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Mississippi River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for Mississippi River, as the state words them
Washington County · River · MN
Has its own special rules
How to read this page:Official text quoted regulationParsed fields from the ruleDerived calculated from rulesContext conditions, not a ruleAdvice our suggestion
Today's rule hereParsed
- Season
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Gear
- Only 1 artificial bait/lure or 1 single tackle configuration can be used at the end of your line for it to be considered a single line.Statewide
- Bait
- You can fish with a variety of live or dead bait including worms, night crawlers, insects and larvae.Statewide
- Poles
- You may use only 1 line during the open water seasonStatewide
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
Walleye and sauger Varies by water: limit 3 combined total (North Dakota–Minnesota border waters); limit 4 combined total (only 1 walleye over 20") (South Dakota–Minnesota border waters) | 6 combined total (only 1 over 20" in possession). | - | Statewide |
Northern pike Varies by water: limit 3 (Iowa–Minnesota border waters); limit 2 (only 1 northern pike over 26") (Dark House Spearing, Northeast Zone); limit 10 (either 2 northern pike over 26" and none from 22 to 26" or 1 from 22 to 26" and 1 over 26") (Dark House Spearing, North-central Zone); only 1 over 40" in possession, all from | 30-40" must be immediately released, limit 2 (Northeast Zone); not more than 2 over 26", all from 22-26" | must be immediately released, limit 10 (North-central Zone); minimum size 24", limit 2 (Southern Zone) | 3 (only 1 over 30" in possession) | - | Statewide |
Muskellunge Varies by water: 40", limit 1 (minimum size 40") (Iowa–Minnesota border waters); 50" minimum size, limit 1 (50" minimum size) (Wisconsin–Minnesota border waters) | 1 (minimum size 50") | min. 50" | Statewide |
Largemouth and smallmouth bass Varies by water: limit 3 combined total (Iowa–Minnesota border waters) | 6 combined total | - | Statewide |
Lake sturgeon | 1 per calendar year (fish must be 45-50" inclusive, or over 75"). | min. 45-50" inclusive, or over 75" | Statewide |
Crappie | daily limit 5 | - | This water |
Sunfish | daily limit 5 | - | This water |
Lake trout (SUMMER) | 2 | - | Statewide |
Stream trout | 5 (not more than 3 over 16") | - | Statewide |
All other species | Inland limits apply | - | Statewide |
Walleye | 3 | - | Statewide |
Catfish Varies by water: limit 5 (only 1 over 24") (North Dakota–Minnesota border waters) | 8 combined total | - | Statewide |
Perch Varies by water: limit 25 (Iowa–Minnesota border waters); limit 50 (North Dakota–Minnesota border waters); limit 15 daily and 30 in possession (South Dakota–Minnesota border waters) | 20 daily, 40 in possession | - | Statewide |
White bass and yellow bass Varies by water: limit No limit (Iowa–Minnesota border waters) | 30 combined total | - | Statewide |
Bullhead Varies by water: limit 100 (North Dakota–Minnesota border waters) | No limit | - | Statewide |
Gar | 10 | - | Statewide |
Rock bass Varies by water: limit 20 (North Dakota–Minnesota border waters); limit 25 (Wisconsin–Minnesota border waters) | 30 | - | Statewide |
Northern pike angling | 6 | - | Statewide |
Northern pike spearing | 3 | - | Statewide |
Catfish (channel and flathead) | 5 combined total. Not more than 2 can be flathead (only 1 catfish over 24"). | - | Statewide |
Sucker and redhorse | 50 each | - | Statewide |
Carp, buffalo, freshwater drum, bowfin, goldeye | No limit | - | Statewide |
Sucker | 50 | - | Statewide |
Redhorse | 50 | - | Statewide |
Carp, buffalo, freshwater drum, bowfin | No limit | - | Statewide |
Catfish, channel | 5 (only 1 over 24") | - | Statewide |
Catfish, flathead | 2 (only 1 over 24") | - | Statewide |
Whitefish | 15 | min. over 7" | Statewide |
Walleye and sauger (and their hybrid) | 6 combined total | min. only 1 walleye over 20" in possession | Statewide |
Muskellunge/hybrid muskellunge | 1 combined total | min. minimum size 54" | Statewide |
Largemouth bass Varies by water: limit 6 combined total largemouth or smallmouth bass (when smallmouth season is open) (Statewide); limit 6 combined total largemouth or smallmouth bass (Northeast Zone) | Catch-and-release only | - | Statewide |
