FAW Public Input

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is considering changes to several experimental and special fishing regulations for the 2026 fishing season.

Each year, the DNR proposes several experimental and special fishing regulations. Experimental regulations have a set evaluation period (typically 10 years), after which the DNR must determine whether the change should become permanent. Special regulations are selected from a suite of regulation toolbox options that have proven effective at achieving specific goals. Special regulations do not have an end date, although DNR reviews their performance as part of an individual lake’s management planning cycle.  

The DNR is considering regulation changes that would affect these fisheries:

• Walleye in Sand Lake and connected waters (Itasca County)
• Walleye in Rainy Lake (St. Louis and Koochiching Counties)
• Sunfish in Platte Lake (Crow Wing County)
• Sunfish in Sullivan Lake (Morrison County)
• Sunfish in Green Prairie Fish Lake (Morrison County)
• Sunfish in Long (Higgins) Lake (Todd County)
• Sunfish in Maple Lake (Todd County)
• Sunfish in Moose Lake (Todd County)
• Sunfish in Rush Lake (Otter Tail County)
• Sunfish in North and South Ten Mile Lakes (Otter Tail County)
• Sunfish in German Lake (Otter Tail County)
• Sunfish in Jewett Lake (Otter Tail County)
• Sunfish in Rabideau Lake (Beltrami County)

Please complete this survey to provide your input on these potential regulation changes -- if you are only interested in some of the lakes, feel free to skip questions. This survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete and will be open through September 30, 2025.

Lake Winnibigoshish Management Plan for 2027 - 2037: Public Input Opportunity

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is developing a management plan for Lake Winnibigoshish (including Cut Foot, Little Cut Foot, and Sugar Lakes). When finalized, this plan will guide fisheries management on Lake Winnibigoshish from 2027- 2037. 

The following survey is your first opportunity to let us know how you currently use Lake Winnibigoshish and what your priorities are for future management. Additional input opportunities will be available once a draft plan is developed.

The questionnaire and public scoping period will be open from November 10 - December 12. It will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Description of the Resource

The name of Minnesota's seventh-largest lake comes from the Ojibwe word "Wiinibiigoonzhish," a diminutive and pejorative form of "Wiinibiig," meaning filthy or brackish water.

Located 15 miles northwest of Deer River, Winnibigoshish is a 56,544-acre lake with a mean depth of 15.1 feet and a maximum depth of 70 feet. It is shallow, wind-swept reservoir with a sandy shoreline and gently sloping shoal areas. The geology surrounding Lake Winnibigoshish contains a high proportion of sandy soils, providing an abundance of sandy shoreline with very gradual slopes. Nicknamed Big Winnie or Winnie, it sits in the heart of the 1.6 million acre Chippewa National Forest.

Major changes have been occurring within the system during the past 15 years. These changes began around the time of the discovery of invasive faucet snails in 2007, followed by the detection of larval zebra mussels in 2012 and adult zebra mussels in 2016.

Invasive species found in Winnibigoshish are known filter feeders that can dramatically increase water clarity by feeding on plankton, which provide important forage for recently hatched fish. Increasing water clarity tends to improve habitat for bass, sunfish and northern pike while decreasing habitat suitability for walleye.