Upper Red Lake Walleye Fishing: Guidelines For 2026

BEMIDJI (WJON News) -- Minnesota anglers who fish for walleye on Upper Red Lake this summer will see the same daily bag limit as last year.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Red Lake Nation have agreed to a five-fish daily limit. Only one walleye can be longer than 17 inches.

Andy Thompson is the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources area fisheries supervisor for Bemidji. He says...

Spawning stock levels on Upper Red Lake have a sweet spot where abundance is high enough to produce newly hatched walleye, known as fry, but not so high that young fish don’t survive well due to competition for food. Through this regulation, the Minnesota DNR is seeking to keep the fishery in this condition by focusing harvest on the plentiful immature fish under 17 inches, so that future numbers of spawning walleye aren’t higher than desired, and overall harvest doesn’t exceed agreed-upon levels established with the Red Lake Nation.

Winter harvest regulations for 2026-2027 will be determined after the summer fishing season and fall assessment netting.

The 2026 open water fishing season begins on Saturday, May 9th.

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Filed Under: minnesota department of natural resources