Mille Lacs Lake

How big is Mille Lacs Lake?

How deep is Mille Lacs Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Mille Lacs Lake?

What are the closest cities to Mille Lacs Lake?

Are there topographical lake maps available Mille Lacs Lake?

We have an topograpical map for online viewing near the top of this page. Lake-Link Pro users can download an print a topograpical map of Mille Lacs Lake (.pdf format) along with 2,700 more lake maps. For more information on all the benefits of Lake-Link Pro click here.

Mille Lacs Lake (NE)

Mille Lacs Lake (SE)

Mille Lacs Lake (SW)

Mille Lacs (NW)

Are there boat launches on Mille Lacs Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Mille Lacs Lake?

What are the fishing regulations for Mille Lacs Lake?

There are specific fishing regulations Mille Lacs Lake that you need to know. For complete fishing regulations visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. To report a violation call (800) 652-9093. Need a Minnesota fishing license?

General Restrictions

• No Live Bait: Only artificial baits and lures allowed in possession from 12:01 a.m. on July 7 through 11:59 p.m. on August 10 and from 12:01 a.m. on September 5 through 11:59 p.m. on November 30. An exception is made for suckers greater than 8" in length for anglers targeting northern pike and muskellunge.
• Night Closure: From 10 p.m. on May 15 through 11:59 p.m. on November 30. May 15 - June 2, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., no one may fish for any species or possess any fishing tackle on the lake. June 3 - November 30, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., fishing tackle may be possessed but not used except: a) muskellunge and northern pike may be targeted with artificial lures and suckers longer than 8". No other lures or baits may be in possession if night fishing for northern pike or muskellunge. No possession or targeting of species other than muskellunge or northern pike.; and b) bowfishing for rough fish is allowed, but no possession of angling equipment, and only rough fish may be in possession.
• No culling or live-well sorting: Fish taken into possession are considered part of an angler's bag limit and cannot be exchanged with another fish. However smallmouth bass and largemouth bass may be culled following statewide culling rules.

What aquatic invasive species are found in Mille Lacs Lake?

Sampling Programs
Mille Lacs Lake is one of ten lakes in Minnesota's Large Like Program. These lakes have annual sampling of the fish populations, and frequent creel surveys. Specific to Mille Lacs Lake, sampling programs focusing on Walleye, Yellow Perch, Smallmouth Bass, and Northern Pike are conducted annually. Additionally, we have annual summer and winter creel surveys to document angler use and fish harvest.

Walleye
Walleye management on Mille Lacs Lake is conducted cooperatively with the Tribes signatory to the Treaty of 1837. A safe harvest level for Walleye is determined annually and is based on information collected through various sampling programs. For the 2024 fishing year (December 2023 through November 2024) the safe harvest level was set at 157,500 pounds, which is a 10% decrease from 2023 and is based on a similar percentage decrease of the lake's fishable Walleye population over the same time period. The State fishery portion of the safe harvest level is 91,550 pounds. By agreement, neither the Tribal nor State fishery harvest may exceed their respective quota. Fishing regulations are selected that offer the maximum opportunity to participate in the fishery (minimize likelihood of closures) and to offer opportunity to harvest, when possible, while staying within the quota.

During the fall of 2023 we began observing angler Walleye catch rates increasing to almost double what occurred in fall 2022. Walleye catch rates continued increasing to the highest ever observed during the winter of 2023-2024, resulting in a relatively high harvest of Walleye, at the same time we observed the lowest angler effort ever recorded. In fact, angler pressure decreased about 75% from the previous year, while Walleye catch rates had increased by more than 10-fold. The high angler catch rates were due, in part, to the low levels of forage, particularly age-0 Yellow Perch, which are the primary dietary item for Walleye in Mille Lacs. Low abundance of forage items has consistently been shown to increase Walleye angling success on Mille Lacs Lake. The increased winter catch rate suggests that spring fishing for Walleye will also be relatively high which often results in increased angler effort, though the timing of inclement weather patterns can impact angling pressure.

Anglers should expect to catch Walleye ranging in size from 12 to 24-inches long due to above average numbers of fish from the 2021, 2017, and 2013-year classes. Anglers will also likely see good numbers of smaller Walleye around 8-10 inches from the 2022-year class. These fish were very abundant in the fall survey, and they were also commonly reported as being caught by winter anglers, likely because of the low forage levels. Fall electrofishing and fine-mesh forage gill net sampling indicated that age-0 Walleye lengths were the second lowest observed for both gears, further suggesting low forage fish levels and making it less likely that the 2023 year-class will survive their first winter.

Yellow Perch
Yellow Perch from the 2020 through 2022-year classes were highly abundant in the fall survey nets with relatively strong numbers of 10-to-12-inch fish from the latter two year-classes. We have observed some anglers picking up these larger fish during the 2024 winter; however, catch rates remained relatively weak, overall. We expect additional fish from all three year-classes to continue to grow into the fishable stocks over summer.

Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth Bass are managed to provide a high-quality fishery, and they are the second most common fish species that anglers pursue on Mille Lacs Lake. Current Mille Lacs regulations require anglers to release Smallmouth Bass longer than 17-inches. Spawning Smallmouth Bass are usually sampled during late May/early June using electrofishing gear. This is a sampling technique that allows fish to be released unharmed after they have their length measured. However, Smallmouth Bass were not sampled in the spring of 2023 due to effort instead being directed toward a Walleye mark-recapture population estimate that occurs every five years, which overlapped the time when spawning bass would have been available for spring sampling. Smallmouth Bass were still sampled in the annual fall gill nets, which are set in the latter half of September. Although the gill nets are not particularly efficient at sampling bass over 15 inches, we did observe several fish from 16 to just under 21 inches, indicating that we continue to maintain a high-quality population that appears to be still increasing in Mille Lacs.

Northern Pike
Like Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike are managed to provide a high-quality fishery. Pike are managed with a 30-inch maximum size limit. Northern Pike are sampled in the spring, during spawning, using trap nets. Sampling fish with trap nets allows us to release the fish unharmed after we collect length and sex. A mark-recapture estimate was performed in spring 2023, which occurs every five years in conjunction with the Walleye population estimate. This meant increased effort was expended tagging Northern Pike and we examined just under 2,000 fish, despite heavy spring melt adversely impacting our ability to sample the stream spawning fish. We have found that very few male pike grow longer than 30-inches, while older females will grow to be longer than 40-inches, with the largest just over 45 inches. About 18% of the fish we sampled in the spring of 2023 were over 30-inches long, and 2% were trophy sized at over 40-inches in length.

Zebra Mussels, Rusty Crayfish, and Zooplankton
Zebra mussels were first observed in Mille Lacs in 2005. Peak density occurred in 2012 after which abundance began decreasing. By 2017, densities had declined to about one half of their peak abundance, and for the last two years abundance has been at about a quarter to a third of their peak. Zooplankton abundance appeared to be slowly increasing the last several years; however, in 2022, the last year for which samples have been analyzed, we again saw densities decrease. Rusty crayfish eDNA from water samples taken in 2021 indicated that this aquatic invasive species was now in Mille Lacs. Visual confirmation occurred that same year when two specimens were observed near the Father Hennepin State Park swimming beach. In 2023 we observed our first specimen in DNR sampling gear (standard fall gill nets) in the southwest quadrant of the lake. Our population of Rusty Crayfish appears to still be relatively small; however, as the population continues to increase, we may see aquatic plant beds consumed throughout the lake by this invasive crustacean.

What is the average air temp for Mille Lacs Lake?

Are there any state parks near Mille Lacs Lake?