Walleye fishing scheduled to be open all summer on Mille Lacs Lake : Mar 2, 2023

No July closure or live bait ban planned harvest adjustments achievable if conditions warrant

State-licensed anglers will have the opportunity to harvest a walleye 21-23 inches in size or bigger than 28 inches all through the 2023 open up water time on Mille Lacs Lake. A reduce walleye harvest this winter and an bettering walleye inhabitants are combining to allow for this year’s more liberal regulations.

“We are delighted to see enhancements in the two the advancement of adult walleye and survival of younger walleye in Mille Lacs,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries part manager for the Minnesota Division of Purely natural Sources. “Those factors generate the opportunity for anglers to have a continual harvest year in 2023.”

Walleye regulations will implement from the walleye opener on Saturday, Could 13, until the conclude of the open-h2o year on Thursday, Nov. 30. Unlike latest decades, there is no prepared closure to walleye fishing or ban on using are living bait in the course of the to start with two months in July.

On opening weekend, fishing will be allowed 24 several hours a working day. Commencing Monday, May well 15, the evening fishing closure will take result, and fishing hours on Mille Lacs Lake will be
6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for all species. From Saturday, June 3, by means of Thursday, Nov. 30, muskellunge and northern pike anglers employing artificial lures or sucker minnows lengthier than 8 inches are exempt from the evening fishing closure. Starting Friday, Sept. 1, the night time fishing closure is comfortable, with angling several hours staying 6 a.m. to midnight.

“As often, we will keep track of the elements that decide the state’s walleye get during the open h2o time,” Parsons stated. “If conditions warrant, we will change regulations, both to make it possible for extra option if harvest is particularly low like it was in 2022 or tighten rules if harvest exceeds our projections.”

The DNR and the eight Ojibwe bands that have treaty fishing legal rights beneath the 1837 treaty agreed Mille Lacs could maintain a point out harvest of up to 100,300 kilos of walleye this year, an boost of 20,000 pounds from 2022. Grownup walleye grew effectively in 2022, and calendar year courses of young walleye in the lake have the possible to lead to the fishery in the foreseeable future. Harvest levels are set on a yearly basis, and may well be reduced or larger in subsequent yrs.

“The lake has been in a condition of improve since the 1990s. As the water started to distinct, we began looking at warmer h2o temperatures. Transform proceeds with the introduction of invasive species such as zebra mussel and spiny drinking water flea,” Parsons claimed. “We will proceed to keep an eye on the lake to see how ongoing improvements will influence the fishery.”

This year’s winter season walleye harvest was 4,300 pounds. Lower capture premiums for anglers owing to ample forage in the lake combined with weak ice conditions in the early season were being dependable for this winter’s reduced harvest. That drop in walleye just take gave the DNR additional overall flexibility to apply open water harvest options this coming period.

The northern pike population in Mille Lacs is wholesome, and harvest of fish below 30 inches is encouraged for anglers looking for another alternative to carry property a food of fish. Mille Lacs is also residence to a smallmouth bass inhabitants that opens to capture and release angling on May well 13, with harvest of fish a lot less than 17 inches allowed commencing on Saturday, May possibly 27.

“Our aim with restrictions for all species is to provide fishing opportunities while also retaining in mind the extensive-term sustainability of the lake,” Parsons stated.

Far more facts about fishing polices on Mille Lacs Lake, ongoing DNR administration and study, citizen engagement and Mille Lacs region recreation opportunities is offered on the DNR site.