2025 MN Fishing Season thread

[gim]

If you deep fried the crap out of a rock bass and mixed it in with panfish filets, I doubt anyone could tell. I certainly can’t. But I think fish prepared that way is just masking it’s true taste anyways.

 

I personally thought the filet itself was mushier than panfish. But that’s just me. The best way to answer this is to try one yourself. They’re easy to catch and the bag limit is very liberal.

[throttleplate]

2 years ago i put 3 on our stringer and then some folks walked by and were checking out what we caught and i heard them say "Eww they are keeping rock bass" so i threw them back in the lake.

[Blackpolar2021]

I just love fishing period. Panfish on up. Nothing like catching a 15 inch crappie on a UL,L setup in opinion.

[FryDog62]

A friend of mine is a pretty well known walleye guide in Minn. He had some clients from Iowa each year that wanted to keep the occasional rock bass they would catch as by products to the walleyes. He just said “whatever” and cleaned them for his guests. 
 

After a few years they asked why he the guide didn’t keep/eat the rock bass and he was like “no way,” but if you guys want them I’ll gladly clean them for you. 
 

Fast forward, they finally talked the guide into at least trying rock bass, mix them in with other species and see if you notice the difference. He prepared walleye, perch and rock bass cutting them into similar sized pieces. Pan-fried, deep-fried… he could not tell the difference and eats them on a semi-regular basis now. 
 

I think you can eat them, but just be sure to check for worms (like any other species) when you clean them..

[gim]

State legislation has been introduced to eliminate the closed bass season starting in 2026.

 

It sounds like it will be C & R from late February though the Saturday prior to Memorial Day.

 

I would imagine that some lakes will still be off limits though due to specific lake regulations. I could definitely see them prohibiting Mille Lacs.

[Mrpike]

That's great news for MN never understood why not not many would target them that early. Most bass guys release anyway. Been on the boat a few times in central MN no luck yet only 42 degree water temp. Hey Gim maybe you recognize my user name great to hear from you! will keep posted this season.

[mattwithersfishing]

Does anyone know if you can bass fish in the St Croix north of Taylors Falls Dam with a MN license before the MN opener or do you have to buy a WI license? If a WI license is required, are you only able to fish on the WI side of the river?

[MN Fisher]

16 minutes ago, mattwithersfishing said:

Does anyone know if you can bass fish in the St Croix north of Taylors Falls Dam with a MN license before the MN opener or do you have to buy a WI license? If a WI license is required, are you only able to fish on the WI side of the river?

Per the MN REGS - https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing_regs.pdf?v=2025.03.31-10.35.54

"What license do I need to fish border waters?
• Minnesota residents must have a Minnesota license."

Pg 66

 

"Can I fish anywhere on the border waters with a Minnesota license?
• In other border waters, Minnesota residents or nonresidents fishing with a
Minnesota nonresident license, may fish throughout the defined waters bordering
the two states."

Pg 66

 

Bass

St. Croix River upstream of Taylors
Falls Dam
May 24 - Sept. 7 5 (14" minimum size)
Sept. 8, 2025 -
March 1, 2026
Catch-and-release only

Pg75

 

Per the WI REGS - https://widnr.widen.net/s/kxszhwshdl/fishingregselectronic2526

 

Bass

St. Croix River upstream of the St. Croix Falls Dam
May 24, 2025 –
Sept. 7, 2025 5 in total 14 inches
Sept. 8, 2025 –
March 1, 2026 0 (catch and release only)

Pg77

 

Looks like you're out of luck until May 24

[WaskaCrank12]

Although there has been ice melt around here and some open water (maybe 15 to 20 feet from the shoreline) I saw between 20 and 30 people out on the ice auguring holes, sitting on buckets and fishing....I think they are nuts !! 

 

[WaskaCrank12]

Well...spring was trying to arrive....we are getting hit pretty hard with this snow/ice/wind storm....we have about 7 inches of snow right now and they are saying another 5 to 7 inches will fall thru tomorrow morning....wet/high water content/ heavy snow and a glaze of ice mixed in....good thing I kept the snow thrower gassed up and ready !...although it won't be throwing this heavy snow very far....

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

I just checked here, 7 1/2in of snow and it’s still coming down. 

[MN Fisher]

It's just turning into a sloppy mess here...no real accumulation, just some slick roads and sidewalks.

[gim]

3 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

It's just turning into a sloppy mess here...no real accumulation, just some slick roads and sidewalks.

I would say an inch of the heavy wet slop. Plus a bunch of rain and sleet.

 

Is Tonka fully open yet?

[MN Fisher]

15 minutes ago, gim said:

Is Tonka fully open yet?

They declared it open this past Saturday.

[WaskaCrank12]

We ended up with about 14 inches of heavy/high water content snow...as usual here it all depends on the wind...the top of the driveway had over 22 inches, the lower portion only about 10 inches...it's the first time in my 19 years here that the snow thrower struggled a bit to auger/toss the snow because it is so heavy/wet...cleared the driveway and downspout areas but I am going to take a break before clearing the deck/truck/boat cover...might use the roof rake as well as this is a big snow load on the roof

[gim]

7 hours ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

it's the first time in my 19 years here that the snow thrower struggled a bit to auger/toss the snow because it is so heavy/wet.

 

Mine cannot handle that stuff.  Its comes out of the chute like ketchup.

 

Can't really shovel it either, so I generally just let Mother Nature run its natural course.  It's often gone in a day anyways this time of year.

 

Looks like a nice warm up in about 6-7 days.  I might be able to get the boat in the water about 9 days from now.

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

Last i heard our lakes have over a foot of solid ice still, its going to be a while for me. 

[WaskaCrank12]

@gim that would be great if getting on the water in the boat could happen in the next 10 days or so.....but as @10,000 lakes Bassin mentioned many of the lakes (my guess is central MN and north) still have quite a bit of ice on them and night time temps are still around 20....here there is some open water showing yet there are also large areas where there is still a foot or so of ice....the big winds in this storm helped break up ice closer to the shorelines....if the sun comes out that will be a bonus as we now have over 12 hours of day light and that light is having more of an impact on melting the ice/snow....even mid to high 30's with full sun would be good

[gim]

17 minutes ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

that would be great if getting on the water in the boat could happen in the next 10 days or so..

 

Last year was the earliest I've ever had my boat in the water: April 6.  Fishing was poor because the water was still very cold.

 

I'm looking at Sat, April 12.  Right now the forecast says about 64 degrees that day.  Not sure if I'm gonna actually do any panfishing.  I might just go for a boat ride and make sure everything is functioning properly.

 

You guys are both a fair distance north and west of me and got way more snow than I did too.  Half of what I got was rain.  90% of the snow I got is already melted too.