Tyson Cronberg started making Beaver Flick spoons last year and to date, more than 40 people have called to say they have caught fish with them. Tyson, who owns and operates the Beaver House, learned how to paint the spoons with colors that fish can’t seem to resist. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
Bob’s two-car garage is mostly clean he said, because, well it took great effort to find most of his fishing gear. As far as work on the lawn, he lamented the lawn will have to wait because, like more than half a million fellow anglers, he will be busy trying to deplete Minnesota lakes of walleye, northern and bass during the Minnesota fishing opener.
In Cook County, the weather forecast for Saturday predicts 40 percent chance of rain in the morning with a high of 49 and low of 35 with an 8 mph wind. Sunday’s weather is supposedly going to be partly cloudy and warmer, 54’/36’ with a 20 percent chance of rain and 6 mph winds.
In short, rain or shine, the weather will be perfect for fishing.
Anglers need bait and four great locations to buy minnows, night crawlers and fishing lures in Grand Marais are at the Beaver House, Buck’s Hardware Hank, Holiday and SA. Most resorts up the Gunflint Trail are stocked with bait, and Holiday gas station in Tofte is a good place to buy what you need for the opener.
When asked about his pernicious lawn work, Bob said once he’s had his fill of fishing he will get to it. That is, he added, if he can ever find his rake. That got moved around when he dug out his fishing gear. And he groused, he’s not too much in love with going through his garage again. If it gets too clean, he said, his wife will expect to park the car in there and that will mean ongoing work, which has the great potential of taking too much time away from fishing. You can see his problem. Better to get out and fish and the garage and lawn will wait until he is too old to fish. Besides, he said cheerily, he was thinking of buying his wife a rake for Mother’s Day. We’ll see how that works. I can see surgery coming for Bob. An extraction of some sort. And it won’t be a fish hook.
To protect the walleye spawning, Cook County has quite a few places closed to fishing: Sea Gull River from Sea Gull Lake through Gull Lake to Saganaga Lake is closed through May 24; Saganaga Falls on the Minnesota-Ontario border where the Granite River enters Saganaga Lake is closed through May 31; Maligne River on the Ontario side of Saganaga Lake is closed through May 31 by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
The small channel between Little Gunflint and Little North Lakes on the Minnesota-Ontario border is closed through May 31; Cross River from the Gunflint Trail to Gunflint Lake is closed through May 24; Tait River from White Pine Lake to the Forest Road 340 crossing, including a portion of White Pine Lake, is closed from May 11 to May 24; Junco Creek from the first log dam above County Road 57 downstream to Devil Track Lake, and including a portion of Devil Track Lake near the river mouth is closed from May 11 to May 24.
Fun fishing facts from the Minnesota DNR
. Minnesota has 11,842 lakes, 4,500 of which are considered fishing lakes; the DNR LakeFinder provides detailed information about these lakes. There are over 16,000 miles of fishable rivers and streams in Minnesota, including 3,800 miles of trout streams. Although not every kind of fish lives everywhere, 162 species of fish can be found in Minnesota waters.
. Fishing contributes $2.4 billion to the state’s economy in direct retail sales, ranking Minnesota third in the nation for angler expenditures, according to this 2011 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service national survey. Fishing supports nearly 35,500 Minnesota jobs, according to Sportfishing in America, January 2013, produced by Southwick and Associates.
. Minnesota’s inland fishing season opens at 12:01 a.m. Saturday for walleyes, northern pike, lake trout, and bass, but you need to look at the regulations to see where some restrictions will apply.
. The Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener began in 1948 and 72 years later it’s still happening. This year it will be held May 9-12 on Fountain Lake near Albert Lea. Who will catch the biggest fish? Gov. Tim Walz or Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan?
. Fishing licenses can be purchased at bait shops, gas stations and sporting goods stores through the ELS (Electronic Licensing System), as well as bought online at mndnr.gov/buy a license or by phone at 888-665-4236.
. Want to do something special for your mother on Mother’s Day? Take her fishing. May 11 and 12 are “Take A Mom Fishing Weekend” when Minnesota moms who are residents can fish without a license. Forget the roses, pick up a nice tub of nightcrawlers, leeches, and minnows for your mom on Mother’s Day and take her fishing. She will love you no matter what.
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