DNR Mulling Summer Walleye Regulations On Mille Lacs
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources may be close to deciding on summer regulations for walleye fishing on Lake Mille Lacs.
The agency has been meeting with the Fisheries Advisory Committee made up of local business owners, politicians and fishing guides. They're trying to figure out which rules would help walleye make a comeback on the lake. The DNR says a change in water quality, invasive species and other factors have affected Mille Lacs walleyes.
As a fishing guide on Mille Lacs, Tony Roach has seen first-hand how walleye numbers have impacted business on the lake.
"Everyone's trying to get a grasp on what's going on," he said. "That's the hardest part. So many moving parts it's hard to pinpoint one particular issue."
Roach is one of 17 members of the Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee. They're working with the DNR to try and figure out the best walleye regulations for everyone.
There are a number of scenarios that are being considered. All of them have a slot of 18 to 20 inches with a limit of one walleye.
"A smaller slot and keep the harvest level down," Roach said. "So not being able to harvest some of those fish is in our best interest."
Both Roach and the DNR are excited about the 2013 class of walleyes on Mille Lacs, and want them to have an opportunity to spawn. With that in mind, some options include catching and releasing walleye for a couple months, then allowing a limit of one in other months.
"For walleyes, maybe the keeping won't be so good but the fishing will be," Brad Parsons of the DNR said. "We have to have a range of options available and see what trade-offs need to be made to keep things as consistent as possible. Every regulation is different as far as whose part of the fishery is more affected than others."
Another goal is to avoid the snag from last summer when anglers reached the state's quota for Mille Lacs walleye in early August, and the DNR was forced to shut down the season.
"I really think this is breaking down barriers- ending hearsay things. We are being transparent on both sides and that's a good thing moving forward," Roach said.
The advisory committee can offer advice to the state, and it will ultimately be up to the DNR to set walleye guidelines for this summer.
The DNR said the total allocation for Mille Lacs walleyes in 2016 is 40,000 pounds and that include a tribal share of 11,400 pounds.
Both Roach and the DNR said fishing on the lake has been excellent this winter.