The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

Minnesota fishing opener is just right around the corner. This special day will have more Minnesotan’s out and about than any other outdoor opening day. The season opens at 12:01 on May 11. The season for pan fish stays open year-round but for walleyes and other game fish, there is a regulated season in order to allow these fish to spawn unmolested.

I used to be one of those folks out at midnight. Not anymore. Old age has creeped up on me and my intensity has waned over the past 40 years. I still love to fish but the conditions I need to be willing to participate have been reduced. I can remember a few times when I left the hotel room and had to shovel the snow out of the boat before we launched it.

I used to do live radio spots on opening day with a local radio personality. They sold ads for outdoor shops to sponsor these spots. I would fish for the day and normally hit about three different lakes to give the listeners a pretty good idea of what was happening where.

On one of those openers, the weather just sucked. It was cold and windy and just plain miserable. The radio person showed up completely unprepared for the day. If you are old enough you can remember pants that were brightly colored and had all kinds of funky patterns. They were called Zubaz.

This guy shows up with an armload of radio gear wearing a pair of Zubaz. We were on the water for about an hour and I thought the guy was going to die of hypothermia. I offered over and over to take him back to shore in order to get some better clothes, but he refused. This was long before the invention of modern cell phones so he had some pretty expensive radio transmission gear that, with the waves slapping over the boat rails, finally got his equipment wet enough that he had to call it quits.

I don’t know whether this guy ever got back into a boat again. On another opening day I took my mom, who at the time was about 60 years old and my two kids who were about 5, out onto a local lake and caught fish about as fast as you could get the line out. I remember they were just barely big enough to keep, but the crew had a great day and I have a memory I will never forget.

Opening day is one of those days that jump-starts the rest of the fishing season. The lakes are normally packed, and the boat ramps are full to overflowing. In many ways, opening day is not the best day to go fishing if you are looking to have a relaxing outing.

For many it is the 100-yard dash compared to sitting on the couch waiting for the ice and snow to finally go away. I don’t ice fish anymore. I do try to spear a pike every now and then but the ice conditions were so bad this past winter I was only able to get out a few times. Extraordinarily mild winters are one of the only benefits of global warming if you live in the north country.

I have no idea what my opening day will be like this year, but with the passing of my mother in November of ‘23 at the age of 87 and my dad’s passing in February of ‘24 at the age of 90, I know that there will be no more new memories made of fishing with them.

Fishing memories of opening day should be more about who you were with and where you went versus how many walleyes you were able to kill. I guess it might just be my advancing age, but what was once very important is not all that important anymore.

So, when you’re stringing new line on that new fancy $200 fishing reel and sorting through the tackle box of new lures, take a few minutes to recollect your best opening day fishing memories and make a conscious decision as to who you might be able to make some new fishing memories with. Will it be your grandkids? The next-door neighbor kid? Or maybe you might just take your elderly mom or dad along with you. Taking older people fishing is not a lot different than taking kids fishing. You will get to actually fish a lot less and be more of a boat captain for the day.

Whatever you have planned for your fishing opener, do so with a safety-first attitude and one of generosity. I have fished a thousand times but you might just take someone who would never be able to go at all if you did not take them. The best boat to own is the one that is on the water and not collecting dust in the garage or shed.

Wishing you a safe and memorable opening day 2024.

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.