Angling regulations will change on nearly three dozen waters this year, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Among the changes anglers will see more restrictive walleye regulations in and around Saganaga Lake in Cook County.
In Saganaga, Sea Gull, and Gull lakes in Cook County and connected waters, walleye will have a 17-inch minimum length restriction and a bag limit of three.
The new regulation is established to protect small walleye to make the most of limited production of those fish from natural reproduction or stocking. Fish managers have been concerned for several years about low numbers of young walleye seen in these lakes, and the possibility that without some protection, those low numbers would result in even lower numbers of adult fish, with further reductions in spawning success.
Effects of this regulation will be studied for the next 10 years, and will be reviewed with the public in 2024.
Anglers who travel to Lake Winnibigoshish will have a relaxed, or narrower, protected slot limit for walleye. Other regulations are changing throughout the state, in Todd County, Grant County, Otter Tail, Beltrami, St. Louis and others.
Changed and new special and experimental regulations will be posted at public accesses on affected lakes and become effective March 1.
In most years, the DNR reviews the effectiveness of some existing regulations and also considers proposals for new regulations. After evaluating information collected from lake and angler surveys, the department takes public input before making decisions based on management goals. For more information, see www.mndnr.gov/fishmn.
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