How to Catch Lake Sturgeon in Minnesota: Rainy River, St. Croix, Seasons & Tags
Where and how to catch lake sturgeon in Minnesota, with 2026 catch-and-release and harvest tag seasons for the Rainy River, Lake of the Woods and St. Croix.
Updated
Lake sturgeon are the largest fish in Minnesota and, after a century of decline, are catchable again in real numbers. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods are the main destination, with the St. Croix, St. Louis, Kettle and Red rivers also producing fish. Nearly all of it is catch and release: you anchor above a river hole, put a circle hook full of nightcrawlers on the bottom, and wait. Keeping one is legal only on certain border waters, one fish per year, with a 5 dollar tag and tight size limits.
Identification and habits
Nothing else in Minnesota looks like a lake sturgeon. They have a shark-like tail with a longer upper lobe, five rows of bony plates called scutes instead of scales, a pointed snout, and four barbels hanging in front of a toothless, tube-like mouth on the underside of the head. Young fish have sharp scutes; on old fish they wear nearly smooth. The smaller shovelnose sturgeon of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers has a flatter, shovel-shaped snout and a long filament on the tail.
Their biology explains the regulations. According to the Minnesota DNR, female lake sturgeon do not mature until around their mid-20s and then spawn only once every several years; males mature in their teens. Fish can live to 100 or more and exceed 200 pounds. A population fished down takes generations to rebuild, which is what happened after commercial overharvest, dams and pollution in the late 1800s and 1900s. Cleaner water and strict limits have brought the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods population back.
Sturgeon feed by cruising the bottom, feeling with their barbels and vacuuming up insect larvae, crayfish, snails, mussels and small fish. They spawn in spring over rock in fast water, and the closed periods in the regulations are timed around that.
Where to fish
The DNR's own how to catch a lake sturgeon page names Lake of the Woods, Lake Superior and the Rainy, St. Croix, St. Louis, Kettle and Red rivers.
- Rainy River and Lake of the Woods. The spring run between Baudette and the river mouth at Four Mile Bay draws anglers from across the Midwest in April, often when boat landings are just opening as river ice goes out. Fall is quieter and also good. See /lakes/lake-of-the-woods-county and /lakes/koochiching-county.
- St. Croix River. The lower river and Lake St. Croix, from Taylors Falls down past Stillwater to Prescott, give Twin Cities anglers sturgeon within an hour's drive. See /lakes/washington-county.
- Kettle River. A St. Croix tributary in Pine County that produced the state weight record.
- St. Louis River estuary at Duluth, where a restored population is catch and release only.
- Red River of the North and its tributaries, where reintroduction stocking has been rebuilding sturgeon; also catch and release.
A caution for Rainy River and Lake of the Woods anglers: the international border runs down the river. Ontario's rules differ and, per the Minnesota DNR, sturgeon fishing on the Ontario side is closed. Stay in Minnesota waters.
Season by season
- Late March and April. Ice leaves the Rainy River and sturgeon stage in the lower river before spawning. This is the peak, in cold, high, dirty water, with catch and release until the late-April harvest window.
- Mid-May through June. Closed or closing on most waters for spawning. Do not target sturgeon during the closure, even for release.
- July through September. Open again. Fish spread out through river holes and into the lake. Summer fishing is steady but less concentrated.
- October until freeze-up. Fish gather in deeper wintering holes and feed well. A good, uncrowded time.
- Winter. Sturgeon are caught through the ice on Lake of the Woods and the St. Croix, mostly incidentally, and must be released where the season is catch and release.
Techniques and rigs
- Find a hole. Use sonar to locate the deepest water in a stretch, or the downstream edge of a hole where it shallows. On the Rainy River that often means 20 to 35 feet, but depth relative to the surroundings matters more than the number.
- Anchor securely upstream. A heavy anchor with plenty of rope keeps the boat from swinging. A drifting boat drags baits out of position.
