2019 Mille Lacs Open Water Regulations

Does anyone know when they will be announced? Are we at the mercy of when the DNR will make an announcement or is there a meeting scheduled?

March “sometime” is when the regs are finalized and released. So ya, they have about a 30 day window. Its the 11th today, so sometime in the next 19 days!

Thanks Gimruis. Good to know it will be sometime soon. Buddies thinking ahead to Opener and getting curious to know!

This just in..

For Immediate Release:

March 12, 2019

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Walleye harvest will be allowed in May on Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs regulations for walleye and other species announced
Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake will be able to keep walleye during open water fishing for the first time since 2015. An improving walleye population has been protected by conservative fishing regulations in recent years, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Mille Lacs anglers will be able to keep one walleye between 21 and 23 inches or one walleye over 28 inches from Saturday, May 11, through Friday, May 31.

“It’s good news that anglers get to keep some walleye this May, but we are being cautious,” said Brad Parsons, DNR fisheries chief. “These regulations represent a careful balance between expanding fishing opportunities and conserving the fishery for the future.”

Similar to recent years, a night closure for the 2019 walleye fishing season will be in effect on Mille Lacs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday, May 13. The night walleye closure will remain in effect throughout the entire open-water season, which ends Nov. 30.

Catch-and-release fishing for walleye begins Saturday, June 1, and other than the night closure, there are no planned closures for walleye fishing this season.

The DNR is able to allow this limited harvest opportunity because of an improving walleye population bolstered by a 2013 year class of fish that has been protected by conservative fishing regulations. The 2013 year class is starting to produce young fish that appear to be surviving.

The DNR expects a strong increase in the number of anglers fishing during the period when walleye harvest is allowed. Allowing the harvest during May, when water temperatures are lower, will limit the mortality of released walleye associated with this increase in pressure. Both harvested fish and those that die as a result of being caught and released are counted against the state’s walleye harvest allocation.

The Mille Lacs walleye population has undergone many changes over the past two decades that have coincided with significant aquatic system changes including increased water clarity and decreased walleye productivity; the introduction of zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil and spiny water fleas; a changing zooplankton community that may be altering the aquatic food web; and declines in certain forage species, including tullibee.

The DNR encourages Minnesotans and out-of-state visitors to fish the other abundant species that Mille Lacs Lake has to offer in addition to walleye.

Bass fishing
The lake is nationally recognized as one of the nation’s top smallmouth bass and muskellunge fisheries. In 2017, Bassmaster Magazine named Mille Lacs the number one bass fishing lake in the nation. The lake hosted the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship in 2016 and 2017.

Minnesota’s bass season opens Saturday, May 11, and is catch-and-release only in most of the state, including Mille Lacs, through Friday, May 24. Beginning on Saturday, May 25, Mille Lacs’ daily bag and possession limit will be three bass per angler. All smallmouth and largemouth bass between 17 and 21 inches must be immediately released. Anglers may keep only one bass over 21 inches. In a change this year, smallmouth bass are catch-and-release only on Mille Lacs from Monday, Sept. 9, through Feb. 23, 2020, to be consistent with statewide regulations.

Northern pike
Mille Lacs Lake has special regulations that exempt it from the new statewide northern pike zone regulations. From May 11 through Nov. 30, anglers may keep up to five fish. Only one northern pike over 40 inches may be included in the bag limit of five, and anglers must release all pike between 30 and 40 inches.

Special night fishing opportunities
For muskellunge, the season opens on Saturday, June 1, with the statewide rules of a one fish bag and a minimum length of 54 inches. Beginning June 1, anglers may fish for muskellunge and northern pike at night on Mille Lacs, but may only possess and use artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches.

Bowfishing allowed
Bowfishing for rough fish is allowed at night on Mille Lacs starting June 1 but possession of angling equipment is not allowed and only rough fish may be in possession.

