Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 1-99 - Fish, Game and Enforcement, Forestry and Recreation
Chapter NR 21 - Wisconsin-Minnesota Boundary Waters
Subchapter I - Sport Fishing
Section NR 21.04 - Sport fishing; seasons and limits
Current through August 26, 2024
All regulations applicable to sport fishing are as follows unless expressly provided elsewhere in this chapter or the law. (23.11, 29.041)
|
Kind of fish and locality |
Open season (both dates inclusive) |
Daily bag limit |
Minimum length (inches) |
|
(1) LARGEMOUTH AND SMALLMOUTH BASS |
|||
|
(a) St. Louis river |
Saturday preceding Memorial Day to March 1 |
5 in aggregate |
14 |
|
(b) St. Croix river upstream from the dam at St. Croix Falls |
Saturday preceding Memorial Day to, but not including, the second Monday in September |
5 in aggregate |
14 |
|
Second Monday in September to March 1 |
0 |
-- |
|
|
(c) St. Croix river downstream from the dam at St. Croix Falls to the highway #10 bridge at Prescott |
Saturday preceding Memorial Day to March 1 |
5 in aggregate |
14 |
|
(d) Mississippi river |
Continuous |
5 in aggregate |
14 |
|
(2) WALLEYE AND SAUGER |
|||
|
(a) St. Croix river downstream to Prescott |
Saturday nearest May 1 to March 1 |
6 in aggregate |
No size limit for sauger, 15 for walleye |
|
(b) St. Croix river from the St. Croix Falls dam downstream to Prescott |
Saturday nearest May 1 to March 1 |
4 in aggregate |
No size limit for sauger, 15 for walleye and only one walleye or sauger may be longer than 20 |
|
(c) Mississippi river |
|||
|
1. Pools 3 to 8 |
Continuous |
4 in aggregate |
No size limit for sauger, 15 for walleye and only one walleye or sauger may be longer than 20 |
|
2. Pool 9 |
Continuous |
6 in aggregate |
No size limit for sauger, 15 for walleye except that possession of walleye from 20 to 27 is prohibited and only one walleye may be longer than 27 |
|
(d) St. Louis river |
Saturday 2 weeks prior to the Saturday nearest Memorial Day to March 1 |
2 in aggregate |
No size limit for sauger, 15 for walleye |
|
(3) NORTHERN PIKE |
|||
|
(a) St. Croix river downstream to Prescott |
Saturday nearest May 1 to March 1 |
5 |
No size limit |
|
(am) St. Croix river from the St. Croix Falls dam down- stream to Prescott |
Saturday nearest May 1 to March 1 |
3 |
No size limit except only one may be longer than 30 |
|
(b) Mississippi river from Prescott downstream |
|||
|
1. Pools 3 to 9 |
Continuous |
3 |
No size limit, but only one may be longer than 30 |
|
(c) St. Louis river |
Saturday 2 weeks prior to the Saturday nearest Memorial Day to March 1 |
2 |
No size limit |
|
(4) SUNFISH AND BLUEGILLS COMBINED |
|||
|
(a) Mississippi river Pools 3 to 9, St. Croix river from the St. Croix Falls dam downstream to Prescott including Lake St. Croix |
Continuous |
15 in total |
No size limit |
|
(b) St. Croix river upstream of the St. Croix Falls dam, St. Louis river |
Continuous |
25 in total |
No size limit |
|
(4g) WHITE AND YELLOW BASS COMBINED |
|||
|
(a) Mississippi river Pools 3 to 9, St. Croix river from the St. Croix Falls dam downstream to Prescott including Lake St. Croix |
Continuous |
10 in total |
No size limit |
|
(b) St. Croix river upstream of the St. Croix Falls dam, St. Louis river |
Continuous |
25 in total |
No size limit |
|
(4m) CRAPPIES, YELLOW PERCH |
|||
|
(a)Mississippi river Pools 3 to 9, St. Croix river from the St. Croix Falls dam downstream to Prescott including Lake St. Croix |
Continuous |
15 of each |
No size limit |
|
