governor's fishing opener

Local bait shops are crawling with anglers gearing up for the 2018 Governor's Fishing opener Saturday.

Alyssa Hayes from Explore Minnesota joined me on WJON today. We talked about how the mostly ceremonial event begins today in Spicer, New London and Willmar. The event includes site seeing, golf, dinners, breakfast, a live broadcast Friday and fishing on Saturday.

The 71st Governors Fishing Opener will be in the Willmar Lakes area next year,

Beautiful weather and fantastic food brought people to Sauk Rapids Saturday afternoon.

Gov. Mark Dayton caught a 3-pound, 17-and-a-half-inch bass during the annual Governor's Fishing Opener. The Democratic governor shared a pontoon boat with Republican legislative leaders on Saturday. They went out on the Mississippi River in St. Cloud.

There was a lot of smiles and a lot of good natured ribbing Saturday morning as Governor Mark Dayton and other state leaders prepared to wet a line on this fishing opener weekend.

The St. Cloud Area is adding to the storied tradition of the Minnesota Governors Fishing Opener.

St. Cloud is celebrating the Governor's Fishing Opener with a community picnic, The Opener by George.

The St. Cloud area is out to impress the 150-200 media personalities who are expected in town for the Governor's Fishing Opener. The goal is to claim the statewide spotlight for three days and reap the rewards of a long term windfall from the event.

The 2017 Governors Fishing Opener weekend kicked-off on the golf course Thursday evening.