Minnesota fishing license sales have been fast and furious since Thanksgiving, popping at a rate not seen in more than a decade as ice fishing makes a comeback after two difficult years.
For the six-week period between Nov. 28 and Jan. 13, anglers purchased 56,500 licenses from the Department of Natural Resources. That’s the highest post-Thanksgiving sales number at least since the 2015-2016 ice fishing season. The data, gathered by the DNR at the request of the Minnesota Star Tribune, showed a 152% increase from last year’s paltry sale of 22,387 licenses.
“I’m very pleased but not at all surprised,” DNR Fisheries Chief Brad Parsons said. “Minnesota anglers love their ice fishing, and I’m sure there is pent-up demand.”
And the timing is good, he added, because many of the state’s fish populations are healthy.
“You’ve got it all this year,” Parsons said.
The 56,500 fishing licenses sold since Thanksgiving is in no way an indication of how many people are ice fishing this winter. Since the DNR sales year kicked off March 1, the agency has sold more than a million fishing licenses – 1,060,596 to be exact, as of Jan. 13.
“I think everyone is just super happy to finally have a good ice season,” said Andy Petterson, founder of the Facebook page Ice Fishing Minnesota.
Petterson said the onslaught of winter always brings new followers to his page, but interest is higher than usual this year with about 1,000 people per week joining the group. Petterson recently returned from an overnight outing on Leech Lake, where the ice was easily 20 inches thick.
