REGIONAL— Many people caught fish but just about everyone caught a sunburn during this past weekend’s 2025 fishing opener. It was the second year in a row that the weather gods smiled on the Minnesota opener, and this year was even warmer as temperatures pushed well into the 80s by Sunday.
“Everybody enjoyed the Florida weather,” said Jerry Pohlman, at Nelson’s Resort on Crane Lake.
The nice weather, particularly with the light winds on Saturday, brought out big numbers of anglers, who were eager to wet a line and just enjoy the pleasant early spring weather.
“We were slammed,” said Steve Renneberg at Arrowhead Outdoors bait shop in Ely. “It was just too nice for anyone to stay home.”
While Sunday brought even warmer temperatures, with highs pushing well into the 80s, strong and gusty south winds kept anglers mostly in protected locations.
The warm air contrasted with the cold water. Much of Lake Vermilion’s Big Bay still had ice cover as of May 5 and water temperatures were still in the mid-40s on Saturday morning. “The water’s too cold,” was a familiar refrain from anglers working the usual early season hot spots along the edges of Big Bay, but who found the action was a little on the slow side.
That sent many anglers into the warmer, shallower waters of Pike Bay, where huge numbers of boats had gathered looking for hungry post-spawn walleyes.
It was a similar story in the Ely area, said Renneberg, although he said he heard no complaints. “It was an excellent opener even if fishing was a little on the slow side.” Anglers reported catching mostly smaller males, in areas near traditional spawning waters. “The spawn had just wrapped up,” noted Renneberg, “so it was kind of tough timing.”
While anglers in most areas were dealing with cold water, there was lingering ice cover yet on Namakan Lake and parts of Rainy Lake. On Lake Kabetogama, strong winds cleared remaining ice the day before opener, which was good news for resorts on the lake, which filled up with anglers who had been waiting nervously as the ice had hung on through most of the week.
Not surprisingly, action on Kab was a bit slower than a typical opener. “The lake is a little behind,” said Mike Daurio, who owns and operates Arrowhead Lodge with his wife Becky. “It seems the fish were just starting to spawn. People still caught fish, it just wasn’t the lights out opener we typically have,” he added.
While the fishing was slow for many, others reported real success. “It was one of the best openers in the last ten years,” said Steve Krasaway, a Lake Vermilion guide who was out with family on opening weekend. “It went from a banner morning of walleye fishing to catching a bunch of nice slab crappie by lunch time. My ten-year-old son Leo hooked into a nice 17-inch walleye on his first cast of opening morning,” he said.
Longtime guide Cliff Wagenbach reported his party netted 42 walleye opening day, all smaller males in the 13-15-inch range. Wagenbach said his party caught all their fish in about 28-33 feet of water and all on lindy rigs, which he relies on in cold water conditions.
As usual, Wagenbach avoided the crowds in Pike Bay, although he said he heard good reports from anglers who did brave the traffic.
Matt Hennen, the DNR’s large lake specialist based in Tower, said he heard that anglers did well in Pike Bay and on the south side of islands, where the south wind seemed to focus bait fish and bring the walleyes in.
Pohlman reported a lot of success on Crane Lake as well. “Everybody staying here caught limits of fish and had a fish fry,” he said. According to Pohlman, the usual early season locations seemed to provide the most success, with anglers working the shallows near current by casting jigs toward shore and slowly working them back to the boat.
The action at Crane Lake got a little extra attention this year, as Nelson’s Resort played host to Star Tribune outdoors writer Dennis Anderson, who reported on the scene from the Vermilion Gorge as he and a couple fishing buddies filled out with walleye sized appropriately below the lake’s 18-26-inch protected slot.
The other, unofficial outdoor writers were out in force on local social media, with photos and fish stories about their own exploits. There will undoubtedly be more to come. As the water warms, expect the fishing to only get better.