Minnesota has seen more than its fair share of cold, wet and windy fishing openers, but it doesn't look like 2012 will be one of them. Forecasts call for clear skies with morning lows in the upper 40s and afternoon highs in the high 70s. The fishing season officially begins at the stroke of midnight, and Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expects anglers to find a good bite throughout the state. Read the metro area fishing outlook here. Minnesota is the nation’s leader in fishing participation (28 percent of residents age 16 or older buy a license). About 500,000 anglers …
Mike Duval of Brainerd and Tom Jones of Aitkin are Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries biologists. They work extensively on fish habitat issues. In the interview below, they discuss this spring’s early ice-out, and what it means for fish behavior and fishing patterns. Minnesota lakes became ice free very early this year. Was this a fluke or part of a larger pattern? Duval: Early ice-out is occurring around the globe. What Minnesota experienced this year is part of a larger global pattern. Earlier ice-out dates have been observed throughout the Midwest, continental U.S. …
With more than 250 lakes in the metro area managed for fisheries and nearly 300 miles of good-sized streams and rivers, anglers would be hard-pressed to find another major urban area with such a wealth of fishing opportunities. Take the Mississippi River, for instance. Flowing through the heart of the metro, its northern reaches are well known as a top-notch bass fishery. Then there’s "Pool 2," the area between the dams at St. Paul and Hastings. A few decades ago, it was so polluted that bullheads could barely survive. Now it’s recognized as a world-class catch-and-release fishery for walleye…
By Tom Landwehr, Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources As I reflect on things that have shaped who I am, I realize that it is many things and many people, but also that fishing played a major role. I was fortunate my dad, an avid fisherman, exposed me to fishing at a very young age. I still remember dragging a plastic grasshopper along the canoe as he paddled the St. Croix some 50 years ago. I remember summers spent fishing White Bear Lake, near where my cousins lived, and using snails to catch cookie-sized sunfish. And I remember many weekends with extended family at …
Minnesota anglers are reminded of new regulations on various water bodies and other general changes for the 2012 fishing season. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials said the changes are summarized on page four of the 2012 Minnesota Fishing Regulations booklet, which is available at any license agent or online. New regulations for 2012 are listed below along with the page number in the regulations booklet where anglers can find more detail. Angling methods A change permitting multiple hooks on a single line allows anglers to use a crawler harness (page 9). A change …
