The Annual Minnesota Money Migration

Every first weekend of May, if you listen carefully in the State of Minnesota, you can hear a soft sound in the air not unlike that of a vacuum cleaner. It’s the sound of money being sucked out of the state. Similar to air rushing toward from high pressure to low pressure, money rushes toward more lenient wildlife conservation laws.

The first Saturday in May is the Wisconsin Fishing Opener. With the Minnesota Fishing Opener being the third Saturday in May, thousands of restless anglers cross the border to get their fix. With them goes their money. For bait, for gas, for food, and probably, fishing gear.

I’m all for closing seasons to preserve the spawn and to allow fish to do their thing. But as Pro Rich Lindgren pointed out in his post, keeping the season closed for two weeks longer (four weeks for bass) has not made fishing any better in Minnesota. Just as many good sized fish come out of our sister state as ours.

It’s time to re-evaluate our conservation laws and consider the impact an extra two (and four) weeks has on the state’s economy. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars are leaving our state every year. And in these lean times, every penny counts.