February 12th, 2013

Last evening and today the bite was slow for the ones out.   We got the roads cleared and are working on private houses that didn’t block up before the storm and now are flooded.   The heavy wet snow and warm temps will cause it and that is why I had it posted on our bulletin board in the office last Friday.  With the cold weather coming the end of this week everything will freeze up and be fine.  We are going to move some rentals into the shallow reefs for the weekend as our best fishing was there the last few days.  Seems to be a lot of small Perch there in the daytime and they are pests.  But the Walleyes seem to be there also in the late afternoon and evenings, so we are going to be also. This winter has seen some quality Walleye fishing, but poor catches of “keeper” Perch are not letting fishermen have their traditional fish fry while out in the house.  The lake has so many big fish right now, (Walleyes, Muskies, Smallmouth Bass), Northern Pike), that they are a big eating machine, devouring the bait fish, Perch and Tullibees.    There are many mixed feelings and thoughts from the fishermen in the office when they leave.  What is is boiling down to in my opinion, is you cannot manage for a “trophy class lake” of all these species, including one that never was a native specie of this lake.. and a have a gill net fishery put into it at the same time. I think it’s time everything is thrown out and what this lake should be rethought.  All the “special interest” groups like Muskies Inc., BASS federation, etc. have had their influence on the MN DNR and changed Mille Lacs away from what it was originally, a Walleye lake. And on top of the last ten years of “treaty management”,the MN DNR has put the lake in the condition it is.  Our MN  DNR may have good  fisheries biologists, but they have the poorest managers.  Not once have they stood up for the State of Minnesota’s Walleye angler’s and others, thru all of this.    Treaty rights or not, (and no one including myself, is arguing treaty rights ).  Minnesota has the right to manage harvest and protect it’s resources for it’s citizens. (There is nothing in the court affirmed treaty saying they have to net in the spawning season!). The MN DNR has spawning areas they don’t want to be disturbed for obvious reasons in the spring that we can’t fish, but they allow gillnetting and spearing on spawning areas Mille Lacs. (???)  Plus they do not seem to realize how many people outside  of Minnesota care about Mille Lacs Lake and come here to enjoy it’s resources.  The  MN DNR only “managed” to put all of us in this predicament. And now they say they need to do more  studies? Mille Lacs has been the most studied lake in the State since the 1980’s. With Minnesota’s and “everyones ” Federal money spent doing the same thing  (thru GLIFWC),  and they tell us that they don’t know why (?) this happened and are going to do more studies to find out……..I’m no biologist but sometimes I wonder what they think……….   It’s time they get us out of this mess.  Enough is enough!!  Start telling them how you feel about it.  I know we are  trying to up here!