Mille Lacs walleye: DNR plans panel, admits mistakes

[Nershi]

Some valid points lanyard. But if you look at the same types of resorts on say Red Lake or LOTW they are surviving. The main reason is good fishing which the DNR has somewhat admitted to messing up on Mille Lacs. I agree the resort business is dying and it's not just fishing/hunting resorts. The resort business in the summer has really tanked but with the explosion of ice fishing I think a lot of them have been able to make up for it in the winter and for some it is their new primary revenue generating season. Mille Lacs has not been the dead sea as long as you are okay with catching lots of big fish that you can't keep. Unfortunately for the fisherman and resorts most people who chase those flavorless fish want to bring some home to eat or let get freezer burned.

What would I do to Mille Lacs to make it better? Stop dumping money into it until the crash is complete and start from scratch. I don't think that is an option too many would like but from an investment point of a taxpayer it is the smartest. I'd love Gimps idea but that is an uphill battle I don't think the muskie and bass community will ever win.

[gimpfinger]

Sad thing is it's the muskie and smallie guys are the ones willing to drive days and spend the money to stay somewhere if there is any chance of catching a fish of a lifetime.

Walleye are so 90's. Nowdays most states have good walleye fishing from all the stocking programs of the 80 and 90's. No need to come to mn for them anymore.

sent from your bedroom closet

[Trigger]

All you anti study guys do realize new and pertanent data is required to make management decisions right? You can't make a decision and say the reasoning is because it just made sense. I think they need to do more studies, more knowledge never hurts.

[Quack]

The problem with science and scientists is that the here and now is so much holier than thou and the past science is just so darn silly.

Been that way forever and always will be. Flat earth? Ice age of the 1970s? Additive / Compensatory?

So, whadda ya do? Look at today, assume the science is wrong, look at yesteryear and laugh cuz they were obviously idiots and the do the opposite since that's what the future might reveal?

Flock it, boys, let the chips fall.

[lanyard]

Nershi~ unlike Mille Lacs, LOTW and Red are 4+ hours from anywhere with more than 5,000 people. BUT, you bring up a point: these places ARE competition for Mille Lacs.

Gimp~ good points. Example: late '80s early '90s did some fly-ins to Canada. Won't go back unless it's something like New Brunswick or NWT for cool fish I can't catch 1/4 mile down the road. Don't give a rip to spend $2k to catch walleyes. One thing though: is Mille Lacs' smallie and muskie fishery strong enough to get more than MN anglers to come to it for that fish of a lifetime? I don't target those species.

Trigger~ I think if they started with a plan of what the Blue Ribbon panel is going to DO, that would be great. It could be reviewing existing research methodologies/data; it could be species dominance selection; it could be "sit at table and look smart". Whatever it is, the move needs have some vision for the outcome than just doing it with different people, which what I think most peoples' concerns are.

Al~ what would I do? I'd start with the premise that someone is going to lose. That might range from resort owners to small mouth. The ONE thing that killed the lake is everyone thinking they own it. Pick your winner, manage to that.

I don't really have a dog in the fight as my Loomis and St Croix rods gather dust while I catch sunnies on Barbie and Batman poles. Those things are starting to change, however, and maybe the kids actually want to fish. I grew up standing on the end of a dock every chance I could. I've seen my daughter spend hours the same way. Unfortunately, fisheries management is about big people things like tourism $, 200 year old treaties, poaching, bio-mass, etc. Not sure, when it comes to fishing, I've grown up enough to have that conversation.

[gimpfinger]

Gimp~ good points. Example: late '80s early '90s did some fly-ins to Canada. Won't go back unless it's something like New Brunswick or NWT for cool fish I can't catch 1/4 mile down the road. Don't give a rip to spend $2k to catch walleyes. One thing though: is Mille Lacs' smallie and muskie fishery strong enough to get more than MN anglers to come to it for that fish of a lifetime? I don't target those species.

From the sound of it, it is strong enough. It's just needs to be pimped as such. But like other lakes that did or has excellent smallmouth/muskie fishing the dnr will listen to the local walleye guys and never give it a chance.

sent from your bedroom closet

[Nershi]

Nershi~ unlike Mille Lacs, LOTW and Red are 4+ hours from anywhere with more than 5,000 people. BUT, you bring up a point: these places ARE competition for Mille Lacs.

Gimp~ good points. Example: late '80s early '90s did some fly-ins to Canada. Won't go back unless it's something like New Brunswick or NWT for cool fish I can't catch 1/4 mile down the road. Don't give a rip to spend $2k to catch walleyes. One thing though: is Mille Lacs' smallie and muskie fishery strong enough to get more than MN anglers to come to it for that fish of a lifetime? I don't target those species.

.

I guess I don't see how the distance is hurting Mille lacs. Sure there are a lot of day trippers but when the fishing was good there were just as many that wanted a bed to lay on after a long day of fishing and drinking. I think they'd have the advantage over lotw and red if you could catch AND keep fish.

Mille lacs has been building its smallmouth reputation and the size and numbers have been growing. The Muskies have been going backwards. There are still a lot of guys who chase them in the fall looking for those 50+ lb fish but the numbers just aren't there to keep guys coming in season round from out of state. Still some but not as many. It's just too easy to go out there and get skunked over a few day trip even if you get a guide. There used to be much more Muskies in the lake. Problem with bass and Muskie is they bring $0 money in during the off season and there are too many hands in the pot who could care less about them.

[tbuc]

I'd say quit worrying about the lake altogether. Spend taxpayer's money more wisely. How far does anyone in this state have to drive to catch a walleye? I'm sure for 99.99% of the people in this state that distance is well under one hour. Maybe it's 100% of the state can do it within an hour of home! Give it up already! They are basically saying the lake is fine.

•The lake still has good spawning habitat.
•There are still plenty of spawning adult females. In fact, Mille Lacs has about the same female spawners as Upper Red Lake today and three to four times more than Upper Red before its crash.
•Natural reproduction is still cranking along. Last year, Mille Lacs produced about the same number of young walleye, naturally, as the entire Minnesota DNR walleye-rearing program.

And then this...
Q: Do you have the money and staff to do what you need to do on Mille Lacs?

A: We’re taking money from other projects. We’re pulling staff from throughout the state. It’s a huge problem and it’s worthy of a lot of attention.

Say what? Pulling money and staff from other projects throughout the state for one stupid lake already full of healthy fish? Really? Who can think this is the best for the entire state? There should be an outcry from the rest of the state!

Tell the people there are thousands of resorts all over this state where you can spend your money and catch walleyes. Why is one lake so important vs the rest of the state? Spread the people out and everyone will have a better experience and not just a handful of economies will benefit.

I swear the only thing the DNR considers in this state is walleyes and whitetails!

[Night Hawk]

Q: Finally, do muskies play a role?

A: The lake’s muskies are low-density. We manage muskies statewide for one fish per 4 acres. On Mille Lacs, it’s one fish per 50 acres. If you’re a muskie angler, you won’t catch a lot of fish in Mille Lacs. But if you do, chances are good it’s longer than 50 inches.

HAHA...You wont catch alot of fish! Give me a break its one of the top producing muskie lakes in the region.

Good thing the pros wont be fishing Mille Lacs this year...DOH!

[h2ofwlr]

Posted By Dave Orrick
21 January, 2014 /Outdoors Now
http://blogs.twincities.com/outdoors/20 ... nel-named/


Michigan, New York, Minnesota and Canada.

Those are among the locales represented by a blue-ribbon panel announced Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The topic: Lake Mille Lacs.

Their charge: Check the DNR’s efforts — current, past and future — to restore the walleye fishery.

I foretold of this panel last week (click here for that piece).

Presumably — and hopefully — the panel will not spare its wisdom from tribal officials as well, since the lake is essentially jointly managed. The idea is to get some fresh eyes on the problem. A fresh perspective — free from the political, emotional and legal baggage that state-tribe relations in Minnesota carry — seems worthwhile.

Here are the panel members: Jim Bence and Travis Brenden, Quantitative Fisheries Center at Michigan State University; Paul Venturelli, University of Minnesota; Nigel Lester, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the University of Toronto; and Lars Rudstam, Cornell University and Oneida Lake Field Station.

Anyone who pays much attention to published in fisheries biology can recognize that among that group you have expertise and experience not only in walleye management, but also predator studies and effects of zebra mussels and water clarity on lake ecology.

