Department Of Natural Resources Has New Limits On Minnesota Lakes Including 3 In Wright County

Press release from the Wright County Government:

March 15, 2021

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has announced that new restrictions for number of specific fish daily limits and those allowed to be in possession have been placed on Minnesota lakes for 2021.

Much of the focus is on sunfish, but other species have had modifications made.

In Wright County, six lakes and the Mississippi River have some sort of restrictions.

Three lakes have been added the restricted lake list for 2021 – Indian Lake, East Lake Sylvia and West Lake Sylvia. Three other lakes already have restrictions on them – Crawford Lake, Mink-Somers Lake and Sugar Lake.

These are the restrictions to the individual lakes:

Crawford – Largemouth bass are catch-and-release only. The possession limit for sunfish is five. The possession limit for crappies is five. The possession limit for walleyes is two. The possession limit for yellow perch is 10.

Indian (New) – The sunfish bag limit is 10.

Mink-Somors – The possession limit for sunfish is five. The possession limit for crappies is five. The possession limit for walleyes is three with a minimum size limit of 17 inches. All largemouth bass between 12-20 inches must be immediately released with one fish over 20 inches allowed in possession. All northerns between 24-36 inches must be immediately released with a possession limit of three and just one over 36 inches. The possession or use of live minnows is prohibited.

Sugar – The possession limit for crappies is five. All northerns between 24-36 inches must be immediately released – there is a possession limit of three with only one over 36 inches.

Sylvia East and West (both new) – The daily limit for crappies is five. The daily limit for sunfish is 10.

In addition, there are restrictions on the portion of the Mississippi River that provides the northeast border of Wright County. All muskies caught must be immediately released. In addition, from the St. Cloud Dam to the confluence of the Crow River, all smallmouth bass between 12-20 inches must be immediately released with a possession limit of three and just one over 20 inches.

The new regulations on inland waters have impacts on lakes and rivers throughout the state. Seeing as many local residents go outside of Wright County to fish during the course of a year and want to see if lakes they frequent are on the list of lake restrictions, an alphabetical list starts on Page 38 of the 2021 Minnesota Fishing Regulations manual. It can be found here: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing_regs.pdf#page=38&20210301&view=fit

This press release was produced by the Wright County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.