Bryan Sathre shows off a quality walleye caught in Leech Lake. Photo by Ron Hustvedt Jr.

Walleye fishing in Minnesota is far from perfect, but many anglers and fisheries biologists agree that if you want to hook into the state fish this year, the prospects are excellent.

"We are working on a lot of different issues for walleyes, including regulations, stocking and management, but it's a good time to be a walleye angler in Minnesota," said Neil Vanderbosch, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' walleye guru and acting cool and warm water fisheries consultant.

"One of the biggest issues we are working on is a five-year plan for our stocking programs to determine when to stock, what lakes benefit from stocking, how many walleyes to stock in each lake and what size walleye is used," Vanderbosch said.

The answer is not as easy as one might suspect since Minnesota has such a broad and diverse fishery. From the shallow, fertile prairie lakes in southwestern Minnesota to the deep, infertile Canadian Shield lakes in the northeastern corner, Minnesota has a ton of walleye water.

For walleye anglers, this is an excellent opportunity. Add to that mix the large river systems found throughout the state, as well as the Duluth port of Lake Superior, and you have probably the broadest array of walleye waters found anywhere in the world.

Opportunity for anglers means a massive challenge for the MDNR, which oversees all the walleye waters of Minnesota and is responsible for managing each body of water, not to mention managing anglers' needs and desires.

Regulations such as slot limits and bag limits are popular with some anglers and hated by others. Finding a balance that anglers will go along with and that allows for the best management of walleyes is not an easy process.

Because Minnesota has such a diverse fishery, we sat down with two regional fisheries managers from the two ends of the state and asked them about the status of walleyes in their back yard. Angler insights are also included about some of the more heavily fished walleye waters of that portion of the state.

NORTHERN MINNESOTA
With the major population center of Minnesota falling in the southern third, when the term "northern" Minnesota comes up, it typically means anything north of Elk River. This is the home of Minnesota walleye fishing and the part of the state most people look to when they think of walleye waters. Walleye anglers in the south are fine with that because it means they have their excellent fisheries to themselves.

Still, northern Minnesota is home to the numerous "walleye capitals" that have been given to lakes including Mille Lacs, Cass, Lake of the Woods and Winnibigoshish. The success stories around the revival of Upper Red Lake and Leech Lake as "walleye factories" are also based in the northland.

The term "wily walleye" definitely applies in the north because there is so much angling pressure. Are northern walleyes smarter than their southern counterparts? Probably not, but there's no doubt that they've seen their fair share of crankbaits, live-bait rigs and jigs.

Fisheries biologists and anglers agree that right now is a very good time to be a northern Minnesota walleye angler. Some would go so far as to use the cliché that we are in a brand-new "golden age" of walleye fishing in northern Minnesota. "The state of our walleye fishing in northwestern Minnesota is outstanding right now," said Henry Drewes, the MDNR's regional fisheries manager for northwestern Minnesota.

Drewes' office is located in the Bemidji office of the MDNR, and his area includes Lake of the Woods, Upper Red, Cass and Leech. "If you look at the four of those, the status of the population is very good," he said. "Fishing last year was outstanding, and I expect 2010 to be as good or better."