Some info. you may find useful
After reading the posts here, I thought some information might be useful- There is a relatively new situation which Don Pemble's original post touches on, but I think should be explained further.
First some background:
The Voight decision from the 1980s is what allows the tribes a variety of rights that most other citizens do not have. These include spearing walleyes, among other things. The Voight decision set up a fairly complicated system which I will try to simplify here.
Each body of water has an "allowed harvest" that is set each year based on population surveys, etc. This "allowed harvest" is then apportioned between spearers and hook and line anglers. Lets say that lake X has an "allowed harvest" of 1,000 walleyes per year. In early spring, the various Chippewa bands declare how many of that 1,000 they think they are going to spear. If they declare a total of 1,000 between them, the opening day hook and line bag limit will be 0 for that lake. If they state they will not spear lake X at all, the hook and line bag limit will be 5.
After the spearing season is done and the actual harvest is known, the bag limits are re-adjusted (generally just before Memorial day weekend). So, if on lake X, the bands declared their intent to spear a total of 800 walleyes, but only took 100, the bag limit will be revised upward. This is why some lakes have a different bag limit in the summer than they do opening weekend. Don's original post talked about the possibility of a two fish bag limit for the TFF for 2011, based on the declared take.
Historically, the LDF band has declared and speared on the lakes near their reservation and the Mole Lake band has declared and speared close to theirs.
Shortly after the Voight decision, the DNR- realizing that the tribes could declare the maximum from every lake in the ceded territory (all of northern WI) and realizing that this would be very bad for businesses in the area, struck a deal with the LDF band. The LDF band does not have Tom M. in it and has generally not been as militant about treaty rights, plus their traditional territory includes many of the most popular and famous lakes in northern WI such as the Minocqua chain, TFF, Big and Little Arbor Vitae, etc, etc. The deal was this- The LDF band could sell fishing licenses, which are good statewide, but not give any of the money to the state. In return, the LDF band agreed to limit their declarations and harvest from lakes in their area such that the hook and line bag limit would be 3 or more. The sales of this license give the LDF about $100,000 per year.
This system has lasted for a number of years, but as casino revenue has grown in importance, the $100,000 has started to look pretty small in comparision to more liberal spearing limits.
Therefore, about three years ago, the leadership of the LDF band wanted to get rid of this arrangement and put it to a vote of their members. Turnout for the vote was very poor and it failed by a very small margin (1 vote if I remember correctly). The very next year, the Mole Lake band began to declare their intent to spear a number of lakes in traditional LDF territory. This is important because the tribes can "share" their spearing quota. To use my earlier example, if the LDF declared their intent to spear 200 walleyes on lake X, the Mole Lake could declare their intent to spear up to 800 walleyes from the same lake, but give those rights to the LDF. The LDF could then repay the Mole Lake by doing the same thing on lakes in Forest County or eastern Vilas. That is exactly what happened last year on a number of important lakes such as Big Arbor Vitae and the Minocqua chain. The LDF band can say that it was not their declarations that caused the reduced bag limits, but it was their spears that made it occur.
What some want the DNR secretary to do is call the LDF's bluff on this and say they are not living up to the spirit of the original deal. Thus far, it appears that she has not. However, from the LDF tribal leadership's point of view, this is a "Heads I win, Tails you lose situation." If the state calls them out and they lose on the issue, the tribal leaders get what they originally wanted, which is a suspension of the 3 fish bag limit for license sales deal. If the state does not call their bluff, they get to have their cake (the $100,000) and eat it (the walleyes) too.
So, no matter how you look at it, it appears that the spearing take from lakes in the Ceded territory is likely to rise in the future. This will result in reduced bag limits for hook and line anglers, especially on opening day.
There is not much that can be done about this. The tribes are not going to give up their rights without being given something very major in return. That something is likely to be a lot of money. The state is not going to give up money for this because they need every dollar they can get to try to balance the budget. There are some (Tom M.), who would probably not want to give up their treaty rights for all the money in the world. They actually have a pretty good financial situation right now, so it is unlikely that even the offer of substantially more money would carry the day on this issue. The political reality is that we fishermen do not have the muscle necessary to win on this issue any time soon (if ever).
I hope this helps clarify the issue.
Regulations are here to stay
I totally understand your pain. I also think back happily on the good old days, but I also have an idea where we're headed. As the population continues to grow, and wild spaces and resources continue to decline, we do need increased regulations on what we have left to protect it. It's been mentioned here that some of the large campsites are reservable for a daily fee. Are we that far away from needing a reservation and paying a daily fee on all the campsites, large or small on the TFF?
Anyone on the TFF on opening weekend (any weekend actually) that notices a boat catching walleyes, heading in, then coming back out to catch more fish, should report that boat to the DNR as possible fishermen breaking the law. You are not tattling on anyone, you are protecting the resource. You are actually being a Steward of the TFF.
I also disagree with you beelzebob on whether it's still worth it or not. It is totally, 100% worth it. In fact it might be more worth it today than ever! For our group, getting away together takes on a greater meaning every year. None of us are getting any younger, and having a few days to share with your sons, dads and close friends is really important. We've discussed this, and all agree that it's not about the fish. Don't get me wrong. When we have success and catch a bunch of fish, we have a blast, but we also have a great time on days we get skunked.
Having said that, sure I'd love to have the walleye limit at 5 per day, but since those days (the good old days) are gone, I'm still hoping it ends up being 3 rather than 2 fish this year.
More information on 2 walleye bag limit
If you would like to learn more about the 2 walleye bag limit for the TFF and 9other lakes in the area for 2011, read the current issue of the Wisconsin Outdoor News. On page 3 is Dean Bortz's column which deals with this and on page 3 and 4 is DNR secretary Cathy Stepp's letter which addresses it too. There is way too much in those columns for me to write here, but she apparently did attempt to call the LDF and Mole Lake's bluff on this issue like I mentioned in my earlier post, but just like I mentioned earlier, she had no leverage since many in tribal leadership want to have the higher spearing limits.
Bortz's column brings up something that I was not aware of- The Mole Lake band has a large bond payment due soon. He mentions $40-$50 million dollars. He does not say this, but I believe that is the bond they issued when purchasing the former Crandon mine property from the Connor family. So, it appears that the Mole Lake band has a strong financial motivation to flex their spearing muscles on this issue. You can see this by the fact that the 10 lakes they chose to bring down to a 2 walleye limit for 2011 are the largest and most well known walleye lakes in the area- The TFF, Bearskin, Minocqua, Squirrel, Willow flowage, Big St. Germain, Plum, Squaw, Trout and Tomahawk. Some of these are not the state's greatest walleye habitat, but they are chosen for maximum political impact.
Get ready for more political/financial excitement on this issue.