Mille Lacs slots

[Fin Addict]

I used to fish Mille Lacs at least twice a week after the night ban ended. With the new slots in place, Mille Lacs has become basically a C&R fishery. If I am going to do C&R fishing for eyes, I go to the Mississippi which is far closer and similar or better fishery. Actually for C&R fishing only, bass , northern or muskie fishing is an easier alternative for myself. With a family of 6, if I am going to spend the evening fishing for walleyes, I would expect to bring home at least a meal. Since the new slots went into effect last year, I fished Mille Lacs 4 times total last year and have yet to fish walleyes on the lake this year. I would have to believe others are doing the same. This has got to be killing the resorts etc. in the area. Do the casinos notice a drop in revenue if tourism drops, or are the fools that support them making the casino their primary destination? I would have to believe Economics 101 would be able to show the tribal interests that a walleye on the end of a line is far more valuable to them than one in a net. Just the positive PR from reduced netting could net them a bundle. Here's hoping that the new tight slot has dramatic effect on casino profits.

[AquaMan]

Not to be a dork or anything, but I think this was pounded pretty hard last week and the concensus was that if you want meat, head to another lake. If you want to catch good numbers of good size fish just to catch them head to Mille Lacs and bring a camera.

Yeah, it may keep some fisherman away and it might draw new ones to the lake with the idea that the big ones are bitting all day.

Either way, it will survive and so will the resorts.

(Psst, fish the rock piles at night with a bobber and a leech and you should do well to bring home plenty of 16-18" eyes...but don't let anyone else know) ;-)

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

Eric@crowncomputerinc.com

[KnottyBuoy]

It's not the fishermen up there patronizing the casino......although you still see a number of boats and trailers in the parking lot.......I don't get it......

[TBO/MN]

I fished Mille Lacs both Sat. and Sun. and caught lots of fish. If I would have been fishing last year, with the slot at that time, I would have taken home 3 fish on Sat. and 2 fish on Sunday. As it is now, I took 2 fish on Sat. and 2 fish on Sunday. The fish that we caught were mostly 20 inches and up, they wouldn't have fit into last years slot anyway. We caught about 40 fish all weekend, with some really nice 26-28 inch fish. They seem to bite all day long, and what a beautiful two days on the water.....For my money, this last weekend was one of the most pleasurable in a long while. We have 4 nice fish for dinner tonight, and the memories of a super weekend. By the way, Mac's Twin Bays Resort has a great menu, super BBQ ribs, and for you burger fans, try Mac's Monster burger, 1 lb. of fine eating.

Did Mille Lacs need a new slot, I really don't know or care. Is it a good fishery, YUP, and will I go back, YUP.

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[Dave in Mpls]

I fish Mille Lacs nearly every weekend. My schedule goes something like this: get up at 3:30 am, leave house at 4, get to Lundeen's at 5:30, get to Garrison at 6, fish till dark, load boat, arrive home at 11:30 pm. The LAST thing I want to do when I get home is clean fish, so the new regs really don't make too much difference to me. Once in a while I do keep one or two for my folks, but that is the exception. Personally, I hope it does deter a bunch of people...leaves more elbow room for me and TBO!

There was an interesting article by Joe Fellegy in last weeks Outdoor News; poorly written, but he did make some good points regarding the whole tribal fiasco.

Regards

[800proX]

say dave, there were 2 rigged 620 tillers in the tourney, bith had the 125 2 + 2 Mercs on them. being i have the 620 w' full glass and 225, i asked them and they were impressed thus far and very happy in the tiller. hope you are finding the same thing.

as far as the slots, i am somewhat dissapointed because although i am no meat hog, i sure do like a meal of fresh walleye on the grill at home, and have never taken more than one meal off the lake. i think a lot are in the same situation, and i also think that when you are given a creel survey, they have factored in mortality rate into those lbs and the best thing might be to tell the DNR you caught no fish except the ones you kept. i have never seen more floating walleyes than i did during the WW tourney. i just hate to see the guys with their livelihood at stake bear the biggest brunt of all this. as fishermen, we can go to other lakes to get eaters, or trophies, but they need people to come to survive and they are the ones that get nipped by all this IMHO.

[FJH1]

LOL Dave! I've never fished Mille Lacs, heck, I've never even fished in Minnesota :-), however, after a long day (or short day) on the water, the last thing I want to do is clean fish. Sure, occasionally I'll keep a couple. Last year I think I kept three walleyes and a couple of crappies for dinner. I love fishing, but given the choice I'd rather not have to clean fish once I get home. That being said, it sounds like I should find time to head to Mille Lacs.

