Opening Fishing Weekend in Minnesota

If you have spent time up in Northern Minnesota, you know dearly that there are two very sacred times of year. One is deer hunting season, and the other starts this weekend. Opening Fishing kicks off promptly every spring, and fishermen and women pile into their boats and onto the lake for the first time since the ice formed in the fall. If your family is anything like mine, you make your plans and start the countdown for next year the second you hook the boat up to leave. A full circle thing for us is that we have been going to Itasca for Opening Fishing Weekend for the last 20+ years. Owning Rock Creek has made the area feel even more like home than it already did through the countless memories at opener in the past.

You never really know what to expect from this weekend. When you commit to one lake, you only hope the year starts well. It’s always helpful to learn patterns that help your odds of catching fish. Knowing specifics about when, where, and what the fish are biting on can seriously up your game. If you were to get really crazy with it, you could keep some statistics every time you go out, and eventually, no matter the day, you could check and see where to go and what bait to use. Unless you fish to live, we all know that, yeah, it's nice to catch them, but most of the time, fishing isn’t about fishing. It’s about family, friends, patience, stillness, God, creation, conversation, good snacks, and if you’re lucky, a nice tan.

Speaking of getting tan, it’s looking like we won the weather lottery this year, so bronze skin may be achievable even if the fish aren’t. This weekend is always hit-or-miss weather-wise. I remember one year, we watched ice flow from the lake, over the rocks, and it was so cold they probably made it all the way to the Gulf. Other years, I remember going swimming and selling lemonade on the docks. Regardless of the weather, it’s always such a great time. If you and your family are hitting the lakes this weekend, we wish you the best of luck.