Minnesota DNR Certifies 9 New Record Fish | The Mighty 790 KFGO

(courtesy of MN DNR)

After making changes to the fishing record program, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has seen continued interest from anglers in documenting their biggest catches, as evidenced by the nine new state fishing records the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has certified since March.

“It’s fantastic to see all these new records and we’re really pleased with how anglers have participated in the program so far,” said Mandy Erickson, fisheries program consultant. “We plan to continue to release more records as more anglers learn how to certify a record and as time goes on.”

In March, the Minnesota DNR expanded the catch-and-release records category to add additional species, and also made more room for records in the certified weight category by creating a separate category for records made before a certified scale was required to document a fish’s weight.

The Minnesota DNR has certified the following fish as new state records since March 1.

Certified weight category

• Coho Salmon – 12 pounds, 5 ounces; June 1, Lake Superior, St. Louis County; caught by Austin Stoltenburg of Iron
• Black Crappie – 3 pounds, 9 ounces; May 9, Cedar Lake, Rice County; caught by Nolan Sprengeler of Plymouth
• Mooneye – 2 pounds, 1 ounce; May 11, Wabasha Creek, Redwood County; captured by Robert Tufts II of Franklin
• Yellow bass – 1 pound, 3 ounces; May 11, Clear Lake, Jackson County; caught by Dennis Dagel of Lakefield

Catch and release category

• Brown Trout – 30 inches; April 15, Lake Superior, St. Louis County; caught by Dan Zeleznikar of Duluth
• Lake Trout – 42 1/2 inches; April 21, Lake Superior, St. Louis County; caught by Kelsey Vanderheyden of Stanchfield
• Flatnose Sturgeon – 34 1/4 inches; March 8, Mississippi River, Goodhue County; caught by Tyler Young of Lakeville
• Flatnose Sturgeon – 35 inches; March 12, Minnesota River, Scott County; caught by Elliott Feldman of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
• Smallmouth Bass – 22 3/4 inches; June 25, Basswood Lake, Lake County; caught by Xavier Bradley-Rael of Omaha, Nebraska.

Complete registration information and instructions on how to certify a state record fish are available on the Minnesota DNR State Record Fish webpage.