Minnesota regulations
Bluegill (Sunfish) Regulations in Minnesota 2026
Minnesota bluegill regulations in 2026: 20 fish/day bag limit. Zone-specific exceptions may apply — see the rule table below. Sourced from DNR.
Rules (322)
Minnesota statewide
- Daily bag
- 20 fish/day
- Daily bag
- 20 fish/day
- Gear
- Angling Only
Statewide aggregate per 2026 Minnesota Fishing Regulations (Inland Seasons and Limits, p.29-31). Part of statewide Sunfish 20-combined limit. Statewide aggregate per 2026 Minnesota Fishing Regulations (Inland Seasons and Limits, p.29-31). Bluegill, pumpkinseed, green, orangespotted, northern, warmouth, and their hybrids combined. You may use up to 3 artificial flies on 1 fishing line when you are fishing for bass, crappie, rock bass, sunfish, or trout.
Aitkin Lake Including Area Known As Aitkin Flowage
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Annie Battle Lake Including Inlet To Molly Stark Lake And Outlet To Blanche Lake
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Annie Battle Lake Including Inlet To Molly Stark Lake And Outlet To Blanche Lake (Otter Tail)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Augusta Lake Including Connected Clearwater, Grass, Augusta, Otter, And Caroline Lakes (Wright)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Basswood Lake (Includes Jackfish, Pipestone, Hoist, And Back Bays)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Big Portage Lake And Connected Rice And Deep Portage Lakes (Cass)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Cass Chain Including Connecting Waters Wolf, Ose, Andrusia, Big Lake Creek, Mississippi River, Cass, Fox Creek, Pike Bay, Windigo, Buck, Big Rice, Little Rice, Kitchi, Turtle River, And Pug Hole (Beltrami)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Clearwater Lake Including Connected Caroline, Augusta, Grass And Otter Lakes And Connecting Portions Of The Clearwater River (Stearns And Wright)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Cross Lake And Connected Waters Including The Snake River Under The I-35 Bridges Downstream To The Cross Lake Road/County Road 9 Bridge (Pine)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Crow Wing Lakes, 1st Including The Crow Wing River From County Road 109 Upstream To Crown Point Road (Hubbard)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Crow Wing Lakes, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, And 4th Including The Crow Wing River From County Road 109 Upstream To Crown Point Road (Hubbard)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Crow Wing Lakes, 2nd Including The Crow Wing River From County Road 109 Upstream To Crown Point Road (Hubbard)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Crow Wing Lakes, 3rd Including The Crow Wing River From County Road 109 Upstream To Crown Point Road (Hubbard)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Crow Wing Lakes, 4th Including The Crow Wing River From County Road 109 Upstream To Crown Point Road (Hubbard)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Crow Wing River From County Road 109 Upstream To Crown Point Road
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Dam Lake And Connected Lily Lake And Dam Brook (Aitkin)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Davis Lake Including Bay Known As Steamboat Lake
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Deer Lake Including Otter Tail River (Otter Tail)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
East Lost Lake Including Otter Tail River (Otter Tail)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Gamehaven Lake (Boy Scout Lake Or Willow Reservoir No. 4)
- Possession
- 10 fish
Horseshoe Lake And Connected Minnewawa Lake (Aitkin)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Jay Gould Including Little Jay Gould And Blackwater Reservoir Upstream To Highway 6 (Itasca)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Lida Lakes, South And North, Including Mud Lake (Otter Tail)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Little Pine Lake Including Mud Lake West Of County Hwy 51 And Up To 425th Avenue (Otter Tail)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Long Lake Near Spaulding (Todd)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
- Possession
- 10 fish
Minnewawa Lake And Connected Horseshoe Lake (Aitkin)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Mississippi River From Brainerd Dam Upstream To Highway 6 Including Rice, Little Rabbit, And Half Moon Lakes And Connected Backwaters (Crow Wing)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Osakis And Little Osakis Lakes (Douglas And Todd)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Platte Lake (Crow Wing County) And Sullivan Lake (Morrison)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
