Up North Lake Finder
Up North Lake Finder
Questions, bug reports, feedback or feature requests — we'd like to hear from you.
The app includes Minnesota lakes that have an official DNR fisheries survey on record. Lakes that have never been surveyed aren't shown. Many lakes share a name, so the search results list the county alongside each one to tell them apart.
The dataset is Minnesota-only. You can open the app anywhere, but panning the map outside Minnesota will tell you there's no coverage there rather than leaving you with an empty map.
The DNR publishes a normal range for each species on each survey gear — the middle half of what its surveys typically catch statewide. The app compares this lake's catch rate against that range and says which side it falls on: above normal, normal, or below normal. The range is printed right under the catch rate, so you can check the call rather than take our word for it. "Above normal" means the lake out-fished most comparable surveys — not a guaranteed day on the water.
Because that's the DNR's own answer, not a gap in our data. It publishes a normal range only for its two standard survey gears, and only where that gear meaningfully samples the species — northern pike in trap nets have no published range, and neither do most minnows and shiners. Rather than invent a rating the DNR didn't make, the app says so plainly and still shows you every number from the survey.
DNR crews sample with more than one gear type, and catch rates are only comparable within the same gear — trap-net numbers can't be read against gill-net numbers. Walleye, for example, are caught far more effectively in gill nets. That's also why the DNR publishes a separate normal range for each gear, and why the app rates a species against the range for the gear it was caught in. The same fish population can be normal on both gears at very different catch rates. Lake summaries show the standard gear for that species; the lake detail screen shows every survey in full, with the gear labeled.
The catch log and your personal best for each species are free. With a subscription, each fish is also measured two ways: against what the DNR actually netted in that same lake, and against the Minnesota state record for that species. Minnesota keeps separate catch-and-release (length) and certified-weight records, and for several species an older pre-1980 weight record still stands — the app compares against whichever mark is actually the one to beat. Records are a point-in-time snapshot, so confirm with the DNR before claiming anything.
Survey, stocking, regulation and advisory data reflects what was available at the time of each app update, and special regulations are stamped in-app with the date they were captured. A survey is a sample, not a census — lakes surveyed a long time ago are flagged, and you can always verify against the official DNR or MDH page linked from each lake.
The app is free, and everything sourced from the DNR and MDH stays free: every lake's survey data, consumption advisories, special regulations, public access, stocking, lake metrics, recorded ice dates, state records, your saved lakes and your catch log. That's public data and it isn't going behind a paywall. An optional subscription adds the parts we build on top of it — ranking lakes for a species, comparing your catches against surveys and records, survey history charts, and ice estimates for lakes the DNR hasn't tracked. You can use the app indefinitely without it.
The whole dataset is bundled inside the app, so lake pages, search, filters and your catch log all work with no service. The map itself is Apple Maps and needs a connection to draw its tiles — if you're heading somewhere with no bars, look the lake up by name and everything else is there.
No. Favorites and catch log entries are stored only on your device, and deleting the app removes them. Nothing is uploaded — see our Privacy Policy.
Let us know which lake and what looks wrong and we'll take a look. Fish survey data comes from the Minnesota DNR LakeFinder dataset, and consumption advisories from the Minnesota Department of Health; both are linked from within the app so you can check the official source directly.