New Regs?

[Red Miller]

A step in the right direction

[Archerysniper]

I wonder what the no night fishing ban means? I figure, with numbers completely made up: 50 boats a night, 2 guys per boat, 4 harvested fish per boat, that's 200 fish per night that don't get harvested. Times 4 months or 120 nights = that's 24,000 fish. Now cut those numbers in half, or double them, whatever. That's a lot of fish. I know the place I fish from usually has 5 or 6 boats out at night, plus public accesses where I see several rigs parked at night. I wonder what the nighttime harvest actually is, compared to daytime? This will be an interesting summer.

What about the evening launches with 30 people on each one pounding the heck out of the fish?

[Michael L]

I always cringed when I seen those launches. Reminded me of a Chinese whaling slaughter boat.

[RumRiverRat]

Lets destroy a trophy bass and Pike fishery to protect Walleyes.

Makes perfect sense.

Good Job MN DNR.

As long as nets are allowed the Walleye fishing is going to suffer.

Mille Lacs has changed because of Zebra Mussels.

The MN DNR is to blame for the disaster that is Mille Lacs.

[harvey lee]

You can harp on the nets all you want but it is not going to change RRR. The Native's won this battle and we will have to live with it whether we like it or not.

ML can still be a great fishery even with controlled netting I believe.

There are always going to be a few lakes that are down every year.

I have no complaints on what the DNR has done the last decade for the fishing resources throughout the state. Every lake cannot be great every year, just won't happen.

I have a better year of fishing every year for numbers and size, no complaints for me at all.

[Sifty]

[quote=Archerysniper

What about the evening launches with 30 people on each one pounding the heck out of the fish?

[pushbutton]

Yep, another punt hoping there will be a year class that sticks. Not too many 40 inch pike making a living off of eating walleye fry......great .....now we can look forward to wrecking the rest of the lake with hammer handles and bajillion 2 lb bass. Might as well quick change the law and liberalize musky fishing as well......

[RumRiverRat]

Not at all shocked that Harvey has chimed in with his undying praise for the DNR.

The DNR is going to ruin Mille Lacs.

This is the start of an epic disaster.

[oilandwater]

So how is it that we can sit on our soapboxes and blame the natives, the DNR, and everyone else on the planet without looking inward to say who else is laying waste to the walleyes for the past dozen years? You pretend like the sport take has been a non-issue; far different from the reality of it.

It is no different than the deer in NE MN. The DNR is blamed for X years of a 5 deer limit in some areas; the last I checked, the DNR was not out shooting 5 deer for all of you, nor have they had control (for more than 2 years) over the wolves or over the weather and extreme winters. The hunters and anglers are the ones that have taken the deer, walleyes, etc. We're not a bunch of patsies doing as ordered to take our 6 walleye or 5 deer every day we hunt or fish. You can't have great fishing for sport anglers, great netting for natives, great business for resorts, and great everything for walleye, SM bass, musky, and pike every year all year when you are talking about a natural system. Nature is ebb and flow. The best we can hope to do is make the good years even better, the poor times shorter, and try to lessen the effect of severe threats. Its always easier to blame everyone but the ones in the mirror. The DNR is a public agency- they work for all of us in the interest of our recreation. They set the framework, but it is up to all of us to either catch or not catch. See a lake in crisis? Go fish somewhere else! That's conservation; or is that too un-self-centered to make sense? Native hating and DNR hating are very popular these days, but also take little effort or thought.

[MN Musky]

With all of the banter back and forth., it would interesting to see who actually fishes the lake. I fish mille lacs 3-4 days a week much of open water season. I m not a guide. I bought a cabin on the North End in 2003. Many of the so called experts posting would carry more weight if they actually new the ecosystem. For instance .. Believe it or not this past year, with the exception of early season and under ice, was the dirtiest water i have seen on the pond. So much for the zebs. I didnt see the clarity change. On the North end by the wealthwood to red door area for most of the year.

I am not saying that all input is not valuable, but if you dont fish the lake.. We dont need anymore blind leading the blind fueling the fire.

[Red Miller]

Sure, its easy to blame the netters. I am as guilty as the next guy. But......how did we ever get talked into sacrificing "the" premier walleye fishery in Minnesota to accommodate muskies, pike and bass? Who's idea was that?? Gee, did money have anything to do with it? They should be shutting down the tournaments along with the night fishing. Yep, the resort owners are going to take the hit. Maybe lose everything they've worked all their lives for. I am guessing Ranger, Mercury, Crestliner, Lund, Johnson Outdoors, Rapala et al wont skip a beat.

[Stick in Mud]

For instance .. Believe it or not this past year, with the exception of early season and under ice, was the dirtiest water i have seen on the pond. So much for the zebs. I didnt see the clarity change. On the North end by the wealthwood to red door area for most of the year.

I am not saying that all input is not valuable, but if you dont fish the lake.. We dont need anymore blind leading the blind fueling the fire.

