Minnesota’s 2010 walleye opener will be May 15, beginning at 1:01 a.m. Saturday

Minnesota anglers consider the fishing opener -- when walleye, northern pike and sauger become legal game on the state’s inland waters -- one of the defining moments of their year.

Minnesota’s general fishing opener is normally the Saturday two weeks before Memorial Day weekend.

That date is chosen to:

o ALLOW most walleyes to spawn before being caught by anglers

o ENSURE that the opener is on a weekend, when most anglers can fish

o ENSURE two full weekends for anglers and businesses before the Memorial Day weekend.

Two things highly recommended for every fisherman’s tacklebox of “must haves”...are: your copy of the 2010 Fishing Regulations and your 2010 fishing license. Those licenses this year can be purchased at retail outlets or from the new 24/7 online license sales site.

Anglers are asked to remember to practice CPR (Catch/Photo/ Release) with any trophies. Recycling is the very best way to ensure there’ll be trophies again for your next trip. Please handle all fish carefully and immediately release any fish not destined for the frying pan.

Last but not least, please help prevent the spread of invasive species by keeping your boats, motors and trailers clean of water and vegetation. Clean and disinfect boats and fishing equipment and empty all water from boats and bait buckets after leaving a lake.

Some of the hot spots for fishing in north and central Minnesota include the following:

Little Falls Area Fisheries Manager Eric Altena said, “With impressive numbers of larger pike, Big Swan Lake in Todd County may be a good option for anglers. Recent ice out trap net results suggest the 24-36-inch protective slot limit is improving size structure in Big Swan.”

Fish approaching 40 inches are not uncommon. Look for new vegetation beds and bulrushes for cover that should hold fish. As a bonus, crappies approaching 10 inches may be in the shallows and biting by the opener this year.

Popular lakes

Close to home, the DNR’s stocking of walleye fry in Lake Alexander every other year on odd years should result in plenty of walleye anglers catching fish. DNR electrofishing results indicate fry stocking has proved to be very effective on Alexander. Look for the 2005 and 2007 year-classes to be ideal ‘keeper’ fish. Walleye may relate differently to vegetation and structure in Lake Alexander. Anglers have used a variety of baits and presentations effectively on the weed edges and on some of the deeper humps. Anglers are reminded to clean off boats and trailers as Lake Alexander has Eurasian milfoil.

Lake Shamineau: Pike and walleye are an often untapped resource. With decent water clarity, Shamineau offers anglers a picture into the depths below.

Recent Shamineau surveys suggest the pike numbers are lower and the overall size structure has improved substantially. The walleye are there, but anglers may need to fish during the low light conditions of dawn or dusk to catch them. Walleye up to 28 inches were caught in the 2009 ice-out assessment.

Look for abundant perch to offer some entertainment as well, with some definite keepers among them.

Other popular lakes in the northeast portion of the state, where ice out was two to three weeks earlier than normal, and even set records on some lakes, should prove interesting this opener.

Fish spawning activity was ahead of normal. Unlike some spring fishing seasons, rivers and streams in northern Minnesota should be very fishable for the opener.

Gull Lake: Early morning and evening angling should be good on Gull Lake, especially if there’s a light to moderate chop and overcast conditions. There is an abundance of two-year-old walleyes (10 inches) and 14 to 15- inch walleyes as well. The lake has many northern pike in the 24 to 28-inch range and good opportunities for fish over 32 inches.

Lake Kabetogama: Home of the Governor’s 2010 Fishing Opener, this lake will see abundant walleye from the strong 2006 year class. Two previous strong year-classes (1996 and 2001) will provide opportunities for anglers to catch larger fish protected by the slot limit. Northern pike have produced consistent, average year classes since the late 1990s. One moderately strong year-class in 2005 should be 25 to 28 inches this season. A good year-class of sauger in 2003 should provide nice ?bonus fish? for walleye anglers in 2010.

Aitkin area:

Mille Lacs Lake has had a couple of good year classes of walleye that grew really well last summer and should provide for better action on the big lake this season. Farm Island and Round Lake should also have good angling action. A notable water for big walleye is Cedar Lake, but with over 24 miles of shoreline and over 1,700 acres of habitat, walleye can be challenging to find. The dark water of Big Sandy Lake warms quickly making it the one of the best bets for numbers of walleye early in the season. The Aitkin area also has many quality northern pike waters, which can generate early season action if the walleye are uncooperative.

Brainerd Area

North Long, Pelican, and Whitefish lakes have abundant walleye populations with several size classes, along with good numbers of northern pike in the small to average size and a good chance for northern in the 30 to 36- inch range. Panfish fishing should be good on Goodrich, Rogers, Sylvan, and Gilbert lakes north of Brainerd. All of these lakes have a five-fish bag limit for sunfish and crappie with large sunfish in the 8 to 9-inch range common.

Grand Rapids:

Traditional opener lakes for walleye include the Winnie/ Cutfoot system. In addition to walleye there are ample opportunities for hooking northern pike. The current population in Lake Winnibigoshish is very good. The size distribution of walleyes in the 2008 assessment ranged from 7 to 25 inches. While there are many fish in the protected slot (17-26 inches), there should be plenty of fish available for harvest outside of the protected slot.

Northern pike abundance is high with some larger fish available. Yellow perch have recently increased in abundance with good year-classes from 2003 to 2005. Bluegill and black crappie are present in good numbers in the Cut Foot and Little Cut Foot Lakes.

Fergus Falls Area •

North Lida (5,564 acres) is located in northwest Otter Tail County about five miles east of Pelican Rapids. The walleye net catch in 2009 was 8 per net with an average size of 16 inches. Several good year classes are present and should provide anglers very good fishing this year and into the future. There is a walleye special regulation on North and South Lida with all from 17-26” must be immediately released with 1 over 26” allowed in possession.

Star Lake (4,721 acres) is located in north central Otter Tail County about 5 miles west of Dent. A 2009 survey sampled 8 walleye per net set with an average size of 14 inches. Besides providing consistent walleye fishing, Star Lake offers excellent sunfish angling with fish up to 10” present. Anglers are reminded of a sunfish special fishing regulation of a possession limit of 10. Once the bass season opens, bass fishing is fast and anglers can expect fish up to 20” present. Public accesses are located on the north and east shores.