A year after all egg collection activities were shut down due to COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been back in the field, harvesting walleye eggs this spring.
Area Fisheries Supervisor Ryan Doorenbos said that crews have been very busy collecting eggs from Lake Sarah in Murray County, which is Southwest Minnesota’s primary source for walleye eggs.
Most lakes in Southwest Minnesota are stocked with the Lake Sarah strain of walleye.
Doorenbos added that the DNR used 2020 to primarily monitor lakes in the region to see how well walleye are naturally reproducing in the region. He said that lakes in the Windom office’s 10-county coverage area periodically have a year where no walleye are stocked, but that was the case for the entire 10-county region in 2020.
The Minnesota fishing opener for most game fish is Saturday. The season for bass opens later this month.