Walleye is the fish of interest to the majority of anglers that visit Mille Lacs Lake. After a series of weak year classes from 2009 through 2012, we have seen good natural reproduction of walleye since then. Of particular note is the 2013-year class, which is the third strongest year class produced since annual sampling began in 1979.

With the restrictive regulations that have been in place in recent years, walleye from this year class have survived very well, and will be a large portion of what anglers catch. These walleye currently range from about 17 to almost 22 inches in length. The 2017-year class is also strong. Anglers will notice a fair abundance of these walleye, which average about 13 inches in length. In addition to these fish, good numbers of older, larger walleye are also present. The oldest walleye sampled last fall was a 23-year old female that was about 27 inches long.

Anglers experienced very high catch rates of walleye through the summer of 2019 and the following winter. These high catch rates were the result of the low abundance of prey species (primarily small yellow perch). We anticipate that these high catch rates will continue into the early part of the summer.

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Lake Size

Area: 128,250.53 acres

Littoral Area: 33,129 acres

Shore Length: 92.03 miles

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Mean Depth: 28.5 feet

Maximum Depth: 42 feet

Average Water Clarity: 10.8 feet