news story on fox 9 thursday about mille lacs netting

[tom fellegy]

Anyone who has any interest in Mille Lacs walleyes and related issues, Needs to watch FOX 9 News tomorrow night at 9pm and 10pm. The story is in two parts divided among the two broadcast times. BIG story! Tune in.

They will be airing a piece on the Tribal Netting this spring on Mille Lacs Lake. This piece will also cover among other things as area tourism issues.

This is the news cast that we have all been waiting for!!! Please tune in to this one!! This is the story we have been working on the past two weeks. Fox 9 News has had an exclusive on the pictures and infomation provided for this story. Tell all your friends, relatives!!! This show is going to turn up the ratings for Fox 9 News!!! A can't miss it type of thing!!!

                                                                                      tom fellegy

[Mayfly]

I'm glad this made the news. Look forward to watching it. I just hope that the momentum keeps going through the summer and beyond! I think this will get some people thinking and maybe we could see some changes in the future. The resources should be managed as one, equal.

[Spinach]

Thanks for the update Tom. I wont miss this....

[JackpineRob]

Tribal use goes on in many areas of Minnesota, with a lot less press and problems.  Because Mille Lacs is so close to the Cities, it gets a whole lot more attention.

In my opinion - and one not shared by a good many people - this is an issue that is only an issue because a few loudmouths and malcontents couldn't keep their mouths shut.  Many years ago the DNR was willing to settle this issue out, until Bud Grant and his Band of Merry Morons decided to make a federal case of the thing. 

Well guess what?  They lost, and lost big. 

The tribes were willing to settle for a whole lot less, but got backed into a corner and fought back hard.  Expecting them to cater to the same folks who constantly berate them is unrealistic.

Other parts of the state have identical issues that were handled far differently, and the results are dramatically different.  The folks who pushed the issue on Mille Lacs to the Supreme Court have no one to blame but themselves for the current situation. 

Putting the political and sociological issues aside, and focusing on the pure numbers game, I am astonished that cooler heads still haven't prevailed in the netting/spearing issue.  At what point are folks going to realize that the tribal harvest is only a percentage of the overall take???  At what point do people wake up and realize that ALL of us who fish have an impact on the resource??  Yes, that includes the "catch and release" crowd (who fail to acknowledge the concept of hooking mortality).

I sure as heck hope that we don't have to go down the same tired and worn road that we have traveled in the past in regards to this issue.  No one wins.  Everyone loses.

[HD]

May I ask Jackpine, where do you get your facts from?



Hunter

[KATOMAN]

I have always said, if you want to see where the fish go check every live well and bucket on a Sunday night at each ramp and boat dock, that will be a real eye opener...

[tom fellegy]

jackpinerob,
if bud grant and his band of merry morons did not step in and get this issue in the forefront and go all the way to the supreme court, we would be in a worse situation than we are now. the band of merry natives would have a portion of the lake that would be closed of to all none band members, public waters closed off to all but a few just like red lake. there have been limits set for both sides of the issue. the mille lacs band does not net as much as some of the other bands that are involved do. the tribes that come from wisconson do most of the netting here on mille lacs. the reason they come here is that they have netted all of there lakes in wisconson dry of walleye. there are alot of lakes in the ceeded territory of wisconson that have very restrictive slot limits due to the netting. we here on mille lacs have a very restrictive slot limit due to the netting. the outfit that the supreme court put in charge of the whole netting operation, GLIFWC, this outfit is made up of natives that are here netting. they are telling the press outright lies about the netting. the netters were bragging up the 300 pound lifts, 300 pounds of walleye per 100 foot net. when the nets in garrison bay were lost due to greed last tuesday, GLIFWC said that they were only netting 40 pounds per 100 foot net. GILFWC claimed that there were only 170 nets set in garrison bay, that number has risen to 233. they claimed to have only lost 10 of those nets. i was out in my boat on saturday morning and saw 9 of those nets, some you could see DEAD fish in them, fish that have been dead since wednesday, these fish were whitethey have dead so long. GLIFWC claimes that these fish were cleaned and eaten. this issue needs to be looked at once again because the fox is incharge of the henhouse, the gillnet has to be outlawed, you talk about hooking mortality, what about netting mortality, fish that get out of the net only to die the next day. i would like to see you try and set up a camp at a public access like the natives do, i don't think it be allowed. as far as numbers go. there is a small percentage of natives that net. that small percentage nets for the whole population of band members. i would like to have that privilege also and keep a limit for my wife while she is at work. ban the gillnet, let them catach the fish on a hook and line during the open season, just like everyone else. it looks to me that we are on different sides of this issue, i live on lake mille lacs, it has a big impact on the economy here in alot of ways, area businesses/resorts suffer due to the tight slots, home values go down while taxes are on the rise. i sure as he!! want to travel down this tired and worn road, because letting the fox run the henhouse is not working........................tom fellegy

