How to Catch Walleye in Minnesota: Seasons, Rigs & the Best Lakes

Walleye are Minnesota's state fish and the reason most of the state goes fishing on the second Saturday in May. To catch them consistently, fish low-light periods, stay near the bottom, and match the season: a jig and minnow in shallow water in spring, live-bait rigs and spinners on deeper structure in summer, and jigs or larger minnows on steep breaks in fall. For 2026 the inland season runs May 9, 2026 through Feb. 28, 2027, with a statewide limit of 6 walleye and sauger combined and only one walleye over 20 inches.

Identification and habits

A walleye is olive to gold on the sides with a white belly, a large glassy eye, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a white tip on the lower lobe of the tail. The spiny front dorsal fin has a dark blotch at its rear base. Sauger, their close cousin in the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers and on Lake of the Woods, lack the white tail tip and carry distinct rows of spots on the dorsal fin.

That oversized eye is the key to the fish. It gathers light well, so walleye hunt best when their prey sees worst: at dawn and dusk, at night, under clouds, in stained water, and when waves break up the sunlight. On a bright calm day they slide deeper or tuck into weeds and sulk. They are also bottom-oriented for much of the year, relating to gravel, rock, sand-to-mud transitions and the edges of weed beds.

Season by season

Opener and spring

Walleye spawn shortly after ice-out over gravel and rubble in rivers and along wind-swept shorelines. By the mid-May opener, spawning is finished on most lakes and fish are still shallow, often in 4 to 12 feet near inlets, shoreline points, emerging weeds and sand flats that warm first. Males are the easier catch early. In a late spring on the big northern lakes, fish may still be close to the spawning areas on opening day. The ice-out tracker is a decent predictor of how far along a lake will be.

Summer

As the water warms, most fish shift to main-lake structure: mid-lake humps, rock reefs, long points, and the deep edge of cabbage weeds. On Mille Lacs, Leech and Winnibigoshish that means reefs, mud flats and bars. Depths of 15 to 30 feet are typical by July, though a stiff wind will push active fish surprisingly shallow on the side of the lake it is blowing into. Weed walleyes are underfished on many smaller lakes all summer.

Fall

Cooling water moves baitfish, and walleye follow them to steep breaks, deep rock and current areas. Fishing can be slower fish-per-hour than June, but the average size goes up. After dark in October, large fish come onto shallow rock and sand, where wading or trolling shallow-running minnow baits works well.

Ice

First ice is the best ice. Fish hold on the same points and breaks they used in fall, moving up at sunset. By midwinter they settle deeper and feeding windows shrink to the half hour around sunrise and sunset. The season stays open through Feb. 28, 2027 on inland waters. Read the ice thickness guide before walking out, and see ice fishing in Minnesota for where to go.

Techniques and rigs

• Jig and minnow. A 1/16 to 1/4 ounce jig tipped with a shiner or fathead, cast or dragged slowly along bottom. The default from the opener into early June, and again in fall.
• Live-bait (slip-sinker) rig. A sliding sinker, swivel, 3 to 6 feet of leader and a plain hook with a leech, crawler or minnow. Drift or troll it slowly along a break. Lengthen the leader when fish are fussy.
• Slip bobber. A leech under a slip float set a foot off bottom over a reef or weed edge. Deadly in the evening and the easiest way for kids and beginners to catch walleye.
• Spinner and crawler. A spinner harness behind a bottom bouncer covers water on flats and long edges in summer.
• Crankbaits. Trolled along breaks in summer or cast and trolled shallow at night in fall.
• Through the ice. A jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head on one line, and a lively minnow on a plain hook under a float or tip-up on the second.

Minnesota allows one line in open water on most inland lakes and two lines through the ice, so that winter jigging-plus-set-line approach is legal on the ice but not from a boat in July.

Gear

A 6.5 to 7 foot medium-light or medium spinning rod with a fast tip, a 2500-size reel, and 6 to 8 pound monofilament or 10 pound braid with a fluorocarbon leader handles nearly everything. Add a longer, softer rod for slip bobbers and a 28 to 32 inch medium-light rod for ice. A long-handled rubber net, needle-nose pliers and a bump board for measuring matter more than a second rod.

2026 seasons and limits

Verified against the 2026 Minnesota DNR fishing regulations (effective through Feb. 28, 2027). Rules change, so confirm before your trip.

Rule	2026 inland waters
Open season	May 9, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027
Possession limit	6 walleye and sauger combined
Size restriction	Only 1 walleye over 20 inches in possession
2027 opener	May 15, 2027

Special regulations override that on many destination lakes. As listed in the 2026 booklet, Leech has a 4-fish limit with one over 20 inches, Vermilion requires release of walleye from 20 to 26 inches with a 4-fish limit, and Winnibigoshish protects fish from 18 to 23 inches. Mille Lacs and Upper Red Lake rules are set and posted by the DNR and can change during the year. Border waters, including Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake, have their own sections of the regulations. See special regulations and slot limits and Minnesota fishing limits.

Where walleye thrive in Minnesota

Walleye do best in large, wind-swept, moderately fertile lakes with gravel and rubble shorelines for spawning. The classic natural fisheries are the big northern waters: Lake of the Woods, Upper Red, Leech, Winnibigoshish, Cass, Mille Lacs, Vermilion, Rainy and Kabetogama. Border-country lakes in the Boundary Waters, such as Saganaga and Basswood, hold them too.

Elsewhere, many lakes depend on stocking. Much of the walleye fishing in west-central and southern Minnesota, and around the Twin Cities, exists because the DNR stocks fry or fingerlings; see how fish stocking works and the stocked lakes list. The Brainerd Lakes area and Otter Tail County offer a mix of natural and stocked walleye lakes, and the Mississippi River below Red Wing is a strong river fishery for both walleye and sauger.

State record

The DNR state record fish program lists a 17 pound, 8 ounce walleye, 35 3/4 inches long, caught May 13, 1979 from the Seagull River at Saganaga Lake in Cook County. Because it predates certified weighing, it sits on the non-certified list, and the DNR now accepts certified-weight applications for walleye starting at 14 pounds.

Handling and release

• Decide before you fish what you will keep. Fish of 14 to 18 inches are the best eating; let the big spawners go.
• Walleye pulled quickly from deep water, roughly 30 feet and beyond, often suffer pressure injuries and may not survive release. If you are catching fish you must release, move shallower.
• Wet your hands, support the belly, and keep fingers out of the gills. Mind the teeth, the sharp gill plates and the dorsal spines.
• Measure on a wet bump board with the mouth closed and the tail pinched, then get the fish back quickly. In warm water, skip the long photo session.
• Cut the line on a deeply hooked fish rather than digging for the hook.

Bottom line

• Fish when the light is low and the wind is blowing; that matters more than lure color.
• The statewide rule for 2026 is 6 walleye and sauger combined with one walleye over 20 inches, but the lake you are on may be stricter. Check before you keep a fish.
• Need a license first? Start with the Minnesota fishing license guide, then plan around the fishing opener.