Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. Boat card must be present. Previously, anglers could keep up to 4 walleye, but were required to release any walleye in the 20-to-26 inch “protected slot.” As of 2019, this protected slot is removed. Specifically, “make-up” stockings would be reserved for lakes on an alternate year stocking schedule. Currently, anglers on Leech Lake can keep four fish, but must immediately release any walleye that are within a 20- to 26-inch protected slot limit. Only one fish over 26 inches is allowed in.
- Leech Lake Walleye Slot Limit 2019 Chart
- Leech Lake Walleye Slot Limit 2019 2020
- Leech Lake Walleye Slot Limit 2019 Catch
Top 5 Walleye Fishing Lakes in Minnesota
Want to take advantage of these lakes filled with walleyes in Minnesota?
Then you first need to know more about them!
1. Lake Minnetonka
While this lake is well-known for bass fishing, a lot are surprised to know that there is an abundance of walleyes here too.
You will often see big boats that catch the bass in large quantities, and along with the bass, you will also see the northern pike and walleye in the mix.
What’s great is that you can find the walleye in this lake all year round, making it ideal for those who are particularly looking for those big walleyes.
Types of Walleyes
There are two common types of walleyes in the lake.
One that relates to the weeds and the other that use the classic structure such as sand bard and rock piles.
The ones easiest to target tend to be those swimming around the rocky regions compared to those around the weeds.
Fishing Techniques
When it comes to the right techniques to catch this fish, we have to admit that no one style of fishing will work the best on this lake.
However, you can try out the jig and minnow from the opening day to about mid-June, as this is known to be popular among several anglers.
You can pitch the jigs out over the sand and rocks and then let it sink to the bottom of the lake.
Additionally, instead of just hopping the jig back, you can try dragging it a bit and then twitching it.
Many anglers say walleyes like sitting in the vegetation and watch for the baitfish to swim by.
This means you can keep your jig right at the lake’s bottom next to the milfoil that constantly comes up, and you will find this fish.
As the seasons change, you can try switching to roach rig.
It is a live-bait rig that will allow you to vary the distance between the bait and the weight instantly.
This is ideal for the walleye in the weeds, but you have to make use of a bigger minnow.
That is because there are several tiny panfish and perch all over the lake.
We recommend using a 1/8th or quarter-ounce bullet sinker since they tend to slip through the weeds.
2. Lake Mille Lacs
The Mille Lacs Lake is another great lake filled with tons of walleyes.
As a new angler, though, do not assume that this will all be easy pickings.
Since this is a large lake, there will be some days that tend to be better than the rest.
Considerations
What you need to pay close attention to is the weather since that will set the tone for how successful your fishing trip will be.
Additionally, take a look at the direction of the wind.
See how hard it blows and how long it occurs.
Winds tend to excite the shallow walleyes present in the lake and will also make the ones in the deep waters more active.
Where to Fish
Around the opening day, you will find walleyes in big numbers congregating on the sand on the north and northwestern end of the lake shortly after they spawn.
Soon after the first week of June, you will find many anglers piling up towards the mudflats, and they will be pulling live-bait rigs.
That is because while the fish tends to go back into deep water, there will still be many that stay shallow.
Fishing Technique
It is best to use 1/8th of an ounce of cone sinker slid onto your line.
Follow this by a bead, along with with with a rubber bobber stop, a small swivel, and a snell.
For some reason, the walleyes in this lake tend to prefer a reasonably long snell.
While it is tough to catch the fish with a 20-feet snell, having the snubber will be great since you will be able to reel right down to the swivel and distance from it to the hook, which will be roughly six feet.
We believe that trolling crankbaits in fall and spring tends to be a great way to catch these kinds of fish.
We recommend that you make use of a smaller shad-shaped bait during those earlier seasons and then move on to using the longer minnow-imitators towards the end of the open water season.
That is especially when the forage base gets developed, and the fish is looking for and eating the larger perch.
3. Leech Lake
Leech Lake is known to be home not of thousands but millions of walleyes, and since this lake is extremely massive in size, deep enough, and contoured, it means that you will indeed find this fish somewhere or the other.
Type of Walleye
This lake is not the kind of lake where you will normally find a ten-pound walleye.
We believe that the big walleyes here tend to be around seven pounds, but that does not mean you won’t find larger fish too.
It has a ton of fish that belong to the 14- to 20-inch range.
Keep in mind that this is a diverse lake and will feel like you are fishing in two bodies of water.
That is because you have the Walker and Agency Bay that are deep and structure-oriented.
On the other hand, “the basin” has a ton of rock and sand and a bit of color to it.
When and Where to Fish
You will find that most of the early walleye fishing during the first week of July will occur in the basin.
After that, anglers move on to the deeper waters.
This gets turned back towards the basin in the fall until mid-October, and then back to deep waters.
Fishing Techniques
We found that the best presentation for the walleye in this lake is to use 1/16th ounce of Kelly green fireball jig and about two to 2.5-inch of spot tail shiners.
In the earlier part of the season, you can cast or pitch the minnow or jig into the area where the walleyes tend to be.
When it comes to retrieving the fish, you can let the jig sink to the bottom of the lake, and then rather than swimming or hopping it back towards the boat, you can simply twitch it as it lays at the bottom.
The walleyes in this lake tend to be very bottom oriented and will pretty much fall for this twitching method.
