OutdoorMN News - Mille Lacs bass anglers encouraged to submit fishing reports

[Rick]

Mille Lacs Lake bass anglers can help state fisheries managers learn even more about the lake’s top-notch bass fishery by submitting their fishing reports online, a service provided through a partnership between the Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota BASS Nation.

“The bass fishing on Mille Lacs Lake is outstanding and continues to grow in popularity,” said Mike McInerny, DNR fisheries research biologist. “The angler-submitted information is valuable data that, when gathered over a number of years, can complement and enhance what we are able to collect through lake surveys.”

The lake’s productive bass fishery has generated enough buzz in recent years to score a spot on the national stage. This September, the Mille Lacs area will host the Bassmaster Elite Series “Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship” – a world-class event that will bring the nation’s best bass anglers to Mille Lacs.

Whether novice or pro, all bass anglers are encouraged to provide information on number of fish caught, fish size, angler effort and more at www.mnbfn.org/creelsurvey. Anglers can do this after a fishing trip or while fishing. Once logged in, anglers can go back and see how they did on past trips, as the site will store that information for them.

The DNR and Minnesota BASS Nation have partnered for more than 12 years to collect data from bass anglers. Anglers interested in bass fishing can participate not only on Mille Lacs Lake, but on any lake in the state.

“For more than 30 years the DNR has partnered with organizations to look at angler diaries, particularly with muskellunge anglers. This tool for bass anglers works statewide and gives us more information than we can collect by ourselves about bass and bass fishing,” McInerny said.

Submitting the information is voluntary and provides the DNR with reliable estimates of size structure of bass in lakes these anglers fish. Size structure is the proportion of small bass to large bass, and this information is used as an indicator of growth and survival of bass.

Learn more about bass fishing in Minnesota at www.mndnr.gov/fishmn/bass.

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