The number of Minnesota lakes with special northern pike fishing restrictions will be capped at 100, a spearing ban on Cass Lake will be lifted and major changes are coming for duck hunters under a wide-ranging game and fish bill approved Tuesday night during a special session of the Legislature.
Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign it into law as part of a compromise spending bill approved by legislative leaders and the governor.
It caps the number of lakes with special northern regulations at 100 -- 19 fewer than now, but 10 more than had been approved by legislators in a game and fish bill Dayton vetoed in May.
The DNR imposes the size restrictions, often with approval of lake associations and fishing groups, to try to boost the average size of fish in those lakes. Spearers say the restrictions prevent them from using those lakes.
The bill also lifts the spearing ban on Cass Lake and prevents the DNR from imposing any spearing restrictions on northerns there -- an idea Dayton and the DNR opposed.
The latest bill includes no ATV restrictions, as did the earlier bill, which Dayton cited when he vetoed it. However, it contains numerous provisions affecting hunters, which also had been in the earlier bill. Among them:
• Removes a requirement that Minnesota's waterfowl season begins the Saturday nearest Oct. 1. That means the DNR could open this year's season on Sept. 24.
• Removes the 9 a.m. duck opener restriction, meaning hunting may start a half-hour before sunrise.
