Fishing Articles

Anglers braved the elements to catch limits of walleye on Lake of the Woods, reports CO Nicholas Prachar (Baudette W.). Prachar received calls about a pickup truck stuck on a state grant in aid snowmobile trail on Lake of the Woods; enforcement action was taken. Area snowmobilers are reminded that it is a state law to come to a stop prior to crossing a road.

CO Paul Parthun (Lake George) reported snowmobilers were out in force enjoying the trails and warmer temperatures. Enforcement action was taken for numerous registration issues, shelter license violations, and angling without a license.  CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) continued to check snowmobiles and anglers.

To date, 12,357 double-crested cormorants (eggs, juveniles and adults) have been removed from Leech Lake under the supervision of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.  This is a correction of the 9,487 birds reported in the last update and in this year's Large Lake Report.  The U.S.

Every five years, large-frame trap nets make their way into Leech Lake.  The target of these traps is muskie, or more precisely, muskie egg and sperm.   Leech Lake muskie are at the heart of the DNR's muskellunge stocking program.

It is time once again for a Leech Lake creel survey.  "Creel" is an old term describing a basket, often made of wicker that anglers once used to hold their catch. Throughout the summer on lakes across the state, DNR creel clerks ask anglers what time they started and stopped fishing, the number of people in their party, the species of fish they sought, and the weight, length, and number of fish they either kept or released. For the next few summers, anglers can expect to see Leech Lake cree...

Critical to fisheries management is being able to assign an age to fish that are sampled.  Fortunately for biologists, many fish are cooperative in that they record their growth - and age - on their bones.  Scales, opercles (gill plates), and fin rays all record fish growth in a manner that allows age interpretation.Like a tree, fish lay down one annular ring, or annulus, on otoliths ever year.  Fortunately, non-lethal scale sampling can be used to age fish, although they require ...

The Leech Lake area provides some of the finest sport fishing opportunities in the state of Minnesota.  The quality and diversity of habitat present in Leech Lake supports naturally reproducing populations of walleye, northern pike, yellow perch, muskellunge,  largemouth bass and crappie.  While well known for its muskellunge fishing, the primary species sought by most anglers is the walleye.To help maintain or improve the walleye fishing in Leech Lake, many local groups in cooper...

From the Minnesota DNR 2002 Fisheries Newsletter.  Edited by Harlan Fierstine,Area Fisheries Supervisor and Pat Rivers, Large Lake Specialist (Leech Lake).Six of the ten largest walleye lakes in Minnesota have experimental regulations on walleye.  These regulations place stricter limits on a given lake than the statewide regulation of a six walleye limit, with only one over 24 inches.  Most of these stricter regulations involve a protected slot limit (PSL).  For example, a PS...

From the Minnesota DNR 2002 Fisheries Newsletter.  Edited by Harlan Fierstine,Area Fisheries Supervisor and Pat Rivers, Large Lake Specialist (Leech Lake).The average annual walleye harvest for Leech Lake during the last two creel surveys was 174,100 pounds.The estimated annual angling pressure exceeds 1.1 million hours.Opening weekend accounts for 8% of the annual angling pressure and 17% of the harvest.Approximately 40% of the annual walleye harvest occurs in May.You can age a fish by pat...

From the Minnesota DNR 2002 Fisheries Newsletter.  Edited by Harlan Fierstine,Area Fisheries Supervisor and Pat Rivers, Large Lake Specialist (Leech Lake). Yellow perch sampled in gillnets in 2001 were again examined for the presence of the microsporidian parasite, Heterosporis sp.  Walleye were examined for the first time in 2001.  Fillets of infected fish have a "cooked" or "freezer burn" appearance.  The infection is only visible by inspection of t...

From the Minnesota DNR 2001 Fisheries Newsletter. Edited by Harlan Fierstine,Area Fisheries Supervisor and Pat Rivers, Large Lake Specialist (Leech Lake).As anglers are gearing up to fish Leech Lake, the fate of a fish population is being determined below the water's surface. Walleye and other fish encounter obstacles from egg to adult, and people can help by protecting natural habitat in the lake and surrounding watershed.