Two meetings in two different cities in Central Minnesota will address a similar problem: current northern pike regulations.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says their fisheries staff will hold meetings in Cold Spring and Annandale to hear what the public has to say about the regulation in Big Fish Lake and for East and West Lake Sylvia.

The regulation has been in place at Big Fish Lake since 2005 and in West and East Lake Sylvia since 2009.

Under the current rules, northern pikes that are 24-36 inches must be released after being caught.

Northern pike have decreased in size since the regulation was put into place. The average size of the fish has decreased from 22 to 19 inches. The percentage of larger northern pike has also decreased. Recent data has suggested that that the fishery would be better off applying the recent 2018 northern pike zone regulations.

The fisheries staff will meet at the Collegeville Township Hall in Cold Spring on Wednesday, September 26 from 6-8 p.m. They will also meet at the Southside Township Hall in Annandale on Thursday, October 4 from 6-8 p.m.