A "super-abundant'' class of 15-inch walleyes and a below-normal fishing harvest over the winter has led to a five-fish bag limit on Upper Red Lake this season — the biggest limit allowed since the fishery crashed in the 1990s and reopened in 2006.
Walleye bag limit jumps to five on Upper Red Lake
An over-abundance of 15-inch walleyes triggered the move — the biggest bag limit since the lake was depleted of walleyes in the late 1990s.
April 18, 2023 at 6:44PM
Edie Evarts, the Bemidji area fisheries supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources, said fisheries biologists for the DNR feel comfortable with the change because there's a couple of strong year classes of walleyes coming up behind the plentiful 15-inchers that were born in 2019. Starting with the statewide fishing opener on May 13, state-licensed anglers will be able to keep five walleyes, but only one over 17 inches in length.
"We've never had a five-fish bag on Red,'' Evarts said. "It should be a nice opportunity for anglers.''
Under a co-management system with Red Lake Nation put in place to revitalize the state's largest inland body of water from over-harvest, stewards have focused on keeping a healthy supply of mature females in the lake. Evarts said the current size of that spawning stock is optimal, but it is heading in the direction of over-abundance. In that scenario, the population of walleyes becomes oversized, competition between fish is heightened and young classes of fish don't survive as well, she said.
"We're comfortable with where we're at right now,'' Evarts said. "It's a good place to be.''
She said the five-fish walleye limit this season will be a new learning experience for DNR fisheries managers. Last summer, the bag limit was four walleyes. It was lowered to three over the winter, but fishing pressure fell below expectations because of ice and snow conditions.
"We'll see how the fishery responds to this,'' Evarts said.
An Upper Red Lake Citizen Advisory Committee reviews walleye harvest totals and regulation options and provides recommendations for the state waters of Upper Red Lake. Six-tenths of Upper Red and all of Lower Red belongs to Red Lake Nation. Tribal Council Chairman Darrell Seki Sr. announced last month that the tribe is seeking to reclaim all of Upper Red into the reservation's boundary.
Separately, the DNR announced this week that a permanent decontamination station is coming soon to the Tamarac River Big Bog Public Water Access at Upper Red Lake. The station will be designed to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species into the lake.
None of the boat’s occupants, two adults and two juveniles, were wearing life jackets, officials said.