- Rig a slip sinker. Slide a flat no-roll sinker of 1 to 5 ounces on the main line, add a bead and a swivel, then a 12 to 18 inch leader to a 5/0 circle hook. That matches the DNR's own recommendation.
- Load the hook. Thread on several nightcrawlers so they form a ball, and add a minnow if you like. Fresh bait matters; change it when it washes out.
- Wait and watch. Bites are often a slow tap or a gradual pull, not a slam. With a circle hook, let the rod bend and reel steadily instead of jerking.
- Clear the other lines when a big fish is hooked, and be ready to pull anchor and follow it.
Shore fishing works too, wherever you can reach a hole from the bank.
Gear
- Rod and reel: A stout muskie-class rod with a level-wind baitcasting reel. The DNR suggests braided line in the 80 to 100 pound range.
- Terminal tackle: No-roll sinkers from 1 to 5 ounces, heavy swivels, 5/0 circle hooks, leader material of similar strength to the main line.
- Landing and release tools: A very large net or a cradle, long pliers, gloves, a wet towel, a tape measure and a camera.
- Boat gear: A serious anchor. Spring current on the Rainy River is strong and the water is dangerously cold; wear a life jacket. See life jacket law and boating safety.
Minnesota sturgeon regulations for 2026
Verified against the 2026 Minnesota DNR fishing regulations (March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027). The booklet states that 2026 lake sturgeon rules were not final at its printing deadline, so treat this table as a starting point and check the DNR website.
| Water | Dates | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Inland waters, Lake Superior and St. Louis River | June 16 to April 14 | Catch and release only, no tag needed |
| Same | April 15 to June 15 | Closed |
| Canada border waters (Lake of the Woods, Rainy River, Rainy Lake and others) | April 24 to May 7 | Harvest: 1 per calendar year, 45 to 50 inches inclusive or over 75 inches, tag required |
| Same | May 8 to May 15 | Catch and release only |
| Same | May 16 to June 30 | Closed |
| Same | July 1 to September 30 | Harvest, same size rule and tag |
| Same | October 1 to April 23 | Catch and release only |
| St. Croix below Taylors Falls Dam, including Lake St. Croix | June 16 to September 4 | Catch and release only |
| Same | September 5 to September 30 | Harvest: 1 per calendar year, 60 inch minimum, tag required |
| Same | October 1 to March 1 | Catch and release only |
| St. Croix above Taylors Falls Dam; Mississippi from Red Wing dam up to the St. Croix mouth | June 16 to March 1 | Catch and release only |
Harvest rules in general:
- One lake sturgeon per angler per calendar year, statewide total.
- The tag or endorsement cost 5 dollars in 2026 and must be in hand before you keep a fish. It is not valid with a conservation license.
- Register a harvested fish within 48 hours and transport it intact.
- No party fishing. You cannot keep a sturgeon on someone else's tag.
- No tag is needed for catch and release.
State record
From the DNR state record fish program: the certified weight record is 94 pounds 4 ounces and 70 inches, from the Kettle River in Pine County on September 5, 1994. The catch-and-release record is 80 inches, caught on the Rainy River in Lake of the Woods County on April 18, 2026.
Handling and release
- Keep the fish in the water as much as possible. Measure and photograph quickly.
- Support a sturgeon horizontally with two hands or a cradle. Never hang one vertically by the head, gill plates or tail; the DNR specifically warns against it.
- Keep fingers out of the gills and away from the eyes.
- A wet towel over the head calms a fish in the boat.
- Do not weigh a fish you plan to release. Length and girth give a good estimate.
- Hold the fish upright in the current until it swims off on its own. After a long fight in cold water this can take a few minutes.
- Circle hooks nearly always hook the mouth edge. If one is deep, cut the leader.
Before you go
- Decide whether you are fishing to release or to harvest, and buy the tag first if harvest is even a possibility.
- Check the DNR site for final current-year dates; sturgeon rules were still pending when the 2026 booklet went to print.
- Bring heavy gear and a real anchor, and treat every fish as one that may be older than you.