As outdoors get-togethers go, they don't get much bigger than this.
Nearly 1 million anglers, give or take a few thousand, will hit their favorite lake or stream Saturday for the opening of Minnesota's fishing season.
"The Walleye Opener," it's unofficially called, but the opening of fishing season also heralds the beginning of fishing for northern pike and trout.
A late spring this year means anglers will find some of their favorite lakes still locked in ice Saturday morning. Lake of the Woods still was largely ice-covered as of Thursday, but anglers can access the Rainy River and Four-Mile Bay just beyond the mouth of the Rainy.
No guarantees, of course, but there should be a few hungry walleyes laying in wait.
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Wherever the road leads Saturday morning, the opening day of fishing season is about more than catching. It's tradition, and in many parts of the state, a driving force of local economies.
