Prediction: Every Ice Out Record Goes Down In 2024

It has been an exceedingly warm winter and the two times we got major precipitation happened on days when it was warm enough to be mostly or all rain. The ice depth around the state right now is 50% below normal if not more. There is no snow and  March is starting with well above average temps. It is a perfect storm for every record in the book to fall. I think Platte Lake will be ice-free by the end of this forecast if accurate.

 

Has A Tipping Point Been Reached On Mn Closed Bass Season

 

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At long last, the MN DNR is considering doing away with a closed bass season and going to catch and release outside of the open season for bass. Michigan did it, then Wisconsin did it. Minnesocold will hopefully do the right thing. 

Two Years, Really

 I was happy to see this press release from the DNR until I got to the bottom. Two years to get this implemented, really. Democrtic Party graft on display. I wonder if the system will work this time. MN Sure and the DMV overhauls were boondoggles, if my memory is correct, probably intentionally so. 

Ice Out 2023 Is Starting

With no snow cover now in the southern 25% of the state and the warm sun this week with wind. I expect balloons to be popping this week over at the MN DNR Ice Out Page.

2023 Mille lacs Walleye Regs Announced

 Here is the DNR Press Release for this season's walleye regulations on Mille Lacs Lake. It would have been nice if they included last year's harvest numbers. I'm pretty sure both sides were under the quota, with MN anglers being significantly under.  The lake is full of bait, leading to a slow bite for the eyeballs.

Update: in 2022, the harvest numbers were 15k of the 80k allowed.

2021 53k of 87K allowed
2020 66k of 87K allowed

Walleye fishing scheduled to be open all summer on Mille Lacs Lake

​No July closure or live bait ban planned; harvest adjustments possible if conditions warrant

State-licensed anglers will have the opportunity to harvest a walleye 21-23 inches in length or greater than 28 inches throughout the 2023 open water season on Mille Lacs Lake. A lower walleye harvest this winter and an improving walleye population are combining to allow this year’s more liberal regulations.

“We are pleased to see improvements in both the growth of adult walleye and survival of young walleye in Mille Lacs,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries section manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Those factors create the opportunity for anglers to have a continuous harvest season in 2023.”

Walleye regulations will apply from the walleye opener on Saturday, May 13, until the end of the open-water season on Thursday, Nov. 30. Unlike recent years, there is no planned closure to walleye fishing or ban on using live bait during the first two weeks in July.

On opening weekend, fishing will be allowed 24 hours a day. Beginning Monday, May 15, the night fishing closure takes effect, and fishing hours on Mille Lacs Lake will be
6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for all species. From Saturday, June 3, through Thursday, Nov. 30, muskellunge and northern pike anglers using artificial lures or sucker minnows longer than 8 inches are exempt from the night fishing closure. Starting Friday, Sept. 1, the night fishing closure is relaxed, with angling hours being 6 a.m. to midnight.

“As always, we will monitor the factors that determine the state’s walleye take throughout the open water season,” Parsons said. “If conditions warrant, we will adjust regulations, either to allow additional opportunity if harvest is especially low like it was in 2022 or tighten regulations if harvest exceeds our projections.”

The DNR and the eight Ojibwe bands that have treaty fishing rights under the 1837 treaty agreed Mille Lacs could sustain a state harvest of up to 100,300 pounds of walleye this year, an increase of 20,000 pounds from 2022. Adult walleye grew well in 2022, and year classes of younger walleye in the lake have the potential to contribute to the fishery in the future. Harvest levels are set annually, and may be lower or higher in subsequent years.

“The lake has been in a state of change since the 1990s. As the water started to clear, we began seeing warmer water temperatures. Change continues with the introduction of invasive species such as zebra mussel and spiny water flea,” Parsons said. “We will continue to monitor the lake to see how ongoing changes will influence the fishery.”

