A joint committee of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists and fisheries biologists from the eight Chippewa bands that retain fishing rights under terms of an 1837 treaty reached agreement on the 2020 Mille Lacs Lake safe harvest level for walleye.  The committee established those levels on Jan. 22, setting the walleye safe harvest level at 150,000 pounds, the same as last year.

State-licensed anglers can harvest 87,800 pounds of walleye during the 2019-2020 ice fishing season and the 2020 open-water season. Tribal fishing is subject to a 62,200-pound limit during the same period.

“The amount of walleye we can safely harvest from Mille Lacs remains the same as last year,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries section manager for the DNR.

Open water walleye regulations will need to consider this winter’s harvest and the expected conditions during spring and summer. That work will occur during the next six weeks as winter walleye fishing comes to an end on Mille Lacs.  The DNR will announce open-water fishing regulations for Mille Lacs Lake in late March.

Additional information about Mille Lacs Lake is available on the DNR website at mndnr.gov/millelacslake.