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Author Topic: Walleye limits may change............  (Read 3322 times)

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Offline Lee Borgersen

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      :reporter; Walleye limit may change on Minnesota's Rainy River.  :scratch:

 :coffee: ...
LAKE OF THE WOODS, Minn.—The popular late winter and early spring walleye season on the Rainy River would become catch-and-release only, and the winter limit for sauger on Lake of the Woods would be reduced, under changes proposed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The changes are part of a draft, long-term management plan the DNR unveiled this week that's out for public comment through July 11.

 :police: ...
The DNR next week is expected to propose the reduced limits as part of an official rule change process that will include public meetings and signs at local boat landings.

 :popcorn: ...
The new management plan could be adopted later this year, but any change in state fishing rules likely wouldn't occur until 2019, said Phil Talmage, Lake of the Woods area fisheries supervisor for the DNR.

The goal of the proposed changes is to reduce the overall harvest of both walleye and sauger on the big border lake and the river that feeds into it. Harvest of both species has been well above target goals set by the DNR as safe for the long-term health of the fishery.

The Minnesota DNR is considering new limits for walleye and sauger on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River, including catch-and-release only fishing on the river between March 1 and April 14. Currently anglers can keep two walleyes under 19.5 inches at that time of year.

The new management plan includes proposals to:

• Change the late winter/spring (March 1 to April 14) walleye season limit from two walleyes daily under 19.5 inches to catch-and-release only with no walleyes allowed to be kept.

• Cut the winter ice fishing limit from a combined eight walleyes and sauger daily, no more than four of which may be walleyes, to six walleyes and sauger daily, with no more than four walleyes. The six walleye and sauger limit already is in place during summer months.

The catch and release season would be aimed at protecting smaller, male walleyes in the Rainy River. The fish caught at that time of year are on their way up the river to spawn in what in recent decades has become a very popular fishing destination for anglers looking to catch huge walleyes. Anglers have been required to release all big walleyes for years but had been allowed to keep two "eater" size walleyes.

"While overall walleye catch rates have remained good during our spring walleye assessment, showing no concerning trends, we have observed a reduced proportion of males on the spawning area during the spring," Talmage said. He said the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has "initiated conversation" within the agency about similar rules for its side of the river.

The change from eight to six walleyes and saugers during winter months should help bring the sauger harvest back in line with management goals, the draft management plan notes. The plan makes it clear that walleye reproduction and fishing success both remain strong on Lake of the Woods but that there are concerns over the future.

"This change would reduce overall walleye harvest while sustaining fishing opportunities," the plan notes.

Fishing pressure on the giant lake that Minnesota shares with Ontario and Manitoba has increased rapidly in recent years, especially winter ice fishing. The DNR's goal for walleye harvest on the Minnesota portion of the lake is 540,000 pounds per year, for example, but anglers have been averaging nearly 600,000 pounds.

The sauger harvest goal is 250,000 pounds per year, but anglers have been averaging 405,000 pounds per year. Some 80 percent of the sauger harvest is during winter months and that's when Lake of the Woods has seen a doubling of angling pressure since the 1990s, Talmage said.

"Before 2000 we never had a winter when angling pressure hit one million angling hours. Since then we've been above it every year but one. And in the last few winters we've been up around two million hours," Talmage said, noting a vastly expanded network of access roads plowed on the frozen lake make it easier for winter anglers to get around. "No one even 20 years ago would have ever dreamed how much ice fishing is going on out here."

Joe Henry, a Lake of the Woods fishing guide and executive director of the Lake of the Woods Area Tourism Bureau, who served on the 14-member citizens advisory committee on the new management plan, said he thinks most anglers will accept the changes.

"Everything we talked about for a half-dozen meetings (of the advisory committee) was about sustainability. It's easier to do things now, to get ahead of any problems, rather than have to react to something," Henry said. "Time will tell if the market will accept it. It's just a proposal now. But I think most people will accept these. It's all about keeping a great fishery."

The proposed Lake of the Woods management plan calls for no major changes in sturgeon on northern pike regulations or management.

The draft plan is the result of DNR recommendations that were discussed and refined by the citizens advisory committee representing anglers, resort owners and other interested parties. To see the plan or to make formal comments online go to dnr.state.mn.us/lakeofthewoods.

            :Photography:
Forum News Service file photo:

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« Last Edit: June 06/13/18, 09:53:13 PM by Lee Borgersen »
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Offline LPS

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Offline Lee Borgersen

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 :reporter;      Commentary: LOW, Rainy limit proposal seems reasonable.

 Jun 18, 2018

 :coffee: .....
As John Myers of Forum News Service reported a few days ago, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is proposing to reduce the winter walleye-sauger limit on Lake of the Woods from eight, of which no more than four can be walleyes, to six, with no more than four walleyes.

The proposal also calls for a catch-and-release-only walleye season on Rainy River from March 1 through April 14. Anglers currently can keep two walleyes under 19.5 inches during the spring season on the Rainy.


