Troubled Mille Lacs Business

[Lee Borgersen]

Walleye Restrictions Trouble Mille Lacs Lake Business Owners


 Apr 13, 2015
 
(KSTP) - Mille Lacs Lake business owners are worried about new walleye restrictions.

  ........
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced new restrictions for walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake this week. In addition to slot regulations and a limit of one walleye per day, the DNR will ban walleye fishing at night for the second year in a row. Business owners fear the ban, which closes the lake to walleye anglers from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., will discourage people from driving up from the Twin Cities.


Much has changed since Terry Thurmer opened his boat harbor on Mille Lacs Lake 26 years ago.

Polaroids that were once shaken before they were pinned to Thurmer's wall show anglers happily holding prize walleye catches from decades ago. But you won't see many pictures from the last few years.

Aside from the fact that memorable pictures are posted on Facebook walls instead of tackle shop walls, there just aren't a lot of prize walleye catches left in the popular lake.

"I mean, this is sad," Thurmer said Thursday while sharing his frustration about the regulations.

The DNR will limit all anglers to one walleye per day. Keeper fish must be between 19 and 21 inches long or longer than 28 inches. The fisheries chief says the restrictions are needed because the walleye population in Mille Lacs Lake is at the lowest level in 40 years.

"The new regulations reflect our commitment to improve the walleye fishery as quickly as possible," DNR Fisheries Chief Don Pereira said in a statement.

Pereira added the restrictions keep the state in compliance with the Safe Harvest Treaty while also giving opportunities to walleye anglers.

Thurmer says night launches make up most of his business in the summer because weekend anglers from the Twin Cities area don't make it up to the harbor until late Friday night.

"Now we're going to be forced to go out at 6 o'clock, "Thurmer said. "There's no way they're going to make it up here."

Just up the shore from Thurmer's docks, a young entrepreneur who has nothing to do with fishing is also worried about the new fishing rules.

"The business side of me is scared," Eric Earll said. Earll opened a spiritual center in December and specializes in new age merchandise and metaphysical services. It's a unique business in a small town that has depended on anglers for decades.

Earll knows his first "bread and butter" summer season will need a lot of the same traffic Terry Thurmer relies on for business.

"Everybody that drives by is a potential customer," he said.

From the new age to the golden age, business owners along Mille Lacs Lake expect the new DNR restrictions will have an impact.


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[Lee Borgersen]

Because of comments like this, we've heard the MN DNR has decided to implement its "final solution" for Mille Lacs walleye:

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