Mille Lacs Lake Fishing guide

Walleye

Walleye management on Mille Lacs Lake is conducted cooperatively with the eight Tribes signatory to the Treaty of 1837. A safe harvest level for Walleye is determined annually and is based on information collected through various sampling programs. For the 2026 fishing year (December 2025 through November 2026) the state's allocation of the safe harvest level was set at 105,300 pounds, which is around a 7% decrease from 2025 and is based on a similar percentage of decrease in the lake's adult Walleye biomass over the same time period. The reduction in Walleye biomass occurred, in part, due to a weak age-class (2023) of fish recruiting into the fishable stock and a reduction in condition (plumpness) for medium sized (14"-20") Walleye due to reduced levels of forage for small and medium sized fish. By agreement, neither the Tribal nor State fishery harvest may exceed their respective quota. Fishing regulations are selected that offer the maximum opportunity to participate in the fishery (minimize likelihood of closures) and to offer opportunity to harvest, when possible, while staying within the quota. Despite the reduction in quota, summer Walleye regulations were actually liberalized because we were observing relatively low 2026 winter Walleye harvest rates. Regulations for the summer are a three fish bag limit, with a minimum size of 17 inches, with only one fish over 20 inches.

During mid-summer of 2025 we began observing angler Walleye catch rates begin to increase. It is more common to observe Walleye catch rates decrease in July due to new forage that becomes large enough for Walleye to easily find and consume, so observing the opposite where catch rates are increasing is a strong indicator that new forage in the form of age-0 Yellow Perch is not available. Forage gill nets that were set in early September showed age-0 Yellow Perch levels in the fall of 2025 were the lowest observed. The same forage gill net assessment confirmed a high abundance of age-1 Yellow Perch and age-1 Tullibee. The age-1 fish are suitable forage prey for Mille Lacs Walleye over 20 inches, although previous diet studies have indicated a preference for the age-0 Yellow Perch, if available. Angler reports in the summer creel indicated that the majority of Walleye catch was from fish under 12 inches; another sign that age-0 forage was lacking and that larger Walleye were likely still feeding on age-1 Yellow Perch and Tullibee. Walleye catch rates continued increasing to the highest ever observed during the winter of 2025-2026; however, most of the catch again consisted of fish from the 2024 year-class that were under 13 inches. Winter Walleye catch rates are highly correlated to catch rates observed the following spring, therefore, the increased winter catch rates suggest that 2026 spring fishing for Walleye is also likely to be relatively high but will consist of mainly smaller fish.

Anglers should expect to catch Walleye ranging in size from 6 to 28-inches long due to respectable numbers of fish from all year classes, with the exception of the 2023 cohort. Anglers are likely to see exceptional numbers of smaller 6-12 inch Walleye in their catch from the strong 2024-year class, which were sampled in the fall as at a level near the highest observed. This year class was commonly reported as being caught by winter anglers, in part, due to their high abundance, but also because they are the first age class of Walleye to run low on forage due to gape limitations restricting the abundance of prey that can be readily consumed. Fall electrofishing and fine-mesh forage gill net sampling indicated that 2024 median age-1 Walleye length was relatively small for the fall, due to the absence of forage. Harvestable sized fish in the 17-20 inch range will also likely become easier to catch earlier in the open-water season as the smallest 2024 year-class Yellow Perch continue to be cropped off as forage and as the remaining fish continue to grow beyond the gape limitations of moderate sized Walleye. We are unable to predict age-0 forage availability which typically becomes available in July. If the forage hatch is relatively normal, we would expect to see Walleye catches decline into the latter summer months; however, if new forage does not develop, we should see catch rates dramatically improve on the larger (>20") Walleye and continue increasing on the smaller Walleye.

