There will be fishing on Lake Mille Lacs this winter, but it won't be like it used to be.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said that anglers can keep one walleye between 18 and 20 inches long, or one longer than 28 inches until the total catch for the season reaches a cap of 5,000 pounds.
The decision is a compromise between protecting the declining walleye population and preserving the critical winter business for the resorts that rely on ice fishing for revenue.
The winter walleye regulation goes into effect on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and extends through Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. The decision was made after the DNR conferred with the new Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee, which urged the state to keep winter fishing open all season.
"The clear consensus among committee members was to implement a conservative regulation allowing fishing to continue throughout the winter without the risk of closure," said Don Pereira, DNR fisheries chief. "We believe this regulation meets that criteria."
On Oct. 15, the DNR and biologists from the Chippewa Tribes that co-manage the lake with the state agreed to set a harvest cap of 5,000 pounds for the winter season. DNR officials said that the September fish assessment showed that the number of spawning-age walleye and numbers of walleye spawned in 2013 were above established benchmarks.
The DNR also will reduce the limit of northern pike on Mille Lacs from 10 to five, with one fish longer than 30 inches allowed. Anglers may only keep a northern longer than 30 inches if they have caught two pike shorter than 30 inches and have both in immediate possession.
The pike regulation goes into effect on Dec. 1 and continues through Sunday, March 27, 2016. Its intent is to provide anglers with additional opportunity to catch and keep fish
