MARSHALL — Area anglers have to stow their shovels and get out the fishing gear — the fishing season is coming.

Borch’s buyer/sporting goods manager Ryan Michelson said the store would normally have seen a lot more fishing licenses sold by now if the weather had been nicer, but things are looking up.

“With the warmer weather the past couple of days, the license sales have shot up,” Michelson said. “Sales of fishing rods, tackle and other equipment have also gone up.”

It’s like when ice fishing starts, he said. One never knows exactly when the ice will firm up enough to go ice fishing. Anglers still save up their vacation time to go.

“It catches up in the end,” Michelson said. “It all seems to work out.”

The thing about the late spring is that the fish don’t spawn until it reaches over 50 degrees, Michelson said.

“With the late ice-out, the fish are still going to be spawning (at fishing opener). It’s still be coming to a peak, making the fishing even better than ever,” he said. “Fishing will still be successful.”

Department of Natural Resources Assistant Regional Manager Brian Schultz, who is based in New Ulm, said that the reports he has been getting from DNR agents out on lakes like Lake Sarah have been encouraging for the fishing opener May 12.

“With the warmer weather, the fish are spawning quickly,” Schultz said. “Usually it takes about two to three weeks, but it may be just a matter of days now that the ice is gone and the water is warming up.”

A lot of anglers like to fish during spawning because the fish tend to cluster, making it easier to catch more. Some areas in northern Minnesota have outlawed fishing during spawning because they fear it significantly reduces the future fish count, Schultz said, but it is still lawful in southern Minnesota.

The majority of the spawning should be done by the May 12 opener, though, he said. The count on Lake Sarah was two females had already spent their eggs while 54 green ones were not quite ready to spawn.

“There were quite a few males, too,” Schultz said. The counters saw mostly walleye but were not taking a specific type count, he said.

“We suspected there might have been some winter kill with the late snow,” Schultz said, “but we haven’t received any calls on that. The snow must have all melted before it reached the lakes.”

Schultz also said that anglers should take extra precaution to wear their life jackets as the lakes will be full of really cold water.

“If their boat tips, wearing a life jacket could mean the difference between life and death,” Schultz said.