Walleye limit for winter season to decrease on Upper Red Lake, hold steady on Mille Lacs Lake
FILE - An angler catches a walleye. (KSTP/file)
Anglers who visit Upper Red Lake will need to keep note of the walleye they keep starting Wednesday as the winter season begins.
On Tuesday morning, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the winter walleye fishing regulations after completing the annual fall population assessments.
The DNR says anyone who catches walleye in the state waters of Upper Red Lake starting on Wednesday, Nov. 1 will now only be able to keep four of the fish which meet the requirements, down one from the five which were allowed during the summer season. Only one of the four fish which can be kept after being caught is allowed to be longer than 17 inches.
RELATED: DNR sets 5-walleye possession limit for Upper Red Lake
The agency says there was “an optimal level of walleye spawning stock” as well as a “high overall net catch rate” on Upper Red Lake.
Meanwhile, Mille Lacs Lake anglers will have new restrictions starting on Friday, Dec. 1. On that waterway, the agency says one walleye between 21-23″, or one longer than 28″, can be kept.
There, the DNR says there were slightly lower walleye numbers than last year.
CLICK HERE for Upper Red Lake regulations and HERE for regulations on Mille Lacs Lake.