 Leech Lake anglers will be able to keep a wider size range of walleye starting on the 2019 fishing opener. The new regulations which will take effect Saturday May 11th will remove the 20 to 26 inch protected slot and replace it with a regulation similar to the statewide regulation but with a four fish walleye limit only one of which can be over 20 inches. Currently anglers on Leech Lake can keep four fish but must immediately release any walleye that are within a 20 to 26 inch protected slot limit. Only one fish over 26 inches is allowed in possession. The four fish walleye possession limit on Leech Lake has been in effect since 2005 and one of the reasons why they are doing that is the perch population in the lake is lower and they think by doing these walleye regulations the walleye may not eat as much perch and then the perch population may increase kind of summing up. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.