Search
Advertisement
  • May 7, 2008 11:37 pm US/Central
  • Digg | Facebook | E-mail | Print

Drawing The Line: Avoiding An Icy Fishing Opener

Reporting
Heather Brown
(WCCO) Officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are cautiously optimistic that almost all the lakes across Minnesota will be ice-free by Saturday's fish opener.

However, DNR Fisheries Chief Ron Payer said lakes north of Highway 210 will come right down to the wire. He hopes a good rain and some wind in the next few days will push the rest of the ice out.

 "I would call ahead as late in the game as you can and maybe have in the back of your mind a plan B," he said.

 As recently as Sunday, there was slush across Lake Mille Lacs. Now, only smaller chunks of ice sit on the shore.

 Ice-out at Lake Mille Lacs is defined when a boat can travel from the southeast corner to the northwest corner without hitting any ice.

 "The water is cold. I think they're going to catch some fish. Will it be our best fish opener ever?  We're going to have to see but I would expect an average opener," said Bill Lundeen, owner of Lundeen's Tackle Castle in Onamia.

 The water on Mille Lacs is a cool 45 degrees. Lundeen said the colder water means the fish are more likely to be in shallower bays with water 6 to 10 feet deep, where the water is a little warmer.

 Further up north on Leech Lake, the bays are open but the main part of the lake still has a sheet of ice. Many up there hope the wind will push that out for the opener.

 The state climatology department tracks the daily ice status of the larger lakes in Minnesota.  Each lake defines ice-out differently. Some must be 90 to 100 percent ice-free. Others must have enough open water for a boat to navigate without hitting any ice.  To check your lake before heading up north click here.

 

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

From Our Partners

Video

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Sports

Top News Stories

Advertisement

© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.