Tribe breaks agreement, allows spearing on Minocqua Chain

For the last nine years a partnership has been in place focused on the health of the walleye populations in the Minocqua Chain. What was once a thriving walleye fishery has had zero recruitment success, a cause of concern for many local anglers. Walleyes for Tomorrow, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), the Lac du Flambeau Tribe and others have worked together in an attempt to address this problem. 

As part of a 10-year study undertaken by these groups, state hook and line harvest was halted, as was tribal harvest. Intensive stocking efforts, including an in-depth look at the male to female ratio of fish coming out of the hatchery, habitat creation and increased law enforcement have all been part of these efforts. The chain was set to open in 2025 under a special rehabilitation regulation for state hook and line anglers, and it would again be open to tribal harvest.

Despite that, the Lac du Flambeau Tribe decided this year to spear the lake. Although a declaration was made last year, the group did not authorize tribal spearing. This year, however, the storyline changed. The tribe authorized spearing on the Minocqua Chain, and tribal members were out on the water on the night of Friday, April 26, as was evidenced by photos sent to the Lakeland Times Facebook messenger.

Kurt Justice, spokesperson for the Headwater Chapter of Walleyes for Tomorrow, said he was greatly disappointed in the Tribe’s declaration and subsequent spearing of the Minocqua Chain. Given the partnership, he was disappointed that the Tribe did not consulted with the other parties involved. He said he was unsure why the tribe broke the handshake agreement and decided to harvest walleye on the Minocqua Chain, but noted that it is their tribal right to do so. He said he wished data from the study could have been obtained before any harvest was allowed.

“I was hoping we could use this study as a blueprint for other lakes,” Justice said. “But I don’t know if we’re going to get the answers we wanted now. We’ve put in a lot of time and a lot of money and I wish we would have been able to get that final population estimate first.”

According to DNR secretary’s director James Yach, tribal harvest on Lake Minocqua was 272 walleyes of the 273 declared. On Kawaguesaga, the declaration was 149 with 148 walleyes taken by tribal spearers. 

Of the 575 declared on Lake Tomahawk, 572 walleyes were taken.

Emergency Rule

At last month’s Natural Resources Board (NRB) meeting, Scott Loomans of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) brought forward a statement of scope for an emergency rule set to come back to the board in May. This emergency rule, similar to the one poised to be used last year if the Tribe would have speared the Minocqua Chain, would allow for some harvest by state hook and line anglers in the event of Tribal harvest. 

This emergency rule looks the same as the rule which was to go into effect on opening of fishing in 2025. The daily bag limit would be one fish with a minimum size of 18 inches. There would also be a no-harvest slot between 22 and 28 inches. 

On Tuesday, NRB announced it will hold a special meeting on Thursday to address this emergency rule. That meeting took place after this edition went to press.

Information on the meeting will be published in a future edition of the River News.

In the meantime, anglers should be aware that, until such time as the emergency rule passes, there is still a zero harvest rule in place for the Minocqua Chain.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].