Anglers on Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota will have the opportunity to keep two walleyes daily during the upcoming open water season, which begins May 10 and continues through Nov. 30, the state Department of Natural Resources announced. Harvested walleyes must be 17 inches or greater, the DNR said, and only one of them can be over 20 inches.

Following years of restrictive regulations, the Mille Lacs Lake walleye fishery appears to be in a healthy state, a viewpoint shared by both state and tribal fisheries biologists. Last year, anglers weren’t allowed to keep any walleye until August.

The DNR and Ojibwe treaty tribes drastically cut harvest more than a decade ago, concerned by a number of factors, including changing ecological conditions and lower survival rates of young walleyes. The approach has paid off, the DNR said.

“The walleye population in Mille Lacs is currently in a good place,” Brad Parsons, Minnesota DNR fisheries section manager, said in a statement. “Ojibwe tribes and the Minnesota DNR limited harvest, which allowed for an increased number of adult spawning walleye, and a strong 2024 year class that bodes well for the future health of the fishery.”

There also is an abundance of forage in the lake due to strong yellow perch and cisco 2024 year-classes that are keeping walleyes in a healthy condition. Higher availability of forage can reduce the risk of excessive angler catch rates.

State-licensed anglers share the harvest on Mille Lacs Lake with Ojibwe tribes that have reserved rights to fish, wildlife and other natural resources under an 1837 Treaty. Ojibwe treaty tribes — including Mille Lacs Band and Fond du Lac Band — established the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission in 1984 to help oversee off-reservation resource protection, enhancement and harvest seasons in a three-state region.

To conserve the fishery, an annual harvest level is set through discussion and agreement between the state of Minnesota and treaty tribes. Each party manages its own share of the harvest. This year’s agreement considered various factors, including the lake’s increased adult walleye population, and resulted in a safe harvest limit of 113,600 pounds for state-licensed anglers and 88,000 pounds for Ojibwe treaty fishers.

Also of note, on March 11, the daily and possession limit for yellow perch on Mille Lacs Lake was reduced from 20 to five, an unprecedented regulation that will be in place through Nov. 30, the DNR said.

The agency said the change is intended to help maintain a good perch population for the future after an exceptionally robust winter harvest. Maintaining an abundance of older perch will result in more young being produced this spring and preserve harvest opportunities for next year, it said.