Possession season for walleye on Upper Peninsula inland waters opens Friday, May 15. Anglers hoping to target walleye in Lake Independence or Teal Lake in Marquette County, Michigan, should be aware of a regulation change for walleye on those two waters that is now in effect. All walleye smaller than 15 inches and those between 18 and 23 inches are protected from harvest and must be released.
The new protected slot limit is inclusive, meaning that walleye from 18.0 inches to 23.0 inches must be released. The minimum size limit for possession remains at 15 inches. The daily possession limit for walleye on these waters also remains at five fish; however, only one of those five walleye can be more than 23 inches long. Information on this regulation can be found on page 13 of the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations.
The Management Plan for Walleye in Michigan's Inland Waters, published in 2022, provides a framework to guide walleye management efforts. A protected slot limit is one of the regulatory tools listed in the plan to help sustain walleye populations. This regulation type is used by fisheries managers to protect spawning females to benefit recruitment (fry growing into mature fish), as well as to improve the quality of the fishery; this kind of regulation can produce both more and larger walleye in a population. These changes can build resilience within a walleye population when it is faced with variable environmental conditions that can lower recruitment or increased competition from a changing fish community.
Fishing regulations, like the walleye protected slot limit on Lake Independence and Teal Lake, are enacted through Fisheries Orders by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission. The commission has exclusive authority to regulate the taking of game and sportfish, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources provides recommendations and scientific guidance on proposed regulatory changes.
The NRC considered several lakes for this protected slot limit, including Lake Gogebic and Pomeroy Lake (Gogebic County); Gratiot Lake (Keweenaw County); Big Manistique Lake (Luce and Mackinac counties); Milakokia Lake (Mackinac County); and Lake Mary, Stanley Lake and Winslow Lake (Iron County). Lake Independence and Teal Lake were approved for the limit in Fisheries Order 206. (See materials from the September 2025 NRC meeting for more information.)
To learn more about walleye and how Michigan manages walleye populations, visit Michigan.gov/Walleye.