Fish & fishing

Minnesota is first nationally in the sales of fishing licenses per capita.

Fish species: 158

Fishing waters: 3,800,000 acres

Fishable lakes: 5,493

Fishable streams (cold and warm water): 15,000 miles

Trout streams: 1,900 miles

Trout stream improvements: 410 miles

Trout lakes rehabilitated: 134

Warm water lakes rehabilitated: 79

Average number of fish stocked per year:

Walleye Fry - 250 million
Walley Fingerlings - 2.0 million
Walleye Yearlings - 54 thousand
Walleye Adults - 32 thousand
Northern Pike (fry,fingerlings & adults) - 1.2 million
Muskellunge (fingerlings) - 32,000
Largemouth Bass - 7,500 (fingerlings and adults)
Smallmouth Bass - 30,000 (fingerlings and adults)
Channel Catfish - 100,000 (fingerlings and yearlings)
Bluegill - 40,000 adults
Tiger Muskellunge (fingerlings) - 2,000
Trout -

Fish hatcheries: 5 coldwater ( trout and salmon), 12 cool and warm water (walleye, muskie, catfish, etc.)

Walleye rearing ponds used annually (on average): 325

Northern pike spawning areas used annually (on average): 10

Harvest

Sport Fish Harvested:
Walleye - 35 million pounds
Northern Pike - 3.2 million pounds
Panfish - 64 million pounds

The most caught fish:
1st: Panfish
2nd: Walleye
3rd: Northern

Record fish:
See check the current state record fish list.

Sport fishing expenditures in Minnesota: $1.58 billion

Commercial fish harvested: 4.5 million pounds

Minnow industry:
Minnow dealers: 386
Minnow retailers: 920

Licenses

Licenses sold in 2002

Annual special angling: 6,086
Permanent angling: 658
24-hour angling: 54,353
Resident individual angling: 392,238
Resident combination angling (husband and wife): 192,404
Resident senior citizen angling: 96,528
Resident individual sports (Includes small game and angling): 105,881
Resident combination sports (Includes small game and 2 angling): 81,878
Resident lifetime angling: 878
Resident lifetime sports (Includes small game and angling): 991
Nonresident individual angling: 55,591
Nonresident family angling: 30,213
Nonresident 14-day couple angling: 29,350
Nonresident 7-dat angling: 74,731
Nonresident 72-hour angling: 46,615
Nonresident lifetime angling: 11

Stamps

Trout stamp: 88,086
Trout stamp fulfilled: 10,318

Updated 2003