Feeling weight, and wait, of opener

[Woody]

By BRIAN S. PETERSON
Outdoors Editor
Brainerd Daily Dispatch

The calendar did what state legislators - even the governor - couldn't do, albeit with a slight twist.

But it's not doing anglers any favors. At least not on the surface.

In recent years, state lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a push to move the Minnesota fishing opener so that it wouldn't coincide with Mother's Day - the two typically come the same weekend. They had suggested moving the opener up a week, but because that could cause problems on northern lakes where, some years, ice-out doesn't come until early May and beyond, the idea never materialized.

That would be fine this year as ice-out has come earlier than ever on many Minnesota lakes. In fact, move it up a couple of weeks in 2010.

But it doesn't work that way. Each year, the walleye/northern pike opener comes two Saturdays prior to Memorial Day weekend. This year, that's the weekend of May 29. As a result, the 2010 opener is May 15. Mother's Day is the previous Sunday.

The late date for the opener - the latest since 1987 - is a bummer, particularly in the Brainerd lakes area where lakes have been mostly ice-free since late March. A tour of lakes in the Walker/ Longville/Hackensack area the first few days of April found ice on only Leech near Walker and Lower Ten Mile near Hackensack, and that was minimal.

According to the State Climatology Office, Ten Mile Lake was ice-free Tuesday, as was Leech, breaking the previous ice-out record on the lake by three days (April 9, 1945). As of Wednesday, all but 11 lakes in the state were ice-free, and all of those were in the far northern part of the state and were only partially covered, according to the State Climatology Office.

In the greater Brainerd lakes area, Gull and Mille Lacs were ice-free Monday, North Long on April 1, Pelican and Big Sandy on April 2 and Winnibigoshish on April 3. Red Sand Lake in Baxter had one of the earliest ice-outs in the region - March 30.

But the early ice-out hasn't necessarily been a plus for anglers or lake enthusiasts. During the tour of area lakes on

Saturday, not a single boat was seen in the water. In recent years, the crappie bite has been strong this time of year - normally towards late ice-out. But anglers don't appear to be as interested in fishing crappies in open water as they have been through the ice this time of year.

Part of that might be access. Most public boat ramps, while accessible, are in need of work and don't yet have the docks in place. According to Lowell Jaeger, DNR Trails and Waterways supervisor, the goal is to have the accesses ready to go by the opener.

"People want to get out. But it's two weeks early. And because it's early we don't have the right people here," Jaeger said of the seasonal staff, which he expects to have by mid-April. "In one place, with the entire ramp, the ice pushed it up and out of the water. There's no concrete in the water. But we hope to have it (accesses) ready by the opener."

With a six-plus week lull from ice-out to the opener on some area lakes, it could be a frenzied scene come May 15. Like spring fever on water. But the walleye opener might be worth the wait this year. The spawn is also about two weeks ahead of schedule this year, meaning walleyes should be fully recovered well before the opener.

According to Tim Brastrup, DNR area fisheries supervisor in Brainerd, walleyes at a stripping station near Pine River are typically lethargic for about two weeks after having their eggs stripped, meaning they should be active and hungry come the opener.

If that's the case, the opener couldn't come at a better time.