Rainy River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for Rainy River, as the state words them
Koochiching County · River · MN
The rules for this water, 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.
- All fishGear A person cannot possess or use a gaff while fishing on the Rainy River.A person cannot possess or use a gaff while fishing on the Rainy River.
- Walleye and saugerMarch 1 - April 14 each year (dates as written)Daily limit Catch-and-release only
- Walleye and saugerMay 10, 2025 - Feb. 28, 2026 (dates as written)Daily limit 6 (not more than 4 can be walleye; only 1 walleye over 28"; walleye 19½-28" must be immediately released).
Statewide base layerParsed
These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.
- 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
Where the verbatim rules above name a species, season, or limit, they replace the rows below. Each row is tagged with the layer it comes from.
| 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 Varies by water: limit 30 (North Dakota–Minnesota border waters) | 10 | - | Statewide |
Sunfish | 20 combined total | - | Statewide |
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 Varies by water: limit 6 combined total largemouth or smallmouth bass (Statewide) | Catch-and-release only | - | Statewide |
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 |
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
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
Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.
At the water nowContext
Streamflow: 3,650 cfs at rainy r at boat landing blw international falls,mn (2026-07-29 03:00)
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 Rainy 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
Local services near Rainy 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 Rainy River? Get listed.