Catch and release trout fishing opens Jan. 1

Catch and release winter trout fishing, on 127 miles of 32 different streams, will open Jan. 1 and run through March 31.

Anglers may use live bait, artificial lures or flies during the winter season. Only barbless hooks are allowed. A trout and salmon stamp validation, along with a fishing license, are required.

Minnesota’s winter trout season opened on an experimental basis in 1988 on two streams for a total of 4.8 miles.

To minimize possible harm to trout populations, anglers are encouraged to consider the following:

- after catching a fish, minimize its exposure to cold air by keeping it in the water as much as possible

- avoid walking through shallow riffles, which often contain trout spawning beds.

Areas open for winter trout fishing are listed in the 2004 Minnesota Fishing Regulations Handbook (streams and rivers, p. 39). Maps showing stream sections open to winter fishing are shown on the DNR Web site at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/trout streams/winter.html.