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Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota will be able to bring home more walleye this summer. 

When the open water fishing season begins on May 10, anglers on Mille Lacs will be able to keep two walleye a day that are 17 inches or longer. Only one can be longer than 20 inches.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says after years of tighter fishing regulations, the lake’s walleye population appears to be at healthy levels.

“The walleye population in Mille Lacs is currently in a good place,” said Brad Parsons, Minnesota DNR fisheries section manager, in a news release. “Ojibwe tribes and the Minnesota DNR limited harvest, which allowed for an increased number of adult spawning walleye, and a strong 2024 year class that bodes well for the future health of the fishery.”

The DNR also said there is an abundance of food — including yellow perch and cisco — for walleye to feed on, which helps reduce the risk that anglers will catch too many.

The DNR manages the lake's fishery, along with Ojibwe tribes that maintain fishing rights under an 1837 treaty. They set an annual harvest level, and each side manages its share of the harvest.

More than a decade ago, the DNR and the tribes reduced the walleye harvest numbers due to concerns about changing lake conditions and lower survival rates of young walleye. Mille Lacs has invasive species, including zebra mussels and spiny water fleas, which are affecting 

 for the remainder of the year, after ice anglers caught more than the entire annual allotment. The new daily limit is five, down from 20, and will be in effect through Nov. 30.

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Kirsti Marohn

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says after years of tighter fishing regulations, the lake's walleye population appears to be at healthy levels.

The walleye population is of great concern to the surrounding communities.

DNR: Mille Lacs Lake anglers can keep two walleye this summer

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