The lakes sure look bare, don’t they!  While houses north of Highway 34 can stay on the ice until March 16th, many anglers have safely chosen to remove their houses while they still can.  I urge caution to those north of town, with houses still on the ice.  Once the slush on top of area lakes thaws, it will be much more difficult to remove your house.   On many lakes the ice is still over two feet thick, but it is thinner near areas of running water.  So, while it is worth fi

With walleye and pike season now closed, it’s time to shift our focus to bass and panfish (or tullibee, if that’s your thing). Yes, it is legal to continue fishing for bass, but harvest does not reopen until May 23rd. Another important date to remember is February 28th — the day your Minnesota fishing license expires. It’s easy to overlook. If you plan to hit the ice in March, make sure to renew before heading out. The panfish bite has remained steady over the past few weeks.

As a unique winter storm approaches, anglers should prepare for a sloppy mess over the next few days, until everything freezes up again–especially at public accesses.  This won’t spell the end of the ice fishing season, as there is still a lot of strong ice covering area lakes.  It may get tricky from now on though if we get frozen slush on top of that ice.  If you keep your house on the ice–like me– I suggest you add another block or two beneath it in the next 24 hours to ke

Randy Hunter's monster walleye! Thanks to all of you anglers that braved the wind and the tough bite to make this year’s Poles N Holes Fishing tournament a success.  I met a lot of great anglers who stepped inside the fish houses I had on the ice for a moment to chat, and to warm up!  I look forward to seeing you all again at next year’s derby.   While the fishing was a little tough this past week, the bite should improve soon with consistent mild weather in the forecast.  Bi