Minnesota Anglers Prepare For Chilly Fishing Opener

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Anglers can put their rods in the water when the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and fish for walleye.

If you feel like it's typically cooler on Minnesota's fishing opener, you're spot on.

"Looking back at the last ten years, half of them have had highs in the 50s -- which is what we've had the past several days. That's about 10 degrees below average," meteorologist Chris Shaffer said.

There's no way around it. May isn't always nice.

"We set the mega-low bar in 2013. The majority of the lakes up north were still frozen and it was super windy," Shaffer said.

2008 was rainy. Only three of the past openers have been above average. A bright spot came in 2010, when temps were in the mid-70s.

"It's a crap shoot," Minnesota DNR fisheries specialist Brad Parsons said.

Parsons said the weather, and when the ice goes out, factors in to how the walleye bite.

"It's not just the temperature, it's wind direction, wind speed, cloud cover. It all plays into as far as how the fish behaves," Parsons said.

Walleyes like warmer water, so Parsons says be prepared for them to not be quite as active this weekend.
The walleye chop and cloud cover may help.

"The waves do reduce the light going into the water so that is something that can help. The waves also help herd bait fish into the shore," Parsons said.

His advice for this opener: "If you can put up with the winds, fishing the windy shoreline is a good way to go."

Roughly 360,000 fishing licenses have been sold so far this year. That up 4-percent from last year, and the highest number sold at the opener in 10 years.