2018 Red Lakes regulations

Upper Red Lake walleye regulations announced

RED LAKE—Anglers fishing Upper Red Lake this spring will be able to keep four walleye of which only one may be longer than 17 inches, continuing the same regulation that was in place this past winter and the previous 2017 open water season, according to a Minnesota DNR release.

Harvest under the four-fish bag limit, one-over-17 regulation resulted in about 152,000 pounds for the winter season—a record high for winter harvest since reopening walleye fishing in 2006—and there remains room within the target harvest range to allow this regulation to continue into the open water season.

Red Lake’s walleye harvest is managed under a joint harvest plan, revised in 2015 by the Red Lakes Fisheries Technical Committee. An Upper Red Lake Citizen Advisory Committee reviewed previous season harvest totals and regulation options and recommended continuation of the current walleye regulation for the state waters of Upper Red Lake.

The revised harvest plan recommends an aggressive approach when walleye spawning stock is in surplus, as it currently is.

Adjustments to size or bag limits may be needed in the future if the spawning stock needs more protection

I’ve gone up to red lake a half a dozen times and have always had a good experience. Just curious, however, why do you not hear of many people catching larger walleyes up there? (Say, 28” or larger). Is it due to the forage?

I head there a few times each year. This year was the best bite I’ve ever had up there, I can believe the harvest numbers.

Biggest I have caught was during the shutdown and it was a 27 inch. Neighbor to our friends cabin said they caught a 29inch last year . I’m still waiting on pictures.

I’ve personally seen 2 fish over 28″ in say 50 days of fishing it over the last 8 years. Both ice season and both caught at night…..late late night. That lake gets hammered like no other winter through spring and the fish never have a chance to grow that big IMO. If you do get one think about how smart that fish was to get that big swimming around all those nets over 20 years or so.

Here is a 28″ that I caught up there last year over Memorial Day weekend. There are some bigger ones out there, but they are few and far between as a result of nearly all the walleyes being netted out of the lake.

What is the possession limit on URL? Is it any different than the rest of the state, which I believe is six with only one over 21”?

Bass Thumb wrote:

What is the possession limit on URL? Is it any different than the rest of the state, which I believe is six with only one over 21”?

Possession is always the same as the daily limit for walleyes, everywhere in the state.

I believe that also includes the ones in your stomach.