Planning a Minnesota Walleye Opener Trip

The Minnesota fishing opener is less a fishing day than a state holiday on the water. It falls on a Saturday in mid-May, opens walleye and northern pike season, and sends about half a million anglers to the lakes. If you want to be part of it, plan early, pick your lake on purpose and pack for cold. For the lakes and resorts themselves, see our Minnesota lake country guide.

How the opener works

Minnesota law sets the opener as the Saturday two weeks before the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. That rule keeps it in mid-May, though the exact date moves a little from year to year. Walleye, northern pike, bass and trout in lakes open that day, and muskie follow in early June. Early bass season has its own rules in some areas, so read the regulations before you keep one.

The tradition dates to 1948. Each year a host community holds the Governor’s Fishing Opener, with local events and plenty of news coverage.

For fishing, the opener usually catches walleye just after their spawn. State fisheries staff often point anglers to shallower, darker water and spots with current early in the season, and when the walleye bite is slow, pike are often willing. In a year with late ice-out, fish can run behind schedule and sit shallower than usual.

Book the resort early

Opener weekend is one of the busiest weekends of the year for Minnesota resorts. On a normal year, a Mille Lacs resort owner described the weekend as packed: every room full, people sleeping in fish houses and lines at the landing. If you want a particular resort or lake, book well ahead, and ask:

• Is there a minimum stay on opener weekend?
• Are boats and motors available to rent, and are they already booked?
• Is there a guide or launch trip I can add?
• What is your cancellation policy if ice-out is late?

The last question matters. In years when spring runs late, resorts have opened the weekend with ice still on the lake and boats still in the yard. Our Minnesota resort vacation guide explains how cabins, boat packages and launch trips work.

Choosing a lake

Mille Lacs

Mille Lacs is Minnesota’s second-largest lake, about 132,000 acres with 76 miles of shoreline and an average depth around 20 feet. It is known for walleye, perch, bass, pike and muskie. Resorts there run launch boats, large shared fishing boats with a crew, which suit groups and first-timers.

Mille Lacs has its own walleye rules, set by the DNR, and they have often been stricter than statewide rules. In some years they have included one-fish limits, catch-and-release periods and short closures within a single season. Read the DNR Mille Lacs page before you plan to keep fish.

Leech Lake

Leech Lake, around Walker, has more than 112,000 acres of fishable water and is one of the state’s best-known walleye lakes. It also holds muskie, largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, crappie, perch, bluegill and eelpout. Resorts around the lake offer docks, fish cleaning and guide services, and the local tourism office keeps a regular fishing report. Guides are not required, but one can shorten the learning curve on a lake this size.

Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods, on the Canadian border, calls itself the Walleye Capital of the World and has more than 50 resorts. It is a much longer drive north than Mille Lacs or Leech, so treat it as its own trip. The Rainy River’s spring walleye fishing comes before the main-lake opener under separate rules, and through the open-water season charter boats carrying up to six anglers fish the big water of Big Traverse Bay. Many resorts package guided trips with lodging.

The Brainerd lakes

If you would rather move between smaller lakes than commit to one big one, the Brainerd area is the alternative. See the Minnesota lake country guide for details.

Licenses and rules

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sells licenses and sets the opener date and rules. Anglers 16 and older need a license. Minnesota licenses run from March 1 to the end of February, so a license you bought last spring will not cover this year’s opener.

Before you go, the DNR and its conservation officers suggest:

• Buy your license and make sure your boat registration is current.
• Check for special regulations on the specific lake you plan to fish.
• Carry a way to measure fish.
• Have all required safety equipment aboard.

Rules change from year to year, and Mille Lacs rules can change within a season. Check the DNR fishing regulations before each trip. Our fishing licenses guide covers the basics.

Weather and cold water

Mid-May in northern Minnesota can bring anything. Ice-out timing swings widely from year to year: in 2012 many lakes north of the Twin Cities set records for early ice-out, and the following spring several of the same lakes neared record late dates, with Mille Lacs still mostly frozen on opener weekend. Even on a warm day, the air can turn cold in minutes when the wind blows off a cold lake.

The bigger risk is the water. The DNR says about 30 percent of Minnesota’s fatal boating accidents happen during the cold-water season. Wear a life jacket, and the DNR notes that foam jackets work better than inflatables in cold water. Spread weight evenly in the boat, carry a way to call for help, and tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Our fishing trip safety and weather guide has more.

What to bring

• A current Minnesota license, and the rules for your lake.
• A foam life jacket for everyone in the boat.
• Warm layers, a winter hat, gloves and full rain gear, even if the forecast is mild.
• A measuring board or tape.
• Jigs and live-bait rigs for walleye, plus something for pike.
• Patience at the ramp. Opener is one of the busiest boating days of the year, so launch early.

Our fishing trip packing list covers the rest.

Bringing the family

The opener works well as a family trip if you plan for the cold. Most years, opener weekend lines up with Take a Mom Fishing Weekend, when Minnesota-resident moms can fish without a license, and Minnesota residents 15 and under never need one. A Mille Lacs launch trip or a guided half day keeps kids fishing instead of waiting for you to find fish.

Keep the first trip short and warm: shorter sessions, snacks in the boat, and a cabin to retreat to. If cold water worries you, the Take a Kid Fishing Weekend in June is a gentler first outing for residents. For more ideas, see fishing with kids and our family trip guide.