MADISON LAKE, Minn. — This year's Governor's Fishing Opener event will be missing an important ingredient - the governor.
Governor Tim Walz will be attending his daughter's college graduation in Montana, instead of fronting the annual spring tradition in Minnesota, according to the Mankato Free Press.
In his stead, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan will spearhead the 75th Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener set for Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 in the Mankato- Madison Lake area.
Lt. Governor Flanagan, along with Sarah Strommen, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources commissioner and Lauren Bennett McGinty, Explore Minnesota tourism director, plan to kick things off with a visit to the Waterville Fish Hatchery on Thursday.
Last year's governor's opener also broke from tradition due to the pandemic, making it difficult for officials to plan for the big event. It was held over several weeks and in multiple locations in the Chippewa National Forest region and Leech Lake Reservation. In 2021, Otter Tail County hosted the event after being postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Here are some Minnesota fishing stats on the Governor's Fishing Opener:
- Minnesota businesses sell about 1.4 million angling licenses each year and half a million fish during the opener.
- The state has 4,500 fishing lakes, 3,800 miles of trout and 16,000 miles of fishable streams and rivers.
- The event was designed to promote the development of Minnesota's $2.4 billion fishing industry.
- The Governor's Fishing Opener has been a tradition in Minnesota since 1948.
The state's general inland fishing season for walleyes, northerns and bass begins at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 13. However, bass fishing south and west of U.S. Highway 53, from Duluth to International Falls (the Arrowhead region), is catch-and-release only until May 27.
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