MILLE LACS, Minn. — Walleye anglers who are used to steering away from Mille Lacs Lake for the first two weeks of July over the past few summers may have to rethink their plans.
The Minnesota DNR announced Thursday that unlike in recent years, the premiere fishery will not face a mandatory early July walleye closure, crediting a low winter harvest and an improving fish population.
During the summer season, which runs from Saturday, May 13 through Thursday, Nov. 30, anglers will be able to harvest one walleye between 21 and 23 inches long, or one longer than 28 inches.
“We are pleased to see improvements in both the growth of adult walleye and survival of young walleye in Mille Lacs,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries section manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Those factors create the opportunity for anglers to have a continuous harvest season in 2023.”
Here are some additional 2023 regulations for Mille Lacs lake.
- On opening weekend, fishing will be allowed 24 hours a day.
- Beginning Monday, May 15, a night fishing closure takes effect and fishing hours on Mille Lacs Lake will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for all species.
- From Saturday, June 3, through Thursday, Nov. 30, muskellunge and northern pike anglers using artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches are exempt from the night fishing closure.
- Starting Friday, Sept. 1, the night fishing closure is relaxed, with angling hours being 6 a.m. to midnight.
“As always, we will monitor the factors that determine the state’s walleye take throughout the open water season,” Parsons said. “If conditions warrant, we will adjust regulations, either to allow additional opportunity if harvest is especially low like it was in 2022 or tighten regulations if harvest exceeds our projections.”
The DNR and eight Ojibwe bands that have treaty fishing rights under the 1837 treaty set walleye limits on the lake annually. They agreed Mille Lacs could sustain a state harvest of up to 100,300 pounds of walleye this year, an increase of 20,000 pounds from 2022. Factors in the decision included an adult walleye population that grew well in 2022, and classes of younger walleye appear to have the potential to contribute to the fishery in the future.
For more on fishing regulations and Mille Lacs Lake in general, check out the DNR website.
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