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Smallmouth harvest on Mille Lacs


bassfshin24

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so anyway....All this talk about the regulations and we dont even know if this will really happen. Any idea when they are suppose to decide? I heard they were suppose to make a decision in Early March.

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I'm with bassin...too me having tournaments out there would be worse than having a bag limit with restrictions.

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Largemouth have been shown to take down walleye numbers. Smallmouth, not so much. Depending on the lake: either largemouth, crappies, or perch will be the primary consumers of young walleye.

Nick... I think you better go back and review your post. In lakes, with a ecosystem such as Mille Lacs, smallies end up being the number one predator of yoy walleye. It's been proven time and time again by specialists north of the boarder, when the smallie population booms, the walleye population tanks.

Not pointing any fingers or leveling blame on the condition of M/L. Just correcting some slightly "off" information. Spending a summer with MNR creel census takers and biology students was a "reel" eye opener. I sent a email to a friend of mine, a MNR official in Ontario, for hard facts. As soon as they arrive, I'll post them either here or in the Mille Lacs forum.

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Could be. Or it could that, as mentioned above, when the walleye population weakens, smallie population grows to fill the void. Chicken, egg, etc.

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Could be. Or it could that, as mentioned above, when the walleye population weakens, smallie population grows to fill the void. Chicken, egg, etc.

Again we roll back to that same unanswered question... What weakened the walleye population to create the void the smallies will now fill?

Chicken, egg is RIGHT!

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Smallmouth populations are exploding across the midwest. Warmer climate and clear water favors smallies more than walleyes. Throw in significant overharvest of walleyes to reduce competition and the perfect storm was created.

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Nick... I think you better go back and review your post. In lakes, with a ecosystem such as Mille Lacs, smallies end up being the number one predator of yoy walleye. It's been proven time and time again by specialists north of the boarder, when the smallie population booms, the walleye population tanks.

Pretty sure this is Nick's source. Wisconsin has done quite a bit of research on this, and found that LMB are really a lot worse than smallmouth.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_wildlife/fisheries/species/muskie/MUE_ImpactOnWalleye.pdf

furthermore, in my experience when smallmouth numbers are increasing, it's due to changing factors in the lake food web/habitat that favor smallmouth, such as changing water temps and clarity (think zebra mussels, round gobies in the great lakes, etc)...and there's not really much you're gonna do about that

some more info on that here:

http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach/videos/upload/Wuellner-Melissa-R-Ph-D-2009.pdf

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smalllmouth limit has been raised from one to six. The new protected slot is 17 to 20 inches, with only one longer than 20 inches.

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believe its 16 to 20

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/03/19/walleye-rules-tightened-for-mille-lacs-lake/

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Anglers will be allowed to keep fewer walleyes when they fish Mille Lacs Lake this year.

Mille Lacs anglers will be able to keep walleyes only between 18 and 20 inches, or longer than 28. All others must be released. The limit is two, with only one longer than 28 inches. Last season all walleye from 17 to 28 inches had to be released.

But the state is loosening regulations for northern pike and smallmouth bass on Mille Lacs.

The lake’s protected slot for northerns will be narrowed to a 33 to 40 inches, with only one longer than 40. The limit remains three. The smalllmouth limit has been raised from one to six. The new protected slot is 17 to 20 inches, with only one longer than 20 inches.

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I like the slot, but I still think it's too aggressive to go from essentially zero to six.

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I agree with Juan. Good thing 75% of the smallies you catch are between 17-20".

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I believe the smallies have very little impact on the walleye population. I agree, it's overharvest and the zebes. Nobody has even mentioned walleyes are cannibalistic. Nobody has mentioned muskies, which also have very little impact. Two lakes in my area have smallies and a great walleye population..Lake Washington in Meeker County and Green Lake in Kandiyohi County..no complaints on the smallies. It's simply overharvest!

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It's simply overharvest!

WHAAAAAA?!?! You mean to say the more fish we take out of a lake the less fish will remain? That is the most preposterous thing I've ever heard!

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33 seems a bit high on the northern slot. Wish it'd be 28 or 30.

If walleye anglers were as adamant about releasing their fish as musky and bass anglers we wouldn't have this problem...