BTW... jackpinerob, can you sign your post with your real name, this will give your argument credibility.

[Mayfly]

I'm not up to date with the facts of the past and I believe little of anything I read on the subject. I do know and believe that we should all be treated equal and should all share the same common interest when it comes to the lake and the walleyes. It is 2008 not 1837. People fight for eqaulity ect... but then they still want special privelages due to what happened to their ancestors 200 years ago. If the natives can use a gill net then we should be able to....NOT THAT I WOULD OR THAT I THINK IT IS ACCEPTABLE. I'm just stating my point here. I admit that everyone has a hand in the lake and that fish are lost due to hook mortality, fish frys, Tournaments, gill nets and spearing to name a few. We need to start managing our resources as one. I believe that if it was just the Mille Lacs band then things would be a lot more peaceful than they are and we could really work this issue out. The real problem is our neighbors from Wisconsin that come here and take as much as they possibly can. That is the problem. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have to say on 9 tonight. Like I said above, I hope that this opens some eyes and keep momentum promoting a possible change in the future.

[Mayfly]

Just watched the story on netting and the Mille Lacs economy. Anyone else see it yet?

[tattguy12]

I saw it ,It was very good. The only thing is it might hurt resorts more than its going to help. People who dont fish alot get worried in my opinion with it being called the dead sea. But then again hopefully it will re open peoples eyes to what is going on up there.

[Spinach]

Part 2 is on right now.

[Spinach]

I hate to say this but, I really thought they danced around the real problem here. The story was more of an informational piece on the band and the possible lack of tourism this summer.

Steve Fellegy and Twin Pines did a great job when they were interviewed, but they did not get enough camera time in my opinion. I would of liked to hear more from them if time would have allowed, hopefully the follow up press will go more in depth.

The only quote that i can remember from Judy Cain was "if your looking for fish, go to the grocery store"

I just don't see this as an eye opener for the tons of people unaware of this problem.

[Mayfly]

I hate to say this but, I really thought they danced around the real problem here. The story was more of an informational piece on the band and the possible lack of tourism this summer.

Steve Fellegy and Twin Pines did a great job when they were interviewed, but they did not get enough camera time in my opinion. I would of liked to hear more from them if time would have allowed, hopefully the follow up press will go more in depth.

The only quote that i can remember from Judy Cain was "if your looking for fish, go to the grocery store"

I just don't see this as an eye opener for the tons of people unaware of this problem.

Thats funny. I just posted the same thing at another site. That is all I saw it as too. It skipped the main issues and neglected to ask the right questions. It did not tackle the issue like I thought and hoped it was going to. I also think if anything it hurt the area. People making plans to go up to Mille Lacs or book a weekend trip up there will think twice now after watching that. It took a little air out of me.

[Spinach]

Thats exactly the feeling i got when it was over too. I really think this piece did more harm than good for the businesses, I bet a lot of people are changing plans allready.

I sure hope I'm wrong......... I will be up to the lake a lot this summer and when i do, i will make sure to spend my money at the local businesses.

[tattguy12]

Just the mention of twin pines makes me hungry for a ham and cheese omlette and a bloody mary. But yes even if you don't fish go spend a night up there stay at a resort and drink some beer. We all need to support owners up there.

