"Lake Mille Lacs is Minnesota's own Rubik's Cube: a walleye fishery puzzle that seems impossible to solve.

The complexity came to a head this fall when the Department of Natural Resource's gill-net surveys showed a declining number of male walleyes in the big lake, as well as a drop in the overall walleye population to the lowest levels in 40 years. And the lake's larger walleyes are getting skinny, a sign they are not finding enough food.

Think you have the answer? Before you say yes, consider:

• The walleye fishery is co-managed to serve thousands of sports anglers, local fishing and tourism-related businesses and Chippewa tribes, who net fish each spring.

• Sharing the walleye harvest means regulations for sports anglers that require them to release larger fish, altering the composition of the fishery.

• The bands' nets, too, tend to target smaller walleyes."

Get the Story:
Doug Smith: Population puzzle is vexing at Mille Lacs (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/18)