Lake City Area Fisheries

Minnesota map showing Lake City location

1801 South Oak Street
Lake City, MN 55041
651-345-3365
[email protected]

Anglers who fish in Goodhue, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona county areas benefit from the management, habitat and oversight work of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Lake City area fisheries staff.

Area Fisheries Supervisor Kevin Stauffer with four full-time and one part-time employee manage a handful of reservoirs and the Mississippi River from Hastings to the Iowa border. The area includes the Mississippi's 29,295-acre Lake Pepin, which stretches 21 miles from Red Wing to Alma, Wis. Area staff also manage 200 miles of trout streams and two popular medium-sized rivers – the Cannon and Zumbro.

What we do

At work for you

Lake City area staff electro-fishing during an assessment on a designated trout stream where recent habitat work occurred.

Conduct annual, long term fisheries monitoring on Lake Pepin, the Mississippi River and Driftless Area trout streams. Data from these monitoring programs create the foundation for fisheries management on these resources.
Work in partnership with the state of Wisconsin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and citizen groups to manage fisheries habitat on 150 miles of the Mississippi River from Hastings (Pool 3) to the Iowa border (Pool 9).
Develop and implement large-scale habitat restoration projects on the Mississippi River to improve fish habitat and fishing success. Funding from Minnesota's Outdoor Heritage Fund and the federally funded Upper Mississippi River Restoration program pay for the projects but not the development and implementation work that Lake City fisheries staff must do to bring these projects to fruition.
Manage approximately 200 miles of trout streams in Goodhue, Dakota and Wabasha counties. Includes acquisition of new angler easements, working cooperatively with Trout Unlimited on one or two stream restoration projects annually and maintaining existing habitat projects and easements.
Provide expanded fishing opportunities in the Rochester area through stocking, special regulations and cooperative projects to improve access and fishing success.
Manage 400 miles of warm-water streams, including some of the best smallmouth bass streams in the state, including the Cannon and Zumbro rivers.

Area highlights

Area map

Detailed area map - Lake City Area Fisheries comprises parts of five counties plus the Mississippi River from Hastings to Iowa.

Fisheries research in southeastern Minnesota

More information on Fisheries Research in SE MN