State and tribal allocations
The state and the Ojibwe tribes with harvest rights in Mille Lacs Lake agreed on a 2019 safe harvest level of 150,000 pounds of walleye, resulting in a state allocation of 87,800 pounds. Under the catch-and-release only regulation last year, walleye angler kill totaled just over 47,000 pounds.

The walleye safe harvest level for Mille Lacs Lake is determined annually. It is based on population status and predictions of how harvest will affect the walleye population in the future. State anglers share the safe harvest level with the eight bands of Ojibwe that have fishing rights under an 1837 treaty. By agreement, the bands and the state are required to monitor harvest according to their respective allocations.

More information about fishing on Mille Lacs Lake, ongoing DNR management and research, and Mille Lacs area recreation opportunities is available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/millelacslake.

Thank you for posting IceNEYES1986.

OH Wow…. I was just about to post that I found an MPR article stating it should be released mid-March and that it should be any day. And here, it is! Thanks IceNEyes!

Very nice of the band to allow this. Now pray for a late ice out.

I was actually hoping for just a one fish limit, in an effort to keep crowds from swarming too much. But 3 weeks is a pretty short season!

lindyrig79 wrote:

I was actually hoping for just a one fish limit, in an effort to keep crowds from swarming too much. But 3 weeks is a pretty short season!

I don’t mind the 1 fish limit. But I’m kinda bummed about it only being 3 weeks long. Especially since my opener will be spent on Namakan chasing Crappies and Walleyes. I’m also not sure targeting the same fish that got hit pretty good this winter is the best either.. Those are the healthy females of the coveted 2013 year class.

I see myself avoiding the lake and the crowds until it goes back to C&R only.

IceNEyes1986 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>lindyrig79 wrote:</div>
I was actually hoping for just a one fish limit, in an effort to keep crowds from swarming too much. But 3 weeks is a pretty short season!

I don’t mind the 1 fish limit. But I’m kinda bummed about it only being 3 weeks long. Especially since my opener will be spent on Namakan chasing Crappies and Walleyes. I’m also not sure targeting the same fish that got hit pretty good this winter is the best either.. Those are the healthy females of the coveted 2013 year class.

yes sir!! Assuming the ice goes out…..

I have a feeling that between the buzz about good winter fishing, and then being able to keep one fish that it will likely be the busiest opener on Mille Lacs in 5+ years.

Dutchboy wrote:

Very nice of the band to allow this. Now pray for a late ice out.

X2

grubson wrote:

I see myself avoiding the lake and the crowds until it goes back to C&R only.

We’ll see about that

lindyrig79 wrote:

I have a feeling that between the buzz about good winter fishing, and then being able to keep one fish that it will likely be the busiest opener on Mille Lacs in 5+ years.

Well, the last 2 we could barely go on the lake if at all, so those were not very busy. I have my doubts about getting out again this year. We will see. I’ll be there either way.

I’ll be out there but I usually go the week after opener. Could care less about keeping one but it is a bonus so that’s good news for the lake.

Well that wasn’t the news I had been hoping for. But I’ll take what I can get… I guess it will just be more Saturday night Walleye dinners at Castaway’s this year. LOL….

I wonder how many kids I can fit in my boat this year?

These regulations are a joke and prove that the lake is being run by politics and not biology. There is a healthy population of Walleyes that is better than most lakes in the state. Lakes that have 4-6 fish limits with limited or no protected slot limit.

Pressure? I have fished Mille Lacs since I was a kid and over those 30 years I can’t remember seeing less pressure than I have the last 3 years. Half of the boats at the landing are Bass or Muskie anglers. A one fish limit is not going to change the pressure.

I will continue to fish the lake regularly as I have the last several years and have fun doing it.

When they started the C&R I was frustrated but from a biological standpoint I understood the reason. I had a suspicion that the DNR was setting us up to never have a 6, 4, or even 2 fish limit again. A 3 week season with a 2” slot with a 1 fish limit is far from opening the lake back up to keeping fish. The Walleye population is healthy! The night ban also wasn’t founded on biology in the first place and now they feel it’s mandatory to implement for the whole season.

bigcrappie wrote:

I wonder how many kids I can fit in my boat this year?

