How will a warm winter affect spring fishing? What to know before the opener
May 3, 2024
The Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener is next Saturday and anglers are eagerly waiting to drop a line, hoping to reel in trout, bass, walleye and muskie. But the state’s unseasonably warm winter may have had an effect on fish hatch for some species.
Gretchen Hansen, assistant professor in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Department at the University of Minnesota, told MPR News the lack of snow and premature ice melt could affect the reproduction and survival of young fish — like walleye and yellow perch — in the springtime.
