SPICER - Gov. Mark Dayton will be fishing on an ice-free Green Lake on the state's fishing opener May 12.
Although not officially declared "ice free,'' Kandiyohi County's largest and deepest water body as of Wednesday was largely ice free.
"As far as we can see, there is no ice,'' said Laura Anfinson from her vantage point at Green Lake County Park on the lake's north shore.
Blue water is the view that Greg Melges, of Mel's Sports and Bait in Spicer, enjoyed from his vantage point on the lake's south shore on Wednesday as well.
Melges said there may be some areas of ice on the lake, but as far as he could see, the lake was open. He was not surprised: He's never seen ice on the lake for the fishing opener in his 79 years of living on it. He had no doubts it would be open in time for the 2018 opener.
ADVERTISEMENT
Green is usually the last lake in the county to shed its ice, so Melges believes that all of the county's other lakes should be free of ice as of Wednesday. While the ice-out is later than the median date, it is still well ahead of 2013 when Green Lake did not open up until May 8.
Ice-out dates for 2018 have already been officially reported on the following lakes, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Kandiyohi County:
Big Kandiyohi - April 29
Foot - April 29
Willmar - April 29
Lake Lillian - April 30
Wakanda - April 30
ADVERTISEMENT
Meeker County:
Betty - May 1
Pope County:
Minnewaska - April 29
Reno - May 1
These ice-out dates are as reported to the DNR and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on their 2018 Lake Ice Out Dates web page. The definition of lake ice-out can vary from lake to lake, but observers use consistent criteria from year to year when reporting ice-out dates, according to the DNR.