combined total for both lakes as one water body
Pokegama Lake And Connected Waters Including The Snake River From The Little Walleye Landing Downstream To The I-35 Bridges (Pine)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Prairie River From Confluence With Tamarack River Downstream To Confluence With Big Sandy Lake
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Sand Lake And Connected Talac And Sorenson Lakes (Becker)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Sand Lake Including Connecting Birds Eye Lake, Little Sand Lake, Portage Lake And Bowstring River Upstream To County Road 35 Bridge And Downstream To The County Road 145 Bridge (Itasca)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Sandy River From State Highway 210 Downstream To Confluence With The Mississippi River
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Sauk River Chain Of Lakes From Highway 23 Downstream To The Cold Spring Dam Including Becker, Bolfing, Cedar Island, Great Northern, Horseshoe, Knaus, Krays, Schneider And Zumwalde Lakes (Stearns)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Snake River From The Little Walleye Landing Downstream To The I-35 Bridges (Pine)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Snake River Under The I-35 Bridges Downstream To The Cross Lake Road/County Road 9 Bridge
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
Splithand Lake Including Moody’s Creek Upstream To County Road 432 (Itasca)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
St. Croix River Downstream Of Taylors Falls Dam, Mississippi River And Lake Pepin
- Possession
- 15 fish
combined total (bluegill, pumpkinseed, green, orangespotted, northern, warmouth, and their hybrids)
St. Louis River Estuary And St. Croix River Upstream Of Taylors Falls Dam
- Possession
- 25 fish
combined total (bluegill, pumpkinseed, green, orangespotted, northern, warmouth, and their hybrids)
Three Island Lake Including Turtle River (Beltrami)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Turtle River Chain Of Lakes Including Connected Turtle River Lake, Little Turtle, Big Turtle, Movil, Beltrami, Fox Lakes, And The Turtle River From Little Turtle Lake Downstream To Fox Lake (Beltrami)
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Waukenabo Lake And Connected West Lake (Aitkin)
- Daily bag
- 10 fish/day
West Savanna River From County Highway 14 Downstream To Confluence With The Prairie River
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Winnibigoshish Lake And Connected Waters (Beltrami, Cass, And Itasca): Mississippi River To Knutson Dam, Third River Flowage To Little Dixon Lake, Pigeon River To Pigeon Lake Dam, First River, Egg Lake Through Cut Foot Sioux Lake, Little Cut Foot Sioux Lake, Raven Flowage To Raven Lake, And Sugar Lake.
- Daily bag
- 5 fish/day
Other Minnesota fish regulations
Other regulated species in Minnesota with current rule pages — same DNR source, same verification cadence.
- Northern Pike388 rules
- Walleye324 rules
- Largemouth Bass162 rules
- Smallmouth Bass140 rules
- Crappie (Black & White)135 rules
- Trout (Brook, Brown, Rainbow)123 rules
- Lake Sturgeon31 rules
- Lake Trout30 rules
- Muskie (Muskellunge)20 rules
- Channel Catfish19 rules
- Yellow Perch17 rules
Also known as
Bluegill is also called Bluegill (Sunfish), Pumpkinseed, Sunfish, Redear Sunfish, sunfish. Anglers in different regions use different names for the same fish, and the rules on this page apply to all of them in Minnesota.
Frequently asked questions
When is Bluegill season in Minnesota?
Bluegill season in Minnesota is set by DNR. Some zones may have specific open windows; see the rule table above.
What is the size limit for Bluegill in Minnesota?
Minnesota does not publish a state-wide minimum size for Bluegill. Check zone-specific rules above.
What is the daily bag limit for Bluegill in Minnesota?
Daily bag limit for Bluegill in Minnesota is 5 fish/day in Aitkin Lake Including Area Known As Aitkin Flowage, per DNR.
Official sources cited
- https://www.eregulations.com/minnesota/fishing/special-regulations
- https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing_regs.pdf
- https://www.eregulations.com/minnesota/fishing/general-regulations
Reference only. Regulations change frequently, often mid-season. Always verify with DNR before keeping a catch.