Volunteer Creel Project

Date: Year-Round

Time: Any time you catch fish is the right time!

Location: Any stream along Minnesota’s North Shore

Participation couldn’t be easier and there are only two requirements: Catch fish, Submit Reports.

All we ask for in a report is the North Shore Region (NOT the stream), date, species, and number caught. No location specifics guaranteed! Help us help anglers understand our North Shore fishery better. To learn more about the program and how you can participate, click the Creel Project Page Link. To see a sample of what MNST does with your report data, click the Sample MNST Creel Report Link.

Adopt-A-River Clean-up & Social

Date: Spring 2023 – TBD (Date TBD)

Time: 4:30 – Sundown(ish)

Location: Sucker River parking Lot

There will be a causal parking lot social gathering after the clean up efforts. Volunteers needed click on the link for more information and registration.

Seminar Series

Date: January 24, 2023 (Date TBD)

Time: 5:30 – 9:00

Location: Summit Brewery ratskeller

Continuing our popular winter seminars. This year’s topic is centered around migratory trout and salmon along our North Shore, presented by Carl Haensel. Click on the link for more information and registration.

Women on the Fly Clinic

Date: Spring, 2024 (Date TBD)

Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm

Location: Mid-Shore River

The clinic provides ladies who are interested in steelheading, but have limited experience, an opportunity to gain the perspective and knowledge needed to begin their own steelhead quest.  Taught by women, for women.

Fall Streamside Clinic

Date: September, 2024 (Date TBD)

Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm

Location: Mid-Shore River

A wonderful event for all beginner to intermediate anglers interested in learning more about our North Shore fishery, the fish that swim our waters, and some techniques on how to catch them.  This is all done annually on a beautiful North Shore River.

Shore Fishing Clinic

Date: Winter, 2024

Time: 9:00am – 11:00am

Location: French River Lutheran Church – Fellowship Hall

Open water winter fishing on Lake Superior.  This clinic is aimed to teach anglers the fundamentals of shore casting the breaks, beaches and shore of Minnesota’s Lake Superior shoreline. The clinic focuses on steelhead, coho salmon, and kamloops rainbow trout .

Fisheries Volunteer Opportunities

Minnesota Steelheader is one of several organizations assisting the MN DNR with stream assessment work. This is a great opportunity for volunteers to give back while learning a ton of valuable information. Contact us if you would like to get involved.

No Treble Hook Campaign

We started work on the No Treble Hooks campaign in 2014. The goal was to provide clarity to an often misunderstood portion of our state fishing regulations. With the ever-growing diversity of travelers and anglers along HWY 61, we concluded a universal symbol with minimal text would help provide a clear easy to read message.  We also felt the message needed to viewed at fishing locations. The result was the creation of several dozen aluminum signs. Volunteers helped install these signs at several locations along our North Shore Tributaries along HWY 61 from Duluth to the Canadian border. This project was created, designed, produced, funded, and installed entirely by Minnesota Steelheader volunteers. It is a collaborative project with the MN DNR and area state park leadership.

Advocacy and Conservation

In 2011 we advocated for the removal of all wayside parking area trash receptacles between Duluth and Two Harbors.  None of these containers had lids and through our Adopt-a-River clean up efforts, we discovered that much of the trash in these containers were being pulled out into the surroundings by animals.  We reached out to St. Louis County with our request.  Within a couple weeks all the containers at over a dozen locations had been removed. “You brought the trash, take it with you.”  We felt scenic parking and overlook areas are not places for garbage collection.  The following year’s annual Sucker River clean up resulted in 1/2 the amount of trash collected from the previous year with trash containers in place.

Coaster Brook Trout measuring tools

This project was a partnership between the Minnesota DNR, Big Idea Creative, and Minnesota Steelheader. The DNR needed an accurate measuring tool for volunteer anglers participating in the Coaster Genetic Project. A rugged PVC device and measuring decal applique were developed using a design provided by Big Idea. Minnesota Steelheader provided resources for the measuring decal application resulting in calibrated, field-ready measuring tools.

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Fisheries Involvement

Minnesota Steelheader is one of several organizations represented on the MN DNR Lake Superior Advisory Group.  The selected group of advisors assisted with the drafting and completion of the 2016 – 2025 Fisheries Management plan for the MN waters of Lake Superior.  We also are represented on the selected MNDNR R3 council with a goal of tackling the tough issues of declining involvement in MN Hunting and fishing.