The problem, in its simplest form, is that Mille Lacs walleye aren’t surviving to adulthood. Biologists aren’t sure why, but they’re forming hypotheses related to predation connected to increased water clarity.

The panel is part of the DNR’s new reinvigorated approach to try to figure out what’s on, how to address it and how to protection the fishing and the businesses it supports.

Continue reading for the DNR’s announcement of the panel.


New DNR plan aims to get Mille Lacs Lake back on track
National review of management part of effort to boost walleye numbers

Unprecedented change is occurring at Mille Lacs Lake and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is taking unprecedented actions to address it.

The agency will convene a blue-ribbon panel of national fisheries experts to review past and current management practices as part of a new effort to increase the legendary lake’s walleye population as quickly as possible with minimal impact to the local community.

“We will have nationally recognized fisheries experts review our work and offer recommendations,” said Don Pereira, DNR fisheries chief. “We want the lake back on track. This is one strategy to do that.”

Panel members are: Drs. Jim Bence and Travis Brenden, Quantitative Fisheries Center at Michigan State University; Dr. Paul Venturelli, University of Minnesota; Dr. Nigel Lester, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the University of Toronto; and Dr. Lars Rudstam, Cornell University and Oneida Lake Field Station.

Mille Lacs, a 132,000-acre lake in central Minnesota, is long-favored by anglers due to its abundant walleye population. However, the walleye population has been in decline for a number of years. Pereira said a key problem is the vast majority of walleye that hatch do not survive to their second autumn in the lake.

He said that while the lake continues to have adequate walleye spawning stock and more than enough egg production and fry to repopulate the lake, the lake hasn’t produced a strong year-class of walleye since 2008.

To further help solve the problem, Pereira said the agency intends to contract with a nationally recognized fisheries expert to do an intensive review of the state’s fish tagging and fishing population estimates.

These reviews, combined with a new predator diet study to determine impacts on small walleye survival and fishing regulations that aim to protect young walleye, are all part of a systematic approach to improve walleye fishing. The diet study also includes winter sampling of predator fish under the ice.

The DNR acknowledges that state and tribal fisheries management has played a role in the decline but long-term solutions will involve better understanding an evolving system that now has clearer water, a variety of unwanted aquatic invasive species, growing walleye predator populations and decreasing prey populations, such as perch and tullibee.

Pereira said the problem of promising walleye year classes that disappear year after year is linked to “system change.” Change includes:

•Increased water clarity: Water clarity has nearly doubled since the mid-1980s. Improvement began about 25 years after the implementation of the federal Clean Water Act in the early 1970s and has trended sharply upward since zebra mussels were discovered in the lake in 2006. Improved water clarity has been linked to movement of young of the year walleye off-shore at smaller sizes, and may also have benefited sight-feeding fish that prey on walleye and perch.
•Increased walleye predator populations: Northern pike and smallmouth bass populations have risen significantly since the early 1990s. In 2013, the northern pike population increased to the highest level ever observed. The 2013 smallmouth bass population was the second-highest ever recorded. Smallmouth bass populations have been on the increase throughout Minnesota and Canada.
•Multiple aquatic invasive species: Once devoid of aquatic invasive species, Mille Lacs now contains zebra mussels, spiny water fleas, and Eurasian watermilfoil. While it’s unknown exactly what implications these infestations are having, it’s suspected the increase in milfoil is providing more ambush cover for northern pike. Also, water-filtering mussels are contributing to water clarity that allow more aquatic vegetation to grow at deeper depths and in more dense stands.
•Changing zooplankton community: First detected in 2009, spiny water flea numbers have fluctuated but show no signs of declining. Spiny water fleas may be having a negative impact on the native zooplankton community by directly competing with small fish for food and altering the historic aquatic food chain.
•Long-term changes in key forage species: The most prominent change is a decline in tullibee, likely the result of warmer water temperatures. A decline in tullibee is likely negatively affecting walleye in Mille Lacs, especially larger walleye, as walleye grow significantly faster when they are able to feed on this species because it is higher in calories than other prey species, including yellow perch.
“Clearly, Mille Lacs is undergoing system change,” Pereira said. “As we work to rebuild the walleye population these factors will influence management decisions.”

Pereira said the DNR is also exploring new and innovative ways to engage citizen input on future management decisions and will help support a new tourism marketing initiative that is being formed by the local community and Explore Minnesota Tourism.