The proposed regulation changes are buried deep in the bowels of a draft management plan the DNR developed to guide management on the big lake over the next five years. A 14-member Lake of the Woods fisheries input group provided recommendations on the plan during the course of five meetings between December and May.

The plan, available online at mndnr.gov/lakeofthewoods, addresses everything from the potential impact of aquatic invasive species to management goals and objectives and fisheries surveys, but the proposed regulation changes will garner the most attention.

The DNR is taking comments on the management plan through July 11, but there will be a 90-day comment period on the proposed regulation changes after they're formally announced this week, said Phil Talmage, area fisheries supervisor for the DNR in Baudette, Minn.

The DNR will post the proposal at access points along the lake and conduct public input meetings in October, Talmage said.

The goal is to bring walleye and sauger harvests on Lake of the Woods back in line with management objectives, Talmage said. The DNR wants to maintain a six-year harvest average of 540,000 pounds annually for walleyes and 250,000 pounds annually for saugers.

"For both walleye and sauger, we're currently over our targets," Talmage said. "Both of those recommendations would serve to help reduce the amount of harvest on both species."

Personally, I'm fine with lower limits. They're a necessary proactive step, I believe, to maintain the quality of fishing on Lake of the Woods—which is excellent—in the face of ever-increasing angling pressure, especially in the winter.

Driven by the exploding popularity of wheeled fish houses and a network of plowed roads that often extends 20 miles or more onto the lake, anglers have logged some 2 million hours of ice time on the big lake in recent winters, DNR creel surveys show.

That's a staggering amount of pressure, and in light of that pressure—essentially, the fish have no sanctuary anymore—something has to give.


At the same time, spring electrofishing surveys on the Rainy River have shown a marked decline in male walleyes during the spawning run, Talmage said. Those are the walleyes anglers who fish the border river in the spring are keeping, and spring creel surveys confirm that trend.

"It does focus harvest on male fish, and a high portion of the fish anglers are harvesting are males," Talmage said. "They're not 12-inch males getting put into livewells—they are the mature males going up the river to spawn."

I don't fish the Rainy in the spring as much as I once did, but it's the opportunity to get in the boat again after a long winter and potentially catch a trophy-size walleye that draws me when I go.

A catch-and-release-only regulation during the spring season maintains that opportunity.

"When we do our spring survey every year, our catch rates are still good, but the proportion of males to females is smaller than what we see on a lot of other spawning runs where the DNR takes eggs in the spring," Talmage said.

Some years, less than 10 percent of the walleyes sampled on the Rainy during spring surveys are males, and it's frequently less than 20 to 25 percent, Talmage said.

It will be interesting to see how the angling public responds to the DNR proposal.

Stay tuned. ,,,,,,,,,, :scratch:

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« Last Edit: June 06/18/18, 06:40:17 AM by Lee Borgersen »
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Offline glenn57

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so i really dont have an real skin in this but, since these are border waters..........................what are th canadians rules/regs/limits???? :scratch: are they doing the same?????? its not like the fish stay on one side of that imaginary line??????
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Offline dew2

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so i really dont have an real skin in this but, since these are border waters..........................what are th canadians rules/regs/limits???? :scratch: are they doing the same?????? its not like the fish stay on one side of that imaginary line??????
They have had lower limits for a LOOOONG time here this years a link for limits
http://www.lakeofthewoodstourism.ca/fishingregulations
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Offline glenn57

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so i really dont have an real skin in this but, since these are border waters..........................what are th canadians rules/regs/limits???? :scratch: are they doing the same?????? its not like the fish stay on one side of that imaginary line??????
They have had lower limits for a LOOOONG time here this years a link for limits
http://www.lakeofthewoodstourism.ca/fishingregulations
:happy1: :happy1: :happy1:
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Offline snow1

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Glenn.the canadians have the same issues we have here in Mn with natives gill netting,only they set netts all summer long in ontario not sure about the other provinces,been years since I/we've been to canada when they started charging non-rez a camping fee,last time up its was $10/day per person might be higher today,total BS~this is for any and all camping not rv parks.

Then the minestry reduced daily walleye limits to two walleyes in possession,protected slot was 17" to 24"s due to over harvesting of walleye and not just from vacationer's as tourisem is or has been down by 50% from years past.

They also have a sportsman license at a reduced rate but doesn't allow the angler to bring fish home.

Offline glenn57

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i knew they netted, back in the day i took 2 seperate fishing trips wayyyy up into manitoba on lake sipwisk, part of the hudson flowage. they netted there, actually talked to the natives, seen where they put the fish in like huge dumpsters to wait for the guy to come in with his big boat to haul away. they actually told us of a few spots to fish, of course one of the guys i went with has been there namy times so he fed them cigs!!!! :happy1: :rotflmao:

anyway my point is i was almost sure they could net for 10 years then had to go elsewhere. the fish went to a fish processing place in winnipeg i believe.
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