts, I agree with them. I hope that we all, both peoples have learned how to better manage our resources by learning from the past. That is all I really want to see is that we don't go back there, no matter where we are from or live to a resources that we all have been provided to take care of.

Bobbers up. I have a camper on Edwards and spend all summer up in your neighbor hood! Maybe I will see you around town or we can hit one of your lakes sometime! Thanks for sharing!

[bobbers up!]

Anytime Leech.....

[LABS4ME]

If I remeber correctly, the book 'They used to Call Us Game Wardens' was FILLED cover to cover, with poaching and overlimit cases of non-band members... I guess I'm not willing to call the kettle black. Illicit take was happening without regard to an imaginary line or skin color....

Not saying I enjoy the thought of gill-nets, but I am at ease with the notion of them in the lake as long as there is cooperation between both parties and it remains regulated. Those lakes can put out a lot of fish and bounce back none the less for wear... it just can't handle under the table unregulated fishing.

Good Luck!

Ken

[laportian]

Hey Ogema- my dad is a Red Laker. I too spent my younger years out on the lake with my family. Seen it dying back in the early 90's first hand. Happy as heck it is all right now. Wish I could fish lower but seems I'm a 1/16 shy of enrollment up there. My mom is Leech Lake so I am enrolled there. Anyways it is nice to hear a band members side of it.

[kelly-p]

Here is some more reading for you leech. You might want to read up a lot more before you start pointing fingers and placing blame. I'm glad you enjoyed the books by Bill, he was one of my Dads best friends and he taught me a lot about life.

Sunday, May 23, 1999

Greed depleted Red Lake's once-abundant walleye

Larry Oakes / Star Tribune

PART OF THE ARTICLE. THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IS IN THE STORY OF RED LAKE TOPIC. kelly-p

'Minnesota moonshine'

Greed spawned another problem: bootlegging.

Many netters illegally sold walleye off the

reservation.

"They went all over Minnesota and out [of]

state, too," said Dyrland, who chased

bootleggers for two decades. He and fellow

officers made 20 to 50 arrests a year, of

sellers and buyers, he said.

He estimates they got one out of every 100

sellers and one out of every 500 buyers, which

included restaurants and service clubs.

"You could buy a 1-pound walleye for a buck,

and it was $4 a pound in the store," Dyrland

said. "They'd go to the Cities with a trunkful

and pull into a stadium parking lot and sell

out in five minutes. . . . Nobody wanted to

notice. People were making money and getting

fish cheap."

Dyrland said he warned then-Tribal Chairman

Roger Jourdain that Red Lake might get fished

out. Jourdain replied that the tribe had no

authority over the association, Dyrland said.

Buying black-market walleye wasn't the only way

non-Indians helped decimate the Red Lake

population. Dyrland said Waskish was the site

in some years of 25 percent of the statewide

arrests of over-limit anglers.

The walleye bit so well and so close to shore

that anglers often took their limit in an hour,

and otherwise law-abiding citizens couldn't

bear to quit. They would drop the fish in camp

and go out for more, which wardens call

"tripping" or "gunnysacking."

"Some had unbelievable amounts over their

limits," Dyrland said. "We'd fillet 100 to 200

or more confiscated fish a night and give them

to nursing homes."

[leech~~]

Here is some more reading for you leech. You might want to read up a lot more before you start pointing fingers and placing blame. I'm glad you enjoyed the books by Bill, he was one of my Dads best friends and he taught me a lot about life.

Sunday, May 23, 1999

Greed depleted Red Lake's once-abundant walleye

Larry Oakes / Star Tribune

PART OF THE ARTICLE. THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IS IN THE STORY OF RED LAKE TOPIC. kelly-p

Kelly-P If you re-read my reply to Ogema I said that I agreed with him, and that I hoped we can change what our forefathers on both sides had done in the past so we learn how together now manage the lake better! I just don't want to go back to the build up and decimate pattern of the past! Thanks for the additional information. Leech~~

[Ogema]

Hey everyone, good posts since I last wrote, I took me a little vacation. Together we can make it work by each doing our part.

[fishorgolf]

Hey Omega,

I have a question. Have you ever heard any talk of the band possibly setting up a exclusive fishing resort on lower red? Nice accomedations, good food, all guided only trips etc. I think this would be and absolute boom for the band.Think of all the jobs it would create etc. Just a thought I have had for awhile.

Thanks!

[lovebigbluegills]

Hey Omega,

I have a question. Have you ever heard any talk of the band possibly setting up a exclusive fishing resort on lower red? Nice accomedations, good food, all guided only trips etc. I think this would be and absolute boom for the band.Think of all the jobs it would create etc. Just a thought I have had for awhile.

Thanks!

Along those lines, I've wondered that myself. There's lakes in North Dakota where you have to buy a stamp to fish on reservation lakes, or portions of lakes.

A resort(s) on the south and/or west side of the lake, and a stamp to fish the reservation parts of the Red Lakes, say a $10 stamp. Just a thought.

I would sure think that would be a darn good money-maker for the reservation.

