Minnesota issues more fishing licenses per capita than any other state. With both summer and winter ice fishing available on 3.8 million acres of water, you can find 158 types of fish accessible whether you're an experienced or novice angler. Angling from a boat or the shore in the brisk Minnesota weather is a great way to keep your body moving and stay healthy.
Types of Fish
Minnesota is home to 11,842 lakes, 6,564 rivers and streams, and 9.3 million acres of wetlands, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. This gives you a chance to catch many species of coldwater fish including Coho salmon, pink salmon, rainbow trout and whitefish. Warm water fish are plentiful, with bullhead, crappie, sunfish, northern pike, bass, perch and walleye available to sport fishermen. Panfish, walleye and northern pike are the most caught fish in the state. Fishing in Minnesota involves more than sitting on the dock. Pulling in some of the larger fish is great for working the muscles of the upper body.
Size Limits
You can catch up to six sauger and walleye per day from the shore, and only one can measure over 20 inches long. Northern pike are limited to three a day, with only one more than 30 inches allowed. You can catch a daily combination of up to six largemouth and smallmouth bass, and Minnesota has a limit of 20 sunfish per day. Minnesota has a limit of 30 each day for both rock and white bass, and a limit of 10 crappie and 20 perch per day. You can possess up to 40 perch at one time. The limit on bullhead is 100 a day. The cap on lake trout is two per day, regardless of season. You will find no limit on whitefish. Angling for different types of fish keeps you moving from place to place and keeps your body toned.
Licenses
Minnesota state residents and non-residents must obtain licenses to fish in public lakes and waterways. The low-priced 24 hour angling license will suffice for the occasional angler. You can choose from a variety of other licenses. As of 2010, each is good from March 1 to April 30 of the next year. The husband and wife combination license covers fishing for married couples, although they’ll need separate stamps to catch trout. If you wish to go ice fishing, you need a license to spear northern pike and catfish in addition to a general angling license. If you are disabled, you can receive an annual or permanent angling/spearing permit at no charge. For sport fishing, you need separate stamps to catch walleye, pike and sturgeon.
Fishing Seasons
As of 2010, the Muskellunge (Muskie) season in Minnesota runs from June 15 to December 1. Fishermen can catch Lake Superior trout from December 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010. The 2010 stream trout season runs from June 17 to September 30, except in the Southeastern part of the state where the season ends two weeks earlier on September 14. The 2010 summer season for lake trout runs from May 15 to September 30. You can catch northern pike, sauger and walleye from May 15, 2010 to February 27, 2011. Catch large and smallmouth bass from May 15, 2010 to February 27, 2011 east and north of Highway 53 between International Falls and Duluth and in Ash and Pelican lakes. The season starts later, on May 29, 2010, for bass fishing south and west of Highway 53. Bowfishers in 2010 can ply their hobby from May 1, 2010 to the last week in February 2011.
Rules and Regulations
The list of the Minnesota 2010 fishing rules and regulations fills up an 84-page booklet, so it’s best to study it before casting your lure. You can use only one hook to catch fish. However, you can use three artificial flies to catch crappie, sunfish or rock bass. Regulations only permit you one line during open season and two for ice fishing. It’s illegal for you to use goldfish or parts of game fish as bait. Minnesota outlaws artificial lights, except at the end of a line with attached hooks. Minnesota prohibits off-season fishing. It’s illegal for you to possess fish outside a waterway’s stated length limits. Fish must be readily identifiable when you pack, ship and transport them. You must pack salmon, catfish and other species that have a length limit with head and tails unbroken so inspectors can measure them.
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