Now the state government shutdown is hitting anglers in the frying pan.The protected slot limit for walleyes on Lake Mille Lacs will not be expanded on Friday, as had been expected, because of the state government shutdown. Expanding the slot would have allowed anglers to keep more fish.Currently, anglers must release walleyes 18 to 28 inches long. That protected slot was expected to be narrowed to 20 to 28 inches beginning Friday -- a midsummer change also made last year."No, we will not be making the change,'' said Tom Landwehr, Department of Natural Resources commissioner. On Tuesday, Landwehr had said he was exploring whether the change could still be made, despite the shutdown. But he said late Wednesday that there's simply no one at the DNR who could implement the regulation change. He's only working on 'critical' issues, he said.The DNR website says the change "will be delayed or canceled depending upon the length of the shutdown."
Steve Johnson, owner of Johnson's Portside bait shop near Isle, said the failure to loosen the walleye regulations would be unfortunate but likely won't deter anglers from heading to Mille Lacs, where he said fishing has been excellent this summer.
The DNR still could expand the protected slot, once the state shutdown ends. That's because the walleye harvest for the season had been down, primarily because anglers stayed away from the big lake in May due to the poor weather.
Fishing pressure also was down. One problem the DNR might have is that creel surveys, which measure harvest and fishing pressure, ended with the state shutdown. So officials won't be able to determine how much harvest has occurred in July.But based on early-season harvest results, non-Chippewa anglers had been expected to harvest less than the 397,500 pounds allocated to them this year.