New fishing season on Minnesota's ice

DuWayne Johnson was among a handful of diehard early-season anglers who pulled portable ice fishing shelters onto Orchard Lake in Lakeville on Sunday, launching another ice fishing season.

The scene -- power augers drilling through crystal-clear ice and blue and black nylon fishing shelters popping up like umbrellas -- was reflected on countless frozen lakes from Warroad to Winona over the weekend as another hard-water fishing season has begun.

For Johnson, an ice fishing fanatic, the season doesn't come soon enough.

"I've been going around checking ice," the 53-year-old from Lakeville said as he set up his shelter with a biting wind blowing snow sideways across the small south-metro lake, with the temperature hovering around 10 degrees. He and a half-dozen other anglers found about 6 inches of solid ice, plenty thick enough to support foot traffic and portable shelters.

"I always walk out with an ice chopper to check the ice," he said. "I've never fallen through, and I don't plan on it."

Department of Natural Resources officials say ice is good now in many areas of the state -- and angling activity heated up over the weekend -- but they still urge anglers to always use caution and check ice conditions first.

Johnson has a boat, but he said his wife doesn't like to fish, so he does most of his fishing on ice. "The winter is mine," he said with glee. "I'll try to get out here at least four times a week."

"Look at the structure and all the weeds," he said. "It's perfect for crappies."

Then he lowered a minnow and jig down and made himself comfortable waiting for a friend to join him.

"It's peaceful. You come out here, there's no noise, no nothing. It's relaxing," he said. "I just catch and release 'em. Just for fun."

The wind buffeted his nylon shelter and the snow fell harder.

"What else is there to do on a day like today?" Johnson asked. (Later, he and his friend caught six sunfish, a northern and a perch before quitting at nightfall.)

"We fish as much as we possibly can," Ryan said. "I personally like it better than open-water fishing. It's my favorite time of the year, by far."

Ryan reeled in a small perch while we talked, and released it. They had already moved three times, looking for fish. Also along for the day in other nearby shelters were Jarad Schuller, 28, of Inver Grove Heights, and Seth Weise, 27, of Hastings.

"You're not going to catch anything sitting on the couch watching the Vikings," Schuller said.

Meanwhile, Nic Milan, 28, of Lakeville, and friend Joe Stevens, 28, of Apple Valley, were preparing to bring Milan's permanent wooden ice fishing shelter onto the lake with a four-wheeler. It would be the first on the lake, but not the last. Others eventually will form a small, temporary neighborhood on the lake.

"I'm going to check ice thickness before I get too adventuresome," Milan said. "Six inches is questionable. Seven inches would make a difference." He figured the house was as heavy as a pickup truck, so he was cautious.

"About 6 inches," he said. "The snow is insulating the ice; it would have been thicker by now without the snow."

After checking another spot, the pair elected to play it safe: They towed the house onto the lake -- but dropped it only a few yards from shore.

"We'll move it later," Milan said.

Earlier, Rod Pray, 50, of Lakeville, fished for two hours before folding up his shelter and heading for home.

"I'm from Louisiana, so this ice fishing is new for me," he said. But he had a heater to stay warm, an underwater TV camera for entertainment, and peace and quiet on the frozen lake.

Pray could have been speaking for most winter anglers when he added:

"I just enjoy being out."