Mille Lacs Lake Fishing: Perch Limit Greatly Reduced, Walleye Limit Up

Some big changes are in store for anglers on Mille Lacs Lake this year.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources this week announced that as of March 11th, the daily and possession limit for yellow perch on Mille Lacs will be reduced from 20 to five. That regulation runs from now until November 30th.

According to a press release, the DNR is implementing this adjustment to help maintain a good perch population for the future.

As of February 23rd, state-licensed anglers have taken more than 43,000 pounds of perch, well above the annual state perch allotment set by the DNR and eight Ojibwe tribes that retain fishing rights by treaty. That allotment was set at 36,500 pounds. DNR officials say since 2012, the annual perch harvest has never been above 7,000 pounds.

Meanwhile, anglers this year will be able to keep more walleye than last year when the open water season opens. The new bag limit is two walleye daily, where they must be 17 inches or greater and only one can be over 20 inches.

The DNR says following years of regulations, the Mille Lacs Lake walleye fishery appears to be in a healthy state, a viewpoint shared by both state and Tribal fisheries biologists. Last year, anglers were not allowed to keep any walleye until the middle of August, when the regulation was changed to two walleye with an 18- to 20-inch slot limit or one longer than 28 inches.