Pepin

Angling Forecast Anglers in 2021-2023 experienced "low" summer and fall water levels not seen since the late 1980s. These levels presented challenges to anglers whose experience on Pool 4 only took place during the last decade or so when "high water" has been the norm, but strong populations of multiple gamefish species particularly Walleye, Sauger, Yellow Perch, and Black Crappie were enjoyed by many. In 2024 higher summer water levels returned and catches remained good for most gamefish species. Yellow Perch catches from the Lake Pepin portion of Pool 4 seemed to decrease a bit and a resurgent Northern Pike population offered excellent opportunities for anglers at times throughout the summer. The 2025 outlook for Walleye and Sauger anglers is still good despite a sharp drop off in Walleye numbers in the gill nets in 2024. Four year classes from age-6 through age-11 contributed Sauger >20-inches in the 2024 gill nets. During the 2025 angling season these fish and fast-growing individuals from the large 2020 year class should provide opportunities for Sauger >20-inches. Strong reproduction of Walleye from 2018-2021 will provide large Walleyes for anglers while the 2021 year class will also provide fish just under 20 inches for those interested in harvest. Strong Sauger production in 2018 and 2020 will provide ample fish for anglers in 2025. Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, and Bluegill should continue to provide good angling opportunities during 2025 based on the numbers of adult and juvenile fish sampled. The consistent Bluegill and Yellow Perch reproduction observed for the last several decades should continue to provide good angling opportunities with quality sized fish available in 2025. Though recent year classes of crappie have not been exceptionally strong, consistent observation of 10-13 inch Black Crappie indicate that in 2025 anglers should find plenty of harvestable fish, but smaller sizes will also be present and as always sorting will likely be required. Northern Pike seem to have taken advantage of the high survival of YOY Gizzard Shad over the winter of 2023-2024. While other species struggled with the lack of YOY shad in the spring of 2024 Northern Pike, with their larger mouths, were able to capitalize on the 5-7 inch age-1 Gizzard Shad that survived the winter. Anglers should have ample opportunities to target Northern Pike throughout Pool 4 in 2025 as this abundant source of large prey can rapidly grow pike to preferred and even trophy size when favorable conditions occur. The start of the 2015 angling season on March 1, 2015 represented the first time since the early 1990's that anglers were allowed to legally target Lake Sturgeon in Pool 4. Wisconsin opened a season matching Minnesota's on their shared border waters in 2016. Local interest in the species continues to increase, and anglers have, on several occasions, assisted DNR staff in their tagging efforts by providing hook and line caught individuals for tagging. This method should be used to continue expanding the tagged population of Lake Sturgeon in the system. If a tag is encountered by an angler please submit the tag to the MN DNR by searching "MN DNR Tagged Fish Reporting" in your preferred search engine. The first result should be a link to a graphical interface allowing you to report your catch from your computer or smart phone. Regulations The first comprehensive public review of bag and size limits in over fifty years was initiated in 2018 on the Mississippi River portion of the border waters between Minnesota and Wisconsin. After collecting input from nearly 2000 total surveys (electronic and meetings combined) proposed regulations were developed by Department of Natural Resources staff from both Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearings in 2019 showed strong support for all proposals, verifying what had been found by the second round of surveys (N=1225) conducted in 2018. The new regulations were approved by both states and went into effect in Minnesota on February 24, 2020 and in Wisconsin on April 1, 2020. Reports from conservation officers and members of the public have indicated that the new regulations have been greeted with very high acceptance by the public. A post regulation change creel ran from November 1, 2022 through Oct 31, 2024. This creel will be analyzed over the next year or so and results should be available by spring of 2026. It is hoped that this creel can document angler harvest and pressure trends post regulation change as well as testing a potential shift in how pressure estimates are made on some of the lower probability accesses in Pool 4. In an effort to test new pressure estimate methods the creel interview sheet for the last 12 months of the creel was modified to collect additional information that might be used to parse effort collected using Anonymous Location Data (ALD) collected from smart device users. Recent cooperation with Iowa DNR and the UMRCC Fisheries Technical Committee has identified ALD as a potential means of enhancing the ability of state agencies to collect resource use data in an economically feasible way on large systems. The UMRCC Executive Board, at the spring 2024 meeting, approved money to purchase ALD products for Pool 4 upon termination of the current creel at the end of October. Data from the UMRCC funded survey was made available to DNR staff in March of 2025. Those data and output obtained through cooperation with Iowa DNR from another data supplier will be evaluated for use on large scale river creels going forward by using the Pool 4 Creel as a test case.

