Slot should be changed so we do not waste fish

Bemidji Pioneer Letter

This past weekend, my wife and I were fishing Upper Red Lake. We caught our limit of walleye in the 13½-inch to 15½-inch size. When we got home and cleaned them, we found they were starving, no fat in the stomach. We also caught numerous walleye in the 17- to over 20-inch range and had two of them hooked so bad that they died and we had to leave them. That is literally waste in my book.

I called the DNR and told them what happened and they said, “We are trying to save our brood stock” and they “know there is a lack of forage in the lake.” Why are they letting the fish die from starvation?

If we shoot a deer and wanton waste it, we can get a ticket. Why isn’t the DNR being held responsible for making us waste fish? In my opinion, the lake is overstocked and the slot should be changed.

Merlyn Raitz

Bemidji