Input sought on proposed special fishing regulations in Minnesota

St. Paul — The Minnesota DNR is asking for input on several special fishing regulation proposals.

Each year, the DNR reviews existing fishing regulations and proposes new special regulations that apply to individual waters and asks the public for input about the proposals. All new special regulations are reviewed on a regular basis to evaluate effectiveness.

One set of proposed regulations currently under consideration comes in response to growing angler concerns about crappies and the increased pressure on these fish populations from winter fishing. On seven lakes in Otter Tail County and one in Lac qui Parle County, the Minnesota DNR is proposing to reduce the crappie daily limit to five (statewide limit is 10).

“If we implement these limit reductions, we will carefully evaluate them as part of a separate fisheries research project to try to figure out which lakes and kinds of crappie populations benefit from reduced limits, because not all do,” said Jon Hansen, Minnesota DNR fisheries program consultant. “In some lakes where crappies don’t live very long, reducing the limit just means fish are lost to natural causes instead of being available for anglers to catch.”

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The DNR is also proposing either new regulations or changes to existing experimental and special fishing regulations for the 2025 fishing season that address the following topics:

• Saganaga and Sea Gull lakes (Cook County) walleyes.

• Sauk River Chain of Lakes (Stearns County) catfish.

• Basswood Lake (Lake County) northern pike.

• Garden Reservoir Chain and Birch Lake (Lake County) northern pike.

• Basswood Lake (Lake County) sunfish.

• Little Sauk Lake (Todd County) regulation simplification multiple species.

• Rochester-area lakes (Olmsted County) multiple species.

The DNR is taking input on these proposals via an online survey that is available through Friday, Oct. 7. You can take part in the survey by visiting the DNR website.

For additional details or to comment directly by email, U.S. mail, or phone about individual proposals, contact the area fisheries office for the proposal(s) on which you wish to comment.

General input may also be submitted to Jon Hansen at jon.hansen@state.mn.us or (651) 259-5239, or via U.S. mail to Fishing Regulations/Jon Hansen, Box 20, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155.

The DNR is also hosting in-person open houses in each county where the proposed changes would apply and one in the Twin Cities metro area to cover all proposals.

For those who want to attend one of the in-person meetings, information can be found on the Minnesota DNR website or by calling an area fisheries office. The meetings will take place on various dates between Tuesday, Sept. 10, and Thursday, Sept. 24. The metro area open house will be from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the DNR’s Central Office, 500 Lafayette Road in St. Paul.