05-09-2008, 11:10 AM
Ice-out is about 10 days behind last year but frozen lakes in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota should do little to hamper anglers heading out for the statewide walleye opener on Saturday, May 10.
"Frozen lakes, particularly the bigger and deeper ones in the northern third of the state, remain a question," said Ron Payer, fisheries section chief for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "But spring weather should take care of lakes in the central and southern parts of the state."
Temperatures in the northern third of the state are expected to hover between 40 and 50 degrees most of the week. Fisheries managers expect some of the bigger and deeper lakes to retain at least some ice.
Regardless of the weather, Payer said, anglers heading up north should call ahead to find if lakes are open and boat ramps are accessible. Late, heavy snowfalls and later ice-outs may have prevented work on public accesses and some roads still may be excessively muddy.
<br>"The best thing to do is call ahead to a local bait shop," Payer said. "The last thing we want is people driving a long way to fish only to find out that the ice isn't out or the lake isn't accessible."Anglers headed for the northern half of the state would do well to target shallower lakes because of later ice-outs than last year. Lakes that warm up faster are likely to offer better walleye fishing.<br>
<br>Other possibilities in the northern part of the state include spending some time angling for lake trout, which tend to be found along shorelines at this time of year and are often eager to bite on spoons and plugs.<br>
<br>The southern half of Minnesota offers anglers a wide variety of places to catch walleye. Fall surveys throughout the area showed good numbers of walleye in lakes from Round Lake in Jackson County to Albert Lea Lake in Freeborn County.<br>
<br>Anglers farther north in the southern half of Minnesota should consider fishing some of the shallower lakes and giving the deeper lakes another week to warm up.<br>
<br>"Minnesota's fishery is doing well," Payer said. "We can guarantee there are fish there, we just can't guarantee you'll catch them."
"Frozen lakes, particularly the bigger and deeper ones in the northern third of the state, remain a question," said Ron Payer, fisheries section chief for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "But spring weather should take care of lakes in the central and southern parts of the state."
Temperatures in the northern third of the state are expected to hover between 40 and 50 degrees most of the week. Fisheries managers expect some of the bigger and deeper lakes to retain at least some ice.
Regardless of the weather, Payer said, anglers heading up north should call ahead to find if lakes are open and boat ramps are accessible. Late, heavy snowfalls and later ice-outs may have prevented work on public accesses and some roads still may be excessively muddy.
<br>"The best thing to do is call ahead to a local bait shop," Payer said. "The last thing we want is people driving a long way to fish only to find out that the ice isn't out or the lake isn't accessible."Anglers headed for the northern half of the state would do well to target shallower lakes because of later ice-outs than last year. Lakes that warm up faster are likely to offer better walleye fishing.<br>
<br>Other possibilities in the northern part of the state include spending some time angling for lake trout, which tend to be found along shorelines at this time of year and are often eager to bite on spoons and plugs.<br>
<br>The southern half of Minnesota offers anglers a wide variety of places to catch walleye. Fall surveys throughout the area showed good numbers of walleye in lakes from Round Lake in Jackson County to Albert Lea Lake in Freeborn County.<br>
<br>Anglers farther north in the southern half of Minnesota should consider fishing some of the shallower lakes and giving the deeper lakes another week to warm up.<br>
<br>"Minnesota's fishery is doing well," Payer said. "We can guarantee there are fish there, we just can't guarantee you'll catch them."