Minnesota Fishing Opener is the closest thing the state has to a public holiday, and it is the only opening day in the country fixed by a formula written into law rather than set by an agency.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Statewide inland waters
Statute 97C.395 sets the open season for walleye and sauger as "the Saturday two weeks prior to the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through the last Sunday in February". That is Minnesota Fishing Opener, the closest thing the state has to a public holiday, and the rule puts it on May 9 in 2026 and May 10 in 2025.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The DNR website blocks automated access, so these dates are read from Minnesota Statutes 97C.395, which is the law that sets them — a stronger source than the summary page, and the reason the opener can be calculated years ahead. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
Why Minnesota is different
Statute 97C.395 puts the walleye and sauger season from "the Saturday two weeks prior to the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through the last Sunday in February". Because it is a formula, the date is knowable for any year you like: May 10 in 2025, May 9 in 2026, May 15 in 2027. Northern pike and muskellunge run on the same statutory dates, so four headline species start on the same morning.
What to actually do
That shared opener is why the whole state seems to be on the water that weekend. Worth knowing: the DNR blocks automated access to its own pages, so the dates on this site come from the statute itself — the law that sets them, rather than a page describing it. Individual lakes carry their own limits on top; Mille Lacs in particular is managed separately year to year.
The activity row in the calendar above is our own monthly curve for this species, and it is there to answer the question the dates cannot: whether the fish will be feeding when the season lets you fish. How walleye behave through the year is a separate page, about the fish rather than the paperwork.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 21 Minnesota waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Mille Lacs Lake — Mille Lacs County
- Leech Lake — Chisago County
- Lake of the Woods — Lake of the Woods County
- Lake Vermilion — St. Louis County
- Cass Lake — Cass County
- Lake Winnibigoshish — Cass County
- Lake Pepin — Goodhue County
- Rainy Lake — Koochiching County
An open season is not permission to fish: Minnesota requires a licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What it costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When is the Minnesota fishing opener?
The Saturday two weeks before the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, by statute. That is May 9 in 2026 and May 10 in 2025. Walleye, sauger, northern pike and muskellunge all open that day.
When does walleye season close in Minnesota?
The last Sunday in February, which keeps the hard-water season open through the winter.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.