Ice finally starts to fade from many BWCA and Cook County lakes as fishing opener arrives

After a spring that looked and felt mostly like winter, the fishing opener is here.

There was great angst among many who fish in and around the Boundary Waters in the weeks leading up to the opener this year. The Governor’s Fishing Opener in Minnesota is Saturday, May 13. Gov. Tim Walz will be in the Mankato area for the festivities around the statewide opener. Locally, some of the larger lakes, including Clearwater, Duncan, Pine, and Brule, could be holding ice this weekend. Other lakes, including Round, Caribou, and Deer Yard Lake, will be open by Saturday morning.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins took a tour of The Grade road in Cook County this week. As of May 10, some of the lakes along the Grade were becoming ice free. Star Lake, for example, had almost no ice. Homer and Brule lakes still had ice, but the frozen surface was fading fast on Homer.

In the most recent episode of the WTIP Outdoor News Podcast, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conversation Officer Kylan Hill talks with WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs about the 2023 Fishing Opener. Audio below.

Joe Friedrichs May 12, 2023