Anglers Can Keep Some Mille Lacs Walleye This Year

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says anglers will be able to keep some walleye during the open-water season on Mille Lacs Lake this year.

The DNR announced the decision Thursday. The decision follows several seasons of catch-and-release fishing on the premier walleye lake in central Minnesota. Regulators say state anglers stayed well under Mille Lacs’ safe-harvest allocation for walleyes last year. With the walleye population improving, the DNR will allow some walleye harvest when the season opens May 11. Walleye regulations for the upcoming season on Mille Lacs will be announced in mid-March.

The state and Ojibwe bands with fishing rights on Mille Lacs recently agreed on a safe harvest level of 150,000 pounds of walleye. That provides a state allocation of 87,800 pounds.