Lake Superior area fisheries

Anglers who fish the largest freshwater lake in the world benefit from the management, habitat and oversight work of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Lake Superior area fisheries staff.

Area Fisheries Supervisor Cory Goldsworthy and a staff of four full-time and three part-time employees manage approximately 2,300 square miles of Lake Superior and portions of its tributary streams along Minnesota's North Shore. They also track harvests in the sport, charter and commercial fisheries to ensure sustainability.

Their work is guided by the Lake Superior fisheries management plan, which DNR – working with numerous user groups – revised in 2016.

What We Do

A successful angler enjoys the dividends of the DNR's investment in lake trout rehabilitation in the Minnesota waters of Lake Superior.

• Conducting fisheries assessments for lake trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, salmon, lake sturgeon and other predator and prey fish species in Lake Superior.
• Tracking the amount of harvest taken in the sport, charter and commercial fisheries and ensure sustainability of the resource.
• Determining total-allowable-catch quotas for the commercial November cisco fishery to ensure sustainable harvest.
• Coordinating efforts with commercial operators to collect scientific data on lake trout and cisco to determine age, diet and age composition of commercial catch.
• Evaluating abundance, survival and emigration patterns of migratory fish populations using fish traps on French and Knife rivers and backpack electro-fishing assessments in Lake Superior's tributary streams on the North Shore.
• Coordinating with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and other state, federal and tribal entities on standardized lake-wide fisheries assessments and management.

Area Notes & Updates

Volunteer anglers needed

• Lake Superior management plan
• Lake Superior Fishing Report: Call 218-302-3293
• Weekly fishing reports and management work

Area Staff

Contact our Lake Superior staff

Slide text left for phones & emails

Name	Position	Phone	Email
Cory Goldsworthy	Area supervisor	218-302-3268	[email protected]
Keith Reeves	Assistant area supervisor	218-302-3277	[email protected]
Joshua Blankenheim	Large lake specialist	218-302-3273	[email protected]
Nick Peterson	Fisheries specialist	218-302-3272	[email protected]
Chris Palvere	Fisheries technician	218-302-3281	[email protected]