The ghost story of gill-nets on Mille Lacs Lake

There has been a lot of talk regarding the ghosts of Mille Lacs. It is a somewhat frightening story I am sure will be told around campfires, bait shops and blogs for years. The story is drumming up fear in folks from near and far.

I know I am afraid.

This is a true ghost story. The names have not been changed to protect either the innocent or the ignorant.

Last week on a calm Tuesday, April 29, tribal members from Wisc. set 233 gill-nets in the open water of Garrison Bay on Mille Lacs Lake. A large ice floe was drifting several miles out to the center of the vast lake. As predicted the winds shifted and picked up speed in the early morning hours of April 30. Many tribal members began pulling their nets at about 3 a.m. By 6:30 a.m. many more were scraping boats through the ice in efforts to recover their nets.

However, by the end of the day on Wednesday, 15 of the 233 nets were ultimately not recovered.

Local anglers, self-proclaimed professional fishermen, resorters and more were infuriated. Some even set out in watercraft to the icy waters themselves. Were they out to help in the search efforts to save the fish caught in the missing nets in an effort to protect the fishery in which they claim they have a vested interest? Their intention is not entirely clear.

Draw your own conclusion. A local guy and some pals went out in a boat on Saturday, four days after the nets went missing. They allegedly found several of those missing nets. They allegedly documented the locations of the nets and took photographs of 100’s of rotting fish held captive within the nets. Did they turn the information over to Minnesota DNR officials or GLIFWC conservation officers to help get the nets out of the lake?

No. Allegedly, arrangements were made with an undisclosed media source for exclusive rights to the story on the nets and the fish, including photos of the nets and fish. I haven’t seen the photos. I was told other media (Messenger included) may be privy to them after the obligations of the exclusive offer have been met.

For someone who is so afraid of the ghost nets lurking under the surface of the water, it would — one might think — make sense to do everything possible to get the nets out of the lake as soon as possible.

I am afraid. I am afraid of ignorance. I have heard comments that include other people’s fears such as the fears that the drifting ghost nets are going to continue catching fish, get caught in boat motors when anglers hit the water for opener this weekend, or even catch loons and small children swimming in the shallows.

Facts from GLIFWC:
On April 30 15 gill-nets went missing in Mille Lacs Lake.
By May 3, 8 of the 15 have been found.
In all 8 nets there were a total of 29 fish for a total of 67 pounds. All fish were healthy and alive. There were no dead and rotten fish.
A daily catch-rate average that exceded 67 pounds was applied to the 15 missing nets as of April 30.
GLIFWC does not seek to minimize the significance of the lost nets. They are diligently searching for the remaining nets nearly 20 hours a day.

Gill-nets set in inland lakes such as Mille Lacs are bottom set nets. They are weighted to the bottom of the lake, Bill Mattes, GLIFWC great lakes section leader said. If the buoys break free, the nets sink because of the weights. They are not floating gill nets like in the ocean. They do not drift around the lake. It is more likely that a lost net will be on the bottom of the lake in a ball, Mattes said.

To think a lost gill net will fish as well as when first set is “akin to thinking a rod and reel lost overboard with a baited hook will continue to fish as well as when in the hands of an angler,” Mattes said.

As to allegations of rotting fish, the water temperature in Mille Lacs is cold. Near 40 degrees. The ice was not even out when the nets went missing. To think the fish caught in the nets were rotting within four days is absurd. So far, the facts support this theory as well. All of the nets recovered have held only live fish. True, each day that goes by decreases the chances of finding live fish in the nets.

As to loons getting caught in the missing nets, well that is a possibility because loons dive for their meals. But as for small children, I find it hard to believe parents would allow children to swim in any lake when the air and water temperatures are below seasonal averages. I mean it is just too darned cold.

The lost nets could potentially be caught in a boat motor. However, it is unlikely as the nets are most likely on the bottom of the lake. If boaters are in the shallows, they should be concerned, as always, to what may be under the surface of the water.

Should the tribal members have placed their nets in the water in the first place with weather threatening to move the ice floe? Who knows. What I do know is I have seen many anglers go out in unsafe weather conditions because the lure of fishing dictates. I don’t claim to understand the mentality of those so drawn to fish that they would put their lives at risk. But it happens.

What to do if you find a gill-net:

A suspect area may show up on a fish finder as a big blob or a line of small fish. The gill-net floats will show up on fish finders as a small fish because the air trapped inside the float is akin to the airbladder of a fish. That is what fish finders are seeing. Report the finding of any nets to local wardens or conservation officers so they can investigate and pull it out of the water if it is indeed a ghost net. Call GLIFWC: 1-800-943-4447 or MN DNR at 1-800-652-9093. The DNR can call GLIFWC.

I am afraid. I am afraid for the spirit of mankind. I have only heard two people express concern for the lives of anyone on either side of this situation. The first was a woman on shore at Garrison Bay Wednesday morning. She was a tribal member who struggled to get her nets off the lake. She did, but others from her tribe did not. “Those men are risking their lives out there,” she said. The second was Mille Lacs Band commissioner of natural resources Curt Kalk. His first question when he heard about the situation was, “Did anyone get hurt? No. OK, now we deal with it.”

I am afraid because people walk around with tunnel vision, expecting things to happen their way. If that doesn’t happen they stomp their feet, puff out their cheeks and take their bat and ball and go home leaving the rest of the team at the bottom of the ninth inning with bases loaded.

If you put yourself on an island, do not be surprised to find yourself alone.

Peace.