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Oct. 22, 2025
Stay informed! Here’s a summary of upcoming fisheries and habitat management activities and ways you can discover, explore and experience Minnesota’s outdoors.
Bass fishing all year?
 “Smallmouth off the dock” courtesy of Josie Drotts
We need your input on a year-round bass season! Minnesota DNR is proposing new fishing rules that would allow for a year-round bass season with a period of harvest and a period for catch-and-release fishing only. All current harvest periods would remain, but catch-and-release-only bass season would be extended.
Comments will be accepted through Thursday, Oct. 23. You can officially submit your input by email, over the phone, or by mail, with details available on the DNR website. At the same webpage, you can also find other proposed fishing rule changes and how to submit input about them.
Fall bass fishing tips
 “Largemouth bass caught on Lake Winona before my buddies could even get in their own kayaks!” courtesy of Garrett Larson
For tips and tricks on fishing for and catching bass in the fall, check out our recorded webinar.
Want to read more about fall bass fishing? Read this fall bass fishing editorial from In-Fisherman magazine.
Also a reminder: on inland waters (except northeast zone), smallmouth bass are catch and release this time of year.
Pike packing on the weight
 Courtesy of Alex Lamoreaux, iNaturalist
Northern pike attain some of their largest weights of the season as they feast ahead of winter. In large lakes with deepwater habitats, northerns will be targeting cisco, which spawn in November in shallow waters.
Time for some fall pike fishing? Learn more about fishing for northern pike on the DNR learn to fish webpage.
Keeping any northern pike? Pike zone regulation information is available on page 31 of the Minnesota Fishing Regulations handbook.
Muskie anglers on the hunt in fall
 Despite cooler temperatures, or even stinging wind laced with snowflakes, plenty of muskellunge anglers look forward to this time of year. Some of the largest muskie are caught in October and November, when the fish are actively feeding before winter. The inland water muskie season is open through Thursday, Dec. 1.
Want to learn how to fish for muskies? Check out the Minnesota DNR learn to fish webpage on how to catch a muskie.
Netting season for cisco and whitefish is open
 Courtesy of Gary Cerkvenik and James Kolstad
Designated lakes open each fall for this special opportunity, open to Minnesota residents only. About 700 participate each year. Netting schedules vary by lake and are based on expected water temperatures. As the water temperatures cool, game fish head to deeper water while cisco and whitefish come to shallow water.
The DNR only allows netting when there is little chance that fish other than cisco and whitefish will be caught. Any game fish incidentally taken in nets must be returned to the water immediately. Learn more and stay up-to-date.
Catch and release tips
 Prefer to catch and release? Help a fish out! When it comes to catching and releasing large fish, there are some best practices to follow to maximize survival:
- Use proper equipment
- Minimize the amount of time the fish is out of the water
- Protect the fish’s slime coat
- Hold the fish properly
- Help the fish recover
Watch our video to see these tips in action.
Catch these webinars on sculpin, fall trout lake stocking
 Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The DNR has a couple webinars coming up on fisheries topics.
On Wednesday, Nov. 5, join Doug Dieterman, DNR fisheries research scientist, to learn more about native sculpin, a little species with big ecological benefits, and what is being done to reintroduce them.
Then on Wednesday, Nov. 19, join Mario Travaline, DNR fisheries specialist, to learn more about lake trout stocking for winter ice angling opportunities in Minnesota. Learn about season dates, where you can find these trout and some tips on catching a few.
These webinars are free, and registration is required. They are also recorded and posted online in the webinar archive. More information is available on the DNR website.
Please share your fishing photos
Do you have any fishing photos you want to share? Consider uploading them using the DNR photo uploader. We use many of these photos in email newsletters, our webpages and other communications.
 “I was out chasing carp for our multi-species contest with Women Anglers of Minnesota called WAM SLAM. What an awesome fight, it was a blast to reel in,” courtesy of Elizabeth Marsh
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