Shifting Winds: Early Fishing Opener, Wolf Hunt Bill Stalls in Senate

After passing the House earlier this month, a bill that would move Minnesota's fishing opener up one week has stalled—likely for good—in the Senate.

With just over three weeks until the scheduled May 12 fishing opener, it appears less and less likely the Omnibus Game and Fish Bill will receive a full vote and land on the governor's desk in time to affect this year's season. In fact, one of the bill's original authors now says he would actually oppose the bill if it came to a full Senate vote.

State Senator Bill Ingebretson (R-Alexandria) said yesterday that the early arrival of spring and subsequent ice outs on state lakes were a driving force behind the bill, with supporters initially saying fish would be done spawning by the first week of May. However, representatives from Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) testified in front of a Senate committee yesterday that spawning—particularly of walleye populations—is actually in line with a normal year after the weather has returned to normal ranges in recent weeks. 

The DNR says they are "waiting to hear what the Legislature decides" and as of Tuesday morning had not been advised to alter their planned schedules.

The early fishing opener proposal is attached to a bill that would open up Minnesota's wolf population for hunting this year—a measure that has raised the ire of animal rights activists and been the subject of an extensive television advertising campaign in recent weeks.

Click here to read the bill in its entirety.

Do you support an early fishing opener and wolf hunting season? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!