Relaxed Samllmouth Limits

[corncob]

Stock more perch, considering they are the primary food source for walleyes......Be as good or better than any other plan I've heard thus far.

[laker1]

Stock more perch, considering they are the primary food source for walleyes......Be as good or better than any other plan I've heard thus far.

Actually they tried that in some lakes and it seemed if the lake couldn't keep a high population on its own it was almost impossible to stock enough perch to make up the difference. They stocked some lakes very heavy with perch in the past and it didn't seem to make much difference.

[river rat316]

How about largemouth? And what is your explanation for the failure of fry to make it to age 1 in Mille Lacs?

A 20-25" eye can and will eat a 12" and under eye just as easy if not easier than any small mouth. Everyone likes to only blame the pike and smallies for this predation but lets be honest here, the eyes are cannibalizing just as much.

[Pherris]

Fever- if they were to shut walleye fishing down for the year, they would have to shut it down for all species.. Otherwise you would get the guy throwing a jig and a minnow saying they were "Smallie" or "Pike" fishing.. just like all the bass dudes do every spring when they are throwing spinnerbaits saying that they are "Pike" fishing before bass opener.

I suspect that some "smallie" fisherman will target LM early using the same type of excuse.

[jigginjim]

As an older guide from Mille Lacs said Fillet out the bigger fish on your boat, bag them, put them in a ice chest. EAT THE BIGGER WALLEYES. When creel survey people come asking how you done? I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH. Even if you did catch 200 walleyes for the day. That's how figure the fish weight of kept. They count the number of boats, average what guys tell them at the ramp. multiply those figures. All it takes is 3 boats claiming "we caught and kept a limit for three guys in the boat". two other boats catch 1 fish per guy for three guys per boat. this is how figure the weight of fish caught. I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH.

[Superduty]

Lots of talk about how to fix Mille Lacs from the top of the food chain with different harvest regs. No doubt that over harvest of walleyes has played a role. No doubt there is competition for forage to some degree. The zebra mussels should make us look at how to fix Mille Lacs from the BOTTOM of the food chain. IMHO Start with plankton populations. Is there food for the baitfish and YOY fish of all species? The Zebes are filtering an astonishing amount of water. They are not thirsty. They are consuming nutrients and plankton from the water.

[Juan Grande]

Yep, Superduty, the zebes are a big part of the problem. The DNR has a presentation on their HSOforum regarding their management plan for Mille Lacs. They show a direct correlation between numbers of fish in a lake and water quality. The fish biomass declines as water quality increases. This trend has been happening even before zebra mussels, but they're accelerating it.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

As an older guide from Mille Lacs said Fillet out the bigger fish on your boat, bag them, put them in a ice chest. EAT THE BIGGER WALLEYES. When creel survey people come asking how you done? I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH. Even if you did catch 200 walleyes for the day. That's how figure the fish weight of kept. They count the number of boats, average what guys tell them at the ramp. multiply those figures. All it takes is 3 boats claiming "we caught and kept a limit for three guys in the boat". two other boats catch 1 fish per guy for three guys per boat. this is how figure the weight of fish caught. I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH.

Or one could just be honest and follow the regs and report their catch properly. Sometimes what the DNR does doesnt seem to make a lot of sense but the DNR has a lot more knowledge of the lake and managing lakes than we do. They are trying to do research and build models and modify current ones for better management. It probably doesnt take too many people lying about their catch and keeping fish outside of the slot to mess with their data. There are a lot of factors going on with this lake but they have done a great job with the majority of the lakes in this state so just let them do their thing.

[river rat316]

As an older guide from Mille Lacs said Fillet out the bigger fish on your boat, bag them, put them in a ice chest. EAT THE BIGGER WALLEYES. When creel survey people come asking how you done? I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH. Even if you did catch 200 walleyes for the day. That's how figure the fish weight of kept. They count the number of boats, average what guys tell them at the ramp. multiply those figures. All it takes is 3 boats claiming "we caught and kept a limit for three guys in the boat". two other boats catch 1 fish per guy for three guys per boat. this is how figure the weight of fish caught. I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH.

