CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports lower-than-normal water temperatures along with very high fast-moving water levels confounded many anglers over the fishing opener. Some anglers found success and several limits were seen on area lakes. Violations included angling with no license in possession, failure to display watercraft registration and no PFDs on board a watercraft.

CO John Velsvaag (Ely #2) checked anglers this past week. He patrolled in the BWCAW and area lakes. Velsvaag also took several calls on the northeastern pike regulations and questions on leaving personal property on state lands.

CO Mary Manning (Hovland) attended National Police Week activities in Washington, D.C., with other Honor Guard members.

CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) checked anglers during the opening weekend. Some nice lake trout were caught, while walleyes were hard to come by. Many of the smaller lakes were still iced over. Time was spent responding to flooding incidents, answering angling and BWCA questions, and checking ATV riders.

CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked the busy fishing opener, with good success observed. Minnow traps were checked throughout the week. A Bear Committee meeting was attended. Enforcement action was taken for unattended fishing lines, insufficient PFDs, no name and address on a minnow trap, and failure to display watercraft registration. 

CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports an odd fishing opener in Cook County. Half of the more popular lakes still were ice-covered on opening day, leading to smaller-than-normal angler numbers. Those who did find open water, however, came home with a decent bag of fish. No angling violations were detected. One PFD violation was handled on the eve of the opener after Hill contacted a group of boaters trying to find a campsite that had all but disappeared due to high water. On that note, Lake Superior tributaries were totally unfishable after heavy rains mixed with the spring ice melt caused impressive sights along Highway 61. These heavy rains caused road washouts throughout Lake and Cook counties.

CO Don Murray (Two Harbors) worked a busy fishing opener along the North Shore. High water levels and warmer-than-average temperatures made for good fishing on area lakes but poor fishing on area streams. Enforcement action was taken for failure to remove watercraft drain plugs and licensing violations.