Best Regards,

FJH

[Goldpig]

TBO/MN, I saw you out on the mud. There sure are a lot of fish to be caught! Personally, I am not too concerned about the slot as I keep very few. I am more concerned about the little kids who catch their first walleye or their first big one and can't keep it. I vividly remember my first real fishing trip on Mille Lacs with my Dad and bringing in a nice stringer. It is partially those memories that keeps me fishing today.

It will be interesting when the current contract expires, and the tribe will try for over fifty percent of the harvest. A lot of peoples livelihoods are at stake. The balance of the lake also seems to be out of whack. I too have noticed how many of the fish are abnormally skinny. In the ten years I have fished the lake, I have never seen so many 20-25 inch fish.

[Juls_WI]

Hey 800proX,

Just thought I would take this opportunity to say that it was nice to finally meet you last week. Now I can put a face to the name. You were hidden behind your sunglasses though, so if I ever run into you again, and don't recognize you, that's why.;-)

How did you end up in the WW? We ended up going back over to vinland on Friday for a little while, but only caught some bigger (19-20") eyes there then.

I really enjoyed fishing Mille Lacs, even if I wasn't happy with the slot limit. It's an awsome fishery! I'd go back in a heartbeat. The smallie, and crappie fishing is unbelievable! I took a day when I got there to do some, and caught some of the biggest black crappies I have ever seen. Just beautiful. The smallies were the same way. Fat and sassy! I have heard about the great muskie fishing there, but have never tried it. I was told there are some huge fish in there.

All I can say is WOW! Good fishing, Great partners, good food, and fun friends...it doesn't get any better than that. What a blast!

Juls

[TBO/MN]

Goldpig,

If you saw me why didn't you stop and say hey? I am always interested in putting faces with names. If you watched us, you saw my wife putting most of the fish in the boat, she's a killer on the eyes. She loves to work the big ones.....that's how she got me LOL.

Good Fishin'
TBO/MN

[800proX]

likewise julia, we went back first thing friday am, and caught a couple of 22" and then hit the deep mud off of the gravel bars, 33', and hit about 20 fish and ended with 2 slotters, total of 3 for the whole tourney. realistically boated 70 fish, and only 3 in the slot is tough on the nerves. specially when they were equally on both sides of the slot, you sure would think it was in our favor, but....

the muskie fishin is absolutely dynamite and i love doing it on mille lacs more than any other lake.

see you at missip or devils lake in the rcl if you go. best of luck rest of the season and happy fishin!!

jeff

[PWaldow123]

Dave, I pretty much keep the same schedule, although it might not always be on weekends. Sometimes I have my days off during the week and work the weekends. Couldn't have said it better myself!!!. As far as I'm concerned make it catch and release only. Then there might be a lot more elbow room. LOL

Paul

[Pitts]

Hey dave are you looking for a new boat in the plastic way. LOL
I just saw walleye fillets at the grocery store for 4$ a pound. That's cheap sell the boat if you only want meat. I also like to eat walleye but it is not a neccessity and there are a lot of other lakes where all you catch are 16" fish which are great eating.
I'm on my way to Bemidji for a tourney but my boat is already there or I might have considered stopping for a while. Maybe on the return.

Good Fishing

Pitts

[Goldpig]

Yeah, I suppose I should have. It must have been two weekends ago as you were by yourself. At any rate, I am up there most weekends. Next time I see you I will make sure to stop and introduce myself.

[tuffy18]

Maybe I'm missing the boat here, but weren't the slots put in place to boost the throphy population? I don't have any problem releasing fish between 20" and 29", in fact, I think it should be a state wide slot. But when your not allowed to take one 30"er and put it on the wall then something is wrong. This isn't pre-spawn. Just thought I'd put my two cents in. What do you guys think?

[Eyecon]

Juls I also fished the Wave Wacker,as a regualar on WC I've always wanted to put a face with the name.Were you wearing a yellow and black Offshore Tackle cap and shirt? Keep up the good work,you have inspired my wife to fish a couples tournament with me this summer.

[Juls_WI]

Yep, that was me..

I'm glad to hear your wife has taken the initiative to go out and experience the fun of fishing tournaments with you!

Best of luck to you two!

Go Team Eyecon!!!