Smallmouth bass only 1 over 20" | Possession limit is 3 | min. all from 12-20" must be immediately released | This water |
Channel Catfish | 5 | min. only 1 over 24" | Statewide |
Flathead Catfish | 2 | min. only 1 over 24" | Statewide |
Cisco (tullibee) | 15 | min. over 7" | Statewide |
Burbot (eelpout) | 4 | - | Statewide |
American eel | Catch-and-release only | - | Statewide |
Smelt | No Limit | - | Statewide |
Lake or shovelnose sturgeon | Catch-and-release only; no tag/endorsement needed. | - | Statewide |
Lake trout | 2 | - | Statewide |
Trout—Brook, Brown, Rainbow And Splake Varies by water: not more than 3 over 16" (statewide) | 5 combined total | min. only 1 over 16" | Statewide |
bullheads | They are counted as part of your daily and possession limit of 100. | min. 7-10" in length | Statewide |
crayfish | take and possess up to 25 pounds of live crayfish for personal use | - | Statewide |
frogs | unlimited number | min. up to 6" long | Statewide |
mussels | up to 24 whole shells or 48 half shells from dead mussels of species that are not endangered or threatened | - | Statewide |
Western painted | possession limit 3 | min. between 4 and 5 | Statewide |
Snapping | possession limit is 3 | min. minimum size is 12" in shell length | Statewide |
turtles | take, possess, and rent up to 25 turtles for use in a non-profit turtle race | min. Each turtle must be greater than 4" in length. | Statewide |
The official text, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from MN's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
Whole water
- All fishMarch 1 - April30 (dates as written)Fish sanctuaries, no fishing allowed: Mississippi River: no fishing allowed within 300 feet below Lock and Dam 3 (near Red Wing) and Lock and Dam 4 (Alma, Wisconsin) from March 1 - April30.
- Walleye and saugerContinuousDaily limit 4 combined total (15" minimum size for walleye, only 1 walleye or sauger over 20")Size 15" minimum size for walleye
- Walleye and saugerContinuousDaily limit 6 combined total (15" minimum size for walleye, all walleye from 20-27" must be immediately released, only 1 walleye over 27")Size 15" minimum size for walleye
- Largemouth and smallmouth bassContinuousDaily limit 5 (14" minimum size)Size 14" minimum size
- Northern pikeContinuousDaily limit 3 (only 1 over 30")
- Catfish (channel and flathead)Channel catfish: continuous Flathead catfish: April 1 - Nov. 30 (dates as written)Daily limit 10 combined total (only 1 catfish over 30")
- Lake sturgeonJune 16, 2025 - March 1, 2026 (dates as written)Daily limit Catch-and-release only; no tag/endorsement needed.
- Shovelnose sturgeonContinuousDaily limit 3
- Muskellungecatch-and-release only
- Smallmouth bassDaily limit Possession limit is 3Size all from 12-20" must be immediately releasedonly 1 over 20"
- CrappieDaily limit daily limit 5
- SunfishDaily limit daily limit 5
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this stretch begins and ends
Loading map…
The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.
Different sections of this water can have different rules. The exact section boundaries are not marked on the map yet; each rule above describes in plain words where it starts and ends, and that written description is the authoritative boundary. Map boundaries come water by water, never as a guess.
Season at a glanceDerived
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opensome stretchesclosedunknown
Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.
At the water nowContext
Overnight
65°F
Partly Cloudy
Wind 0 mph · 0% precip
Wednesday
89°F
Mostly Sunny then Patchy Smoke
Wind 0 to 5 mph · 14% precip
Wednesday Night
68°F
Patchy Smoke
Wind 5 mph · 14% precip
Streamflow: 5,010 cfs at mississippi river at st. paul, mn (2026-07-29 05:00)
Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in Mississippi River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
Receipts
Statewide rules
StatewideChecked against this official source on July 7, 2026.
Special rules - Mississippi River
This waterChecked against this official source on July 7, 2026.
Local services near Mississippi River
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on Mississippi River? Get listed.