Woodruff, Wisconsin – The Natural Resources Board (NRB) approved an emergency rule in a unanimous decision that opened the walleye fishery to longline fishermen in the Minoqua Chain of Lakes as of midnight May 7.
The emergency provision replaced the previous provision The nearly decade-old catch-and-release regulations for walleyes in the Minocqua Chain of Lakes in Oneida County.
Lakes in this system include lakes Jerome, Kawaguesaga, Little Tomahawk, Mid, Minocqua, Mud and Tomahawk, the Minocqua and Tomahawk thoroughfares and connecting waters.
Even though sport fishermen are ready to harvest, they must adhere to very restrictive sizes and daily bag limits. Under the DNR-recommended NRB emergency rule, there is a daily system-wide limit of one bag per eye. That one walleye must be between 18 and 22 inches, or 28 inches or more.
“The harvest strategy or regulation we are proposing is a strategy used by fisheries when the goal is to restore the walleye fishery,” said DNR policy specialist Scott Loomans. “That is still the purpose of this fishery. Several other lakes in the county have similar regulations. This is one of the standard types of adjustments in the toolkit designed for this purpose.”
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Although approval of the emergency rule occurred on May 2, the Thursday before the fishery opened on May 4, due to clerical reasons in the state rulemaking process, the fishery could not open to anglers until the Tuesday after opening day.
Next decision of the Lac du Flambeau tribe the tardy April kill of a total of nearly 993 adult walleyes from Minocqua, Kawaguesaga and Lake Tomahawk forced the state to allow fishing for anglers as well.
This comes after almost a decade of work and handshakes between the companies local interest groups, agencies, and governments that protected the fishery from tribal encroachment while still being open to catch-and-release walleye fishing for anglers with a sporting license. Members of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe were allowed to chain-line and hook walleye during the closure because the compact – at first – did not specify that tribal members would also be included in the release practice.
The Lac du Flambeau Tribe was part of a group that devoted 10 years to studying and restoring the system with adult walleye. However, in 2023, tribal government officials stopped communicating with members of the interest group, including members of Walleyes For Tomorrow.
Specifically, this group has spent tens of thousands of dollars on fishery rehabilitation, stocking, spawning reef construction, and population survey assistance through the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Commission and the DNR. Walleyes for Tomorrow also offered to donate more than $50,000 to the DNR to lend a hand staff hire an additional law enforcement officer to deter people from poaching walleyes during rehabilitation process.
