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CanoeingLynx and PartridgeWalleye Rising

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Fishing

Current Fishing Report - Outdoor News

 

New Fishing Regulation for Arrowhead Region:  anglers can keep two pike but must release all from 30 to 40 inches, with only one over 40 inches allowed in possession.

 

License Information and Costs:  There are adult individual angling licenses and licenses for married couples. Anglers can buy licenses for 24-hour, 72-hour and three-year time periods. Lifetime licenses can keep someone fishing long into the future, and come at great prices, especially for children 3 and under and those ages 51 and older. Lifetime licenses also can be given as gifts.

Youth ages 16 and 17 can buy an annual license for $5. Minnesotans 15 and under are not required to buy a license to fish but must comply with fishing regulations. All nonresidents need a license, except those age 15 and younger do not need one if a parent or guardian is licensed.

Buy licenses at any DNR license agent, online with a mobile or desktop device at mndnr.gov/buyalicense, or by phone at 888-665-4236.

 

Fishing Articles

-Crappie Seasonal Movements & Tactics

-Fishing Tips - Outdoor News

-Fishing with the Old Timers

-Ice Fishing - Outdoor News

-Keys to Successful Fish Guiding Business

-Places to End Another Season of Fishing by Jed Ninefeldt

-Pre-Fishing for Success

-Smallmouth by Location

-The Fishing Opener by Jed Ninefeldt

-Tips to a Top Fishing Guide

-Tips to catching Catfish

-Tips to Trophy Muskies

-Tips to Trophy Walleyes

-What is the Duluth Bass Club by Jed Ninefeldt

Bassmaster.com

Minnesota Bass Nation

 

 

-Seasonal Transitions by Jed Ninefeldt

 

-Area Fishing Report by Jeff Sundin

-Minnesota Fishing (all you need to know)

 

-Bass Fishing - Outdoor News

-Bass Pro Fishing Tips

The Fishing Opener in Minnesota
The Fishing Opener

By Jed Ninefeldt

 

As I plan for the fishing opener, I try to measure the effects of the weather to this point and for the next two.  If I were a betting man, I would put a lot of money on Lake of the Woods/Rainey River for the opener.  All indications are that most lakes and rivers are roughly on pace for a normal spring.  One week of 70’s has been balanced by the next in the 30’s.  Most sucker runs are about a half week to a full week ahead of a normal year due to slighter above normal temperatures.

 

What does sucker fishing have to do with the opener?  Everything.  Each species of fish has its own temperature of water it prefers or triggers it to spawn.  Most lakes in the area have small creeks as feeders while others have rivers and some have none.  Many fish will run up these creeks and rivers to spawn.  Others will remain in the lake and spawn, generally starting on the north end because the water warms there first. Many fish look for water temps around 43 degrees to get things started.  Fish spawn in order of rising water temps, normally following the order of:  Northern/Muskie (under the ice), Walleye, Sucker, Pan Fish, Bass, and white fish (fall).

 

Water temperatures signal where fish are at in the spawning cycle.  This indicates how close fish are to normal spawning cycles relative to previous years.  After ascertaining the point fish may be at, it’s time to get ready for the opener.  Brush off the cobwebs, put new line on your freshly oiled reel, and regain the feel of your full length rod again.  After that, all you can hope for is good weather and the chance to get the kids out on a nice afternoon and let them practice fishing too. 

 

The interment hot and cold weather this spring has extended spawning, boosting the odds of success on the Lake of the Woods/Rainey River.  I recommend that big boats start in Four Mile Bay and just outside the gap.  Meanwhile, little boats should work the river and consider working their way towards I-falls.

 

For those of you who want to stay closer to home, Big Winnie is good for the same reasons as Lake of the Woods.  On the opener, work the Third River Flowage, and the sandy western side.

 

For those of you staying home, work the wind driven shoreline on local lakes for walleyes and northerns.  Don’t be afraid to start in three feet of water and work deeper.  I’ve seen many nice fish caught in less than five feet of water.  The shallows work for the few fish that are procrastinators and the bait fish are there.

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