M. Lacs has normal year

[Lee Borgersen]

 Mille. Lacs Lake  has had a more normal year.

  .. DNR expects to stay under allocation.


Posted: Wednesday, September 5, 2018 6:00 am

 
by Vivian LaMoore vlamoore@millelacsmessenger.com
 
  ....
Mille Lacs Lake has been behaving more like a normal year, according to Brad Parsons, Minnesota DNR Fisheries Chief during the Mille Lacs Fishery Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, Aug. 27 held at Appeldoorn’s in Isle.

  ....
Parsons gave a brief recap of several points of interest to the group of business owners, anglers and biologists alike. He said there were excellent hatchery results this spring with the DNR releasing 10 million fry. The release of the fry is not to boost the population as Mille Lacs re-populates well on it’s own, he added. This year the DNR estimates the natural fry more than previous years with around 14,000 per acre which is well above normal.

  ....
“Creel results are behaving more like a normal year compared to the last couple of years,” Parsons said. “What we hope that means is there is a good forage crop out there.” He said he expects the total angler kill rate to total just under 40,000 pounds, due in part to last winter’s harvest coming in less than the prior year.

  ...
“That is good news,” Parsons said. “We certainly do not want to go over again.”
Parsons hopes this year’s results will help to reduce or eliminate the 16,000 pound overage.
The fishing pressure and catch rates are behaving more like normal as well he said. Fishing pressure is estimated at just under 500,000 hours and the catch rates are good. “The people out there are catching fish,” Parsons said.

Parsons remarked the water temperatures were a concern early on in the season as the water warmed very quickly. Warmer water temperatures usually result in a higher kill rate. However, the temperatures settled down to a more normal rate and remained in the normal range. “We don’t expect that to change much,” he added.

The population estimate study is going “quite well,” Parsons said. They have hired an outside source to compile the data. Parsons is hoping to present the results to the public mid-September. He added if the results are
complete earlier, he would release the information to the MLFAC group before releasing to the public.

Dr. Aaron Shultz, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission biologist, said the population estimates are a collaborative effort “with the DNR and GLIFWC and the Bands.”
Parson added, “We do things a little differently, but the effort they put in is very much appreciated.”

Acoustic telemetry:  (Say What?)
Mille Lacs Band fishery biologist Karl Klimah and GLIFWC biologist Aaron Shultz, BSc, BSc, MSc, Ph.D. gave a presentation to MLFAC on the recently launched acoustic telemetry study of walleye. Biologists from the Band DNR and GLIFWC are using sophisticated underwater listening equipment and fish implanted with transmitters to track the movement of walleye in hopes of gaining valuable data to help solve the mystery of why so many Mille Lacs Lake young walleye are not making it past the first or second winters.


Klimah said walleye are coldwater fish that like water temperatures under 68 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal growth and survival. “As water temperatures increase, the thermal habitat becomes more constrained, forcing more walleye into a smaller space,” Klimah said. “We call this ‘the squeeze.’”

  ...
Klimah continued stating one hypothesis being tested in the study is whether “conditions of the lake are bringing adult and juvenile walleye into closer proximity, potentially leading to higher predation of juvenile walleye by adult walleye.”
The biologists have placed 61 receivers scattered across the bottom of Mille Lacs Lake. They have implanted around 35 juvenile walleye with the transmitters, or tags. They will tag 35 additional walleye in the spring for a total of 70 juvenile tagged walleye.
They have tagged around 20 adult walleye as well and are waiting on colder water temperatures to tag another 50 adults for a total of 70 tagged adults.

When the tagged walleye swim within 800-1,000 meters (or about a half mile) of the receivers, data is recorded of date, time, water temperature, depth, etc. All of the data will be compiled at a later date.

State DNR staff are hopeful the study will help determine if the DNR gill nets are in the right places. “We really hope some of this data will answer some of those questions you all have had,” Parsons said.

MLFAC future

The group discussed what they would like to see accomplished within the MLFAC group in the near future. One concern was whether or not there will be a MLFAC group when a new governor is elected and appoints a new commissioner of DNR.
The answer to that question remains to be seen.

[Rebel SS]

DNR News Release

For Immediate Release:

March 12, 2019

Walleye harvest will be allowed in May on Mille Lacs Lake


Mille Lacs regulations for walleye and other species announced
Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake will be able to keep walleye during open water fishing for the first time since 2015. An improving walleye population has been protected by conservative fishing regulations in recent years, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Mille Lacs anglers will be able to keep one walleye between 21 and 23 inches or one walleye over 28 inches from Saturday, May 11, through Friday, May 31.

