Almanac: Ice fishers don't frequent walleye-heavy Leech Lake

The rebound of the Leech Lake walleye fishery has been amazing. And it hasn't gone unnoticed by anglers.

Angling pressure on Leech totaled 785,000 hours last summer, the highest in 10 years. It's nearly double the fishing pressure from 2005, when the DNR tallied 430,000 angling hours.

The walleye catch rate was nearly a fish an hour and the harvest rate was a quarter of that -- both strong numbers.

But for whatever reason, Leech never has been as popular an ice fishing destination as Mille Lacs or Winnibigoshish.

"People just tend to overlook it," said Doug Schultz, Department of Natural Resources large lake specialist in Walker.

But with the walleye rebound, that might change.

"I think it's going to be pretty good winter [for walleye fishing]," he said. "We have some really nice perch, too, in the 10- to 13-inch range."

The ice ranged from 9 to 15 inches thick, and Schultz warned: "There are locations where the ice is never safe enough for travel. Good contacts for fishing reports, access points and ice are Shriver's Bait Shop, Reed's Sporting Goods or a local resort."

Fishing at Lake of the Woods has been good, too. There was about 15 inches of ice in many areas last week. The afternoon and evening bite has been best. And reports from Lake Mille Lacs indicate a hot walleye bite continues.

Ice shelter IDs

Conservation officers have encountered many ice shelters without proper identification already this season. Remember, all shelters placed on the ice of Minnesota waters must have the complete name and address of the owner or the driver's license number or the nine-digit DNR number on the license of the owner plainly and legibly displayed on the outside in letters and figures at least 2 inches in height. Also, shelters left on the ice overnight need to have at least 2 square inches of reflective material on each side of the house.

Trout season change The winter season for lake trout on lakes entirely within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will open Friday and close March 31, 2010. That's different than stated in the 2009 DNR fishing regulation booklet. In 2009, winter lake trout season dates were the same for lakes within and outside the BWCA. Legislation enacted after the 2009 regulations booklet was printed changed the lake trout opener on lakes entirely within the BWCA to Friday. The winter season for lake trout lakes outside and partially outside the BWCA remains the same -- Jan. 15 to March 31. Updated regulations can be seen at mndnr.gov/fishregs.

Anglers for habitat The new group Anglers for Habitat will unveil its new logo and hold a public reception 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Earle Brown Center in Brooklyn Center. Anglers for Habitat is a nonprofit alliance of anglers dedicated to the preservation and improvement of aquatic habitat, clean water and fishing in Minnesota. There will be a cash bar and a silent auction; donations will be accepted, too. For more information, contact Lance Ness, president of the group, at nesslk@juno.com or Vern Wagner at anglersforhabitat@gmail.com.

Wanted: Turkey calls The Minnesota State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is inviting all turkey call makers to enter the Minnesota NWTF Handmade Call Contest, to be held Jan. 16 at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato at the NWTF State Convention. For more information, contact Warren Robertson at warcrob@hcinet.net.