Minnesota DNR seeks to protect Grand Marais’ spawning coaster brookies with possible shutdown of fall fishing

Grand Marais, Minn. — The Minnesota DNR is considering shutting down fall fishing in the harbor of this Lake Superior tourist town to protect brook trout that only recently were discovered to be spawning here.
Unwanted angler pressure on the brook trout, known as “coasters” or “coaster brook trout” in Lake Superior waters, is adding to the urgency of the DNR’s consideration to shut down the harbor to fall fishing. “Although the fishing season for brook trout is closed when fish are present in the harbor, anglers are still impacting the population while fishing for other species,” the DNR stated in a survey currently available for the public to weigh in on regarding the possible closure of the Grand Marais Harbor to fall fishing.