Glen Schmitt

Black bears continue to be active in Central Minnesota. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says he's heard reports of bears on trail cameras in the Cold Spring area. Schmitt says this isn't the first time bears have been reported in Cold Spring and suspects it won't be the last.

All of the bears in Minnesota are black bears. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News says there is more bears in Central Minnesota than people realize. He says you just don't see them out and about very often.

The stream trout season opens Saturday in Minnesota. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says we have trout fishing options in every region of the state. That consists of rainbow, brown, and brook trout.

The wild turkey hunting season is set to start April 17 in Minnesota. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. The first season is April 17- April 23. That is labeled as A. The rest of season's schedule is below.

The two rounds of snowfall in the past week have some benefits. The dry conditions were really becoming noticeable on area lakes, streams, ponds and rivers. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON.

The Department of Natural Resources and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have set a catch-and-release fishing season from May 11th through August 15th. The plan is to begin allowing one walleye between 21-23 inches or one over 28 inches on August 16.

The warmer than normal temperatures are cutting short the ice fishing season and will likely cause the earliest ice out on area lakes. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says this is the earliest ice out in his lifetime and likely the earliest ice out on record.

For the past 7-8 years reducing walleye limits in Minnesota has been a topic of discussion at the state legislature. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says the DNR and different working groups have talked about reducing the walleye limit from 6 fish to 3 or 4 fish.

Walleye, bass and northern pike fishing closes on inland lakes in Minnesota Sunday. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says if you want to catch walleyes, his suggestion for this weekend is to go to lakes that have more walleyes in them.

The Minnesota DNR has released its hunting incident report and the numbers from 2023 don't look bad. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says in total there were 11 reported incidents and no fatalities.

Not everyone is fond of the warm weather in Central Minnesota this winter. Glen Schmitt from Outdoors News feels this could be the worst ice fishing season in Minnesota. He says last year's season wasn't good but this is worse.

The annual Catfish Festival on the Chain of Lakes in Richmond has been cancelled this year due to ice conditions. The event was scheduled for February 9-10. The official website for the event indicates fishing tickets will be honored for next year's event.