Kinda forgot about that too. With my wife and two kids, we could actually have a decent meal.

I’m happy there is some harvest allowed, but I still believe they are being overly conservative. Going after the same slot lengths as last winter is another mistake. Those fish Are already mostly gone, be difficult to find a keeper. The mis-management continues….

I relaize the dnr is not perfect, but they are managing this lake with both arms tied behind their backs. The fact remains the court ruled in the Mille lacs band’s favor and our government ie governor as done nothing to but support that decision. IMO the dnr has done a heck of job getting the lake back to where it is, with the help of mother nature. I will enjoy it fully this summer, no matter if i can keep a fish or not.

Justin riegel wrote:

I relaize the dnr is not perfect, but they are managing this lake with both arms tied behind their backs. The fact remains the court ruled in the Mille lacs band’s favor and our government ie governor as done nothing to but support that decision. IMO the dnr has done a heck of job getting the lake back to where it is, with the help of mother nature. I will enjoy it fully this summer, no matter if i can keep a fish or not.

I’m sorry but I couldn’t disagree more. Without going deep into it, I think they really dropped the ball by relying on ineffective slot limits for far too long.

I agree I think they targeted the same size fish for too long, both with nets and state angler harvest. It created a population of walleyes that were all big. And when there wasn’t enough food, they ate each other. I’m fine with a conservative approach now before the resource is completely gone. And let’s not forget that the bass and muskie fishing is still phenomenal.

Ya can’t eat a muskie.

Let me correct that.. you typically don’t want to eat a muskie.., Right?

Seems to me it was the same or very similar slots that they use on other big walleye lakes?

Most other lakes don’t vary the slots too much from year to year. It was probably more of a perfect storm with all the other variables.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Justin riegel wrote:</div>
I relaize the dnr is not perfect, but they are managing this lake with both arms tied behind their backs. The fact remains the court ruled in the Mille lacs band’s favor and our government ie governor as done nothing to but support that decision. IMO the dnr has done a heck of job getting the lake back to where it is, with the help of mother nature. I will enjoy it fully this summer, no matter if i can keep a fish or not.

I’m sorry but I couldn’t disagree more. Without going deep into it, I think they really dropped the ball by relying on ineffective slot limits for far too long.

I should have qualified this statement as post 2010. Yes since netting was introduced and until the crash they did not do a great job. Getting the lake back to where it is now i think they have done ok. I also agree with conservative approach as they did not do this pre crash and look what happened. They have done a great job with Red lake and I am hoping they learned some lessons up there they can apply to Mille lacs.

I haven’t been around the Mille Lacs area long so I don’t know the whole history. But for me when I was up there you couldn’t help but catch a walleye. Whether you were trying for them or not. Never have I been to a lake where the walleye bite is so… Common. I don’t understand the low population stuff. I dimly understand there is some netting allowed by the band but not the others. And for some reason they get to harvest more than we do. It just seems to me this is all political rather than conservational. Am I right on that or am I missing something?

Kevin Collins wrote:

And for some reason they get to harvest more than we do. It just seems to me this is all political rather than conservational. Am I right on that or am I missing something?

First of all “they” do not get to harvest more…the allowable safe harvest quota is split in favor of state anglers at 87,800 of the allowable 150,000 lbs. But yes, these limits are more political just as Fife stated below and I think what adds to it even more is the “overage” debacle from a couple years ago has led the DNR to another level of overly conservative paranoia. (My opinion)

Fife wrote:

These regulations are a joke and prove that the lake is being run by politics and not biology. There is a healthy population of Walleyes that is better than most lakes in the state. Lakes that have 4-6 fish limits with limited or no protected slot limit.
The night ban also wasn’t founded on biology in the first place and now they feel it’s mandatory to implement for the whole season.

And BTW, good to hear from you again Fife. Was worried you’d left us for dead.