Changes in lake habitat, ecology and conditions coupled with technological advances in fishing gear and methods are prompting the Minnesota DNR to seek public input on a possible reduction in the statewide walleye possession limit from six to four fish.
If enacted via a rulemaking process, the change in would not become effective until May 2027.
The proposal is a proactive step to maintain quality walleye fishing in Minnesota. The regulation has been in place since 1956, and conditions in Minnesota’s lakes have and continue to change. The consideration of a walleye limit reduction is a wise management response to what’s happening.
The DNR’s most-recent statwide angler survey results reported that 48% of respondents favored the change and 23% were opposed. Remaining respondents had no opinion.
Results of more than 4,000 on-the-water interviews with anglers about their catches conducted from 2021-2023 showed that 67% supported the change, 18% opposed it and 15% were neutral.
Factors the DNR considered
- Technological advances have changed everything from fishing line to mobile ice fishing houses. Anglers have become much more effective at catching fish, especially due to recent advances in items such as GPS devices and incredibly sensitive fish finding electronics.
- Ice fishing has exploded in popularity, as evidenced by more than 3 million hours of fishing effort in the winter of 2019 on Mille Lacs Lake and Lake of the Woods.
- Social media postings allow today’s mobile anglers to move to where the fish are biting much easier, potentially depleting local walleye populations.
- Peer-reviewed scientific studies continue to show that system changes related to climate and invasive species may be detrimental to walleye populations and more conducive to other species in northern temperate lakes like those in Minnesota.
- All but two (Cass and Winnibogoshish) of the state’s 10 largest inland lakes, which produce about 40 percent of Minnesota’s annual walleye harvest, already have a lower limit. Resorts on Kabetogema, Lake of the Woods, Leech, Pepin, Rainy and Vermilion have not reported a decline in business due to a lower walleye limit.
- All surrounding states and provinces — and Minnesota’s border waters with them — have walleye daily limits less than six.
- The change would simplify regulations and cause less confusion by providing walleye regulation consistency across most Minnesota lakes.