Here Fishy Fishy! See The Minnesota Catch & Release Records

With the giant lake trout that was caught up on Lake Superior, that should be a new catch and release record, it got me thinking about the other catch and release records for Minnesota. Here are some of the biggest fish caught and then released in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has some rules that people need to follow when submitting a possible catch and release record, and they are pretty straightforward. Here is what you'll need to do to submit a possible new state record catch.

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• To ensure your catch qualifies:
  1. For a catch and release record that exists, find and review the listing in the table above to ensure your fish is at least ¼-inch longer than the existing record.

  2. For a new record, review the minimum lengths for submissions.

• Download the catch and release record fish application (PDF).
• An observer must witness your catch and release and is required to sign and date your application in the appropriate area.
• Complete the application, follow the application's detailed instructions on taking photographs and send all application materials to the address listed on the application.

As promised, here are those record fish pics, and since the lake trout that was recently caught hasn't been verified by the DNR, we are featuring the 'current' record on file.

Flathead Catfish - Mark Mosby - St. Anthony Village - Caught this 52 1/2" flathead in August of 2017 on the Saint Croix River in Washington County

Muskellunge - Eric Baake of Princeton caught this 58 1/4" fish in June of 2022. It was caught on Lake Mille Lacs.

Lake Sturgeon - This record catch was made in February of 2019, and the Lake Sturgeon was 78" long. The fish was caught in the Saint Croix River by Darren Troseth of Jordan.

Northern Pike* - There is a tie for the record Northern Pike that was caught and released. The fishes were both 46 1/4" long but caught in two different locations. This fish was caught in January of  2023 by Brad Lila, of Hudson, Wisconsin on Lake Mille Lacs in Aitkin County.

Northern Pike* - This fish, also 46 1/4" long was caught on Basswood Lake in Lake County in June of 2021. The lucky angler was Brecken Kobylecky, of Geneva, Illinois.

Shovelnose Sturgeon - The record Shovelnose Sturgeon is a newer record, having been caught in Marh of 2024 on the Minnesota River in Scott County by Elliot Feldman of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The fish was 35" long.

Brown Trout - This record brown trout was caught and released in Lake Superior in 2024 by Dan Zeleznikar of Duluth. The trout was 30" long and was caught in April of 2024.

Lake Trout - This record Lake Trout, as it stands now, was caught in April 2024 by Kelsey Vanderheyden of Stanchfield, MN, and was 42.5" long. A recent catch might break the record, but it needs to be verified first. Learn more about that catch here. 

Other catch and release fish species that are tracked in Minnesota can be found on the MN DNR website, here.