Proposed regs would affect border water harvest limits, closed waters

St. Paul — The Minnesota DNR is asking residents to share their opinions on potential changes to regulations for border waters, closed waters, and commercial minnow harvests.

The survey covering the various proposals went live Oct. 12 and will run through Nov. 19. John Dunn, fisheries rules and regulations coordinator for the DNR, said more than 1,000 responses have been received so far. He added that the DNR will balance the results to help manage the state’s resources while also considering public preferences.

Dunn said rules are reviewed annually, with the potential to create new ones or repeal those that are no longer applicable. One proposal involving border waters of the St. Croix River would help Minnesota more closely match Wisconsin’s future regulations.

“Our staff along with Wisconsin has worked together to come up with proposals that will match each other for the most part, as much as we can. And Wisconsin is looking to put those forward in 2028,” Dunn said. “We’re trying to match that and get all of these regulations put in place in that same year.”

The proposed changes for the St. Croix River would allow year-round bass fishing in the waters above and below the dam in Taylors Falls. The proposal would also change daily and possession limits for several species.

For pike, the daily and possession limit would decrease from five to three, with only one over 30 inches allowed. For crappie, perch, sunfish, white bass and yellow bass, the daily and possession limits would decrease from 25 to 15. The daily and possession limit for walleye and sauger would drop from six to four. For catfish, the limit would decrease from 10 to five, with only one over 24 inches allowed. These changes would apply to the waters above the dam.

The proposed rule changes are intended to address changing habitat, increased use of new technology to find fish and inconsistencies between Minnesota and Wisconsin regulations.

“It does help for enforcement and for angler understanding, because when those regulations are different from state to state, generally you have to follow the regulations for the waters that you’re in,” Dunn said. “You have to know where that dividing line is and follow those rules.”

Part of the package of proposals involves changes to closed waters, Dunn said. Some areas would no longer need to be closed, while others could be closed seasonally to protect spawning game fish.

The Pelican River, from Hwy. 59 to Lake Lizzie, is permanently closed to fishing, but one of the proposed changes would reopen the area to anglers, with the option to close the waters seasonally to protect spawning game fish.

Similarly, one proposal would allow the Grand Marais Harbor to be closed to fishing seasonally, Dunn said. The closure would not be permanent but would instead be an option depending on conditions.

“If we’ve identified an area where fish spawn, we can seasonally close that area to protect spawning during those times, and that’s really what the Grand Marais Harbor is doing,” Dunn said. “Brook trout spawn in the fall there, even though the brook trout season is closed, we want to make sure we’re protecting those fish.”

Commercial minnow harvests could also be affected by one of the proposals. Dunn said the original prohibition on minnow harvests was put in place because of concerns about their impact on juvenile game fish. Since then, the state has found there is very little impact on those juvenile populations, and the DNR now wants to provide that additional opportunity.

Dunn said the proposals are in the early stages and the process is slow. The target for the rule changes would be for 2028, depending on what feedback they receive from the public.

Citizens can submit their input on the proposals until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, by using a questionnaire online (engage.dnr.state.mn.us/embeds/projects/7944/survey-tools/30183).

The specific rulemaking changes that are being proposed are available on the Minnesota DNR fisheries rulemaking webpage (mndnr.gov/input/rules/fisheries/index.html)