Wave Wacker -Still On MilleLacs!

[Weigh This]

I just found out that the Wave Wacker Tournament will be returning to lake Millelacs(its rightfull home) again this year and not moving. Should be interesting to see what happens with the slot sizes this year. I have heard "rumors"(which I will not spread) from a reliable source as to the new slot limit, if there true it is favorable to all MilleLacs anglers. The dates are June 6th & 7th,should be fun!

[JP]

GREAT NEWS---BUT DIVULGE OF YOUR "RUMOR HAS IT"

[Bad Finger]

Here is a recent article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune that talks about some of the proposed new regs.

Proposal would set Mille Lacs regulations
Dennis Anderson
Star Tribune

Published Jan 13 2002
ST.CLOUD, MINN. -- Regulations governing Mille Lacs sport anglers would be stabilized for as many as three years under a proposal the Department of Natural Resources will offer to eight Chippewa bands this week.

Terms of the plan won't be final until DNR fisheries biologists meet with the Chippewa and, separately, with Mille Lacs area anglers and business owners.

One scenario the DNR is considering would limit Mille Lacs anglers to two walleyes within a 3-inch slot for the first five or six weeks of the season, meaning only fish between, say, 16 and 19 inches long could be kept. The harvest slot would be widened to 6 inches for the rest of the season, with six walleyes allowed.

Another DNR proposal would implement a 3-inch walleye harvest slot on Mille Lacs for the entire season.

Still another plan would protect Mille Lacs walleyes between 17 and 28 inches, with one more than 28 inches allowed, and would set a four-fish limit.

Whichever proposal is agreed upon, sport anglers likely will be limited to about 300,000 pounds of Mille Lacs walleyes this year, according to DNR fisheries research manager Jack Wingate.

Last year, Mille Lacs anglers were allowed 310,000 pounds.

"The idea behind implementing a multiyear harvest plan would be to give Mille Lacs business owners and anglers stability in knowing what the harvest regulations on the lake would be," Wingate said.

"But to implement such a plan, we would need acceptance from the Mille Lacs business community, as well as the Chippewa bands."

Wingate spoke Friday in St. Cloud, where the DNR sponsored its annual roundtables for leaders of hunting, fishing and environmental groups.


Last summer, only a few weeks into the fishing season, the DNR dramatically reduced the number of walleyes Mille Lacs anglers could take from the lake when it instituted a 16-to 18-inch harvest slot, meaning only walleyes that measured in that range could be kept.

Mille Lacs anglers had begun the season with a 16-20-inch harvest slot. The restriction was necessary because fishing was excellent and anglers were on track to far exceed their walleye allotment.

Sport anglers' Mille Lacs harvests have been limited since 1999, when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Chippewa retained off-reservation hunting and fishing rights in an 1837 treaty signed with the federal government.

Wingate told the roundtable that anglers released an estimated 1.2 million pounds of walleyes from Mille Lacs last year -- telltale of just how good fishing was on the big lake.

The Chippewa, under terms of a plan they released recently, could take 100,000 pounds of Mille Lacs walleyes through 2004, with the possibility of gradually increasing their share to 115,000 pounds in 2007.

Excellent walleye fishing likely will prevail on Mille Lacs again this summer because baitfish populations, particularly those of tullibee and yellow perch, are low.

Mille Lacs walleyes also are unusually skinny, Wingate said, indicating they might be having difficulty finding food.

If the DNR wins approval of the multiyear harvest plan, the agency likely will be more conservative in the number of walleyes it allows anglers to take than it would be under terms of a one-year plan.

If anglers exceeded their cumulative walleye allotment at the end of three years, the excess would have to be paid back through harvest reductions in following years, Wingate said.

"It's possible that during the three years we might be as high as 25 percent over our allocation," he said. "That's why we would need the cooperation ahead of time of the Chippewa, who would have to agree with us that there are benefits to stabilizing the harvest regulations."

Wingate said that under any multiyear harvest agreement, the DNR would retain the option of implementing more restrictive regulations if it appeared anglers would far exceed their quota.

