DNR announces relaxed summer walleye fishing restrictions on Mille Lacs Lake for 2023

On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that walleye fishing will be open all summer on Mille Lacs Lake this year and that live bait will also be allowed.

The DNR says the relaxed regulations are due to a combination of a lower walleye harvest during the winter and the walleye population growing on the lake.

Anglers will be allowed to keep a caught walleye that is 21-23 inches in length or more than 28 inches during the entire open water season this year.

Over the years there have been a variety of restrictions in place for walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake due to a declining population.

At the walleye fishing opener in 2020, initially no live bait was allowed and it was catch-and-release only. In 2021 the DNR set mixed rules that early and late-season walleye harvest was allowed but fishing was catch-and-release during the summer. Anglers were again allowed a one-walleye limit early in the season and again in the fall for 2022 with catch-and-release during the summer fishing season.

The 2023 Mille Lacs Lake walleye season opener is Saturday, May 13. The regulations are in place from then until Nov. 30. There is no planned closure to fishing during the summer.

For more on the DNR’s walleye fishing restrictions Mille Lacs Lake, click HERE.