|
|
Posts: 1283
| http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/us/minnesota-mille-lacs-lake-wall... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 613
Location: Michigan | Muskies did not, people did. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1283
| I know but Im sure some of the walleye guys think so. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| Funny that article did not say one thing about tribal netting that has gone on for years .. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 120
| Tribal netting pales in comparison to angler harvest. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 93
Location: Des Moines IA | From what I've heard the musky fishing is also down... The list of issues with the lake appear to be many from to many cormorants on the lake. Perch forage base has collapsed. To many pike. To many Bass. Overfishing. Tribal netting. Etc... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8782
| I always tell people that muskies eat the slow ones, and that the slow ones are usually old and mushy anyway. Not worth trying to explain a muskies diet to someone who can't figure out that Friday night fish fry wipes out a lot more fish than a muskie that would rather eat half a dozen other species of fish and only eats once every three days.
Commerants. Now there is a problem. I wish we could harvest them legally and get people to eat them. That would do more for the lakes than a ban on fishing.
Edited by esoxaddict 8/13/2015 12:39 PM
|
|
| |
|
| I feel the dnr and netting had a lot to do with it. Not the muskie. |
|
| |
|
| One thing for sure, you can forget about it being a world class muskie lake like only a few years ago with the walleye situation.
Edited by mnmusky 8/13/2015 1:21 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 437
| mnmusky - 8/13/2015 1:20 PM
One thing for sure, you can forget about it being a world class muskie lake like only a few years ago with the walleye situation. I don't know if I would go so far as to say that, but I guess that would depend on what you define "world class" fishery as being?
If its numbers? Well, there are certainly better lakes. Mille Lacs hasn't really been a numbers lake for 10 to 15 years.
Trophy status? I don't think there are many lakes that have a higher potential for a true giant than Mille Lacs and the quality of the walleye fishery I don't believe has anything to do or would impact whether or not that continued.
There are signs the cisco population is coming back with some good numbers of small fish so I think those will certainly help the muskies and other predators in the future. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | CedarLakeMusky - 8/13/2015 1:01 PM
I feel the dnr and netting had a lot to do with it. Not the muskie.
Nope.
There are a TON of little walleyes in that pond. It will come back. The muskie population did exactly what it was forecast to do, no surprises there. |
|
| |
|
| Hope your right captain. Stocking for the size of that lake has been minimal the past 10 years in number and all fingerlings.. Those trophies are of impressive size but also aged.
It's a walleye lake, so you can bet all efforts
will be put to keeping it that way with good and bad decisions. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I remember when the MN guys here were proclaiming the MNDNR as the most amazing, forward thinking fisheries managers in the world. Funny how a single lake's population dynamic issue can change public opinion so fast. The MNDNR fisheries folks are still some of the best....anywhere. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8782
| I have to admit I'd be pretty upset if I made my living guiding or selling bait up there. The article does get one thing right - it's going to hurt a lot of folks who depend on fishing/tourism to make a living. But you've got too many people eating too many fish.
Long term, I am not too worried. If they were able to bring Erie back, they can certainly fix this. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| sworrall - 8/13/2015 1:57 PM
I remember when the MN guys here were proclaiming the MNDNR as the most amazing, forward thinking fisheries managers in the world. Funny how a single lake's population dynamic issue can change public opinion so fast. The MNDNR fisheries folks are still some of the best....anywhere.
Steve ,
the DNR thought that opening up spearing last winter would bring in a bunch of guys to spear the smaller pike ... another backfire as to guys from all over came , Iowa , Illinois , Wisconsin and Dakotas and here in Minnesota to basically spear their trophy with a limit of ten hardly ever attained ... the resorts loved it though and I think some Muskies did not fair so well either ..
Tony |
|
| |
|
Posts: 141
Location: Minnetonka | Agreed. They will get the lake back on track. Red Lake in '98 hit record lows and the DNR and tribes brought it back. The cormorants took Leech off the map in 2005, but ten years later, with population control, it's back to a great walleye fishery. I feel bad for the resort owners on the pond, but this is what happens when those big barges pull out to the reefs loaded with hungry vacationers, eager to catch and eat the state fish, night after night for years. I believe the cormorant population is healthy on Mille Lacs (could be wrong), but I think it's something like 1/10th of what Leech had in 2005. |
|
| |
|
Location: Sawyer County, WI | esoxaddict - 8/13/2015 2:05 PM
I have to admit I'd be pretty upset if I made my living guiding or selling bait up there.
