Expect fewer Mille Lacs walleyes this summer

Anglers will be allowed to keep substantially fewer walleyes on Lake Mille Lacs this year because the numbers of walleyes in the lake have mysteriously declined.

There will be tighter fishing regulations on the popular lake beginning in the spring, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Officials from the state and the Ojibwe Indian tribe recently agreed to reduce the allowable walleye harvest from 549,000 pounds in 2007 to 430,000 pounds this year.

Anglers who aren't members of the tribe will get 307,500 pounds - 142,500 pounds less than last year - while the band will harvest 122,500 pounds - 22,500 pounds more than last year, Ron Payer, DNR fisheries chief, said Wednesday. The tribe members generally take their allotment in spring by netting.

Current Mille Lacs walleye rules allow anglers to keep four fish within specific size ranges. New rules are expected before spring.

"It's going to be tighter than last year," Payer said.

The state and the Ojibwe closely regulate walleye harvest on the lake as a result of a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The harvest reduction is a direct response to the surprising - and so far unexplained - drop in the lake's walleye population revealed in DNR net surveys last fall. Those catches were at record low levels. Although some have questioned the surveys' accuracy, Payer said officials must consider them when setting the safe harvest figure.

"It's based on the best estimates of the population of walleyes in Mille Lacs," Payer said.

The DNR plans to meet in February with the Mille Lacs Lake Fisheries Input Group that represents area business owners.

Unlike other years, when the state could legally exceed its walleye harvest allocation by 22 percent, it can't do that this year, Payer said.

Resort owner Terry McQuoid of Isle said an abundance of small baitfish already has slowed the walleye harvest but he's hoping the DNR won't severely tighten restrictions.

Current regulations require the release of fish between 20 and 28 inches long. One fish longer than 28 inches is allowed.

Last summer, because of high walleye harvest, the DNR tightened the regulations, allowing only walleyes 14 to 16 inches to be kept. The regulations for this spring likely won't be that restrictive, Payer said.

To get a better assessment of the walleye population, he said, the DNR will catch and tag up to 20,000 walleyes, then ask anglers to report any tagged fish they catch. He said results could be available by July.

Meanwhile, he said, creel surveys have indicated that walleye fishing so far this winter has been poor.