Last year, the Chippewa harvested about 48,000 pounds of walleyes. Their quota was 85,000 pounds.

This year, the Chippewa bands -- six of which are from Wisconsin -- are more likely to achieve their 100,000-pound walleye quota because for the first time some of the bands will harvest fish to sell, presumably to restaurants and grocery stores.

Under terms of a federal court agreement, the bands can commercially harvest Mille Lacs walleyes as long as the Indians don't exceed their quota. But Tim Goeman, a DNR fisheries manager and biologist from Brainerd, said the impact on Mille Lacs walleyes of a commercial harvest by the bands might be negligible.

"It might behoove us not to overreact," he said.

Wholesale, walleyes are valued at about $2 a pound, or $200,000 for the Chippewa's entire 100,000-pound allotment.

By comparison, noted Joe Fellegy, a Mille Lacs lake resident, writer and publisher, the lake's winter sportfishing business, estimated to be worth many millions of dollars to resorts and bait shops, is supported by a harvest of only about 30,000 pounds of walleyes.

Also at the roundtable

•Deputy DNR Commissioner Steve Morse said Minnesota should rethink "where it is going in terms of its land and water resources."

Minnesotans must begin to consider more carefully where they build their homes and how they care for lakeshores and lawns, Morse said. Collectively, he said, these can have a big impact on the state's natural resources.

"We need to talk about changing people's behavior," Morse said. "The cumulative effects of these actions are chipping away at the natural resource values of the state."

•Assistant fisheries division director Steve Hirsch reported that the DNR's accelerated walleye stocking program had a good year in 2001, planting 159,000 pounds of walleye fingerlings in state lakes.

-- Dennis Anderson is at danderson@startribune.com .

[Wiegh This]

You can't make me talk! Use your imagination,if the laws did'nt change for the better the tournament would have moved to Leech,Winni or Lake Of The Woods. Until it becomes law and is official, I don't want to start any rumors even though I have a good source. You'll be happy, be patient!

[Eyecrosser]

Sorry to change the topic a little bit, but can someone tell me who/where to contact regarding signing up for this tournament? Thanks for the help.

[MilleLacs Guy]

You can get there phone number from there website http://www.wavewackers.com/ Entry fee is $1100/per team, there is a waiting list to get in. Good luck

[Eyecrosser]

Millelacs Guy,

Thanks a lot for the info. Hope the list isn't too long.

[MilleLacs Guy]

What do you consider to long? I think you'll make it in three or four years. Unless there were some teams that dropped out(everyone is waiting to see the new slot limit regs), your best bet is to ask if there is anyone whos looking for a new partner as opposed to trying to get in as a new team!

[Rich S.]

I don't want to be negative about the Indians BUT if we could withdraw from an ABM treaty with the Russians can't we withdraw from the fishing treaty with the Indians. As GW Bush said, “times have changed.” Also I think we should support a boycott of the casinos and not buy any walleye from restaurants or stores. I believe that the reason they net and spear is because of spite. Thanks

[KJO]

If I were a betting man, I would quess that there will be a 14"-18" slot with 1 over 28" and a six fish limit, again this is only guess. Does anyone know when the invites for the Wacker will be sent out?

[Juls_WI]

Good advice. I was fortunate enough to start fishing the Wave Wacker last year. Someone who had been on the list for 5 years finally got the call, and his partner couldn't do it, so he called me to fill in.
Now we're partners, and I get to fish it again this year. I feel very lucky.

Your best bet is to follow MilleLacs Guy's advice and try to find someone who is looking for a partner. Start making some phone calls. Otherwise you're going to have to wait a long time.

Mille Lacs is just too much fun with those Wacker guys all over it. The atmosphere is unlike any other tournament I have fished. It's enjoyment in it's purest form. Good humor, good manners, and great skill all around you. (that's what I witnessed anyway..)
I hope this year is as much fun as last year! With the news of the slots being adjusted again, the fishing is going to be fantastic!

Good luck finding a partner. Hope to see you there this year..;-)

Juls