The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will hold an open house on Thursday, Sept. 7, to collect public comments and share information about a proposed northern pike regulation change for the Gull Lake chain, including Gull Lake and connected Upper Gull, Margaret, Ray, Love, Nisswa, Roy, and Round lakes in Cass and Crow Wing counties.
The purpose of the proposed regulation is to provide better protection for large northern pike in the Gull Lake chain and reduce enforcement complexities by applying the same regulation to all connected waters.
If adopted, the regulation will require all northern pike from 30 to 40 inches to be immediately released and will change the possession limit to two, with only one over 40 inches allowed in possession on the Gull Lake chain. The proposed regulation would be evaluated for effectiveness after 10 years, in 2034. If adopted, the regulation would be in effect for the fishing season that begins May 11, 2024.
The open house will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 7 at the Brainerd DNR office’s lower-level conference room. The office is located at 1601 Minnesota Drive in Brainerd. Attendees should enter through the main entrance door facing the guest parking lot.
Additionally, there will be an open house in the Twin Cities metro area to accept comments on this proposal and other special and experimental regulation proposals statewide. That open house is 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, at the DNR Central Office, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul.
Comments about regulation changes being proposed can also be submitted online by visiting the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/fishregs) and taking the online survey. In addition, comments about the proposal for the Gull Lake chain can be directed to the Brainerd area fisheries office by calling 218-203-4301, emailing brainerd.fisheries@state.mn.us or mailing to Brainerd Area Fisheries, 1601 Minnesota Drive, Brainerd, MN, 56401. Comments will be accepted through Friday, Oct. 20.
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