Anglers wonder about an icy fishing opener

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) -- With ice still covering some hot fishing spots in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, many anglers and outfitters are wondering if they'll have enough open water for this year's opener.

Minnesota's fishing opener is a little over a week away, and Wisconsin's is this Saturday -- making the chances of ice out on many Wisconsin lakes even slimmer.

The Duluth News Tribune reports that even though ice is prevalent on some of the bigger, deeper lakes, areas near moving water have opened up. Darwin Markgraf of God's Country Outfitters near Grand Rapids says he believes those areas will be crowded.

Markgraf says some anglers have told him they might go ice-fishing, just to say they did it.

But the DNR is cautioning against that, saying the ice is deteriorating.

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