Anglers celebrating âTake a Kid Ice Fishingâ this weekend
Anglers celebrating âTake a Kid Ice Fishingâ this weekend By Bernadette Heier | January 14, 2021 at 6:36 PM CST - Updated January 14 at 7:45 PM
Minn. (KEYC) - This weekend Minnesotans can fish for free when bringing along a kid.
âTake a Kid Ice Fishing Weekendâ kicks off this Saturday through Monday. Minnesotans age 16 or older can fish or dark-house spear without an angling or spearing license if they take a child younger than 16 along to fish with them.
âItâs a way to introduce people to the sport of fishing and to get kids out there and get an experience for it. Because itâs a heritage in the state of Minnesota and any time we can expose kids to the sport of fishing its benefit,â said Waterville Area Fisheries Supervisor Craig Soupir.
The White Earth Nation assisted by stocking fry and fingerlings in several Becker County lakes and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe provided walleye fry that the DNR stocked in a handful of lakes. All told, the DNR stocked over 82,000 pounds of walleye, representing about 71% of stocking originally planned for the year.
Dec 11, 2020
A boy tests the ice on the pond at Lions Park. Ice on most area lakes is still considered too thin to walk on.
While the unusually warm weather this week was an opportunity for people to be outside, it delayed the start of winter activities such as ice fishing.
The above-freezing days are slowing the speed that ice forms on local lakes and ponds, pushing back when people can take to the ice.
The cooler nights helped keep the ice already on the lakes from melting, despite temperatures rising to an unusually warm 50 degrees this week. The problem is that new ice doesnât form during these warmer periods.