Up North Lake Finder
Offline Minnesota fishing app
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
Filter MN lake survey data. Has MDH consumption advice, AIS presence, public access, catch log - free, no signal. Subscription adds statewide rankings, 2 week free trial.
What's actually in that lake? Up North Lake Finder carries the DNR's own survey records for 3,762 Minnesota lakes, works with no signal, and asks for no account. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Minnesota DNR or MDH. 80,127 survey records across 82 of Minnesota's 87 counties. No ads, no tracking, nothing about you sold.
FREE, AND STAYING THAT WAY
Every figure the Minnesota DNR publishes is free here, permanently: Survey data for every lake: species, catch rates, sizes, survey years Consumption advisories, special regulations and infested waters Public access with ramps and parking, lake depth, water clarity, stocking history Recorded DNR ice-out and ice-in dates, and state records Your own saved lakes and catch log
KNOW BEFORE YOU EAT
Contaminants vary lake to lake, and most fishing apps ignore it. This one shows waterbody-specific advisories (mercury, PFAS and PCBs), with separate guidance for people who are pregnant, may become pregnant or nursing, and for children under 15. Lakes without their own fall back to Minnesota's statewide guidelines.
WHAT THE DNR ACTUALLY FOUND
How each lake's catch rate sits against the DNR's published normal range for that species and gear Catch rates by gear, sizes and length ranges, survey by survey, back decades What share of a lake's walleye, pike, crappie, bluegill or pumpkinseed are in the size range worth keeping, measured from every fish the DNR sampled, not just the biggest one 15 game species: walleye, pike, muskie, bass, crappie, bluegill, perch, rock bass, cisco and trout Water clarity, and how it compares to the rest of the state
FIND YOUR WATER
Search by name, county, or the DNR's own lake number Filter by species, DNR abundance, trophy size, survey year, lake size and advisories Interactive map with real lake shapes
KEEP A CATCH LOG
Log what you catch with the lake and date attached, and keep a personal best for each game species. It stays on your device.
WITH OPTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION:
$9.99/YEAR The subscription doesn't unlock the DNR's data. It unlocks what the app works out from it: Best Lakes: rank eleven game fish by catch rate and how many are grown, within any distance you choose Where a lake's catch rate lands among every survey of that species statewide, filtered to the top 10%, 25% or 50% Where that keeper share ranks against every other lake holding the same species How your catches measure up: each personal best against what the DNR netted there, and the state record Survey history and fish-length charts: the same free numbers, drawn Ice-out and ice-in estimates for lakes with no DNR average.
Not subscribing is fine; the DNR's figures stay free.
HONEST ABOUT THE DATA
A survey is a sample, not a census, and this app says so. Old surveys are flagged, and a species missing from the latest standard survey is called out rather than shown with stale numbers. Catch rates are only compared within one gear, and lakes the DNR closes to fishing are marked closed.
WORKS WITHOUT A SIGNAL
The whole dataset ships inside the app. Lake pages, search, filters and your catch log work with no service. The map is Apple Maps and needs a connection for its tiles.
Survey, stocking, regulation, access, ice-out and state-record data come from the Minnesota DNR; consumption advisories and guidelines from the Minnesota Department of Health. Regulations and advisories are point-in-time snapshots, so confirm with the DNR and MDH before you fish or eat. Maps are not for navigation.
Optional Subscription: Up North — Annual, $9.99/year, auto-renewing until canceled. Charged to your Apple Account when the free trial ends, or on confirmation if no trial applies; renews unless auto-renew is off at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in Settings.
Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Privacy Policy: https://upnorthlakefinder.com/privacy
Ratings & Reviews
Know if thats your state record fish, before its released. As you type a length or weight into Log a Catch, the app compares if it would be eligible to apply for a Minnesota state record, says which of the DNR's two record programs it is (catch-and-release or certified weight), and links to what the DNR requires to apply. Part of the optional subscription.
Not a subscriber? The catch log still displays every DNR state record for free, like every figure the DNR publishes.
The developer, Up North Lake Finder LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Up North Lake Finder LLC
- Size
- 66.4 MB
- Category
- Sports
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.1 or later. - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.1 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- Up North — Annual $9.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 Up North Lake Finder LLC
