It’s long past time to ban the gillnets!
Just learned that a new state record Muskie was killed in the gillnets on Mille Lacs. A post on the Lakestatesfishing web site stated:
“It was reported to me by a Mille Lacs Resort owner that a 54.8# Musky was taken by gill net today on the east side of Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota. It was supposedly 56″ long. That is all the information I have at this time. If true, it likely would be a Minnesota state record if it had been taken by hook and line. Update: I talked to again to the source and this information comes directly from the Aitkin Fisheries office.”
After reading some of the comments on this post, I wanted to confirm this myself, so I called the Aitkin DNR fisheries office and talked to Eric Jensen. He confirmed the report and told me it was taken in a gillnet by a Fond du Lac Band member.
How many trophy Muskie, Walleye, Northern, Bass, Crappie, Sunfish, or Perch are netted and never reported to the public? It’s long past time to ban the gillnets! (Here’s a video of more Muskies netted and tossed.)
Input Group asks DNR to act on Mille Lacs gillnetting
The Mille Lacs Fishery Input Group, formally request that the DNR draw on Minnesota’s legal and political resources, and use its authority as primary manager of Minnesota’s natural resources (including the Mille Lacs fishery,) to respond to the massive gillnetting of Mille Lacs walleyes and pike, the only such spawning-time gill-net fishery in the United States.
‘Business as usual’ is unacceptable.
Examples of compelling reasons and serious concerns include:
- Major Conservation Issues
- Lack of Transparency
- High Costs
- Disproportionate Allocation of Mille Lacs Fish
