diff --git a/prospector/tools/pylint/__init__.py b/prospector/tools/pylint/__init__.py
index 9d270160..6af3122d 100644
--- a/prospector/tools/pylint/__init__.py
+++ b/prospector/tools/pylint/__init__.py
@@ -90,7 +90,9 @@ def _prospector_configure(self, prospector_config: "ProspectorConfig", linter: P
                 continue
             for option in checker.options:
                 if max_line_length is not None and option[0] == "max-line-length":
-                    checker.set_option("max-line-length", max_line_length)
+                    checker._arguments_manager.set_option(  # pylint: disable=protected-access
+                        "max-line-length", max_line_length
+                    )
         return errors
 
     def _error_message(self, filepath: Union[str, Path], message: str) -> Message: