3,570 Lakes · 297 Rivers · 87 Counties · 870 TownsMinnesota state record fish
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Minnesota State Fish Records

Certified weight, catch-and-release and older non-certified records kept by the Minnesota DNR.

Photo of Mille Lacs Lake: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY 2.0

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Certified weight

Minnesota certified weight records

SpeciesWeightLengthWaterCountyDate
Lake Sturgeon94 lb 4 oz70 inKettle RiverPine1994-09-05
Muskellunge55 lb 14 oz57.75 inMille Lacs LakeMille Lacs2021-11-22
Bigmouth Buffalo41 lb 11 oz38.38 inPool 4 Mississippi RiverGoodhue1991-05-07
Freshwater Drum (Sheepshead)35 lb 3 oz36 inMississippi River near WinonaWinona1999-10-05
Tiger Muskellunge34 lb 12 oz51 inLake ElmoWashington1999-07-07
Chinook Salmon33 lb 4 oz44.75 inPoplar RiverCook1989-09-23
Chinook Salmon33 lb 4 oz42.25 inLake SuperiorSt. Louis1989-10-12
Smallmouth Buffalo20 lb 0 oz32 inBig Sandy LakeAitkin2003-09-20
Burbot (Eelpout)19 lb 10 oz33 inLake of the Woods; near BaudetteLake of the Woods2016-12-19
Longnose Gar16 lb 12 oz53 inSt. Croix River near PrescottWashington1982-05-04
Brown Trout16 lb 12 oz31.38 inLake SuperiorSt. Louis1989-06-23
Rainbow Trout (Steelhead)16 lb 6 oz33 inDevil Track RiverCook1980-04-27
Lake Whitefish13 lb 9 oz29.5 inLake of the WoodsLake of the Woods2019-04-06
Splake (Brook x Lake Trout Hybrid)13 lb 5 oz33.5 inLarson Lake, Itasca CountyItasca2001-02-11
Atlantic Salmon12 lb 13 oz35.5 inBaptism RiverLake1991-10-12
Greater Redhorse12 lb 11 oz28.5 inSauk RiverStearns2005-05-20
River Redhorse12 lb 10 oz28.38 inKettle RiverPine2005-05-20
Bowfin12 lb 9 oz31.5 inMississippi RiverWabasha2012-09-14
Coho Salmon12 lb 5 oz33.75 inLake SuperiorSt. Louis2024-06-01
Silver Redhorse10 lb 6 oz26.75 inRainy RiverKoochiching2018-04-28
Saugeye (Walleye x Sauger Hybrid)9 lb 13 oz27 inMississippi River near Red WingGoodhue1999-03-20
White Sucker9 lb 1 oz24.25 inBig Fish LakeStearns1983-05-01
Largemouth Bass8 lb 15 oz23.5 inAuburn LakeCarver2005-10-03
Shorthead Redhorse7 lb 15 oz27 inRum River near RamseyAnoka1983-08-05
Quillback Carpsucker7 lb 4 oz22.62 inUpper Red LakeBeltrami2010-08-09
Shovelnose Sturgeon6 lb 7 oz33 inMississippi River near Red WingGoodhue2012-02-19
Brook Trout6 lb 5 oz24 inPigeon RiverCook2000-09-02
Sauger6 lb 2 oz23.88 inMississippi River near Red Wing, (L&D No.3)Goodhue1988-05-23
Cisco (Tullibee)5 lb 13 oz20.75 inSybil LakeOtter Tail2015-03-09
Shortnose Gar5 lb 4 oz31 inMinnesota RiverRenville2017-04-17
White Bass4 lb 8 oz20 inVadnais LakeRamsey2016-10-10
Golden Redhorse4 lb 8 oz22.5 inOtter Tail RiverOtter Tail2018-04-07
Pink Salmon4 lb 8 oz23.5 inCascade RiverCook1989-09-09
River Carpsucker4 lb 6 oz21.62 inMinnesota RiverCarver2012-11-19
Black Crappie4 lb 1 ozCedar Lake, Rice CountyRice2026-05-03
White Crappie3 lb 15 oz18 inConstance LakeWright2002-07-28
Black Bullhead3 lb 13 oz17.12 inReno Lake, Pope CountyPope1997-06-08
Yellow Bullhead3 lb 10 oz17.88 inLake OsakisTodd2002-08-05
Longnose Sucker3 lb 10 oz21 inBrule RiverCook2005-05-19
Brown Bullhead3 lb 9 ozNorth Long Lake, Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing2026-02-20
Goldeye3 lb 5 oz20.67 inMinnesota RiverBlue Earth2020-05-03
Northern Hogsucker3 lb 4 oz18.5 inMississippi River near St. CloudStearns2023-05-03
Kokanee Salmon2-15Caribou Lake, Itasca CountyItasca
Tiger Trout2 lb 9 oz20 inMill CreekOlmsted1999-08-07
Round Whitefish (Menominee)2 lb 7 oz21 inLake SuperiorCook1987-04-27
Rock Bass2 lb 4 oz13.5 inMille Lacs LakeMille Lacs2024-09-28
Bluegill2 lb 3 oz11.5 inBig Stone LakeBig Stone2026-07-07
Mooneye2 lb 1 oz18 inWabasha CreekRedwood2024-05-11
Hybrid Sunfish1 lb 12 oz11.5 inZumbro RiverOlmsted1994-07-09
Hybrid Sunfish1 lb 12 oz12 inGreen Lake, Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi2022-09-18
Pumpkinseed Sunfish1 lb 5 oz10 inLeech LakeCass1999-06-06
Green Sunfish1 lb 4 oz10.25 inNorth Arbor LakeHennepin2005-06-14
Yellow Bass1 lb 3 oz12.5 inClear Lake, Jackson CountyJackson2024-05-11
Warmouth0-9Bartlet LakeWinona

Minnesota DNR certified weight records; angler names left out.

Catch and release

Minnesota catch-and-release length records

SpeciesLengthWaterDate
Lake Sturgeon80 inRainy River2026-04-18
Muskellunge58.25 inMille Lacs Lake2022-06-11
Longnose Gar51 inMississippi River2024-09-13
Northern Pike46.25 inMille Lacs Lake2023-01-22
Northern Pike46.25 inBasswood Lake2021-06-19
Lake Trout45.5 inLake Superior2026-05-09
Shovelnose Sturgeon36.5 inMississippi River2025-10-24
Bigmouth Buffalo36.25 inSweeney Lake2026-04-14
Smallmouth Buffalo32.5 inSt. Croix River2025-03-28
Bowfin31.5 inMississippi River2026-07-03
Blue Sucker31.25 inMississippi River2026-05-16
Shortnose Gar30.5 inMinnesota River2026-06-06
Brown Trout30.25 inLake Superior2026-08-03
Rainbow Trout30 inStewart River2026-05-10
Smallmouth Bass22.75 inBasswood Lake2024-06-25
Largemouth Bass22.5 inLura Lake2026-05-16
Brook Trout19.25 inLake Superior2026-06-20

Minnesota DNR catch-and-release records.

Older records

Non-certified weight records from before 1980

SpeciesWeightWaterYear
Flathead Catfish70 lb 0 ozSt. Croix River
Common Carp55 lb 5 ozClearwater Lake, Wright County1952
Northern Pike45 lb 12 ozBasswood Lake1929
Lake Trout43 lb 8 ozLake Superior near Hovland1955
Channel Catfish38 lb 0 ozMississippi River1975
Walleye17 lb 8 ozSeagull River at Saganaga Lake1979
Smallmouth Bass8 lb 0 ozWest Battle Lake
Brown Bullhead7 lb 1 ozShallow Lake, Itasca County1974
Black Crappie5 lb 0 ozVermillion River
Yellow Perch3 lb 4 ozPlantagenet Lake
Bluegill2 lb 13 ozAlice Lake, Hubbard County
Open records

Minimums for new Minnesota records

SpeciesCategoryMinimum
Black crappiecertified weight2.5 lbs.
Bluegillcertified weight1.5 lbs.
Brown bullheadcertified weight3 lbs.
Channel catfishcertified weight30 lbs.
Common Carpcertified weight30 lbs.
Flathead catfishcertified weight58 lbs.
Lake troutcertified weight13 lbs.
Northern pikecertified weight32 lbs.
Smallmouth basscertified weight7 lbs.
Walleyecertified weight14 lbs.
Yellow basscertified weight1 lbs.
Yellow perchcertified weight1 lbs.
Bigmouth buffalocatch and release32 inches
Blue suckercatch and release28 inches
Bowfincatch and release31 inches
Brook troutcatch and release18 inches
Brown troutcatch and release24 inches
Channel catfishcatch and release38 inches
Freshwater drumcatch and release31 inches
Lake troutcatch and release40 inches
Largemouth basscatch and release22 inches
Longnose garcatch and release46 inches
Rainbow troutcatch and release23 inches
Saugercatch and release22 inches
Shortnose garcatch and release30 inches
Shovelnose sturgeoncatch and release32 inches
Smallmouth basscatch and release22 inches
Smallmouth buffalocatch and release31 inches
Tiger musskellungecatch and release44 inches
Walleyecatch and release32 inches
In photos

Minnesota waters, pictured

Lake of the Woods, Minnesota
Lake of the Woods
Photo: Lorne Sunley, CC BY 3.0
Kabetogama Lake, Minnesota
Kabetogama Lake
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region, Public domain
Rainy River, Minnesota
Rainy River
Photo: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0
Baudette, Minnesota
Baudette
Photo: P199, CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers

Minnesota record questions

What is the biggest certified fish record in Minnesota?

Lake Sturgeon, 94 lb 4 oz, from Kettle River.

How many Minnesota records are listed?

54 certified weight, 17 catch-and-release and 11 older non-certified records.

What is the Minnesota record walleye?

17 lb 8 oz from Seagull River at Saganaga Lake (non certified weight, 1979).

What is the Minnesota record muskie?

55 lb 14 oz from Mille Lacs Lake (2021).

What is a catch-and-release record?

A length record for a fish measured and released, kept by the DNR for several species.

Why are some records not certified?

Records set before 1980 were not weighed on certified scales, so the DNR lists them separately.

Does this page show the angler?

No; only the fish, the water and the date.

How do I submit a Minnesota record?

Weigh the fish on a certified scale, have it identified by DNR fisheries staff and send the application to the DNR.