The survey tallied 31.1 crows per stop in the southwest, up from 28.8 in 2024; 21.3 crows per stop in the northwest, down from 21.5; and 18.6 crows per stop in the southeast, up from 16.2.
They call it the Minnesota Fishing Opener, but up here on Lake of the Woods 鈥� and thousands of other lakes across the state, I dare say 鈥� it鈥檚 the walleye that reigns supreme.
According to preliminary results from a winter creel survey conducted by the Minnesota DNR, anglers logged just over 2 million hours of fishing pressure on the big lake during the winter of 2024-25.
Somewhere back in the trees, a tiny saw-whet owl was calling. One calling owl became two, then a third and then 鈥� somewhere in the distance on the other side of the road 鈥� a fourth.
Minnesota has 11,842 lakes that are 10 or more acres in size, 4,500 of which are considered fishing lakes. There are more than 16,000 miles of fishable rivers and streams.
This first year will be more about getting established than raising funds for youth activities, says Brian Nelson of East Grand Forks, treasurer and operations manager for MinnDak Youth Outdoors.
It might look like something from the 鈥淩ed Green Show,鈥� the quirky Canadian comedy about the ragtag crew at 鈥淧ossum Lodge,鈥� but the 鈥淪harpie Shack鈥� serves its purpose as a viewing blind quite nicely.