It's a fine smallie fishery, so alternatively you could learn how to catch bass. Adapt or die. |
|
| |
|
| The long term problem mentioned on the news with the lake is zebs making the water clearer and climbing temps. Neither is good for walleye , White fish. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8782
| sworrall - 8/13/2015 1:57 PM
I remember when the MN guys here were proclaiming the MNDNR as the most amazing, forward thinking fisheries managers in the world. Funny how a single lake's population dynamic issue can change public opinion so fast. The MNDNR fisheries folks are still some of the best....anywhere.
Steve, people don't really understand why the musky fishing was what it was for those few shining years. Those first few year classes of muskies had the run of the lake. There was no competition for forage or habitat. Every year since, fewer and fewer of them get to that size because there are more and more muskies of all different sizes out there to compete with. I suppose harvest and delayed mortality play a part with the increasing popularity of musky fishing on those lakes, too. But I'd bet if the DNR were to stock muskies in a bunch of other lakes that don't have them, you'd see those same kind of fisheries polling up all over the place in a decade or so.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 437
| esoxaddict - 8/13/2015 2:24 PM
But I'd bet if the DNR were to stock muskies in a bunch of other lakes that don't have them, you'd see those same kind of fisheries polling up all over the place in a decade or so.
That has already proven to be true in many lakes the DNR stocked. Partly because of less competition against larger predators but also because the stocking regimen early on is a much higher number of fish vs what is stocked to sustain a fishery.
This is largely why Mille Lacs, from a musky standpoint is just past peak for large number of BIG fish based on when the initial wave of heavy stocking reaching their maximum size.
There are still plenty of giants in there, but that number declines each year as the old ones die off. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3147
| Second generation drop off is what they call it has far has muskies,,I remember experienced guys and a couple MInn dnr has far back has the late 90"s speculating that this would happen. First fish in get first dibs on the best grub, preferred forage and preferred size. Metro fish too even more so metro first generation fish grew fast and fat on all those juicy slow bullheads now you can't see hardly any bullhead in some of those lakes. The new lakes like Roosevelt,Many Point,Saulk chain,Pok,etc will peak in a few years and people will beat the crap out of them. God bless leech lake it just keeps going,,lots of muskie guys bought property around mile lacs thinking it would last forever. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 553
Location: deephaven mn | Big fish eat little fish, people eat fish, lots of big fish (walleyes included) lots of people
I believe the lake will recover, it will take time and unselfishness from anglers resort owners and netters
when it does i will thank the DNR again |
|
| |
|
Posts: 386
| Lol. Oh Mille Lacs... I wish the MNDNR was in a position where they didn't have to worry about the politics of the situation and could make policies and decisions purely based on the biological factors. There is no single factor reducing the sexually mature population of walleye. It is a combination of many things. It does burn my ass that the DNR admits the changes to the harvest of bass and northerns will do nothing for the walleye population, but is so busy trying to throw some whiners a bone that they are ignoring their own conclusions.
IF the DNR is allowed to make the necessary decisions the walleye population in Mille Lacs could recover even within the next 4-5 years. Red is an excellent example of this. Local businesses that can't adapt in the meantime will go out of business. There are things they could be doing. For instance promoting catch and release fishing for trophy smallmouth, pike, muskie, and oh yeah, there are some trophy walleye left in there too. Windsurfing is a completely untapped attraction on Mille Lacs, that could bring more people into the bars and restaurants for sure. Resorts could be offering shuttles and canoe rentals for the Rum River, another under-appreciated resource in the area. With the Zebes clearing up the water scuba diving could become awesome there. Sink a few of those launch boats and set up a diving attraction! There is more to Mille Lacs than just walleye and it's sad that many that have spent so much of their lives there don't recognize it.
There are still big musky in Mille Lacs. They are much harder to catch than they used to be and they are not as common. Go up and fish them. Do your homework and seek out the businesses that are seeking out musky fishermen and other alternatives than just walleye fishing and give them your business. Those are the people that deserve to get thrown a bone.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 164
| My son and I, along with a buddy had the opportunity to fish Mille Lacs lake this year as part of a mutli species trip. My son loves nothing more then muskie fishing with some walleyes on the side. We spent the first day purely muskies, moved four and buddy had a shot at a nice mid 40' but couldn't get him in the bag. Day two we went out and tried for muskies again and moved two more but the second they caught a glimpse of the boat they were gone. My buddy was getting worn and my son was begging me to fish for walleyes.
We pulled up to Rocky Reef Resort had lunch and continued on fishing afterwards. Pulled up to our first rock pile and between the three of us we put 7 smallies in the boat, 1 was just under six pounds and the smallest was probably close to three. Once that bite died off we headed over to Vineland Bay and proceeded to walleye fish. In three hours we all three had three fish each. Of course my son had the biggest at 25 inches and not one of them walleyes was under 22 inches.