“It’s good news that anglers get to keep some walleye this May, but we are being cautious,” said Brad Parsons, DNR fisheries chief.  “These regulations represent a careful balance between expanding fishing opportunities and conserving the fishery for the future.”

Similar to recent years, a night closure for the 2019 walleye fishing season will be in effect on Mille Lacs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday, May 13. The night walleye closure will remain in effect throughout the entire open-water season, which ends Nov. 30.

Catch-and-release fishing for walleye begins Saturday, June 1, and other than the night closure, there are no planned closures for walleye fishing this season.

The DNR is able to allow this limited harvest opportunity because of an improving walleye population bolstered by a 2013 year class of fish that has been protected by conservative fishing regulations. The 2013 year class is starting to produce young fish that appear to be surviving.

The DNR expects a strong increase in the number of anglers fishing during the period when walleye harvest is allowed. Allowing the harvest during May, when water temperatures are lower, will limit the mortality of released walleye associated with this increase in pressure. Both harvested fish and those that die as a result of being caught and released are counted against the state’s walleye harvest allocation.

The Mille Lacs walleye population has undergone many changes over the past two decades that have coincided with significant aquatic system changes including increased water clarity and decreased walleye productivity; the introduction of zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil and spiny water fleas; a changing zooplankton community that may be altering the aquatic food web; and declines in certain forage species, including tullibee.

The DNR encourages Minnesotans and out-of-state visitors to fish the other abundant species that Mille Lacs Lake has to offer in addition to walleye.

Bass fishing
The lake is nationally recognized as one of the nation’s top smallmouth bass and muskellunge fisheries. In 2017, Bassmaster Magazine named Mille Lacs the number one bass fishing lake in the nation. The lake hosted the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship in 2016 and 2017.

Minnesota’s bass season opens Saturday, May 11, and is catch-and-release only in most of the state, including Mille Lacs, through Friday, May 24. Beginning on Saturday, May 25, Mille Lacs’ daily bag and possession limit will be three bass per angler. All smallmouth and largemouth bass between 17 and 21 inches must be immediately released. Anglers may keep only one bass over 21 inches. In a change this year, smallmouth bass are catch-and-release only on Mille Lacs from Monday, Sept. 9, through Feb. 23, 2020, to be consistent with statewide regulations.

Northern pike
Mille Lacs Lake has special regulations that exempt it from the new statewide northern pike zone regulations. From May 11 through Nov. 30, anglers may keep up to five fish. Only one northern pike over 40 inches may be included in the bag limit of five, and anglers must release all pike between 30 and 40 inches.

Special night fishing opportunities
For muskellunge, the season opens on Saturday, June 1, with the statewide rules of a one fish bag and a minimum length of 54 inches. Beginning June 1, anglers may fish for muskellunge and northern pike at night on Mille Lacs, but may only possess and use artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches.

Bowfishing allowed
Bowfishing for rough fish is allowed at night on Mille Lacs starting June 1 but possession of angling equipment is not allowed and only rough fish may be in possession.

State and tribal allocations
The state and the Ojibwe tribes with harvest rights in Mille Lacs Lake agreed on a 2019 safe harvest level of 150,000 pounds of walleye, resulting in a state allocation of 87,800 pounds. Under the catch-and-release only regulation last year, walleye angler kill totaled just over 47,000 pounds.

The walleye safe harvest level for Mille Lacs Lake is determined annually. It is based on population status and predictions of how harvest will affect the walleye population in the future. State anglers share the safe harvest level with the eight bands of Ojibwe that have fishing rights under an 1837 treaty. By agreement, the bands and the state are required to monitor harvest according to their respective allocations.

More information about fishing on Mille Lacs Lake, ongoing DNR management and research, and Mille Lacs area recreation opportunities is available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/millelacslake.

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[snow1]

more b.s.e, "rebounding walleye population" due to strict regulations for 2013 year class

stupid arse dnr is trying to take credit where they've dropped the ball for years.plus letting the natives to continue the spring pilaging of walleyes during spawn. we've said all along the 2013/2014 late ice out and NO nets will be proof that no spring netting will result in a boom in walleye year class for these two years alone.
goddarn goofballs.

We hard working tax paying,license buying cacassion natives are the ones bending over.

further I for one can't wait to have online betting at our private casino's...F' the natives and they're bottomline...what goes around fomes around,now if our folks in office can belly up and cut federal funding/money to these so called soverign nations.....just think how much better our federal budget would be? won't see these stats on the news tho,to busy tip toeing around the native issues not to be viewed as racist.