Red Lake: Go Early

[Bustin Lips]

Well look at the bright side... Red lake will remain the most poached lake in the state.

[get-n-birdy]

Well look at the bright side... Red lake will remain the most poached lake in the state.

That is so true.

[get-n-birdy]

I'm a recovering walleye guy. Some of my numbers might be off since the "reconstruction" to make me more normal.

I get the idea is to protect the breeding fish. And maybe with the 17" minimum enough people will get their 14"-17" fish.

But after what, 6 years, the 17" fish will be 26" and past spawning and all the year classes underneath will have been losing population each year until they hit 17".

Close the gap to 17"-22", with two over 22" no more than one over 26". Get the most out of that 5 year spawning span and start moving the bigger fish out.

Or did the DNR change all that in their wisdom years ago with a "one over 22" in the daily limit?

I quit caring about walleyes years ago, but bad management still drives me insane. The slots are socially contrived "science" based on human carrying capacity and a need to say things are being managed appropriately.

I am a recovering bass guy, then turned traitor to walleyes. Now I'm a non species specific, non racist to any fish, fisherman, promoting equality for all species of fish.

More and more guys I've talked to about all the slots agree. We are already so over regulated on slots on specific lakes, protecting those 17-26" fish is not the answer. You are spot on, we need to spread that harvest out on those bigger fish as well, taking pressure off those fish under the slot. Why can't we just have a couple out of the slot in that 17-26" range? I've heard DNR people say it will complicate things to much, huh? The reg's are already complicated, what's a little more complication? If the DNR had a clue as to the amount of people of this state that distrust them and the amount of poaching going on by a huge percent of the population with fishing reg's, they'd shut the season down.

[Fish Felon]

Lanyard, I like your plan. 17-22" with 2 over 22" and only one over 26". They say those 19-21" females are the prime breeding fish. With that slot you'd protect those and not cause the age structure to be too top heavy and crash like it cyclically does at Mille Lacs.


What's stupid is that if you've ever gone and caught a limit and not eaten the entire limit that day and then gone out caught a limit the next day you are a fish poacher in MN.

That's why I don't discriminate between species, just like get-n-birdy said. I can have a freezer full of fish if I keep everything and most fish are about the same in flavor as a walleye. I love frying up a big batch of smallmouths and rock bass and feeding them to walleye guys telling them they're walleye and crappie/bluegill.

[ducksmuggler]

I have grown up fishing pool 4 that has a 15" minimum size.... most fish are 14 3/4 " but it also is a place were tourney anglers need a 5 fish 40lbs plus stringer to even be in the $$.... that said I do not feel slots work or will work unless it protects a very large size class of fish to the point of a trophy fishery like 5 over 25 kinda thing. .... look back at mille lacs smallmouth 5 years ago!!!!!!

[Nershi]

Do you guys really think hook and line slots matter on red? It is a pretty big lake and only about a 1/4 of the lake can be fished. I bet you could have boats and ice houses bumper to bumper on that lake keeping every fish caught year round and you couldn't come close to fishing it out.

If the natives are following size slots when they are pulling their nets then there may be a point to slot limits but I do not think they are subject to the same laws so it seems pointless IMO.

[Bullet21XD]

My views on walleyes in MN are simple.

The DNR has to regroup and manage every "walleye" lake as a put and take fishery. Period! They really should know by now, that walleye management simply doesn't work when you have thousands and thousands of anglers, both res and non res, that do not believe in their ideas.

Mille Lacs is a perfect example. There would be significantly less fishing hours on the lake if people were able to go out and keep the first four walleyes they catch. In years of late spawns, and throughout summer months, this would have a HUGE impact on fish populations. More fish. More balance. Healthier fishery. The DNR can't possibly know if inadverdant waste kills more/less fish than liberal size limits. On ML, I personally believe catch and release does more harm than catch and kill, especially with it being a "live bait" lake.

I'm sure there are others similar as well.

The DNR can heavily stock the classic walleye lakes by not stocking many of the smaller lakes which are already put and take fishery's...and should be stocked/funded by their associations.

[get-n-birdy]

My views on walleyes in MN are simple.

The DNR has to regroup and manage every "walleye" lake as a put and take fishery. Period! They really should know by now, that walleye management simply doesn't work when you have thousands and thousands of anglers, both res and non res, that do not believe in their ideas.

Mille Lacs is a perfect example. There would be significantly less fishing hours on the lake if people were able to go out and keep the first four walleyes they catch. In years of late spawns, and throughout summer months, this would have a HUGE impact on fish populations. More fish. More balance. Healthier fishery. The DNR can't possibly know if inadverdant waste kills more/less fish than liberal size limits. On ML, I personally believe catch and release does more harm than catch and kill, especially with it being a "live bait" lake.

I'm sure there are others similar as well.

The DNR can heavily stock the classic walleye lakes by not stocking many of the smaller lakes which are already put and take fishery's...and should be stocked/funded by their associations.

That needs to be pounded into the heads of all DNR fisheries employees!

Then made into a plaque and hung at every DNR office.

[get-n-birdy]

Lanyard, I like your plan. 17-22" with 2 over 22" and only one over 26". They say those 19-21" females are the prime breeding fish. With that slot you'd protect those and not cause the age structure to be too top heavy and crash like it cyclically does at Mille Lacs.

X2! Top heavy, Awesome!

[get-n-birdy]

I have grown up fishing pool 4 that has a 15" minimum size.... most fish are 14 3/4 "

And what is catching those scour hole dinks and pitching them back all day long between February and April doing for catch and release? Those fish are all dead and there are mountains of those things killed daily. I've fished the scour hole and it can be fun for kids. But it is just a killing factory up there. If a few guys would learn to reel those things in just a tad slower there'd be a lot less eagle food floating around down there. I was all for catch and release at first but it really isn't as pure as many think.