Walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake is set to begin on May 10, with regulations now approved by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

According to the Minnesota DNR, walleye will be able to be caught from May 10 until Nov. 30 with some limits.

This year’s limits will allow the harvest of two walleye per day, so long as they are 17 inches or bigger. However, only one walleye may be bigger than 20 inches.

“It was fantastic,” Linda Eno, whose family owns and runs Twin Pines Resort on the lake, said about the walleye limit news. 

“I’ve had five, eight texts, people say, ‘Can you believe it? Can you believe it?’ So, the excitement has already started, and with the sports show this weekend, it will be fantastic and spread like wildfire,” she added. 

One thing she’s particularly looking forward to is being able to prepare the walleye their guests catch in their restaurant. 

“The excitement that I am feeling for that family coming from out of town to be able to have a little taste of a Mille Lacs’ fresh walleye, [it] doesn’t get any better than that,” Eno said. 

According to the DNR, the new regulations are in place thanks to harsher restrictions they and the Ojibwe treaty tribes enforced more than a decade ago to ensure the population thrived. The DNR says this approach has paid off.

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has harvesting rights on the lake and a seat at the table to help land on a limit. And just like the state, they have their own fisheries department that leans on research. 

“It’s great to see that the numbers are rebounding and we’re very optimistic that the fishery is rebuilding,” Kelly Applegate, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s commissioner of natural resources, said. 

“These are fish that are harvested to feed our families,” Applegate added. 

Last year, anglers couldn’t keep any walleye until August.

RELATED: At least 1, up to 3 walleye limit on Mille Lacs Lake after zero last year

“That’s tough for everyone,” Applegate said. “But, at the core of all of this is the science, and our number one priority is making sure that the walleye population is going to be able to make a rebound.”

“The walleye population in Mille Lacs is currently in a good place,” said Brad Parsons, Minnesota DNR fisheries section manager. “Ojibwe Tribes and the Minnesota DNR limited harvest, which allowed for an increased number of adult spawning walleye, and a strong 2024 year class that bodes well for the future health of the fishery.”

This year’s agreement considered various factors, according to the DNR, including the lake’s increased adult walleye population, resulting in a safe harvest limit of 113,600 pounds for state-licensed anglers and 88,000 pounds for Ojibwe treaty fishers.

“We are pleased that anglers will have an increased harvest opportunity this season,” Parsons said. “Mille Lacs Lake continues to surprise us, making it hard to assume conditions will be the same from year to year. Any amount above the state share of harvest would be deducted from state harvest next year.”

More on fishing regulations at Mille Lacs Lake can be found on the Minnesota DNR website.