Photo by Deb Gau Jeremy Barck at Borch’s Sporting Goods said the number of people getting their fishing licenses has started to pick up in the week before Saturday’s fishing opener.

MARSHALL — The ice fishing season may have been a bust in southwest Minnesota this winter, but some anglers are hoping for better luck with Saturday’s fishing opener.

At Borch’s Sporting Goods in Marshall, sales manager Jeremy Barck said fewer people were getting fishing licenses after record numbers in the past couple of years.

“But it’s picked up this week,” he said.

He estimated around 42 people purchased licenses this week.

With little to no ice on many Minnesota lakes over the winter, many anglers may have been waiting for the spring fishing opener to think about getting a license, Barck said.

“It was just a weird year,” he said.

The good news is that conditions are looking good for the opener, said Jack Lauer, southern Minnesota regional fisheries manager with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

“The walleye bite is going to be on fire,” Lauer said.

The walleye spawning season is over, and the fish are going to be hungry and active, he said.

The fishing opener also comes at a good time for catching crappie, Lauer said. At this time in the spring, crappie populations head into the shallows of lakes for breeding season.

Southern Minnesota is coming off of two unusual winters, Lauer noted. After the severe winter of 2022-23, some lakes experienced fish winterkills. The DNR’s response to winterkills is to restock fish, he said, but there are also other factors in southern Minnesota that can help fish populations recover.

“Fortunately, the waters in the region are warmer and shallower, so fish grow fast,” Lauer said.

This past winter was also unusual for its warm temperatures, late ice formation and early ice-out on lakes, Lauer said. Anglers might notice that the early ice-out helped lead to more robust growth of water plants, he said. Those plants help provide habitat for fish populations. The recent rains that Minnesota received have also helped replenish lake levels.

Lauer said Lake Shetek in Murray County likely wouldn’t be a great spot for walleye fishing this spring. Lake Shetek did have some winterkill in 2023, and while there were still good numbers of fish, there weren’t a lot of good-sized walleye in the lake, he said.

However, there are still plenty of options around the Marshall region. The DNR’s Southern Region fishing outlook report mentioned several area lakes as places to find walleye, panfish, pike and more.

Ortonville Area Fisheries staff said quality populations of walleye, as well as some decent northern pike, could be found at Del Clark Lake in Yellow Medicine County and Lake Hendricks in Lincoln County. A 2023 fish survey at Lake Benton showed walleye populations well above average, with fish ranging in size from five to 27 inches long, the Windom Area Fisheries reported.

Lake Sarah, in Murray County, has a self-sustaining walleye population and good prospects for angling this year. The Windom Area Fisheries said the best walleye fishing on the lake should be from mid-May to mid-June, and then again in the fall.

Zebra mussels are present in Lake Sarah, so it’s important for anglers to clean their gear, and not transport water from Lake Sarah to other water bodies, the DNR said.

Other area lakes with good prospects for walleye included Dead Coon Lake and East Stay Lake in Lincoln County, and Currant Lake in Murray County. Cottonwood Lake in Lyon County was also part of the Spicer Area Fisheries’ list of lakes showing excellent populations of walleye. Both Cottonwood Lake and Tyson Lake, located south of the city of Wood Lake, are also places to look for good-sized yellow perch, according to their report.

The DNR’s Southern Region fishing outlook report said the Minnesota River between Granite Falls and Mankato was a good prospect for walleye populations in 2024. However, Lauer said anglers shouldn’t head to the river. Recent high water conditions on the Minnesota would make it a dangerous place to fish.

Weather forecasts for the Marshall area show sunny conditions this weekend, with daytime temperatures getting into the high 70s and 80s.