My dad has taken me a couple times to Mille Lacs as a very young kid, other than that that was the first time of recent memory I have ever fished Mille Lacs. I don't doubt the population is low, but there is fish to be had. Anglers just need to be smarter and release a lot more. The first 22 inch fish we caught a neighboring boat saw us throw it back and said I probably would have kept that. Even if it was in the slot it would of went back. What a great trip it was, every targeted species was found and minus the muskies was put in the bag. We are now planning a yearly trip up there in early June every year and considering how good we did going in blind I can't imagine what this lake can do when it is at its highest peak. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 5874
| mnmusky - 8/13/2015 2:23 PM The long term problem mentioned on the news with the lake is zebs making the water clearer and climbing temps. Neither is good for walleye , White fish.
Zebra mussels are not the issue. Look at Lake Erie and Lake Winnebago for two large lakes where doom was predicted when it was discovered that Zebra's were in the lake. Bago never skipped a beat, and Erie was a sewer, and now is much cleaner, and the walleye fishing was never better. I think Mille Lacs issue was the forage base crashed a few years ago. They had a slot limit that didn't work, and resulted in lot's of skinny fish. Cormorants are a problem, and eat more small perch, eyes, and ski's than the DNR's will admit. Cormorant reintroduction was a mistake. Thanks UWSP. I'd shoot everyone if I could. Dirty, nasty birds, that destroy fish populations and their nesting environments.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 18
| As far as the muskie population goes, all you have to do is look at the past 15 years of stocking on Mille Lacs to answer that question. Keep in mind that fry and fingerlings have an almost 0% survival rate and the natural reproduction is almost 0 (according to the DNR). I've read all the previous post about how the DNR KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN....It's pretty #*^@ easy to say that the fishing is going to drop off and then stop stocking the lake. Stocking is what created it and the lack of stocking is destroying it. The DNR giveth and DNR taketh away. The reason their are fewer and fewer +50 inchers being caught is because they only live so long. There is going to be a near collapse of muskies on Mille Lacs until the DNR begins stocking again...then in 8 to 10 years we'll all be having fun again. The merger natural reproduction and the one or two fingerlings that manage to go to adulthood will not sustain this fishery. If you think it's slow now, just wait about 2 years. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | What will happen in 2 years? Why 2 years?
How do you quantify fingerling survival at 'one or two' reaching adult size?
If there is zero NR, and no stocking survival, where are the current year classes coming from?
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/07/17/minnesota-muskie-zebra-muss...
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/westmetro/mue_study.html
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/minnaqua/fisheries_management_tour/new_l...
http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/2015/06/09/dnr-studies-muskie-to-improv...
'New reservoir' syndrome is real, especially in the Muskie category. Stocking increased numbers will not necessarily improve trophy opportunities, a balance is eventually reached based upon whether a water body is managed for numbers or trophy potential, and that based upon NR, stocking, harvest and mortality due to other factors like disease, and a heck of allot more than conjecture.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 84
| I agree those cormorants are a big problem they hurt fisheries where ever their abundant. They eat a lot of smaller fish which are prey for the game fish. It wouldn't bother me if the cormorants numbers could be reduced some and see what happens to the fishery. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | Doc Obvious - 8/14/2015 12:28 PM
As far as the muskie population goes, all you have to do is look at the past 15 years of stocking on Mille Lacs to answer that question. Keep in mind that fry and fingerlings have an almost 0% survival rate and the natural reproduction is almost 0 (according to the DNR). I've read all the previous post about how the DNR KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN....It's pretty #*^@ easy to say that the fishing is going to drop off and then stop stocking the lake. Stocking is what created it and the lack of stocking is destroying it. The DNR giveth and DNR taketh away. The reason their are fewer and fewer +50 inchers being caught is because they only live so long. There is going to be a near collapse of muskies on Mille Lacs until the DNR begins stocking again...then in 8 to 10 years we'll all be having fun again. The merger natural reproduction and the one or two fingerlings that manage to go to adulthood will not sustain this fishery. If you think it's slow now, just wait about 2 years.
click on the guy's photo in the article ... you are ill-informed.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/millelacslake/index.html
how folks think it will recover in a year is what baffles me but i think it is what it is thanks to Governor Mumbles stepping in to help out.
|
|
| |
|
Location: varies | This just in from Mumbles headquarters...Costa's fitted for Walleye. Boom! problem solved. |
|
| |