[GirlGuide]

I also could not believe that Judy Cain said that .."if your looking for fish, go to the grocery store".  I thought OMG, I bet she will totally regret saying that.  It certainly is not a comment that is going to get more people heading up to Mille Lacs....I will still be there no matter what they say or do and I will continue to give all the businesses up there all the support that I can! 

One thing I felt that they really should gave more attention to was that when they are netting all of these fish, that most of them are spawning...and there are billions and billions of eggs taken out of the lake, I think that is the most ridiculous thing of all.  If they are going to let them net....WHY does it have to be when they are spawning?...why do we make is so easy for them?  Before you know it, Mille Lacs will end up just like Red did....how many years did it take to get that lake back on track?  And then how much time and money will they have to spend trying to restock the lake?  I just think it is such a joke...I can't believe this is actually continueing to happen, and we aren't able to do anything about it.  The end result is obvious....but yet, nothing is being done about it. ..just my 2 cents worth, venting a little I guess.

gg

[JackpineRob]

Sorry to be the contrarian here, but there is nothing new being said that wasn't being said a long time ago.  Like I mentioned, its a road we've been down before.

Both Tatt and Mr. Fellegy questioned my "facts", and I would like to respond.

This issue first reached the light of day when the DNR announced that they had reached a potential settlement with the Mille Lacs tribal folks.  Under that arrangement, the tribe would have been allowed to net and spear on a relatively small portion of Mille Lacs (if memory serves me, they were supposed to have 11%), and were also granted the right to do so on a couple of smaller lakes adjacent to Mille Lacs.  Cash payments by the State were also involved.  I am unaware of any potential for a Red Lake "exclusive area" situation such as Mr. Fellegy suggests.  If that was part of the proposal Mr. Fellegy, please feel free to enlighten me and provide a source for your information.

At the time this was happening, the ink was barely dry on the Supreme Court decisions in Wisconsin.  The folks in the MN DNR had read the tea leaves, and understood full well what the possible ramifications of fighting the tribe would be. 

After the proposed settlement was announced, all heck broke loose.  Bud Grant and his minions screamed "FOUL!", the State and the Tribe were backed into a corner, and along came an ill-advised and extremely ill-timed federal case.  Any first-year law student could have told us what would happen in the lawsuit, but the hot-heads prevailed and the thing went forward.  For gosh sake, we had already seen what happened in Wisconsin, and we still let this thing go screaming down the tracks towards the Court. 

The only guys who made out on this one were the lawyers.  And of course, ultimately we had a whole bunch of tribes who really didn't have a dog in the fight in the first place coming in on the coattails and getting a piece of the action.

Again, feel free to correct me on the FACTS of the proposed settlement.  Feel free to correct me on the FACTS of what happened in the lawsuit.  Feel free to correct me on the FACTS of what happened after the Supreme Court decision. 

But stick to the facts.  The issue of tribal rights has set neighbor against neighbor, and that is a shame.  As I mentioned in my first post, I know that my opinion about the net effect of tribal harvest is not widely shared amongst the Twin Cities fishing crowd, but the tribal harvest is now a fact, and crying in our beer after the rank stupidity that led to this situation is a bit like fixing the barn door after the horse has bolted.

There is another similar situation dealing with another popular Minnesota fishery that was handled far differently, and you would never even know that treaty rights are in play.  In that case the tribes net and spear, and the sport fishermen catch and release and catch and eat......  Most folks don't even realize that the tribe is doing their thing!  In that case, the DNR entered into an agreement with the tribes, no silly court battles were fought, and everyone gets along.

Beds were made when the decision to fight the Mille Lacs case in court was made.  Time to lay down in them.

And Mr. Fellegy, if you look around this website (graciously provided by Tim and Pat and others) you will see that I've been around a bit, and my identity is certainly no secret.  In fact, if you check out the Hunting and Fishing articles, you might even see a story or two that I have contributed here.  I look forward to your stories and contributions to this little corner on the internet.

Rob Maki
 

[HD]

Well you fellers seem to have it covered.....and I ain't gonna whip a dead horse, ........again.


 


Hunter