(KNSI) – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is defending its special regulations on Lake Mille Lacs. Anglers will be allowed to keep one walleye between 21 and 23 inches or one longer than 28 inches from the season opener on May 14 through May 30.
The lake goes to catch-and-release walleye fishing for most of the summer, with a two-week closure at the start of July.
The DNR says the reason for closing the season is to reduce hooking mortality, the tendency for fish to die after being caught and released when the water is warmer. DNR fisheries manager Brad Parsons says the restrictions are what’s best for the lake.
“Mille Lacs problem has never been the fish being able to spawn and getting enough little tiny walleyes out there. The issues we’ve been having is getting them up to the correct size.”
He says anglers are catching fish on Lake Mille Lacs because the fish are hungry due to a drop in the lake’s perch population, the primary food source for walleyes.
“That’s the reason that fishing the past three years has been so doggone hot out there and that’s part of the problem as well is fishing has been awfully good out there and it remains good. And that is due to a lack of food in the lake. Fish just bite better when they’re hungry.”
Mille Lacs has been in a state of change since the 1990s when the water clarity started to improve and the walleye population dropped. Since then, the lake also has experienced warmer water temperatures and the introduction of invasive species such as zebra mussels and spiny water fleas which have disrupted the lake’s ecosystem.
Parsons says tighter rules may be needed in coming years because the survival rate for walleyes hatched in 2018 and 2019 was below normal.
___
Copyright 2022 Leighton Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, redistributed, or rewritten, in any way without consent.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!