There are new regulations coming for anglers that will allow them to keep some walleye during open-water season on Lake Mille Lacs.
The regulations are officially announced next month, but official with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources revealed Thursday the plans to allow some walleye harvesting when the season opens on May 11.
This comes after three seasons of catch-and-release fishing on Mille Lacs.
"That's great news for every walleye angler in Minnesota, there's no doubt about that," said noted outdoors expert Ron Schara, appearing on WCCO with Mike Max.
"Hopefully, the whole issue will slowly go away, and get back to the way it used to be," he said.
Regulators say state anglers have stayed well under the big lake's safe-harvest allocation for walleye last year, allowing the lake's walleye population to improve.
The state and Ojibwe bands with fishing rights on Mille Lacs agreed on a safe harvest level of 150,000 pounds of walleye.
That provides a state allocation of 87,800 pounds.