Anglers in 2021-2023 experienced "low" summer and fall water levels not seen since the late 1980s. These levels presented challenges to anglers whose experience on Pool 4 only took place during the last decade or so when "high water" has been the norm, but strong populations of multiple gamefish species particularly Walleye, Sauger, Yellow Perch, and Black Crappie were enjoyed by many. The 2024 outlook for Walleye and Sauger anglers is very positive. Six year classes from age-4 through age-10 contributed Sauger >20-inches in the 2023 gill nets. During the 2024 angling season these fish and fast-growing individuals from the large 2020 year class should provide opportunities for Sauger >20-inches. Strong reproduction of Walleye from 2018-2021 and Sauger in 2018 and 2020 will provide ample fish for anglers in 2024. Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, and Bluegill should continue to provide excellent angling opportunities during 2024 based on the numbers of adult and juvenile fish sampled. The consistent Bluegill and Yellow Perch reproduction observed for the last several decades should continue to provide good angling opportunities with quality sized fish available in 2024. The likely strong 2018 year class of Black Crappie will enhance an already productive crappie fishery by providing larger individuals to the population for the next several years. For the last several years, these fish were available in large numbers from 10-13 inches in length, so in 2024 anglers should find plenty of harvestable fish, but smaller sizes will also be present and as always sorting will likely be required. Northern Pike numbers are coming down from recent highs, but anglers should have ample opportunities to target Northern Pike throughout Pool 4 as abundant food sources rapidly grow pike to preferred and even trophy size when favorable conditions occur. The start of the 2015 angling season on March 1, 2015 represented the first time since the early 1990's that anglers were allowed to legally target Lake Sturgeon in Pool 4. Wisconsin opened a season matching Minnesota's on their shared border waters in 2016. After eight open water seasons of catch and release angling for Lake Sturgeon on Pool 4, local interest in the species continues to increase. Anglers have, on several occasions, assisted DNR staff in their tagging efforts by providing hook and line caught individuals for tagging. This method should be used to continue expanding the tagged population of Lake Sturgeon in the system.

Anglers in 2021-2022 experienced "low" water levels not seen since the late 1980s. These levels presented challenges to anglers whose experience on Pool 4 only took place during the last decade or so when "high water" has been the norm, but strong populations of multiple gamefish species particularly Walleye and Black Crappie were enjoyed by many. The 2023 outlook for Walleye and Sauger anglers is very positive. Five year classes from age-4 through age-8 contributed Sauger >20-inches in the 2022 gill nets. During the 2023 angling season these fish should provide opportunities for Sauger >20-inches. Strong reproduction of Walleye in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and Sauger in 2018 and 2020 led to numerous reports of their capture as YOY by anglers both on open water and through the ice in 2020. Those fish from 2020 (29.4% of the Walleye and 71.8% of the Sauger caught in the 2022 gill nets) will provide numerous fish 13-19 inches for Walleye and 12-17 inches for Sauger in 2023. Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, and Bluegill should continue to provide excellent angling opportunities during 2023 based on the numbers of adult and juvenile fish sampled. The consistent Bluegill and Yellow Perch reproduction observed since 2004 should continue to provide good angling opportunities with quality sized fish available in 2023. Four apparent strong year classes (2012-2014 and 2018) of Black Crappie will enhance an already productive crappie fishery with individuals recruiting to the creel for the next several years. In late 2022 these fish were available in large numbers from 10-13 inches in length, so in 2023 anglers should find plenty of harvestable fish, but smaller sizes will also be present and as always sorting will likely be required. Northern Pike numbers remain above the third quartile, likely as a result of high water, abundant forage, and extensive spawning opportunities. Anglers should have ample opportunities to target Northern Pike throughout Pool 4 as abundant food sources rapidly grow pike to preferred and even trophy size when favorable conditions occur. The start of the 2015 angling season on March 1, 2015 represented the first time since the early 1990's that anglers were allowed to legally target Lake Sturgeon in Pool 4. Wisconsin opened a season matching Minnesota's on their shared border waters in 2016. After eight open water seasons of catch and release angling for Lake Sturgeon on Pool 4, local interest in the species continues to increase. Anglers have, on several occasions, assisted DNR staff in their tagging efforts by providing hook and line caught individuals for tagging. This method should be used to continue expanding the tagged population of Lake Sturgeon in the system.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Channel Catfish, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Walleye in Pepin. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Pepin. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Pepin has a maximum depth of 60 feet and a mean depth of 21 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Pepin is from 2024.

Yes — Pepin has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil, bighead carp, silver carp, and zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.

Pepin is a border water, so it follows Minnesota–Wisconsin border-water regulations, which differ from inland Minnesota rules. Verify current rules with the Minnesota DNR before keeping fish.