KENORA — The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry says that Lake of the Woods walleye angling regulations remain unchanged for the time being as they are still considering comments from the public.
The ministry has proposed introducing new catch and keep limits for walleye as studies showed high harvest rates, a decrease in biomass, and high mortality rates within the Lake of the Woods walleye population.
“For the 2023 fishing season the Lake of the Woods walleye angling regulations remain unchanged,” said Michelle Romeo, a ministry outreach specialist.
The current walleye catch limits will remain in effect for northwestern Ontario for the 2023 walleye fishing season which begins this May long weekend.
Anglers with sport fishing licenses may retain four walleye, while those with conservation fishing licenses may retain two. However, kept walleye must be between 35 and 45 centimetres in length.
The ministry posted the Lake of the Woods draft Recreational Walleye Management Plan on the Environmental Registry for Ontario in November for a 60-day comment period, which ended in January.
The province's preferred option would be to limit the daily catch and keep limit for anglers with a sport licence to two — down from four — and the fish must either be 43 centimetres or smaller, or one larger than 70 centimetres. Anglers with a conservation licence would only be able to keep one fish, which must be smaller than 43 centimetres.
“No decisions on new fishing regulations for Lake of the Woods have been made at this time,” Romeo said. “Once a decision has been made, the ministry will undertake a public education campaign to inform anglers of any pending changes.”
