Though the DNR is just beginning to experiment with special regulations for walleye, it appears likely they will become increasingly important. For example, anglers may be required to return all fish between 18 and 22 inches but can keep fish outside that slot. The number of small fish would be reduced through angling pressure and cannibalism by large walleye. Often, growth rates improve as the small fish become fewer, and the number of large fish increases in this way as well. The secret lies in finding the proper slot for the productivity of the lake and the growth rates of the walleye in it.
Success depends on good survey data.
For example, a regulation may require that all fish under 12 inches be returned to the water. Though size restrictions have been a hot topic, there are other ways to limit the kill and improve fishing. Stocking Minnesota's cool-water hatcheries and rearing ponds each year produce 2 million to 5 million walleye fingerlings and millions of fry. The major value is to provide walleye fishing in areas of the state void of natural walleye populations. As a result of this emphasis on hatchery production, many anglers wrongly believed that stocking was a panacea for poor fishing, that any lake could be a walleye lake, and that the walleye could not thrive without artificial propagation.