Minnesota is the only state whose opening day is a statutory formula rather than an agency decision: the law says the Saturday two weeks before the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, so the date is knowable for any year you like.
Every season we have verified in Minnesota
One block per rule, because a single species can be on two calendars in the same state depending on the water. The band under each heading is the legal season; the row under it is what our own data says the fish are doing.
Walleye — Statewide inland waters
Statute 97C.395 sets the open season for walleye and sauger as "the Saturday two weeks prior to the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through the last Sunday in February". That is Minnesota Fishing Opener, the closest thing the state has to a public holiday, and the rule puts it on May 9 in 2026 and May 10 in 2025.
Walleye Season in Minnesota: the full rules, the sizes and why this state is different →
Northern pike — Statewide inland waters
Northern pike and muskellunge run on the same statutory dates as walleye, which is why the opener matters so much here: four headline species start on the same morning.
Bass — Statewide
The statute says plainly that for largemouth and smallmouth bass "the open season is continuous". Catch-and-release for bass now runs every part of the calendar year, so in Minnesota the bass question is about size and limits, never about dates.
Trout — Lake trout and stream trout
The statute puts trout between January 1 and October 31 "as prescribed by the commissioner by rule", which means the outer bounds are in law and the actual dates for a given water come from the DNR rule. Check the specific lake or stream rather than the statute.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The DNR website blocks automated access, so these dates are read from Minnesota Statutes 97C.395, which is the law that sets them — a stronger source than the summary page, and the reason the opener can be calculated years ahead. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
What the water is doing while the season is open
This is the part an agency page will not tell you. The temperature row above is the seasonal curve we use for the 14 of 21 Minnesota waters we track on a northern lake profile, and it is why an opening date and a fishable date are not the same thing. A season that opens while the water is still in the forties is a legal invitation, not a biological one: the fish are there, they are just not eating on your schedule yet. Cross the legal band against the activity row before you book the day off.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 21 Minnesota waters, each with live flow or tide and today's conditions.
- Mille Lacs Lake — Mille Lacs County
- Leech Lake — Chisago County
- Lake of the Woods — Lake of the Woods County
- Lake Vermilion — St. Louis County
- Cass Lake — Cass County
- Lake Winnibigoshish — Cass County
- Lake Pepin — Goodhue County
- Rainy Lake — Koochiching County
- Big Stone Lake — Big Stone County
- Root River — Fillmore County
The licence is a separate question
An open season is not permission to fish. Minnesota requires a licence from age 16, and residents pay from $25.00 against $46.00 for visitors. What a Minnesota licence costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When does fishing season open in Minnesota?
It depends on the species: walleye may 9 to february 28; northern pike may 9 to february 28; bass open all year. Every date on this page was read off Minnesota DNR on 2026-09-14.
Do I need a licence to fish in Minnesota?
Yes. Minnesota requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. A season being open is not permission to fish: the licence is separate and so are the size and bag limits.
Are these Minnesota dates going to change?
Some of them, and the page says which. Dates written as a rule in the regulations are calculated here for 2026, so they follow the rule rather than going stale. Dates the agency sets each year are shown as exactly that, with no calendar band, because inventing one would be worse than leaving it empty.