Walker, Minn. - Before the fortunes of Leech Lake’s walleye anglers plummeted earlier this decade, seasons in the late 1990s were considered pretty good.

In 1998 and 1999, anglers who targeted walleyes specifically were catching about 0.3 walleyes an hour. In 2004 and 2005, when walleye fishing was at a low point, anglers were catching 0.082 and 0.046 walleyes an hour, respectively.

The catch rate for anglers who specifically targeted walleyes jumped to 1.064 per hour last year, and has held to this point in the 2009 season. Essentially, walleye fishermen are catching at least three times as many walleyes as they were in the late ’90s.

“It’s that good,” said Doug Schultz, the DNR’s large lake specialist on Leech. “Eventually it is going to be slowing down. Where we are at right now isn’t normal and shouldn’t be the expectation for the long term. It’s something folks might want to get up here and take advantage of because the frequency and magnitude of our most recent year-classes has been unusual for any large lake.”
There’s been three large year-classes in a row of walleyes, and fish that were protected by the 18- to 26-inch protected slot limit (which went into place in 2005 as part of a multi-faceted management effort) have begun biting.

“We’ve been getting reports of 30-inch fish,” Schultz said. “Leech wasn’t necessarily known for cranking out fish over 30 inches. That’s encouraging because it means fish are living long enough to reach that true trophy status.”

The DNR estimates that through June 15, fishermen had caught 151,000 walleyes on Leech since this year’s opener, and harvested about 46,000 of them.

Walleye angling went on at a torrid pace between the opener and a couple of weeks ago, when a large, prolonged mayfly hatch slowed things down. Since that’s ended, “we’re back at full steam,” Schultz said.

Indeed, the catch rate of anglers fishing for walleyes on Leech means it’s “probably the hottest lake in the state,” he said. Last year, when the rate was similar to what it is this year, Schultz compared it to the rates on other walleye factories in the state, including Lake Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods, and Lake Winnibigoshish.

“We were significantly higher,” he said.

What’s led to the turnaround on Leech? Likely a combination of things, Schultz said. The protected slot limit has saved some fish, which now are being caught; millions of walleye fry have been stocked, both as a result of DNR_decisions and legislative mandates; and thousands of double-crested cormorants have been culled from the lake (3,084 were killed this spring).
“All of those contributed in part,” he said. “No one thing was the sole cure.”

The lake appears to have “great natural reproduction” - and egg-hatch rates that are estimated to be better than Upper Red Lake - but Schultz says it’s difficult to put a precise figure on it because of the continued fry stocking.

Only by scheduling “blanks” - years when zero fry are stocked - can the DNR fully evaluate the population’s ability to produce large natural classes of walleyes under current management strategies, which include a cormorant population goal of 500 nesting pairs and an 18- to 26-inch protected slot limit.

He expects walleye stocking to be a main topic as the DNR and stakeholders begin to assemble the next Leech Lake management plan, which will lay out the management plan for the lake for the next five to 10 years.
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Walleye stocking history
of Leech Lake

2005-2010 ACTION PLAN RESULTS

2005- 7.5 million
2006- 22 million
2007- 7.5 million
2008- 22 million
2009- 22.5 million
2010- 22.5 million expected
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PROTECTED SLOT LIMIT

18"-26" must be immediately released
Possession limit of 4, with 1 over 26"
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EXCERPT - 2008 DNR SURVEY

"Statistics from the 2008 creel survey described one of the best walleye angling seasons ever recorded on Leech Lake. Walleye were caught at a rate of 0.278 fish/hour and harvested at a rate of 0.115 fish/hour across all anglers; anglers specifically targeting walleye caught fish at a rate of 1.064 walleye/hour and harvested fish at a rate of 0.459 walleye/hour. These statistics, in particular the targeting catch and harvest rates, are among the highest ever observed on Leech Lake. For comparison, respective walleye catch and harvest rates for targeting anglers were higher on Leech during 2008 than during 2007 on Mille Lacs (0.391 and 0.129 fish/hour), Lake of the Woods (0.550 and 0.290 fish/hour), and Winnibigoshish (0.545 and 0.229 fish/hour)."

DNR MinnAqua FISHING EDUCATION

DNR MinnAqua ANNUAL REPORT

DNR WATER SAFETY COLORING BOOK

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DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES REPORTS (pdfs)

A PRIMER ON FISH MANAGEMENT

FEB. 2010 UPDATE

OCT. 2009 UPDATE

LEECH LAKE CREEL SURVEY

DEC. 2008 REPORT

JAN. 2008 FISHERY STATUS

AUG. 2007 LEECH LAKE UPDATE

2007 WALLEYE AND PERCH STATUS