Mille Lacs Saturday night 6/2/01

[wish2fish]

I am looking for a place to stay Saturday night, two couples, one night. I would like a slip for the night as well. Any ideas??? Izaty's and Edie's do not have openings.

Thanks,

Mike

[Eyecon]

Try Garrison Creek Marina,they rent condos and are often cheaper than hotel rooms.They also rent slips in the marina,however the bar and resteruant will be closed this summer.

[fishingdog]

In my opinion, it would be nice to see everyone planning on fishing there this summer boycott the lakes and especially the casinos. I don't blame you if you decide to fish there but would like to see the impact since they will be changing the slot limit to between 16 and 18 inches. We are all Americans here and deserve the same as everyone else that lives in our country. I pay just as much taxes as anyone else! If you do decide to go there, good luck and may you catch many between 16" and 20". New slots don't appear to be in effect til the 5th.

ps. Make sure you are careful when you measure and be sure to release any fish that are marginal!

[Reel Rap]

Try McQuoids Inn or the Red Door. Mille Lacs does have a web site. Good Luck. There is a tournament up there until Sunday and with the new regs, everyone will be up there this weekend.

[Hans]

Pray tell why should I boycott the lake? The lake doesn't care if you and I show up or not.

But the resorts, restaurants, bait shops, and other businesses *DO* care, and the boycott will only hurt them. If enough people follow your dump huck boycott notion, then many of them will be forced to close their doors.

I'm not happy to see the new restrictions, but fundamentally the fishing experience isn't going to change much at all. The same fish are going to be there next weekend to be caught, just as they are now. The primary difference is that the meat fishermen are going to have to work a little harder to get a livewell full of legal keepers.

Hans

[fishingdog]

Well Hans, I respect your remark except for the "dumb huck" comment. I could care less if the business suffer, maybe it would raise some awareness. My point was to boycott the reservation establishments that are pushing the slot limits. I am not a meat hunter but do like to keep a fish now and then and I think you will agree that catching fish between 16 1/4 to 17 3/4 is relatively difficult. These fish at that size typically are not that size for long. These are the fastest growing fish. I have plenty places to fish and Mille Lacs is not one of them. I feel sorry for the resort owners but apparently the DNR can just screw them over.

[Box]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-01-01 AT 03:35PM (CST)[p]I usually hate to get into this type deal, but I respectfully will add my 2 cents...

Saying the DNR is screwing over anybody is wrong, IMHO, and blaming the casinos is also wrong. It might make some white men (and I am a white man) mad, but the fact is that there were a bunch of people (remember seeing them at the sport shows collecting money to take the Tribe to court?) who went down a road they should not have gone. They lost their case. And now they (*we all*) must live with it. It is unfortunate. It downright sucks. Why didn't they learn from the WI cases of the 80's??? As my Dad always told me, they should have thunked twice before acting once. While it may have a knoble effort, look at where it got us.

They should have.... well, we all know Monday-morning quarterbacking is easy.

The DNR is following the law and the guidelines set. Now, people can argue the math, and that is fine and should be done. But to put blame where it is not due is just wrong, IMO.

The best thing to do now is to make the best of it and change things for the better -- things that can be changed. Do your writing and petitioning and all that.

I have a lake half a mile from me that I can go to get eating walleyes. When I go to Mille Lacs next it will be to take pictures of big fish, hopefully :) And I won't be going to any casinos, but not because they are to blame.

Good fishing,
Box in MN