Mille Lacs walleye: DNR plans panel, admits mistakes

[get-n-birdy]

The winter economy can not be sustained by muskie and smallmouth fishermen.

Try a slot more geared towards getting all those big walleyes out of the lake and see what happens. There are way to many big walleyes in the lake imo. You have a better shot to catch 3-4 25"+ fish than you do one in the slot. The history of the lake seems that there's way to many big fish to support a good eater population. Smallmouth and muskies aren't the problem.

All 4 species can live in the lake if they can figure it out. But it might mean sacrificing some of those bigger walleyes.

[Trigger]

The winter economy can not be sustained by muskie and smallmouth fishermen.

Try a slot more geared towards getting all those big walleyes out of the lake and see what happens. There are way to many big walleyes in the lake imo. You have a better shot to catch 3-4 25"+ fish than you do one in the slot. The history of the lake seems that there's way to many big fish to support a good eater population. Smallmouth and muskies aren't the problem.

All 4 species can live in the lake if they can figure it out. But it might mean sacrificing some of those bigger walleyes.

It's to bad the Indians don't net these big ones.

[Nershi]

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!

Do you fish Muskies on Mille Lacs? If so, what is your fish per day (8 hours) per angler? If it is 1 or more you should open a guide business because the best guides on the lake do not have that average (until the fall). Lots of pros fish Mille Lacs for SIZE not NUMBERS. It used to be a numbers lake 10 years ago but that is a thing of the past.

People are always quick to blame muskies for the down fall of other species. If you look at multiple studies done by various states and agencies the data supports the exact opposite findings. Big fish (whether it be pike or muskie) are good for fish populations and overall size.

[chevyobsession]

This might sound dumb, but isn't it normal for predator/prey numbers to fluctuate. You have an abundance if small animals which means the larger predator animals have plenty to eat and they thrive. Then they get slightly overpopulated and the prey numbers drop. Less good means the predators start to decrease in numbers which in turn allows the prey numbers to increase. I have never fished the lake and really have no desire to. I do think however that there are better ways to spend the money than trying to fix something that might just be the natural progression of the lake.

[lanyard]

Expertise creates hubris and expectation.

DNR says they are experts = hubris

Fisher folks think experts can fix it = expectation

hubris + expectation = money pit with increasing expectation and less likelihood to be successful

[emptymag]

Moist soil management area???

[maplelakeduckslayer]

Mille Lacs sucks never understood the fascination with it.

[Trigger]

Mille Lacs sucks never understood the fascination with it.

I totally agree. Catching a stocked walleye on a boring piece of water has never appealed to me. I wish the only management plan the dnr had on it was to let the natives have it.

[Fish Felon]

Catching a stocked walleye on a boring piece of water has never appealed to me.

What are you talking about? The only fish they stocked in Mille Lacs are Muskies. All the walleyes, and other fish, are from natural reproduction.

Scroll down to view fish stocking.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/sho ... m=48000200

Mille Lacs is an incredible fishery. There's no other lake like it in the world. The amount of pull on its resources from different angles is immense. It blows my mind that there's even fish left in the lake...let alone that 7 out of 10 years it is one of the best walleye lakes in the state.

As far as what to do to "fix" Mille Lacs the answer is nothing. It's like people can't remember what happened ten years ago; the exact same scenario played out. There was little forage in the lake, a hot bite for a couple years, then the lake sucked for a few as baitfish came back and a couple good year classes of walleyes were produced.

Last year's year class will be phenomenal. All signs point to that. The lake is full of forage, the bite sucks, the walleyes are fat, and last year's year class isn't getting gobbled up because of all the other forage. This year there will be another great year class and in two years the lake will be great again as all these young walleyes start to consume more of the lake's biomass creating a better bite until where the lake will be in the same situation in ten years.

It's a cycle.