MnDNR Announces Upper Red Lake Walleye Fishing Regulations

Anglers fishing Upper Red Lake in northwestern Minnesota this spring will be able to keep four walleye, of which only one may be longer than 17 inches, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

These new regulations, effective on the walleye fishing opener Saturday, May 13, allow one more fish in the daily bag than the regulations that were in place in the winter.

“Harvest under the three fish bag limit resulted in approximately 109,000 pounds for the winter season,” said Gary Barnard, area fisheries supervisor in Bemidji for the DNR, in a statement. “There is still room within the target harvest range to allow an additional fish this spring.”

Red Lake’s walleye harvest is managed under a joint harvest plan, revised in 2015 by the Red Lakes Fisheries Technical Committee.

“The new harvest plan recommends a more aggressive approach when walleye spawning stock is in surplus, as it currently is,” said Barnard, in a statement. “The extra fish allowed by the daily bag limit will increase open water harvest some, and allowing one fish over 17 inches meets our harvest plan objectives by spreading harvest over a wide range of sizes and removing some of the surplus spawning stock.”

More information on Red Lake fishing regulations are available at mndnr.gov/regulations/fishing.