Minnesota’s Take a Kid Ice Fishing Weekend is January 15th Through the 17th

(KNSI) — Minnesotans can fish without a license this weekend if they take a young angler with them.

It’s take a kid ice fishing weekend January 15th through the 17th, and Benji Cohen, Mentor Network Coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources, explains how the weekend works.

“If you’re out fishing, you don’t need a fishing license. As long as you have a kid that’s 15 or younger with you. So take a neighbor, kid, take a niece and nephew, brother, sister, whatever you got that’s under 15 you can get out there and enjoy a little Minnesota ice fishing. It’s supposed to be a beautiful weekend this weekend too. So it’ll be a lot of fun.”

Cohen says this weekend is a great weekend to teach youngsters how to fish without spending a ton of money. “I’m sure you’ve had this experience too. You’re like ‘oh, that’s looks like kind of like fun. You know, I don’t know if I want to try it or not.’ Well, this is an opportunity to take a kid out and you can fish for free. It doesn’t take a huge investment.”

He also says a cool part about ice fishing is getting access to parts of the water that you might not be able to during the warmer months.
“I live not too far from the St. Croix River. I can get out there and go upstream as far as I want. There’s little roads built out there. So I can tell when people are driving and feel safe going to access parts of the river that I can’t do in the summer because I fish from shore mostly in the summer in my canoe.”

The DNR says ice conditions vary widely, and four inches of new, clear ice is generally considered OK to walk on. Cohen says to check local ice conditions before heading out to a lake or river.

Learn more by clicking here.

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