Brian Borkholder, inland fisheries biologist for Fond du Lac Resource Management said the band’s first foray into spear fishing in Cook and Lake counties went well. “There were no protesters. There were no problems,” he said.
A total of eight members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa took part in the fishing, which began on April 26 and ended May 1.
“We limited the amount of permits issued to band members to make it worthwhile for the ones receiving those permits to come back home with some fish. It’s a long drive for them,” Borholder said. “If we opened it up to everyone, then no one would get many fish.”
Although four lakes were selected for spear fishing, only three lakes were fished, said Borkholder. “We issued two permits for Pike Lake on May 1st but no one showed up.”
All told 28 walleye totaling 36.8 pounds were taken from Four Mile Lake. Six band members speared 44 walleye weighing 57.6 pounds on Tait Lake while two band members in one boat speared 32 walleyes weighing 52.2 pounds on Caribou Lake.
“On Caribou the two fishermen had to work quite a bit. They got off the lake at 4 a.m. They were pros. Every one of their fish were speared in the head. No wasted meat, but it makes it harder on me. I take out the inner ear bone and study it to determine the age of the fish. I couldn’t do that on most of their catch.”
Fond du Lac band members have been spearing fish from Mille Lacs Lake for 16 or 17 years, said Borkholder.
The band’s fisheries department collects data from the areas covered under the 1854 and 1837 ceded territories, which includes Lake and Cook counties, often working in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Since 1994 the Fond du Lac Band has conducted spring and fall electrofishing surveys, as well as stream surveys, and uses that data to set limits on lakes they net or spear. These limits are set with input from the State of Minnesota and bands covered under the treaties.
Borkholder said that when a lake is opened for a night of spear fishing, the state is notified and the band sends game wardens and biologists and technicians to the site. Band members who fish must check-in with the wardens and pick up their permits. Wardens inspect boats for safety, life vests, and registration and even inspect spears to make sure they comply with court-ordered specifications.
Netting and spearing activities by the band are actively managed and monitored each spring, with harvest numbers reported to the State of Minnesota, said Borkholder.
As far as spear fishing in Cook County or Lake County, Borholder said, “I don’t think it will expand much beyond what we did this year. I don’t think there will ever be a huge amount of fish coming out of Lake or Cook counties. Those lakes don’t have the fish counts seen in the lakes in the ‘37 ceded territory.”
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