Take a kid fishing!

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minnesota department of natural resources

Minnesota Fishing

Jan. 12, 2022

Stay informed! Here’s a summary of upcoming fisheries and habitat management activities and ways you can discover, explore and experience Minnesota’s outdoors.

young angler standing on the ice holding a fish she caught while ice fishing

Take a kid fishing this weekend!

Take a Kid Ice Fishing Weekend is this Saturday, Jan. 15, through Monday, Jan. 17. If you’re a Minnesota resident 16 or older, you can go fishing without an angling or spearing license if you take a child younger than 16 fishing or spearing. Minnesotans 15 years old or younger don’t need fishing licenses any time of the year. Make time to share your passion for fishing!

More details: Find tips on taking kids ice fishing
image of DNR StreamFinder tool with pins on a map of Minnesota

Explore the DNR TroutFinder

Looking for information about that stream you’ve seen and want to fish? Try the DNR’s TroutFinder tool.

This online tool, which works on mobile and desktop devices, allows you to easily locate and display detailed information about many Minnesota trout streams. Information available includes a description of the stream, which includes its location, characteristics and special features; species of fish it contains; population information from past and present stream surveys; fishing regulations; and access sites.

Lakes containing trout also are listed and linked to DNR LakeFinder, which provides detailed information from physical characteristics and fish species to special fishing regulations and lake reports and maps.

TroutFinder is part of StreamFinder, a work in progress that eventually will focus on more species than trout and include all streams in Minnesota.

More details: Use the DNR TroutFinder tool
young angler on the ice holding a trout he caught

Trout in lakes season opens soon

Getting ready to go fishing for trout in lakes? Here are the 2022 winter season dates:

  • Jan. 15 to March 31 for lakes outside or partly outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
  • Jan. 1 to March 31 for lakes entirely within the BWCAW.

More details: Find Minnesota trout lakes
image of the water inside a darkhouse with decoys in the water and a spear at the ready

Learn about darkhouse spearing

Interested in darkhouse spearing? We have a webinar for you at noon Wednesday, Jan. 19. James Burnham, R3 coordinator, and Amanda Johnson, with the Minnesota Darkhouse and Angling Association, will discuss the practice of using decoys lowered through a large hole in the ice to lure a northern pike close enough to harvest the pike using a spear.

The webinar is part of the DNR’s Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series, which aims to give participants quick, relevant information on upcoming seasons and events, and skills to help enjoy these opportunities. Registration is required and free.

More details: Register for the webinars

Find fishing information

You can find the information you need about learning to fish, regulations, where to fish, aquatic invasive species, contacting a conservation officer and more on the DNR fishing page at mndnr.gov/fishing.