Good point about the water clarity. I noticed the same thing, though I didn't fish the lake nearly as much last year as I usually do. And last winter (2012-2013), for whatever reason, the water was quite murkier than normal, at least where we have our house on the northwest end. Then, last spring, it was super, super clear. Summer seemed normalish, and then this winter it was super, super clear again. Funny thing, water clarity.

[river rat316]

Do away with the slot, seems people want a keeper lake, not a trophy lake, which it is right now. The slot t 18-20" is taking the only fish that matter out of the lake, those are the producers, complete fail IMHO.

[Search Function]

Sure, its easy to blame the netters. I am as guilty as the next guy. But......how did we ever get talked into sacrificing "the" premier walleye fishery in Minnesota to accommodate muskies, pike and bass? Who's idea was that?? Gee, did money have anything to do with it? They should be shutting down the tournaments along with the night fishing. Yep, the resort owners are going to take the hit. Maybe lose everything they've worked all their lives for. I am guessing Ranger, Mercury, Crestliner, Lund, Johnson Outdoors, Rapala et al wont skip a beat.

Question for you Red: When did "we" get talked into sacrificing one of the premier walleye fisheries in MN (Red Lake) to accommodate crappies and pike?

[BrdHunter01]

Lets destroy a trophy bass and Pike fishery to protect Walleyes.

Makes perfect sense.

Mille Lacs always has been, always will be, and always should be managed for Walleyes!

The DNR finally put their head on straight

[Iceman1026]

speaking of Red Lake this is going to be red lake all over again the Indians will net all the fish out of the lake and then they will come to the dnr saying they need help and we will help them cuz we always do and they'll just close the lake to everybody for walleyes until the population comes back

[Ryan_V]

How can they allow spearing when there is a slot?

[Kyhl]

I would have prefered that they make walleye catch and release only instead of the night ban. That is just silly to me.

Then again, said make it catch and release last year, noting that the sooner the better. These regs are stupid and the lake will continue to spiral down until they turn off walleye fishing for a couple years.

Then where will the resorts be?

I loved hiting that lake in the evening and returning to a camp fire after 1am, often by myself.

I wouldn't be surprised if the night ban hurts the resorts worse than a catch and release rule. I'd much rather stay at a resort or campground knowing I could fish at night.

The 612-ers now have no reason to stay the night. Head up in the morning. Pack up at 10pm and head back home. No resort needed. I've done that at 1am. 10pm is a no brainer to head back home.

This will also put a damper on the fireworks display. I know a few that grab a rod and lighted bobber and treck 10 miles to go watch fireworks with the family. I'm betting the DNR will be out there raising funds with the people that forget to remove their fishing gear before heading to the fireworks.

Honestly, I can't think of a good reason to make this night ban. It is counter productive to their stated goal of reducing other species as well.

[mrklean]

speaking of Red Lake this is going to be red lake all over again the Indians will net all the fish out of the lake and then they will come to the dnr saying they need help and we will help them cuz we always do and they'll just close the lake to everybody for walleyes until the population comes back

Please do some research before making ignorant statements like this

[CAMAN]

Mille Lacs always has been, always will be, and always should be managed for Walleyes!

The DNR finally put their head on straight

What's funny is there are 9,999 other lakes in this state that are managed for walleye

[Mike #1]

Launches with 30 people? That would be news to the owners of the launch's, 10-15 is about average and they are not "Pounding" the fish,in fact, most of the customers are newbies or are people who rarely fish. In a lot of cases 2-3 people who are experienced can out fish a launch. Don't believe me? Just look back in the archives on this forum and you will see talk of catching 100+ in a day. Just think about the hooking mortality.

[Bandersnatch]

Regardless of the insanity of doing the same small fish targeted slot, over and over and over again and expecting a different result...........

How do you like being viewed as a Criminal before the fact by the DNR?

(or do you think the regulation banning your having a fishing rod in your boat on the water before 6AM is because they think you are stand up guys?)

[castmaster]

They (DNR) are going to do what they think is best for the lake, and most will not be happy with the rules. You can't please everyone and you will never get everyone one to agree on what is the correct way to go about trying to fix the lake.

The joke will be listening to all the complaints of the new rules.

The sad thing Gordie is they DO NOT do what they think is best for the lake. They pander to special interest groups, from the resort lobby to the walleye groups etc.

I am quite sure the biologists at the DNR know the smallies on Mille Lacs arent the cause of the current walleye situation, nor are the ski's. But popular opinion amongst walleye anglers is that those species are part of the problem, so change regs that have built one of the premier musky and smallmouth trophy lakes in the nation for what exactly?

[harvey lee]

So how is it that we can sit on our soapboxes and blame the natives, the DNR, and everyone else on the planet without looking inward to say who else is laying waste to the walleyes for the past dozen years? You pretend like the sport take has been a non-issue; far different from the reality of it.

It is no different than the deer in NE MN. The DNR is blamed for X years of a 5 deer limit in some areas; the last I checked, the DNR was not out shooting 5 deer for all of you, nor have they had control (for more than 2 years) over the wolves or over the weather and extreme winters. The hunters and anglers are the ones that have taken the deer, walleyes, etc. We're not a bunch of patsies doing as ordered to take our 6 walleye or 5 deer every day we hunt or fish. You can't have great fishing for sport anglers, great netting for natives, great business for resorts, and great everything for walleye, SM bass, musky, and pike every year all year when you are talking about a natural system. Nature is ebb and flow. The best we can hope to do is make the good years even better, the poor times shorter, and try to lessen the effect of severe threats. Its always easier to blame everyone but the ones in the mirror. The DNR is a public agency- they work for all of us in the interest of our recreation. They set the framework, but it is up to all of us to either catch or not catch. See a lake in crisis? Go fish somewhere else! That's conservation; or is that too un-self-centered to make sense? Native hating and DNR hating are very popular these days, but also take little effort or thought.

You hit the nail on the head, but, RRR believes since I like what the DNR does overall, then I am a DNR lover who believes everything they do is correct., easier to blame everyone else. It's not that I agree with everything they do but how they will ever make everyone happy is way beyond what I could ever understand. Overall, the DNR does a pretty good job in my mind statewide considering they have to deal with the weather and many other factor's.

[bobbymalone]

I am quite sure the biologists at the DNR know the smallies on Mille Lacs arent the cause of the current walleye situation, nor are the ski's. But popular opinion amongst walleye anglers is that those species are part of the problem, so change regs that have built one of the premier musky and smallmouth trophy lakes in the nation for what exactly?

Walleye anglers on Mille Lacs blame everything except the limits they have been bringing home for years and years and 2/3 of the total harvest overall.

[Bluegill1510]

You can harp on the nets all you want but it is not going to change RRR. The Native's won this battle and we will have to live with it whether we like it or not.

ML can still be a great fishery even with controlled netting I believe.

There are always going to be a few lakes that are down every year.

I have no complaints on what the DNR has done the last decade for the fishing resources throughout the state. Every lake cannot be great every year, just won't happen.

I have a better year of fishing every year for numbers and size, no complaints for me at all.

Great post Harvey! I could not agree more! I too am experiencing better fishing every year for the last 15 years or so. Everyone can gripe about the nets or the slot or the bans or the liberal regs or all the politics that surround mille lacs but we all have to realize we are all in this together as anglers, and state citizens. If you don't like any of it then fish another lake or river or reservoir....we have a ton of amazing fisheries out there in this state to be thankful for. As for the resorts, I feel bad for them but what can you do? At least they aren't shutting them down like what happen on basswood by Ely when the BWCA went into effect. It's all in how you look at it and is the glass is half full or half empty?

[J48jake]

Great solution mrklean! Oh wait....you didn't have one.

[walleye34]

what is amazing is the DNR's refusal to even imply netting and or spearing may be having an impact in their latest report. I am no expert but history tells us commercial netting destroys fisheries! and what is done each spring up there is commercial netting. I am not here to argue who's right and who's wrong and who should have what rights but bottom line is the lake cannot nor will it ever be able to support both hook n line and the netting! One group or the other is all this lake can handle. changes in a eco system or food chain will not wipe out fish the way this lake has been wiped in 5 years!! Mother nature has this amazing thing called evolution, species adapt to these changes in their own enviroment. There has to be a agreement on who gets the lake. I wonder if putting a casino in downtown minneapolis or legalizing gambling in MN would even the playing field when it comes to negotiations???

[castmaster]

With all of the banter back and forth., it would interesting to see who actually fishes the lake. I fish mille lacs 3-4 days a week much of open water season. I m not a guide. I bought a cabin on the North End in 2003. Many of the so called experts posting would carry more weight if they actually new the ecosystem. For instance .. Believe it or not this past year, with the exception of early season and under ice, was the dirtiest water i have seen on the pond. So much for the zebs. I didnt see the clarity change. On the North end by the wealthwood to red door area for most of the year.

I am not saying that all input is not valuable, but if you dont fish the lake.. We dont need anymore blind leading the blind fueling the fire.

Just out of curiosity...how long have you fished the lake prior to buying a place?

Those who remember the Big Pond in the 1980's, and first half of the 1990's realize the late 90's and early 2000's had some epic, above the norm year classes that brought walleye fishing/catching to levels not really seen before, and it had successive above average recruitment in subsequent years. That then became the expectation, should be a guarantee of a limit and many released fish after that. 80-100 fish days, no worries.

Guess what, that was NOT normal and could not be expected to continue in perpetuity.

Lastly, I think there are a lot of folks who need to remember the age old adage..."When you point a finger at someone else there are 3 more pointing back at you"

Heck, how many GPS/Locators were around in 2000? Hmmm nowadays someone from CA who has never wet a line in the pond can show up and find there way to an small rock hump that would possibly have taken one years of on the water time to find previously. How many gps controlled trolling motors were around to let one precisely rig a set depth contour?

[BrdHunter01]

What's funny is there are 9,999 other lakes in this state that are managed for walleye

The funny thing is NONE of them naturally reproduce walleyes at the rate Mille Lacs does!