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OutdoorMN News - Lanesboro hatchery project helps to ensure trout fishing opportunities


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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

A $5 million construction project now underway at Minnesota’s flagship state-owned trout hatchery in Lanesboro will ensure a regular supply of trout can be stocked each year in streams and lakes throughout the state. 

“Our 15 state hatcheries and the fish they produce play an important and irreplaceable role in our fisheries management work,” said Brad Parsons, fisheries chief for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Lanesboro is our primary concern because of the severity of failing structural support and the hatchery’s crucial role in producing and stocking rainbow and brown trout.”

The Lanesboro hatchery opened in 1925 and sits on about 100 acres just south of town. The property includes two artesian springs, rearing ponds, raceways and multiple buildings. It maintains brown and rainbow trout broodstock and produces about 100,000 pounds of fingerlings each year for stocking throughout the state.

Funding received last year from the Legislature allowed work to begin April 1 replacing the Lanesboro hatchery office and nursery building.

Construction is expected to be substantially complete by Nov. 1, allowing egg hatching and fish production to continue on schedule for future trout stocking.

“Lanesboro illustrates how decades-old hatchery construction and improvements are failing and need immediate attention,” Parsons said. “Limited budgets have required that fisheries work be focused on management aspects that directly benefit the state’s fisheries and its anglers – rather than hatchery repairs, improvements and infrastructure needs.”

The DNR has identified $30 million in specific repairs and improvements that hatcheries need. Those improvements include:

  • Remedying biosecurity issues that jeopardize fish health.
  • Infrastructure and maintenance improvements.
  • Energy efficiency upgrades.
  • Equipment replacement and upgrades.
  • Pond, raceway and road repairs and maintenance.

Each year, cold-water hatcheries in Altura, Lanesboro, Peterson and Remer provide 1.7 million trout for stocking into 200 lakes and 100 streams throughout Minnesota. Cool- and warm-water hatcheries in Walker Lake, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit Lakes, Glenwood, Grand Rapids, New London, Park Rapids, St. Paul, Tower and Waterville provide walleye, northern pike, muskellunge and channel catfish for stocking in 1,100 lakes and some rivers.

“Habitat protection and enhancement are the backbone for natural reproduction of all our fisheries but fish produced by our state-owned hatcheries are a critical part of DNR’s efforts to maintain and enhance fishing opportunities in Minnesota’s lakes, streams and rivers,” Parsons said. “Stocking these hatchery-raised fish in a scientifically sound manner significantly enhances fishing in Minnesota and provides angling opportunities that wouldn’t be there without stocking.”

For more information about state fish hatcheries, visit the DNR website at mndnr.gov/hatcheries.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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