Cool! ;-)


Juls

[JonM]

The resorts will not survie with a 2" slot! Heading up last Friday night to Red Lake, we didn't see more than one or two other boats heading up 169. We confirmed at Lundeen's that they're already noticing a big dropoff in business.

Nobody is going to win with this current scenario playing out. I can't beleive how this many people can make this many bad decisions.

[REW]

Tuffy,
I talked to the DNR - the principal reason that they took away the trophy fish rule on Mille Lacs, was to make more fish available to the rest of the fishing public.

They are basing this argument on total poundage of fish caught.
It does have some merit. Lets suppose that you catch 1-10 lb walleye.

With the 16-18 inch slot - that equates to 1.5 - 2.5 lb fish.

So basically, for every 10 lb fish that is kept - this means that there are basically 4- fewer slot fish that can be kept; based on total allowable lbs of fish to be caught.

This was their thinking in making the change.

In actuallity , it seems to be a good rule, because if you really want a trophy for mounting - catch the fish, take some pictures, take some measurements, and have a graphite reproduction made. Then put it back and let someone else have the pleasure of catching the fish.

Take care

REW

[RJ]

AquaMan, You just go ahead and and keep throwing the big fish back. But don't begrudge anyone for wanting to keep a few fish to eat on the most prolific Walleye Lake in Minnesota. I suggest you and everyone who is interested in Mille Lacs to read Joe Fellegy's article in the June 8th edition on Outdoor News. This will open your eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Borch]

New information on the Mille Lacs slot. This is a copy of an email from Jack Wingate, MNDNR to a fisherman on another forum.

We are in the process of changing the regulation to allow a one over 30 inches on Mille Lacs. This should happen near the end of June. The topic of a one over did not come up in our discussions of what a mid-season change in regulations would look like. After listening to anglers and business people, we decided to add back a one over.


Jack Wingate

Paul J. (Jack) Wingate
Fisheries Research Manager
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155-4012

651-296-0793
651-297-4916 FAX

[800proX]

first of all you will never get 2 1/2 lbs out of a 18 inch fish, it will push 2 lbs and maybe 2 - 4 ozs over at the very most.

lets do a little math shall we. assuming that the anglers in the WW tourney last week are amongst some of the best, they harvested under 3500 lbs (90% were released back) in two days time of hard fishing. the DNR has said that 180,000 lbs is the weight they need to be at by June 15. does anyone honestly think that in those 2 weeks 15,000 lbs of fish WERE KEPT? launch drivers businesses have dried up to a fraction of what they were, and just by looking at the WW results alone should give a more than accurate measure of the amount of fish that are being caught in that slot.

on another note, it is being contemplated that mortality rate might be an influence in all this. every time you submit to a creel survey and you say you caught 25 fish that day, is it possible they are factoring in the mortality of those you threw back? could be, because i saw, as did all the other tourney anglers, a ton of floating walleyes last week.

i am an angler who loves catching fish, and also one who loves the taste of fresh walleye. i sure wish that the limit would have been dropped instead of fluctuating the slot. it would allow at least a meal of walleye and the fun of catching so many fish. now it seems that it is just the fun of catching fish.

one last thing, in 1992 when over a million pounds were harvested and the result over the next years was not damaging, and now they claim the fishery to be in BETTER shape than 92, why the talk then that the fishery is in trouble if it would exceed a quota a third smaller than 9 years ago? sounds like doublespeak to me.

just my .02

jeff

[Goldpig]

I am curious what part of the lake you saw all the dead walleyes? I fished the tournament as well and saw tons of dead perch, but not a single dead walleye during the tournament or pre-fishing. Thanks, and I hope that you did better than I did.

[Tuffy18]

Does anyone acually think that the DNR's survey is close to being accurat? I realize that they are doing everything they can, and I'm not trying to knock them at all, but they are only surveying about 5% of the fisherman at the most. I have fished Mille Lacs at least once a week for the last two years, and the last time I was checked was over a year ago. Where were they all the times I came back to the landing with nothing? Just something to think about.

[800proX]

we saw most prefishing on the west side up around garrison reef and down by indian point. on thursday we boated 50 walleyes by 2 pm with only one slot (equal amounts of fish were on both sides and that is why it was frustrating!!)

second day we pulled spinners off of sloppies in 33' and picked up 2 slots out of 20. overall not a very good ratio considering we were on fish both above and below the slot, but hey...that's fishin!

all told i would say i saw about 7 - 10 dead walleyes from weds to friday. not terribly signifigant, but more than i had been accustomed to seeing over the years there.

jeff

[eye1]

I too spend alot of time on Mille Lacs and have only been checked twice in the last ten years.Not once in the last couple of years.

