Because Canadian companies aren t bound by U.S. FERC rulings, Abitibi has not complied, and springtime lake levels have been unnaturally stable in recent years. That could change, however. A committee of U.S. and Canadian citizens and officials has submitted a proposal to the International Joint Commission, a group that resolves border water issues, asking for more natural lake levels on Rainy. We re still waiting for a decision, says Radomski. Many anglers have since boycotted Rainy s northern bays, thus reducing harvest there by 80 percent.
Walleyes respect no borders, however, and roam to and from the Minnesota side.
That s probably another factor behind this great fishing we re seeing up here. Safe harvest Biologists use qualifiers such as probably and likely a lot when talking about Rainy, because so many factors appear to contribute to good fishing. What biologists do know for certain is that even with the slot limit, anglers are now taking more than 30,000 pounds of walleyes out of the Minnesota side of Rainy each year 50 percent more than the target. Minnesota and Ontario have agreed to keep angler harvest near sustainable levels. We have a responsibility to stay close to what we consider a safe level of harvest, says Kevin Peterson.