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Advisory meeting


kelly-p

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I just got back from the Advisory meeting. Well we knew it was tough fishing this winter but we only took and estimated harvest of 29,000 pounds of walleyes. That compares to a 59,000 pound average the 4 winters before. There was some discussion of upping the take over the summer but it was decided to leave the regulations the same as they were last summer and meet again this fall to see how the numbers look.

It will be a 4 fish limit with a 17 to 26 protected slot until June 15th when it will change to a 20 to 26 protected slot.

addition,

Sorry, I should have said that that is what will be proposed but I am confident that it will be OKed.

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more fish die in the spring from the water going down in the ditch then we catch and ur going to leave the size limit the same ?

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The summer of 2009 we took an estimated 95,000 pounds of walleyes and you are saying that more walleyes then that die because the ditches dry up? WOW but that must be quite a stink! Also the majority of the walleyes in the Red Lakes spawn in the lakes on the rock piles and I don't think that the Red Lakes have ever dried up enough for the fish to die. The only ditch that I have ever seen any number of walleyes in is Ditch 30 that drains a very big part of the bog north of Upper Red Lake and I have never seen it quit flowing. I did hear that it quit flowing one time in the "30's" tho.

ur going to leave the size limit the same ?

Yes that is what we proposed because we would like to leave some of the spawners in the lake so that in 3 years or so we can catch the walleyes that grow from their spawn. I suppose that we could just remove the limits and protected slots right now, fill our buckets with walleyes and plan on not having any walleyes in URL to fish for in 4 or 5 years.

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when the water was high in the spring the walleyes ran up the rivers on the south side a long way towards blackduck and when it went down they were trapped thousands if u dont believe me ask some of the farmers people were fishing in puddles in the middle of fields

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and i didnt say remove the slot and limits maybe just adjust them like up to 18 or 19 because there are a lot of male that size in there ur going overboard on protecting them there should be plenty of females over 19 inches millacs has a 18 inch limit and is fished a lot heavier then red and they are doing just fine

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I too know a few farmer types around the Saum area and have heard the stories of major amounts of walleyes flopping around in fields in the spring during high water years. Also south of number 1 on the way to Blackduck I hear tell that the same thing happens. Just nature happening is all. The lake is is fine shape and in my opinion things should be left as is. That way it will always continue to produce as it is now.

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and i didnt say remove the slot and limits maybe just adjust them like up to 18 or 19 because there are a lot of male that size in there ur going overboard on protecting them there should be plenty of females over 19 inches millacs has a 18 inch limit and is fished a lot heavier then red and they are doing just fine

If you want fish that bad, just go buy some. Most of the lakes in MN are already fished out or close to it, so why not try to protect this one as best we can? I guess your screen name says it all!

My question is, with only 29,000 lbs harvested, does that mean that the lake is prime for an awesome summer/winter next season?? smile

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ur not going to fish red lake out by going to 18 inches gas is going up and nobody is going to drive up there and like i said u cant stock pile fish let s just let them die in the fields this spring with all the snow there will be a huge die off in the fields

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just adjust them like up to 18 or 19

Here is what happened in 2009 harvest season. This was with a 3 fish limit during the winter season

Total harvest for the most recent full harvest year ending November 2009 was 147,000 pounds, 88% of the top of the safe harvest range (168,000 lbs). That was attained with a 3 fish bag in winter (17-26” PSL), and a 4 fish bag in open water with a June 15 adjustment to 20-26” PSL.

Here is a projection of what would happen if the slot was adjusted up 1 more inch to 18 inches.

• 18-26 PSL for open water period (Annual harvest projected to exceed 200,000 pounds)

High risk of exceeding safe harvest range and possibly the cap, requiring closure

Would require significant reduction in winter harvest (undesirable business implications)

Stack additional harvest in high pressure/high harvest periods

Higher impact on SSB than mid-season slot adjustment

So lets say we increase the Protected slot by 1 inch to 18 inches and on January 15th we hit the cap and the season is closed. Well, if you had a trip to URL planned on January 20th too bad. You are out of luck. No fishing walleyes on URL for you so that the people fishing in the early summer could keep walleyes 1 inch bigger.

In the "70's" and "80's" we learned that we can not just keep taking more and more walleyes. We paid a very harsh and painful price for our greed.

Those that can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

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My question is, with only 29,000 lbs harvested, does that mean that the lake is prime for an awesome summer/winter next season??

It looks like it could be. Much of it depends on the weather. A cold late spring like 2009 and the walleyes are still in shallow. I do not remember the numbers but I believe that we took over 40,000 pounds of walleyes off in the 2 weeks after the slot was adjusted to 20-26 inches.

Fishing pressure is hard to predict. A few very good fishing reports and fishermen flock in. A few bad reports and fishermen stay away.

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u really think in the 70s and 80s hook and line fishing hurt the lake as much as all the netting, there was no size limit at all either

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I believe it was the winter of "89/90" that us hook and line fishermen took an estimated 180,000 pounds of walleyes out. Unfortunately there was no protected slot then so we took the last year class of spawning females out of the lake BEFORE they had a chance to spawn. We all know what happened.

I suppose we could kill all the walleyes we can because they MIGHT get stranded up a waterway while they are spawning or the Red Lake Band MIGHT catch them before we can. We could kill all the deer we can because they MIGHT die over winter or MIGHT get killed by a wolf or MIGHT get hit by a car. As long as we are at it lets kill all the ducks we can because when they are migrating they MIGHT get shot by a hunter in a southern state.