When fishing for walleyes during mid-July to the deeper basin, you can try the more vertical type jigging.
While these tend to work well, other factors can affect the fish, so make sure you try out several of them to see which works the best.
Top 5 Walleye Fishing Lakes in Minnesota
Want to take advantage of these lakes filled with walleyes in Minnesota?
Then you first need to know more about them!
1. Lake Minnetonka
While this lake is well-known for bass fishing, a lot are surprised to know that there is an abundance of walleyes here too.
You will often see big boats that catch the bass in large quantities, and along with the bass, you will also see the northern pike and walleye in the mix.
What’s great is that you can find the walleye in this lake all year round, making it ideal for those who are particularly looking for those big walleyes.
Types of Walleyes
There are two common types of walleyes in the lake.
One that relates to the weeds and the other that use the classic structure such as sand bard and rock piles.
The ones easiest to target tend to be those swimming around the rocky regions compared to those around the weeds.
Fishing Techniques
When it comes to the right techniques to catch this fish, we have to admit that no one style of fishing will work the best on this lake.
However, you can try out the jig and minnow from the opening day to about mid-June, as this is known to be popular among several anglers.
You can pitch the jigs out over the sand and rocks and then let it sink to the bottom of the lake.
Additionally, instead of just hopping the jig back, you can try dragging it a bit and then twitching it.
Many anglers say walleyes like sitting in the vegetation and watch for the baitfish to swim by.
This means you can keep your jig right at the lake’s bottom next to the milfoil that constantly comes up, and you will find this fish.
As the seasons change, you can try switching to roach rig.
It is a live-bait rig that will allow you to vary the distance between the bait and the weight instantly.
This is ideal for the walleye in the weeds, but you have to make use of a bigger minnow.
That is because there are several tiny panfish and perch all over the lake.
We recommend using a 1/8th or quarter-ounce bullet sinker since they tend to slip through the weeds.
2. Lake Mille Lacs
The Mille Lacs Lake is another great lake filled with tons of walleyes.
As a new angler, though, do not assume that this will all be easy pickings.
Since this is a large lake, there will be some days that tend to be better than the rest.
Considerations
What you need to pay close attention to is the weather since that will set the tone for how successful your fishing trip will be.
Additionally, take a look at the direction of the wind.
See how hard it blows and how long it occurs.
Winds tend to excite the shallow walleyes present in the lake and will also make the ones in the deep waters more active.
Where to Fish
Around the opening day, you will find walleyes in big numbers congregating on the sand on the north and northwestern end of the lake shortly after they spawn.
Soon after the first week of June, you will find many anglers piling up towards the mudflats, and they will be pulling live-bait rigs.
That is because while the fish tends to go back into deep water, there will still be many that stay shallow.
Fishing Technique
It is best to use 1/8th of an ounce of cone sinker slid onto your line.
Follow this by a bead, along with with with a rubber bobber stop, a small swivel, and a snell.
Leech Lake Walleye Slot Limit 2019 Chart
For some reason, the walleyes in this lake tend to prefer a reasonably long snell.
While it is tough to catch the fish with a 20-feet snell, having the snubber will be great since you will be able to reel right down to the swivel and distance from it to the hook, which will be roughly six feet.
We believe that trolling crankbaits in fall and spring tends to be a great way to catch these kinds of fish.
We recommend that you make use of a smaller shad-shaped bait during those earlier seasons and then move on to using the longer minnow-imitators towards the end of the open water season.
That is especially when the forage base gets developed, and the fish is looking for and eating the larger perch.
3. Leech Lake
Leech Lake is known to be home not of thousands but millions of walleyes, and since this lake is extremely massive in size, deep enough, and contoured, it means that you will indeed find this fish somewhere or the other.
Type of Walleye
This lake is not the kind of lake where you will normally find a ten-pound walleye.
We believe that the big walleyes here tend to be around seven pounds, but that does not mean you won’t find larger fish too.
It has a ton of fish that belong to the 14- to 20-inch range.
Keep in mind that this is a diverse lake and will feel like you are fishing in two bodies of water.
That is because you have the Walker and Agency Bay that are deep and structure-oriented.
On the other hand, “the basin” has a ton of rock and sand and a bit of color to it.
When and Where to Fish
You will find that most of the early walleye fishing during the first week of July will occur in the basin.
After that, anglers move on to the deeper waters.
This gets turned back towards the basin in the fall until mid-October, and then back to deep waters.
Fishing Techniques
Leech Lake Walleye Slot Limit 2019 2020
We found that the best presentation for the walleye in this lake is to use 1/16th ounce of Kelly green fireball jig and about two to 2.5-inch of spot tail shiners.
In the earlier part of the season, you can cast or pitch the minnow or jig into the area where the walleyes tend to be.
When it comes to retrieving the fish, you can let the jig sink to the bottom of the lake, and then rather than swimming or hopping it back towards the boat, you can simply twitch it as it lays at the bottom.
Leech Lake Walleye Slot Limit 2019 Catch
The walleyes in this lake tend to be very bottom oriented and will pretty much fall for this twitching method.
When fishing for walleyes during mid-July to the deeper basin, you can try the more vertical type jigging.
While these tend to work well, other factors can affect the fish, so make sure you try out several of them to see which works the best.