Mille Lacs walleye anglers can start keeping fish on Aug. 16. Will they get to keep more than one?

There is hope around Mille Lacs Lake for a loosening of walleye regulations next month of the slot-restricted, one-fish bag limit set to open Aug. 16.

According to Minnesota State Fisheries chief Brad Parsons, the Department of Natural Resources has charted low walleye mortality on Mille Lacs since the walleye season began May 11. The special regulation established before the opener allowed walleyes to be targeted by anglers for the first three months, but only on a catch-and-release basis. The conservative approach was designed to keep the state within its reduced 2024 harvest quota.

Throughout the summer, DNR creel clerks survey Mille Lacs anglers to gauge overall fishing pressure. The agency blends the information with other data to scientifically estimate hooking mortality (incidental deaths of caught-and-released fish that count against the quota).

Parsons said that year-to-date harvest has been low and that the agency is discussing potential changes. As originally written, the upcoming bag limit will allow anglers to keep one walleye, 21-to-23 inches, starting Aug. 16.

If a change is formulated, the announcement could come as early as Monday evening, when DNR fisheries biologists meet at a lakeside resort with the Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee.

Steve Heiskary, a citizen member of the committee from Anoka County, said a good percentage of this year’s walleye harvest quota remains open for the taking. That has led to conjecture that the DNR may extend the upcoming bag limit to two walleyes. He said others speculate that the 2-inch harvest slot will be relaxed, or that the DNR will combine the two options.

“Personally, I’d like to see them loosen the slot by an inch to put it at 20 to 23 inches,’’ Heiskary said. “That will give people a much greater opportunity to keep a walleye.”

Jason Bahr, owner of Tutt’s Bait & Tackle in Garrison, said Mille Lacs walleyes are benefitting this year from an abundant hatch of perch, a crucial forage species for walleyes. It’s another factor supporting a more liberal approach to bag limits, he said.

“We haven’t come close to our quota,” said Bahr, a member of the advisory committee. “We’re very excited to see what the DNR is going to do.”

Ben Glowacki is a new resort owner on Mille Lacs. His business plan promotes an array of reasons for people to stay at Glowacki’s Resort south of Garrison (formerly Gregory’s Resort). But the opportunity to catch and keep walleyes will always be good for bookings, Glowacki said.

“We’re excited for the change that’ll be announced,” Glowacki said. “We can hope for the best.”

Glowacki said his business this summer has been good. He’s still renovating old cabins that will add to the resort’s capacity. He also runs fishing excursions open to the public aboard the resort’s 60-foot “launch” boat.

The walleye bite was slow at times this summer, he said, but it’s been picking up. In the long run, he wants to see the DNR shift away from year-to-year “micro-managing” of the walleye harvest. Longer-term management objectives should replace the annual harvest quotas, he said.

As part of a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the DNR has an obligation and commitment to share walleye harvests on Mille Lacs with eight Ojibwe bands that retained hunting and fishing rights on ceded land. Under a co-management system, the stakeholders set an annual safe harvest level based on evaluations of the lake’s walleye population. For 2024, the quota was set at 157,500 pounds of walleyes, down 10% from 2023. The state’s share of 91,550 pounds was further reduced by winter fishing that the DNR estimated was much heavier than many observers expected.