Minnesota fishing traditions win out with reversal of live-bait ban on Mille Lacs

Fishing with a bobber and live bait is a fundamental Minnesota experience that the Mille Lacs fishing and resort community felt they couldn't live without this summer.

Cabin dwellers, professional anglers, resort operators, vacationers, business owners around the lake and local politicians all said they could accept a state mandate for a season of catch-and-release walleye fishing this year. But they bucked a companion regulation that would have banned the use of minnows and worms in favor of artificial lures.

On Thursday, Gov. Mark Dayton and the state Department of Natural Resources listened to the pleas and reversed the recently announced ban on live bait. It had been aimed at easing fish kills at a time when the lake's long-term walleye population is facing uncertainty. Insiders said the reversal happened after a series of intense conference calls between DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr and a 17-member panel of Mille Lacs stakeholders.

"A lot of it has to do with the way we were brought up to walleye fish," said Tony Roach, a fishing guide and member of the DNR-appointed Mille Lacs Fishing Advisory Committee. "I think a lot of people on the lake just didn't want to see that bobber tradition go away."

The reversal elevates the risk of another midseason shutdown of walleye fishing on Mille Lacs — something that happened last year for the first time. But most members of the advisory group signaled to the DNR that it was more important to cater to fishing traditions and to retain the area's $2 million trade in live bait.

"It's a good little victory for anglers in the state," said Steve Johnson, owner of Johnson's Portside Bait & Liquor. "Let the people fish."

Johnson, a key member of the stakeholders group, tipped his hat to Dayton for getting discussions going behind the scenes. The talks culminated in a major conference call Wednesday between, Landwehr, top DNR officials and the stakeholders group. Johnson said a "solid majority" of advisory committee members voted on the phone to drop the live bait ban.

Don Pereira, DNR fisheries chief, said the live bait ban that he announced March 21 sparked a surprising outcry from anglers, including many who were vocal about their opposition at the Northwest Sportshow in Minneapolis last weekend. In addition, resorts around the lake were getting cancellations.

"We circled the wagons and revisited it," Pereira said.

Said Dayton: "I strongly support Commissioner Landwehr's decision."

Pereira declined to predict the timing of a possible shutdown of Mille Lacs walleye season later in the season. But he said the chances for early closure have increased by a "sizable" amount. Then again, "crazy things can happen" and a shutdown could be averted, he said.

The whole predicament is related to biological changes in the big lake, including invasive zebra mussels and a breakdown of the lake's food chain. Walleyes are still spawning in large numbers in Mille Lacs, but too many baby walleyes are being cannibalized by a large class of juvenile fish as forage.

The DNR instituted the live bait ban and catch-and-release regulation to suppress angling pressure overall and prolong the fishing season.

Even without an actual harvest, the state could hit its quota based on estimates of how many walleyes die from being hooked and released.

Live bait rigs tend to be swallowed more deeply by the fish, causing greater "hooking mortality." Artificial lures reduce this loss by 55 percent, the DNR has said. The difference relates to walleyes swallowing live bait rigs more deeply than artificial lures, causing greater damage.

The DNR estimates hooking mortality based on multiple factors, including water temperature, how many people are fishing and how often the fish are biting. If summer temperatures are cooler than normal, fewer fish would die from hooking and the season would be prolonged. But the mortality rate will rise if catch rates are high, as they are expected to be because of a hungry walleye population.

Roach said he uses artificial methods about 75 percent of the time when fishing for walleyes on Mille Lacs. But many, many anglers who visit Mille Lacs cling to the live bait setups that have been in fashion for decades, he said.