This year’s winter walleye harvest was 4,300 pounds. Lower catch rates for anglers due to abundant forage in the lake combined with poor ice conditions in the early season were responsible for this winter’s lower harvest. That drop in walleye take gave the DNR more flexibility to implement open water harvest opportunities this coming season.

The northern pike population in Mille Lacs is healthy, and harvest of fish under 30 inches is encouraged for anglers looking for another option to bring home a meal of fish. Mille Lacs is also home to a smallmouth bass population that opens to catch and release angling on May 13, with harvest of fish less than 17 inches allowed starting on Saturday, May 27. 

“Our goal with regulations for all species is to offer fishing opportunities while also keeping in mind the long-term sustainability of the lake,” Parsons said.

More information about fishing regulations on Mille Lacs Lake, ongoing DNR management and research, citizen engagement and Mille Lacs area recreation opportunities is available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/millelacslake).

Lake Pepin Did Open In March

During the last couple of days in March, I had thought I heard a report on the news that Lake Pepin was open for shipping but was too lazy to play it back to verify that is what I heard. Because the DNR Climatology website didn't record it by April 1st I thought maybe I was wrong about what I thought I had heard. Turns out they were just slow about relaying the info. It opened on the 31st. 

Turns out they were way behind what was going on. The first lake went off on March 22, and a bunch went off on the 23 and 24th.

 

Florida Study Shows Bed Fishing Zero Impact On Largemouth

Facebook Video Here

The Study Here

It has been my opinion for a very long time that having a completely closed season on largemouth bass is nonsense from a scientific perspective.  Angling pressure during the spawn does next to nothing in effecting how successful a body of water is at producing largemouth bass.  This is doubly true in weedy natural lakes.  A lake's fertility, carrying capacity, and spawning habitat are what impact largemouth populations, not fishing pressure.

Get with the program state of Minnesota.  Open up largemouth bass to catch and release fishing when not in season.

Not A Big Surprise, No Open Lakes In MN Yet

I'll be amazed if any lakes in MN are ice free by the 15th of the month. I may check out the GOMH later today to see if there is any open water there.

I Am All For Panfish Protection

Star Tribune Headline

For this article.

I am all for whatever it takes to increase panfish size in this state.

Calling Out the MN DNR On Pike Fishing B.S.

The MN DNR sent out a press release yesterday encouraging people to get out and fish.  In it they got onto the topic of closed seasons and why we have them.  Here is the line of BS I take issue with:

They are telling us a major reason why we are not allowed to catch and keep pike right now is because some people might target walleye under the guise of fishing for pike.

As our DNR has told us, pike populations in the central portion of this state are having a detrimental impact on walleye populations.  The pike are out of control eating up as many of those precious little walleye's as they can and the DNR finds that acceptable because they can't have a few people targeting walleye's out of season that would be released.

C'mon DNR, get your head out of your ass!!!

If anything pike being closed makes keeping the bass fishing season closed enforceable.   It is the position of this blog that there should not be a closed season for pike in the central portion of this state, period!  Lets get the hammer handle issue under control because that is a real problem.  People catching and releasing some incidentally caught bass and walleye while targeting pike would be a rather small problem by comparison.  

The DNR Now Has It Right For Bass Tournaments on Mille Lacs

 Bass tournaments anglers can now cull to their hearts content.

The DNR Commissioner listened to what the bass lobby told him.  This will make a difference.

I predict the Bass Snatchers will fish on Mille Lacs, next year.

Update:  This rule change might only be for large tournaments, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Above Average

About Fishing in MN:

I've fished 20 days already this year.  If you are interested in reading about my trips this isn't the best of my blogs to do it at as that I don't record all of my fishing trips here.  The Bass Pundit Fishing Log Blog is where all of them are at.

MN DNR Bass Workshop Meeting Dec. 3rd at Cabela's Rogers 4-6PM

The meeting is open to the public.  Hopefully we will officially get the news that we will have the early catch and release season starting next year.  I am thinking about going myself depending on weather and what happens with my angiogram on Monday the 24th.