Yellow Perch

Yellow Perch from the 2018 through 2024-year classes were sampled near or well above median in the fall survey nets with the age-1 fish being sampled at the highest ever recorded. Anglers begin to harvest Yellow Perch when they attain lengths over 9 inches. We've been sampling more of these larger sized fish since 2021; however, catch rates had remained relatively weak overall, until the winter of 2025, when anglers had good ice conditions and were able to harvest fish from the deeper offshore areas of the lake. In fact, the 2025 winter harvest of Yellow Perch was the highest observed since 2011. The winter Yellow Perch harvest in 2025 exceeded the state's annual quota, which prompted a more conservative regulation change to a five fish bag limit that will remain in place through November 2026. We expect additional fish from the 2022 through 2024 year-classes to continue to grow into the fishable stock over summer which should help continue providing fish for harvest.

Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass are managed to provide a high-quality fishery, and they are the second most common fish species that anglers pursue on Mille Lacs Lake. Current Mille Lacs regulations require anglers to release Smallmouth Bass longer than 17-inches. Spawning Smallmouth Bass are usually sampled during late May/early June using electrofishing gear. This is a sampling technique that allows fish to be released unharmed after they have their length measured. Smallmouth Bass were sampled from 7 May through 30 May in 2025 and ranged in length from 3.5 inches to 22.2 inches. Most fish were between 13 and 20 inches and showed an indistinct mode at 19 inches, presenting an impressive balance in length that indicates new fish that are available to recruit to quality size and older fish that compose a large trophy component that attracts anglers from across the country. Smallmouth Bass are also sampled in the annual fall gill nets, which are set in the latter half of September. Although the gill nets are not particularly efficient at sampling bass over 15 inches, we did observe several fish from 16 to just under 21 inches, indicating that we continue to maintain a high-quality population that appears to be still increasing in Mille Lacs.

Northern Pike

Like Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike are managed to provide a high-quality fishery. Pike are managed with a 30-inch maximum size limit. Northern Pike are sampled in the spring, during spawning, using trap nets. Sampling fish with trap nets allows us to release the fish unharmed after we collect length and sex. We have found that very few male pike grow longer than 30-inches, while females will grow to be longer than 40-inches, with the largest specimens growing to over 45 inches. Of the 259 fish sampled in 2025 the largest male was just under 33 inches, and the largest female was 41.5 inches. About 24% of the fish we sampled were over 30-inches long, and 2% were trophy sized at over 40-inches in length.

Zebra Mussels, Rusty Crayfish, and Zooplankton

Zebra mussels were first observed in Mille Lacs in 2005. Peak density occurred in 2012 after which abundance began decreasing. By 2017, densities had declined to about one half of their peak abundance, and for the last several years abundance has been at about a quarter to a third of their peak.

Zooplankton abundance began dropping in 2010 but then showed increasing numbers from 2017 to 2021; however, in 2022 we again saw densities begin to decrease. While all functional groups of zooplankton have shown declines in abundance, small cladocerans, cyclopoids, and calanoids have shown the most acute decreases in density. These smaller sized zooplankton are important components in the food web, particularly for larval game fish as well as many of the smaller forage species. Much of the declines in zooplankton can be attributed to Zebra Mussels and Spiny Water Flea. Zebra Mussels remove mass quantities of phytoplankton (algae), which is the main food for smaller zooplankton. Spiny Water Flea are an active predator that preys directly on the smaller zooplankton and thus competes with larval and smaller fish for this food supply.

Rusty crayfish eDNA from water samples taken in 2021 indicated that this aquatic invasive species was now in Mille Lacs. Visual confirmation occurred that same year when two specimens were observed near the Father Hennepin State Park swimming beach. In 2023 we observed our first specimen in DNR sampling gear (standard fall gill nets) in the southwest quadrant of the lake and continued to observe relatively low numbers in the 2024 and 2025 fall sampling. A total of seven Rusty Crayfish were observed in the 2025 gill nets. Our population of Rusty Crayfish appears to still be relatively small; however, as the population continues to increase, we may see aquatic plant beds consumed throughout the lake by this invasive crustacean.