Author: Tony Kennedy

Minnesota plans to liberalize walleye harvest in Mille Lacs Lake starting Aug. 16 under a proposed rule change that would allow a daily bag limit of two fish per licensed angler during harvest slot 18 to 20 inches. State fisheries chief Brad Parsons proposed the move at a Monday meeting of the Mille Lacs Lake Fisheries Advisory Committee in Isle, Minn. It’s not official yet, he said, but that’s where the Department of Natural Resources is headed. “It’s not a done, done, done deal,” he said, but Parsons is confident the change will be made. Since opening day of this…

As state officials craft tighter walleye regulations for Lake Mille Lacs, anglers, resort operators, bait shops and other stakeholders are left to grapple with two paradoxes. As described last week by the Department of Natural Resources, the lake’s total walleye population has dropped by 10%, reducing this year’s allowable harvest. But despite the population decline, the catch rate in Mille Lacs this winter rose to its highest level in at least 35 years. Second, despite poor ice conditions and a massive drop in fishing pressure this winter, anglers reportedly caught an astounding 7,991 pounds of walleyes – more than triple…