Fishing Through the Ice

Monday was Winter Exploratory Day for the Middle School and Josh and Mike went ice fishing with another father and his three sons.  It was a beautiful day outside and the sun was warm.  There weren’t too many bites during the day but one resulted in a fish of a lifetime for a 6th grade boy.  Lucas pulled in a 39″ lake trout that weighed almost 20 pounds!

If you’re looking to catch one like it then make sure you have a new fishing license as last years have expired.

6th Grader's Catch of a lifetime
20 pound lake trout

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Minnesota Fishing News – March 2015
 
Time to buy your 2015 fishing license
Don’t forget: Your 2014 fishing license is expired.
Fishing licenses for 2015 are available from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources license agents, online at www.mndnr.gov/buyalicense and by telephone at 888-665-4236 FREE. All 2015 fishing licenses are effective Sunday, March 1, through Monday, Feb. 29, 2016.
Purchase online via smartphone and you won’t receive a conventional paper license. Instead, a text message or email serves as proof of a valid fish or game license to state conservation officers. A printed copy of the text or email also can serve as proof of a valid license. Sports licenses, which include some hunting privileges, also expire at the end of February each year.
New regulations, more opportunities for anglers
New regulations will provide more fishing opportunities – and in some cases bigger fish – for anglers who want to fish for bass, sturgeon, muskellunge, catfish and trout. Changes include:
Bass. New catch-and-release bass season is Saturday, May 9, until harvest season opens Saturday, May 23, in all but northeast Minnesota. In northeast (essentially north and east of U.S. Highway 53), no change in spring but fall closure is lifted, allowing smallmouth bass harvest in northeast through Feb. 28, 2016.
Sturgeon. New catch-and-release season for lake sturgeon is Tuesday, June 16, until April 14, 2016 on inland waters and Minnesota waters bordering North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. No fishing for lake sturgeon each year April 15 to June 15, to protect sturgeon during spawning season. Seasons differ on Minnesota waters bordering Canada and Wisconsin. Anglers also will find new regulations for shovelnose sturgeon.
Muskie. Minimum length limit to keep a muskie is 54 inches. Previous limit was 48 inches. Exceptions apply for muskie-northern pike hybrids, also called tiger muskie, in the seven-county metro area, where minimum length limit remains 40 inches on certain lakes.
Flathead catfish. Season will close for winter. Season is Wednesday, April 1, to Monday, Nov. 30.
Trout. Expanded seasons for stream trout, both in streams and winter fishing in lakes.
See www.mndnr.gov/fishmn/trout for season dates. For more details, and special regulations for individual waters, see the 2015 Minnesota Fishing Regulations booklet, available at any license agent or online at www.mndnr.gov/fishmn and www.mndnr.gov/regulations/fishing

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