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I believe it was the winter of "89/90" that us hook and line fishermen took an estimated 200,000 pounds of walleyes out. Unfortunately there was no protected slot then so we took the last year class of spawning females out of the lake BEFORE they had a chance to spawn. We all know what happened.

I suppose we could kill all the walleyes we can because they MIGHT get stranded up a waterway while they are spawning or the Red Lake Band MIGHT catch them before we can. We could kill all the deer we can because they MIGHT die over winter or MIGHT get killed by a wolf or MIGHT get hit by a car. As long as we are at it lets kill all the ducks we can because when they are migrating they MIGHT get shot by a hunter in a southern state.

+1

I just don't see how one can argue for a bigger slot limit with all the lakes we have in the state where you can barely catch a walleye due to over harvest. We might as well protect the better ones as best we can. Fishing is not ALL about putting food on the table!!!

On a side note, Kelly, I have never fished Red in the summer and I am really interested, my dad and I are going to try to have a couple weeks of fishing early in the summer... I will probably get a hold of you this spring for some more information/advice!

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Amen! Kelly many of us respect that slot so that it ensures the population of quality fish stays up. Thanks to all people envolved in making wise decisions based on actual facts and not just rumors. I personally would rather C&R fish then not catch many because some wanted to keep more fish. Even have lower limits on more lakes, but that will not go over with some people.

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theharvester said

more fish die in the spring from the water going down in the ditch then we catch and ur going to leave the size limit the same?

and

just let them die in the fields this spring with all the snow there will be a huge die off in the fields

If this is true than the slot should be tighted and/or the limits reduced to ensure there are fish in the lake to sustain the population. grin

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does raise the size to 18 mean kill all the fish ? if u think an inch is going to hurt the lake thats crazy why dont we just close it for five years and catch and release then why dont we lower it to 14to 16 inches millacs is an hour from the cites and they were 20 to 28 now they r 18 to 28 release and they have a lot of fish spawning

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Lets try this again harvester.

I just posted this a few hours ago. Try reading it this time.

Here is a projection of what would happen if the slot was adjusted up 1 more inch to 18 inches.

• 18-26 PSL for open water period (Annual harvest projected to exceed 200,000 pounds)

High risk of exceeding safe harvest range and possibly the cap, requiring closure

Would require significant reduction in winter harvest (undesirable business implications)

Stack additional harvest in high pressure/high harvest periods

Higher impact on SSB than mid-season slot adjustment

It is obvious that you do not like the proposed Protected Slot or limits for walleye fishing on URL this summer. Well, did you know that MN is the land of 10,000 lakes? Maybe 1 of those 9,999 other lakes has regulations that you like. Also this time of year many lakes in MN that are dying out due to the heavy snowcover are opened to promiscuous fishing. On those lakes you can fill your bucket or buckets or even the back of your truck if that is what it takes for you to feel that you have had a successful fishing trip.

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Kelly, 99% of the people on here and in the state go along with the advisory board because you guys know whats best for the lake and your business.

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i dont thinkk 99 % is against an inch? all this bickering over an inch this is still a guess on the harvest

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Its not a bad idea to stay on the low side till after opener.In the right conditions a lot of fish can be harvested in the first few weeks. A lot of times the majority of the fish are harvested early in the season on the bigger lakes.I dont think that will be the case and I think traffic will be way down with gas prices and the economy.But who knows?Better to be safe than sorry.

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I am not saying that I favor either 17 or more but do have a question. Why open it up in the summer to 20? I realize that there are a lot less people fishing in the summer. But is the mortality rate higher in the summer or winter? Do they need to have it to 20 to get fisherman up in the summer? Or is it just a matter of numbers (fisherman)?

Thanks!!

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Its a numbers deal as fishing pressure is lower and catch rates run much lower mid-late summer.

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Thanks Jon. My son Chris still talks about the good time he had bear hunting up there, even though he didn't shoot anything.

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We all have choices on which lakes we fish. As for me, a chance to come to God's country, have a chance to catch 40+ walleyes (like we have in past years) and fish in a clean, comfortable, very fisherman-friendly sleeper house is a blast! Great roads out on the lake and some of the friendliest people you could ever meet! Being able to take a shower now and then is a plus. Think I'll keep coming back! Our fishing was a little slow this year and we put a few back, but the fish were there. We didn't do our part in figuring out how to get them to bite. The fillets from 16 1/2" walleyes eat just fine in my book! If someone wants to keep bigger walleyes, there are plenty of lakes in Minnesota where that is an option.

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The fillets from 16 1/2" walleyes eat just fine in my book! If someone wants to keep bigger walleyes, there are plenty of lakes in Minnesota where that is an option.

Exactly. Perfect eating size fish...why mess with success?

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Thanks Jon. My son Chris still talks about the good time he had bear hunting up there, even though he didn't shoot anything.

Ya Chris was fun. He passed on a few opportunities on average bear waiting for the big boy and he hunted hard; not to mention the two yearlings that took a shine to him. laugh

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i dont thinkk 99 % is against an inch? all this bickering over an inch this is still a guess on the harvest

All the bickering over an inch is for a very good reason. How can one inch make such a big difference in harvest? The same reason that one inch is so appealing to anglers. Those of us who fish Red know how much difference one inch could make in our own personal harvest, that is why it is appealing. If an additional inch makes that much difference to one, it makes that much difference to most, which results in considerably more harvest. Size matters!

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so why in the world would u open it up all the way to twenty inches then canada is 19.7inches millacs is 18inches

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