The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is exploring a reduction in the state's walleye limit from six to four. Similar bills have failed to pass in the legislature, but population pressure on the state fish has the DNR reexamining the issue.
Brainerd-based fishing guide "Walleye Dan" Eigen tells WCCO's Adam Carter he supports the change.
"Totally, totally for it," Eigen says. "In fact, I know they're pushing going from six to four, but I really wish they go from six to three and have possession limit at six."
Currently, the state allows you to catch and possess up to six walleye per licensed angler including what you possess at home. That limit that has been in place since the 1960s.
"I think it's just the old school mentality where you have to catch the limit," says Eigen who adds that new technology is making it them too easy to catch.
"With front-facing sonar, you're lethal. You're turning that pole, and it's like ok you guys, cast your slip bobbers over there 35 feet," he explains. "And then the bobber goes down. It's just made fishing a lot easier for those people who know how to use that technology."
Eigen is part of a stakeholder group in Brainerd that meets at the Minnesota fisheries and he says what they have learned is dropping from six to four won't have much of an impact statewide, which is why he thinks three is the answer.
"Three is gonna have an impact, and I don't know the science behind that, but the bottom line is who really needs to come out and catch more than three? If it goes to four, fine, I'm all for that. But you really don't need to catch more than that," he says.
There are a number of individual lakes across Minnesota, including most of the popular walleye lakes, where the bag limit has already been reduced. But this proposal still faces plenty of opposition from people who say there's no data that points to bag limits helping with the reduction in walleye. They say other issues like climate change and shoreline erosion is more to blame.
"Make a change for the better and just get it done," says Eigen.
The DNR says a change could be possible for the 2025-2026 fishing season or later. The DNR would plan some public input meetings prior to making a change they describe as "substantial".