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Local resort owners, guides anticipate big fishing opener
Published 12:06pm Wednesday, May 9, 2007Fishermen who plan to take to the Minnesota waters opening weekend prepare well in advance — getting tackle boxes, rods and reels, boats and motors in order. Resort owners and others in Otter Tail County who host fishing groups also prepare well in advance.
“Yes, there’s a lot to do before Saturday’s opener,” Star Lake Galaxy Resort co-owner JoAnn Bina said. “My husband, Ron, and I host people from a long ways away who come here for walleye fishing. Some come from as far away as Illinois and California.”
The western bays of Star Lake provide a safety net even if high winds make it tough to fish elsewhere. Often anglers can cast their lines in calm waters of bays at Star Lake — staying away from waves on the unsheltered open waters in the main body of the lake.
The Binas will have a supply of night crawlers and shiners available for those in pursuit of the wile walleye this coming weekend. After the fishing outings, they’re prepared for hungry guests to dine at their restaurant adjacent to the resort where broasted chicken is the specialty.
Area fishing guide Ross Hagemeister will be on Otter Tail Lake at 6 a.m. Saturday with three people hoping to catch walleye.
“I predict that fishing for this year’s opener will be better than average,” Hagemeister said. “Two people in our fishing party are coming up from the Twin Cities — and they’re really looking forward to the 2007 opener.”
This year the Governor’s Fishing Opener will take place at Leech Lake, the first time since Gov. Harold LeVander fished there during the opener in 1968.
Like the Leech Lake area, Otter Tail County offers excellent walleye fishing along with golfing, hiking, and biking on hundreds of miles of woodland trails and scenic byways. The Galaxy Resort owners, and others like them, also capitalize on the county’s recreational lures — in addition to fishing.
“Yes, this county has lots to offer tourists,” JoAnn Bina said. “We have many things to attract people to our county along with walleye fishing.”
A close cousin of the walleye is the sauger which has a more limited distribution than the walleye — and doesn’t grow as large. The two species look similar, but you can tell them apart by looking at the tip of the lower part of the tail.
To ensure that lakes produce enough walleyes to keep up with growing angler demand, the DNR protects habitat, limits the catch through regulations, and stocks fish where natural reproduction is limited and other desirable fish species will not be harmed.
