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Fishing Opener Tips: How To Hook Minnows & Where To Fish

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Ladies and gentlemen start your outboards! Friday at midnight you can whet a line for the walleye; but where should you go and what should you hook?

Fishing guide Steve Carney fills in the blanks. Here's a tip on hooking minnows.

"What you want to do is hook that minnow backwards," Carney said.

He said you should place the hook behind the dorsal. This will make the minnow appear to swim backwards, showing great struggle.

"This is what makes that minnow different [from others to a hungry fish]," Carney said.

And Carney says you don't have to go far to find fish. You can find them in the area lakes.

"I recommend people throw a small, little crank bait," Carney said. "What I do is use something that's very small – a lot smaller than what most people would use."

Carney also says that if the fish aren't biting, don't wait for them. Move to another lake.

"I'll fish maybe four lakes on opening day," Carney said.

He says he'll give it an hour and-a-half, and then he'll go to another lake.

But Carney admits that all bets are off, considering this year's strange weather.

"It's going to be a very difficult prediction," he said. "I don't know if they are going to be super shallow; they could be deep; they could be in Memorial Weekend spots on Opening Day."

Good luck, anglers. Have fun.

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