[Goldpig]

I have fished there regularly for the last twelve years and have never been stopped!

[Beckman]

I've been check 5 out of 10 times I've been on the lake this year.

[Tuffy18]

>I've been check 5 out of
>10 times I've been on
>the lake this year.


You must be the guy taking about 75,000 lbs of fish per day because I don't know too many other people who have been checked.

[Beckman]

Trust me, I'm not skewing the results in that direction. I have trouble catching those dang walleyes!

[EAGLE EYES]

Tuffy,

I know where the DNR was when you were out at the landing!
They were back at headquarters trying to figure out a new answer
to the current regulations! ;-) Ya know, It's funny how they change their reasoning for every different reg. they come up with. What ever the tribe wants they get. Gee, I wonder if all the money the casino makes has something to do with it?
The last few times I was up at Mille, I kept smelling something terrible in the air. I now know what that smell was, It was the smell of Bullsh_t, the Dnr. mixed together in one air mass! :-(
I never saw heritage pull 70,000lbs. of fish out of one spot before, and sell them for profit. Thank you Ojibwe, for showing me how heritage works! EE

[Eyecon]

"WOW",smart,good looking and fishes! :-)

[RJ]

All you fisherman that fish Mille Lacs read Joe Fellegys article in the June 8th edition od Outdoor News. It will answer alot of questions!

[Juls_WI]

Now you've gone and done it! My cheeks are blushing now..heheh

Thanks for your kindness! Hope I can meet you and your wife someday. Maybe we will fish against each other in another team event???
Now that you know what I look like, it will be up to you to approach me, and say hello...seeing how I don't know what you look like...OK? ;-)

Don't forget!
Take care,

Juls

[Tuffy18]

Eagle Eyes,
You don't have any pent up rage or frustration do ya?? I have to admit that I agree with you. If they want to keep with tradition, why do they use gas powered outboards and 1 million candle powered spot lights. Whats wrong with birchbark canoes and hand torches, Isn't that the tradition? And why do a few thousand people need houndreds of thousands of pounds of walleyes? I guess it's tradition.

[exnj]

RJ,
Is there a way to access this article on the net or is it just in a local fishing mag up there in MN? Also, I had the pleasure to fish Mille Lacs last week (Mon 6/4 old slot -Tues 6/5 new slot). I am used to Jan 1 of each year out here in Colorado as being the date of any new regs. Seeing them change mid stream, and of all times right in the middle of my first trip, was different. I had only 1 fish out of 6 get affected by the reg change. I had to put a 19.5" fish back on Tuesday. But catching the two 23" fish (biggest to date in my life) was a thrill and I had no problem putting them back. The problem I had was seeing 2 boys fishing off Eddy's pier on Tues. that had to put back 2 19" 'eyes that would have been legal the day before. I really hate to see kids get hurt by politics. With all the garbage in the world today that kids could be messed up in, why would we even consider making rule changes that could make a kid's day sadder when the fish of a lifetime (up to that point in a kids life) has to be put back.

Also, JULS, very nice to meet you that evening at Eddy's bar. Sounds like you enjoyed your trip. I know I did. BTW, I went to a nearby lake Weds. 6/6 and caught a 27" walleye (that is the new biggest walleye ever for me).

Lou

[EAGLE EYES]

Yeah, I suppose I get a little hot over this issue. I just have the hardest time accepting the DNR's reasoning. I just wish,they would tell everyone right out, they are being controlled by money, and let the truth be known! I think maybe next time I'm up in Mille lacs area, I will donate my (16"-18") Walleyes to the Casino, because they are such a worthy charity! Hey, if everyone did this all summer long, maybe they would even get enough for a fish fry! :-)

[Eyecon]

Thanks Juls will definitely stop and say hi next time I see you(now that I know what you look like).I look foward to competing against you again in the future.As far as my wife I may have to leave her home!NO just kidding,shes great and would like to meet you too.Your a keeper Juls,glad to have you here on the Walleye Central team. :-) What a catch!!!

[EAGLE EYES]

Yeah, I was wondering about an address for this also. Anyone know if their is web site for outdoor news?

[Tideye]

The website is www.outdoornews.com

Jim

[Tuffy18]

hey Eagle eyes- Try www.outdoornews.com - Maybe you only have hawk eyes. ( just playing )