MN DNR Imposes One Walleye Limit on Lake Mille Lacs, Again

(KNSI) – Anglers on Lake Mille Lacs will once again be allowed to keep one walleye during early spring fishing and again during fall fishing. People fishing on the Central Minnesota lake will be allowed to keep one walleye between 21 and 23 inches or one walleye longer than 28 inches between May 14th and May 30th.

Starting June 1st, walleye fishing on the lake will be for catch and release only. A two-week closure will be in place from July 1st through July 15th. The DNR says the closure is to reduce hooking mortality. Catch-and-release walleye fishing will resume on July 16th and continue through August 31st. The one fish limit will return after September 1st and stay in place until November 30th.

“We must continue to manage state harvest very carefully on Mille Lacs so we can provide as much angling opportunity as prudent while protecting the opportunities for the future,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries section manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Two recent year classes show below average numbers of walleye, which means we need to factor in that fewer fish than normal will mature into spawning adults during the next few years.”

After the opening weekend, when fishing is allowed 24 hours a day, fishing hours on Mille Lacs Lake will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for all species. Beginning Saturday, June 4th, muskellunge and northern pike anglers using artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches can fish after 10 p.m.

Similar restrictions were in place in 2021. Special walleye regulations have been in place on the lake for several years. For more information on the limits, click here.

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