How Are Those Walleye Biting? On Minnesota Lake, They're Not

GARRISON, Minn. — Along the rocky shore of Mille Lacs Lake on a recent morning, flat-bottomed fishing boats were idle in their docks. No customers wandered into a bait shop selling night crawlers, minnows and jumbo leeches. The restaurant at Twin Pines Resort was hushed and nearly empty, despite the postcard-perfect views of the vast, sparkling lake it offers from the patio.

And it was no mystery why. That morning, it had become illegal to fish here for walleye, the most treasured fish in Minnesota, on Mille Lacs Lake, perhaps the most famous place in the state to fish for it. Only a few days into August, summer on the lake seemed to be over.

“This is a walleye lake,” said Diane Emery, manager of the Blue Goose, which offers guided fishing trips, last week. “There’s no walleye, there’s no fishermen.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/us/minnesota-mille-lacs-lake-walleye-fishing-ban.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0