MINNEAPOLIS — This Saturday, when Minnesota's inland walleye and northern pike seasons begin anew, the fishing, as always, will be fantastic.

And the catching? You heard it here first: It'll be fast and furious.

To make this admittedly out-on-a-limb prediction, I looked at statewide ice-out dates, which obviously were early this spring, and ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota's licensing and permitting system for outdoor recreation — everything from bobcat-trapping to Nordic skiing on state trails — will undergo an electronic transformation next year to offer the convenience of mobile phone displays and on-the-go registrations.

Old-school paper certificates for fishing and other ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — To make the most of the moment, determine why you're there. For the fish or for the fishing?

Trout fishing can be a thrill whether you are a catch-and-release fly angler or expected to bring something home for the frying pan. And if you're a kid contributing to the family dinner for the first time, sharing the catch can be a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Craig Soupir has $20 million to spend, and wants to do it right.

In fact, the money isn't Soupir's, and he alone isn't responsible for ensuring the Department of Natural Resources builds the best fish hatchery $20 million can buy.

But it's safe to say no one is more excited than Soupir, the DNR's area fisheries supervisor in ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A yearslong effort at the State Capitol to abolish Minnesota's "shotgun-only" zone for deer hunting in most of southern Minnesota continues to inch along, this time with the opportunity for individual counties to cling to the status quo.

A bipartisan push for the change has earned support in the Senate, but there's still ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Science can come in handy when it suits your biases. Otherwise — especially in the case of fish and wildlife management — it can be a hassle.

Just ask those who are complaining about the Department of Natural Resources' recent declaration that anglers this spring and early summer on Mille Lacs can't keep any walleyes.

None....Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Ever wonder how Minnesota stacks up against its peers in deer hunting?

Among the 11 states now represented in the Big Ten Conference, Gopher Nation stands out as a blueblood in the categories of opportunity and participation.

Minnesota boasts 8.2 million acres of public hunting land and has fielded an average of 476,000 deer ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Ever wonder how Minnesota stacks up against its peers in deer hunting?

Among the 11 states now represented in the Big Ten Conference, Gopher Nation stands out as a blueblood in the categories of opportunity and participation.

Minnesota boasts 8.2 million acres of public hunting land and has fielded an average of 476,000 deer ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — A yellow perch caught in Lake Erie Monday appears to be the largest ever caught in Pennsylvania.

Because of state record-weighing protocols, however, the size of the 3.02-pound fish will likely be recorded as 3.0 pounds, tying it with the previous state record.

Chuck Main will have to wait a few weeks for the final ruling. The ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — If the scourge of the spotted lanternfly plays out as it did in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pittsburgh is set for another invasion this year of the icky, sap-sucking invasive insects.

Allegheny County residents for the second year in a row reported the highest number of lanternfly sightings in the state last year with 20,716, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In a last-minute move, the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council voted last Tuesday to give out $12 million toward developing a deterrent to reduce the advancement of invasive carp on the Mississippi River, north of Winona.

The work on what the deterrent project becomes and how it is maintained would fall to multiple agencies, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The latest surprise from the Legislature, which is full of them, is that bills have been introduced to give the state-owned portion of Upper Red Lake and a 1-mile buffer of state-owned land surrounding it to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. For good measure, the proposals also would award the band the 84,000-acre Red Lake State ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Jeff Lightfoot was a northeast Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife manager from 1980 to 2015. He first served as assistant area manager and deer habitat specialist in International Falls and later was area wildlife manager in Virginia, Minn., before being promoted to regional wildlife manager in Grand Rapids. In ...Read more