New sunfish regulations take effect on 52 Minnesota lakes

New sunfish regulations are now in effect on 52 Minnesota lakes.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminded anglers on Tuesday of the new regulations, which lower daily limits on the lakes in an effort to protect and improve sunfish sizes.

The DNR says the change was made in response to anglers’ concerns over the declining sizes of sunfish across the state.

“This is the final batch of new sunfish regulations that will be part of the Quality Sunfish Initiative,” Dave Weitzel, the DNR’s Grand Rapids area fisheries supervisor, said. “We’re pleased to be at our overall goal of 200 to 250 lakes with these special regulations. We’ve had an impressive amount of public support all along for these regulations. Anglers spoke up that they want large sunfish in our lakes.”

Additionally, the DNR noted that an experimental 17-inch minimum length for walleye on Clear Lake in Washington County was removed this year after the management objective wasn’t met.

Some lakes will also see changes to crappie limits.

The 2022 Minnesota fishing regulations can be found online.