[kelly-p]

I'll leave this for Ogema to answer but I do know that the Red Lake Bands Constitution forbids anyone but a Band Member from fishing URL or LRL so their Constitution would have to be changed first. I know that there has been some interest sportfishing and opinions taken from Band Members concerning that. I think that everyone needs to remember that Band Members and their leadership read what people post on fishing forums. On some forums it seems to be considered "cool" to bash and/or complain about the Red Lake Band. Every one of the posts like that makes the chance of sportfishing on Band waters more remote. I know that if someone says bad things about me I don't want them around me. I'm sure the Band members feel the same way. Like Ogema said, we have to work together. We've come a long ways over the past 15 years. Who knows what the next 15 years will bring?

[lovebigbluegills]

If I came across as bashing and/or complaining about the Red Lake Band, I apologize. This was not my intent in any way at all.

I was wondering if they had considered a resort and/or stamp (I was not aware that their Constitution forbid non-Band members from fishing these waters), and I meant it as an innocent question.

Again, if I came across as bashing and/or complaining about the Red Lake Band, I sincerely apologize.

[kelly-p]

No not you at all. I was talking about other posters and other Forums. You raised a interesting question and I hope Ogema can give us some info on that.

[kgpcr4]

I'm not really connecting with the concept that the DNR has anything to do with this fishery. The DNR/sport fishing entity has control of approximately 1/8 of this basin. Give me a break...7/8th of the fishery armed with gillnets??? Whos calling the shots here? Sorry...just callin'em hows' I sees' em.

You are correct in my opinion. With us only having access to such a small part of the lake there is one thing that crashed it. NETS. Rod and reel fishing on 1/8 of the lake could not crash it if the season was open 24-7-365 with no limits.

[kelly-p]

One thing is for sure, the arguing over this lake will never end.

You sure called that one right. I know one thing for sure. Through the years I have become very tired of all the constant bickering, [PoorWordUsage] and moaning. So many people/sportfishermen would rather just sit and complain rather then try make things better. With that said I'm out of here.

[Ogema]

Hey guys, yeah the idea and concept has been floated around. The majority opinion is to not allow it. All the pros and cons have been wieghed out. It is possible to fish some of the smaller lakes, which are some good fishing, you need to go with a registered guide, and I just happen to be one I have taken many of my friends from the metro area out fishing and they are more than pleased everytime. They have about every species around, and are seldomly fished.

As to the man from Becker, it is what it is, it happened, blame who you want, it's not gonna fix the past or the fact that it happened, to that I say the Red Lake Chiefs agreement with the US Government shoulda been upheld by the Gov't like it was intended on our end and we coulda fished it out all by ourselves.

[kelly-p]

"to that I say the Red Lake Chiefs agreement with the US Government shoulda been upheld by the Gov't like it was intended on our end and we coulda fished it out all by ourselves."

That would end the complaining wouldn't it. For those of you that do not know it when the Treaty was signed the Red Lake Band considered URL and LRL to be one lake, Red Lake. The Band wanted the eastern Reservation Line to be 1 mile east of the lake which would have put all of both LRL and URL in the Reservation. The US Gov. put the line 1 mile east of LRL so the eastern part of URL was not part of the Reservation. It has been disputed ever since. The Red Lake Band considers the eastern, State part of URL to be the "stolen" part of the lake.

[bak2MN]

I just wish we could all just get along.

There is no need to always be pointing fingers and laying blame.

Just go fish and enjoy and if there is such a grudge about a area that you fish go elsewhere.

[kelly-p]

I just wish we could all just get along.

There is no need to always be pointing fingers and laying blame.

Just go fish and enjoy and if there is such a grudge about a area that you fish go elsewhere.

I 2nd that. We can waste our energy and time complaining and fighting or use our energy and time to try to make things better.

[Ogema]

Great info Kelly, thanks I left that part out, maybe bcuz I know about it, I expect others too also.

The maps that were shown to my grandfather's, who were both Chief's back when the agreements were made, showed URL&LRL directly on top of each other, therefore they agreed to the 1-mile east of the lakes agreements.

Talk about hoodwinked and bamboozled, bcuz of the fact that they are not directly on top of each other, the lake was stolen thru technicalities, therefore leading to today's numerous problems.

[fishorgolf]

Hey guys, yeah the idea and concept has been floated around. The majority opinion is to not allow it. All the pros and cons have been wieghed out. It is possible to fish some of the smaller lakes, which are some good fishing, you need to go with a registered guide, and I just happen to be one I have taken many of my friends from the metro area out fishing and they are more than pleased everytime. They have about every species around, and are seldomly fished.

As to the man from Becker, it is what it is, it happened, blame who you want, it's not gonna fix the past or the fact that it happened, to that I say the Red Lake Chiefs agreement with the US Government shoulda been upheld by the Gov't like it was intended on our end and we coulda fished it out all by ourselves.

Thanks for your response Omega,

I am sure that many have there reason pro of con on the idea but my thinking was along the line of "jobs" and it is no secret that many would welcome that. And I am talking about well paying jobs in construction, guiding (you may argue that ) etc. To me it just seems like a great way to create long term employment etc. It could be without a question the "BEST" walleye fishery in the world if it was sport fishing only. The band could even set the limits This IMHO may be the most unique opportunity in the world to create a world class fishing operation.

But I am sure there is plenty of opposition to this that has nothing to do with economics.

Thanks again for the insight!