Detroit Lakes area fisheries staff perform management, habitat and oversight work for 151 fishing lakes and 1,500 miles of rivers and streams in Becker, Clay, Mahnomen, Norman, Polk and Red Lake counties.
Popular area waters are Detroit Lake, the Cormorant lakes area, White Earth and portions of the Red River.
- News & notices
New video highlights sturgeon recovery
Learn how lake sturgeon recovery efforts led to the first documented natural sturgeon spawning in more than 100 years.
What can I catch?
Wondering what fish you can catch and when you can catch them? Seasons vary for different fish so use our fishing season listing to find out.- Fishing opportunities
Outlooks
Rivers & streams
Learn to fish
Fishing piers & boat ramps by county
- Resources
- Lake management planning
Lakes scheduled for 2024
People who want to discuss the individual fisheries listed below must call or email this area fisheries office during February. Your observations and comments will be considered as updates begin on these fisheries lake management plans.Comments from people interested in the health and quality of Minnesota’s fisheries are a critical part of the DNR’s fisheries lake management planning process. These plans establish fisheries management goals and objectives for each lake and guide the work fisheries biologists do each year.Clicking lake links below take you to LakeFinder, where you can find various lake specific information, including past fisheries surveys. To submit input or learn more about each lake’s management plan, please contact this area office.Lake (nearest city) County Bad Medicine Becker Little Cormorant Becker Union Polk Waboose Becker How you can help
Comments about preferred experiences, observations or general concerns about the fishery – rather than suggestions on how DNR might accomplish a specific goal or objective – are the most helpful kinds of input.Some questions to consider when formulating input could include:- What kind of fishing experience are you looking for?
- Are there fish habitat concerns you’d like to share?
- What species of fish are most important to you?
- Do you like catching fewer big fish or a lot of smaller fish?
- Talk with us
Detroit Lakes staff
Slide text left for phones & emails
Name
Position
Phone
Email
Nathan Olson Area supervisor 218-846-8290 [email protected] Mike Habrat Fisheries specialist 218-846-8290 [email protected] Jeff Buckingham Fisheries specialist 218-846-8290 [email protected] Kaleb Smith Fisheries specialist 218-846-8290 [email protected] Josh Wickstrom Fisheries technician 218-846-8290 [email protected] Nick Kludt Red River fisheries specialist 218-846-8290 [email protected] Janice Haverkamp Office administrative specialist 218-846-8290 [email protected]