Upper Red Lake

MN · Beltrami

Stocked
119,323 acres mapped (USGS NHD)
61.1 miles of shoreline
USGS gauge

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The pin marks the middle of the water, for directions. The shoreline on the map comes from USGS NHD.

At a glance

Acres: 119,323 acres
Shoreline: 61.1 miles of shoreline
County: Beltrami County
Last stocked: 2025
Species: Lake Sturgeon

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Conditions

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Overview

Upper Red Lake in Beltrami County is one of Minnesota's largest lakes, but only part of it is open to state anglers. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the 48,000 acres east of longitude 94 degrees 43 minutes 12 seconds west are state waters. The remaining 72,000 acres to the west, and all of Lower Red Lake, lie within the Red Lake Indian Reservation and are closed to non-band members except by tribal authorization. The real boundary is not a straight north-south line, so DNR recommends using a GPS and staying east of that line. Walleye are the main species state anglers fish for. They are managed under a joint harvest plan with Red Lake Nation that sets target harvest levels, and DNR adjusts the state walleye rules from season to season to keep spawning numbers in the right range. Upper Red is an infested water with zebra mussels and starry stonewort, so anglers must drain all water and remove plants and invasive species before leaving.

Regulations

Upper Red Lake walleye limits are set by special rule and can change between the open water and winter seasons. Stay on state waters east of the boundary. See DNR's Upper Red Lake regulations page and the current Minnesota fishing regulations: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/upper-red-lake-regulations.html ; https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/index.html

Stocking history

Species	Qty	Size	When
Lake Sturgeon	21907	fingerlings	2025

Gear for the fish stocked here

Lake Sturgeon

Rod: Stout medium-heavy to heavy rod, similar to a muskie rod.

Line: Braided line, 50 lb or more; many use 80 to 100 lb.

Baits: a ball of 3 to 5 nightcrawlers, often with a minnow or two

Full Lake Sturgeon gear guide

Gear for every species

Likely species (watershed)

Bigmouth Shiner, Blacknose Dace, Blacknose Shiner, Bluntnose Minnow, Brassy Minnow, Brown Trout, Creek Chub, Fathead Minnow, Finescale Dace, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Longnose Dace, Northern Redbelly Dace, Silver Lamprey, Spottail Shiner, Trout-perch, Western Blacknose Dace

Likely species come from USGS Aquatic GAP ranges for the whole watershed (HUC8). They show what may be here, not a count of this water.

Watch for stocking

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Nearby waters

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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

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Some stocking records are adapted from LurePassion (formerly lurepassion.com) (normalized and matched to our waters), licensed CC BY 4.0. State agencies retain their own terms for the underlying records.