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I wish some people would use common sense when taking walleye or any kind of fish. I've seen people keep walleyes from mille lacs that were no bigger than 12 inches long. I've also seen it where they reel up the fish from 20 or so feet down really fast, find out the fish is not in the slot, and then release it. 5 minutes later, the fish is belly up from coming to the surface to fast. I'm for keeping some fish and what not but something needs to be done in the boat also to keep the fish population up. Lets do smart fishing everyone:)

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33 seems a bit high on the northern slot. Wish it'd be 28 or 30.

If walleye anglers were as adamant about releasing their fish as musky and bass anglers we wouldn't have this problem...

EDIT: Some conversations at the show yesterday really showed the different perspective on this and how opening up the slots would help the bass industry here. Aside from the money that would come from tournaments if they opened the slots a little, imagine the youth programs that would come from BASS and FLW taking this state a bit more seriously. It could really help bass management in this state if they opened the slots a little. The head of the FLW said he'd hold at least one major tournament a year on the lake.

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I'm tired of walleye anglers blaming the bass population, what with the netting and harvest of the walleyes they have no one to blame but themselves or the natives...... 2c

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the mn dnr has nothing to say about netting and couldn't stop it if they wanted too,ceded territoy rights federal jurisdiction not state. you bass guys complain if anyone on any lake keeps a bass. I sometimes keep small bass and always hear it from the guys on the lake I fish on that I am going to destroy their bass fishing,has'nt happened in the last 30 years and more than likely won't.

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bic - point me to a post where "us bass guys" have complained about anyone keeping a bass on any lake.

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Bic, I think we all agree that some selective harvest of bass is a good thing, what we don't want to see is stringer after stringer leaving the lake, and yes it does and will happen.

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EDIT: Some conversations at the show yesterday really showed the different perspective on this and how opening up the slots would help the bass industry here. Aside from the money that would come from tournaments if they opened the slots a little, imagine the youth programs that would come from BASS and FLW taking this state a bit more seriously. It could really help bass management in this state if they opened the slots a little. The head of the FLW said he'd hold at least one major tournament a year on the lake.

Why??? You can do a instant C&R tourney on any water right now! It's already on TV! Why not do what's best for the resource and go the digital route rather than the weigh-in. Then there is no need to worry about limits at all (for bass) or other species tournaments for that matter.

Just a thought.

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Quote:
You can do a instant C&R tourney on any water right now! It's already on TV!

I saw a show a couple weeks ago and the pro's were doing this. I think Denny Brauer won that tourney. A judge weighs said fish, they both agree on weight, then release said fish. They went by who caught the most weight for the day. It's good to see the evolution of tourney's to run them better with the heath of said fish in the fore front.

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I can't remember bass, musky, catfish, or panfishermen blaming other species when they have a slow day of fishing.

But it seems like hardcore walleye guys are always cursing the northerns, or the muskies, or the bass, (or whatever other predatory fish happens to be in the water) for messing up walleye fishing. Are walleyes really so weak that they can't handle any competition?

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I've read all the preceding posts, and it got me thinking, so I decided to access the DNR web site in the fish stocking section.Just as I thought, walleyes are by far THE MOST STOCKED fish in the state with trout and panfish thereafter, with a small percentage, and bass bringing up the rear.....100's and 100's of lakes each year are stocked with eyes, all over the state....The only time bass are stocked is in the case of freeze out, with no stocking at all in the vast majority of Minnesotas lakes......Amazing that walleye lakes get the lions share of our stocking $$$$$$ , yet, who are the biggest whiners?.......Maybe there should be a push to get the same dollars for bass stocking in lakes that dont naturally reproduce, just like for walleye?..... wink

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Maybe there should be a push to get the same dollars for bass stocking in lakes that dont naturally reproduce, just like for walleye?..... wink

Walleyes are king here, if you had a Bass rally you might be able to get 4 or 5 people to show up.

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Anyone read Dennis Anderson's article about Mille Lacs regs in the sports section of the Trib today? Pretty much said the new walleye regs are pointless because the tribes are not changing the mesh size of their nets. Those nets target the exact sized fish the DNR is trying to protect with the new slot.

He also said it's asinine that they increased the smallie limit from essentially zero (1 fish over 21") to six in one season and that it will destroy a "world-class smallmouth fishery."

I know it's just his opinion, but I think most can agree that the DNR's management plan for Mille Lacs is flawed from top to bottom.

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