I see the tribes have declared they are going to spear the Minoqua chain guess 10 years of closure to rebuild the population and banning everyone else from keeping any was just a waste.
Wisconsin Fishing Discussion
SPEARING MINOQUA CHAIN
Displaying 46 to 60 of 113 posts
"Fin you are assuming in 2014 the guide limited out for every trip"
No I'm not. You didn't account for hook mortality and barotrauma. With novice fisherman on a guide boat hook mortality can easily surpass the average. Don't even get me started on barotrauma. Right here on LL we have a guide who regularly posts about hauling walleye out of 30+ feet in July and releasing all the shorts. My ethics say that's not acceptable, his say otherwise. I advocate for conservation, him for fees and tips $$$.
No I'm not. You didn't account for hook mortality and barotrauma. With novice fisherman on a guide boat hook mortality can easily surpass the average. Don't even get me started on barotrauma. Right here on LL we have a guide who regularly posts about hauling walleye out of 30+ feet in July and releasing all the shorts. My ethics say that's not acceptable, his say otherwise. I advocate for conservation, him for fees and tips $$$.
My 2 cents i worked construction at one of the casinos and noticed the dumpster was half full of uncleaned walleyes .that was in the 1990s. now they have a building the elders show up and are handed fish dinners .so now the walleyes are being consumed. Walleye decline is a tough subject. I live on a lake that is not speared and the walleye population was very good untill someone put in northern pike. Now all i catch is northerns and walleye need to be stocked now . I fish many lakes in the U.P that dont get speared and it is tough to get walleyes there compared to the 1990s. Spearing and the set lines used in winter dont help . But lakes go through cycles. Weed decline is another factor.
So here is an interesting study from UW-Madison stating that over the past 30 years, 40% of their studied Wisconsin walleye lakes have experienced overharvest. Overharvest defined as when more fish are removed from a lake than are naturally replenished.
Basically the 35% "safe harvest" the DNR uses is too high for most lakes.
Overharvest Study
Basically the 35% "safe harvest" the DNR uses is too high for most lakes.
Overharvest Study
"Horrible argument seriously. Of the 1.43 million anglers, how many of those anglers fish walleyes? How many of these anglers even fish a lake that has walleyes? How many of these anglers fish walleye lakes in the ceded territory?"
The horrible argument is that without spearing there is no problem. If that was case then the lakes that don't get speared would be loaded. Of the 1.43 million anglers, a lot don't take any walleyes but some take many more than 1 limit as I stated below. There are plenty of license holders that will keep every legal eye they catch. What does the average license holder take per year? Your guess is as good as mine? My stance is that spearing don't matter because the walleye would be harvested another way throughout the year. And species that don't get speared bluegill, crappie, perch, pike, ect... have similar population and size issues.
The horrible argument is that without spearing there is no problem. If that was case then the lakes that don't get speared would be loaded. Of the 1.43 million anglers, a lot don't take any walleyes but some take many more than 1 limit as I stated below. There are plenty of license holders that will keep every legal eye they catch. What does the average license holder take per year? Your guess is as good as mine? My stance is that spearing don't matter because the walleye would be harvested another way throughout the year. And species that don't get speared bluegill, crappie, perch, pike, ect... have similar population and size issues.
"There was 1.43 million fishing licenses sold in WI in 2021. This doesn't include children under 16. If each person took 1 limit per year could the populations sustain itself? 32,000 walleyes don't seem like much anymore. Spearing doesn't help but it ain't the problem."
Horrible argument seriously. Of the 1.43 million anglers, how many of those anglers fish walleyes? How many of these anglers even fish a lake that has walleyes? How many of these anglers fish walleye lakes in the ceded territory? How many of the 150 lakes in the ceded territory to get speared do these 1.43 million anglers fish? How many walleyes does a person keep every year on these 150 lakes? 500 spearers take over 30,000 walleyes on only 150 lakes in a timeframe of days, not months. This isn't an argument that tribal members get 50% and non-tribes get 50% of the safe harvest. Last I checked tribal members also are allowed to fish the other 11+ months of the year.
Horrible argument seriously. Of the 1.43 million anglers, how many of those anglers fish walleyes? How many of these anglers even fish a lake that has walleyes? How many of these anglers fish walleye lakes in the ceded territory? How many of the 150 lakes in the ceded territory to get speared do these 1.43 million anglers fish? How many walleyes does a person keep every year on these 150 lakes? 500 spearers take over 30,000 walleyes on only 150 lakes in a timeframe of days, not months. This isn't an argument that tribal members get 50% and non-tribes get 50% of the safe harvest. Last I checked tribal members also are allowed to fish the other 11+ months of the year.
Displaying 46 to 60 of 113 posts