(b) St. Croix river upstream of the St. Croix Falls dam, St. Louis river |
Continuous |
25 of each |
No size limit |
|
(4r) ROCK BASS |
|||
|
(a) All boundary waters |
Continuous |
25 of each |
No size limit |
|
(5) CATFISH |
|||
|
(a) St. Louis River and St. Croix river upstream of the St. Croix Falls dam |
|||
|
3. Hook and line |
Continuous |
10 in aggregate |
No size limit |
|
4. Bow and arrow, crossbow |
Saturday nearest April 21 to March 1 |
5 channel, 1 flathead |
No size limit |
|
5. By hand |
June 1 to August 31 |
5 channel, 1 flathead |
No size limit |
|
(am) St. Croix river from the St. Croix Falls dam down- stream to Prescott |
|||
|
1. Hook and line |
Continuous |
5 channel, 2 flathead |
None except only one channel catfish longer than 24 may be kept and only one flathead catfish longer than 24 may be kept |
|
2. Bow and crossbow |
Saturday nearest April 21 to March 1 |
5 channel, 1 flathead |
None except only one channel catfish longer than 24 may be kept and only one flathead catfish longer than 24 may be kept |
|
3. By hand |
June 1 to August 31 |
5 channel, 1 flathead |
None except only one channel catfish longer than 24 may be kept and only one flathead catfish longer than 24 may be kept |
|
(b) Mississippi river from Prescott downstream | |||
|
1. Hook and line | |||
|
a. Pools 3 to 9 |
Continuous |
10 in aggregate |
No size limit, except that only one may be longer than 30 |
|
2. Bow and arrow, crossbow |
Saturday nearest April 21 to March 1 |
5 channel, 1 flathead |
No size limit |
|
3. By hand |
June 1 to August 31 |
5 channel, 1 flathead |
No size limit |
|
(6) BULLHEADS |
Continuous |
No bag limit |
No size limit |
|
(7) LAKE STURGEON |
|||
|
(a) St. Croix river downstream from the dam at St. Croix Falls |
First Saturday in September to September 30 |
1 per season |
60 inches |
|
June 16 to Friday preceding the first Saturday in September and October 1 to March 1 |
0, Catch-and-release only |
-- |
|
|
(b) Mississippi river downstream from the Red Wing dam, St. Louis river |
June 16 to April 14 |
0, Catch-and-release only |
-- |
|
(c) Mississippi river from the Red Wing dam upstream, St. Croix river upstream from the dam at St. Croix Falls (to the dam at Gordon flowage in Douglas county) |
June 16 to March 1 |
0, Catch-and-release only |
-- |
|
(8) SHOVELNOSE STURGEON |
|||
|
(a) Mississippi river from the Red Wing dam upstream and the St. Croix and St. Louis rivers |
June 16 to March 1 |
0, Catch-and-release only |
-- |
|
(b) Mississippi river from the Red Wing dam downstream |
Continuous |
3 |
No size limit |
|
(9) PADDLEFISH (SPOONBILL CATFISH) |
No open season |
-- |
-- |
|
(10) ROUGH FISH |
Continuous |
No bag limit |
No size limit |
|
(11) MUSKELLUNGE |
|||
|
(a) St. Croix river, St. Louis river, Mississippi river |
Saturday nearest Memorial Day to November 30 |
1 |
50 inches |
|
(12) CRAYFISH (29.415-new) |
May 1 to March 1 |
No bag limit |
No size limit |
|
(13) TROUT AND SALMON |
|||
|
(a) St. Louis river - see NR 20.20 (16) (g) 1. |
|||
|
(14) OTHER SPECIES |
Inland regulations of adjoining counties as contained in ch. NR 20 apply |
(15) No person may have in possession or under control more than the daily bag limit of fish or turtles while on the ice, waters, bank or shore of the Wisconsin-Minnesota boundary waters.
(16) A person may not possess or have under control more than 2 times the daily bag limit of fish, or more than the possession limit of turtles when not on the waters or ice during the open season for each species.
