Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake can keep three walleye this summer
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Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota will be able to keep three walleye again this summer.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it's keeping the three-walleye limit that was in place late last summer and through the winter ice season on Mille Lacs, a popular destination for anglers.
Anglers can keep three walleye that are 17 inches or longer. Only one can be longer than 20 inches.
It's both a daily limit and a possession limit, which includes any fish anglers keep in their livewell or in cold storage.
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Last fall, the DNR’s netting assessment found slightly fewer adult walleye in Mille Lacs. But Brian Nerbonne, central region fisheries manager, said the lake’s fish population has shown signs of recovery since a low point two decades ago, with more younger walleye and more forage species such as yellow perch.
“Mille Lacs has been showing a comeback lately, and that seems to be sort of continuing,” Nerbonne said. “So we're able to offer more consistent harvest opportunities like we've been doing the last couple years.”
The DNR sets the annual harvest limit along with Ojibwe tribes that have treaty rights to fish on Mille Lacs.
After the walleye fishing season opens May 9, the DNR will continue to monitor the walleye harvest, and could adjust the limit — or even go to catch-and-release only — to avoid exceeding its harvest limit.
“I hope we don't have to get to that point,” Nerbonne said. “I think we can adjust the bag limit and keep the fishery going as long as we keep an eye on things closely.”
During the 2024 season, Mille Lacs anglers were not allowed to keep any walleye until August. Last year, the DNR set a two-walleye limit, then increased it to three later in the summer.
Mille Lacs continues to undergo changes, due to filter-feeding invasive species that have increased its water clarity. But Nerbonne said it appears the lake’s zebra mussel population has stabilized since its peak around 2011.
“We're still learning as we go about what the new normal is going to be for Mille Lacs,” he said.
