MINNESOTA (Valley News Live) - The Minnesota fishing opener is one month away, but ice still covers the water on majority of lakes across the state.

The Minnesota State Climatology Office says the first ice out reports have started arriving. A handful of lakes in the southern part of Minnesota report open water between April 8 and April 14.

The definition of lake ice out can vary from lake to lake. For the citizen observers reporting data, ice out usually occurs when the lake is completely free of ice or 90-percent free of it. Or, it may be when it is possible to navigate from point A to point B. Observers use consistent criteria from year to year when reporting lake ice out dates.

You can see ice out on lakes across the state on an interactive map on the DNR website. Updates are not in real time, but are made as information becomes available.

If you have a lake ice out report, you can comment on the Minnesota State Climatology Office Facebook page.

The Minnesota fishing opener is on Saturday, May 13. It’s the start of fishing for walleye, northern pike, bass, and trout in lakes on inland waters. Seasons for some other species, including sunfish, crappie and channel catfish, are open all year.

Minnesota has 11,842 lakes that are 10 or more acres in size, 4,500 of which are considered fishing lakes. There are more than 16,000 miles of fishable rivers and streams, including 3,800 miles of trout streams.162 species of fish can be found in Minnesota waters.

Minnesota fishing regulations, including those new for 2023, and more information can be found in the Minnesota Fishing Regulations on the DNR fishing page.

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