This gets my blood boiling, this is the same type of person that complains and whines about the nets non stop but yet doesn't see a problem with what they are doing, its the same type of person that will slit the belly on the smallies and in the same breath call themselves a sportsman, the DNR is not the enemy, have they made mistakes on Mille Lacs, yes, but at least they are trying to manage what is a nightmare situation. (I feel the current slot is still a mistake btw)

[Stick in Mud]

It's nice to read a sane and not excessively simplified discussion of this problem. Very refreshing, actually.

You guys want to go into the Mille Lacs thread and start spreading some of this wisdom and reasonableness??

[eyeguy 54]

carl for president

[Stick in Mud]

Only if you'll be the Nixon to my Eisenhower!

[delcecchi]

And the CO looks in the ice chest, writes you up and they take your boat and your license for the next few years. Sounds like a plan.

[beeflover]

eaten by larger walleyes?

Wow, I think you got it, walleyes are the issue, the smallmouth are eating crawfish so they are not the problem. What do smallmouth have to do with the walleye forage problems on Mille Lacs?

The big walleyes ate the tullibees and pigged down all the perch, hasn't been good perch fishin up there for a long time probably 10-14 years. This probably puts even greater pressure on the small walleyes as forage.

Maybe they should restrict perch fishing and I sure hate to think Fisherman's Wharf will be having fish fries with smallmouth bass this summer. Yikes!

The night fishing will be missed by a lot of people and not just the night time bobber fisherman but the nite close is from 10pm to 6am and 6 am is a little late and after sunrise for much of the summer. You can have an extra cup of coffee before you put in Mille Lacs this year.

When will the ice get off and the netting season begin this year? Two weeks? Three?

[laker1]

As an older guide from Mille Lacs said Fillet out the bigger fish on your boat, bag them, put them in a ice chest. EAT THE BIGGER WALLEYES. When creel survey people come asking how you done? I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH. Even if you did catch 200 walleyes for the day. That's how figure the fish weight of kept. They count the number of boats, average what guys tell them at the ramp. multiply those figures. All it takes is 3 boats claiming "we caught and kept a limit for three guys in the boat". two other boats catch 1 fish per guy for three guys per boat. this is how figure the weight of fish caught. I DID NOT CATCH A SINGLE FISH.

Yes fillet them om the lake and CO checks you and you can pay a nice fine.

[laker1]

Yes smallmouth love crayfish,but are opportunists. I have seen them stuffed with of all things 4 inch tullibees. There is studies in Canada where abundant smallmouth populations have shown young walleye abandoning shallow water areas due to predation by smallmouth.

Its a pyramid game,walleye,bass,northern pike and Musky-to many top predators.

[RumRiverRat]

And the CO looks in the ice chest, writes you up and they take your boat and your license for the next few years. Sounds like a plan.

Jigginjim is also a guide.

Make me wonder about how he runs his operation.

[Superduty]

Nothing like giving the CO a target...Every year people are busted because they posted their overlimits on facebook and other social media. We ARE being watched.

[RumRiverRat]

We are definately being watched.

I had a CO ask me if I ever fished with a certain someone from this site. Called me by my screen name and the other person by their screen name.

Was unnerving to say the least.

[RumRiverRat]

It's nice to read a sane and not excessively simplified discussion of this problem. Very refreshing, actually.

You guys want to go into the Mille Lacs thread and start spreading some of this wisdom and reasonableness??

Too much talk about Walleyes in that thread.

Once walleyes are brought up the discussion becomes silly and emotional.

Walleyes are viewed as some amazing fish by a lot of people on this forum and in MN.

The vast majority of bass fisherman and guys thay post in this forum are Catch and Release types.

We look at these regs as an attack on a trophy smallmouth fishery all in the name of walleyes.

[eyeguy 54]

We are definately being watched.

I had a CO ask me if I ever fished with a certain someone from this site. Called me by my screen name and the other person by their screen name.

Was unnerving to say the least.

LOL

[laker1]

Bass season closing date for smallmouth statewide should be the same as walleye and northern pike. Later opening in parts of the state than walleye,at the spawning end it should be.