MINNEAPOLIS — The most famous Minnesota invention was not water skis (1922). Nor was it packaged cake mix (1947), crisp crust frozen pizza (1979) or even Post-it notes (1980). It was the Lindy Rig, which doubtless has brought more thrills to more people in more places than any of the state’s many other innovations, including the pop-up ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Growing up in northern Minnesota, Nathan Stanelle spent plenty of time fishing on Lake of the Woods. The lake is known as the Walleye Capital of the World, but fish weren’t the only thing Stanelle remembers reeling in.

“We would pull up some weeds and we would always joke we have our ‘salad’ for the meal,” Stanelle ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Fascinated from childhood about colors, and particularly about the coloring of duck feathers, wildlife artist David Maass was never more at home than in a waterfowl blind. It was there that the tawny hues of marsh grass often blended with the foreboding grays of an autumn sky to frame an incoming squadron of bluebills or ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — When Tom Lantry was a kid growing up at his parents’ resort on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota, he often felt like he lived in the outfit’s fish-cleaning house, wielding a knife into the late evening, filleting guests’ walleyes.

“What I remember most is the camaraderie of our fishing guests,” Lantry said the other...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Chronic wasting disease in deer, a fatal and contagious neurological disease that has been called “the biggest threat to deer hunting,” is quickly spreading across the United States. Though the disease has been found as close as New York, no confirmed cases have appeared in Connecticut, according to officials.

The ...Read more

BOSTON — A Massachusetts fishing group is throwing a sharp hook into a proposal at the State House that would divert license money into the general budget, which it claims is a “violation of public trust.”

The Massachusetts Striped Bass Association has put out a call to action ahead of Beacon Hill budget debates, alerting anglers and ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — A local fisherman caught more than he bargained for last month on Lake Arlington when he reeled in an alligator — and a fine — instead of catfish, he told the Star-Telegram’s news partners at WFAA.

Mark Everett was out fishing for catfish at Eugene McCray Park at Lake Arlington March 22 when he felt something big on ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — One day recently, Alex Russo ambled into a field near his home in northeast South Dakota. With him were his son and two friends, who also guide for Russo at his hunting lodge, Flatland Flyways.

This was a hunt for snow geese, for which there is no limit in South Dakota in spring. Nor is there a limit in any other state for ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Maryland and Mid-Atlantic fisheries officials are warning that delays in updating federal recreational fishing rules could disrupt the 2026 season for black sea bass and summer flounder, threatening anglers, charter operations and coastal businesses already strained by a difficult year.

The concern follows a string of setbacks for...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is committed to rolling out a new app for hunting and fishing licenses, despite an auditor’s report this week that the agency is not prepared to begin phasing in its modernized outdoor licensing system.

The DNR has said it would unveil a new app this spring, the first phase in the ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is resuming commercial salmon fishing after three consecutive years of closure due to concerns over declining populations.

Gavin Newsom and state officials celebrated the move, citing the state’s conservation efforts as a key factor that has contributed to the progress.

“We’re doubling down on our ...Read more

BRADENTON, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced major upgrades for Sunshine Skyway fishing piers, and anglers who frequent the piers are excited.

The announcement during a March press conference in Bradenton, during which the governor said a new pier will be built on the south side of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, next to the existing one, and ...Read more

CAYO LARGO, Cuba — In 1950, Ernest Hemingway founded a billfish tournament off the northern coast of this island nation, not far from Havana. Trolling heavy lines behind his 38-foot boat Pilar, Hemingway won the competition that year. “There is great pleasure in being on the sea,” Hemingway would write, “in the wild suddenness of a great...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho residents who want to purchase lifetime hunting and fishing licenses will need to prove they’ve lived in the Gem State for five years in order to earn that benefit thanks to a new law — 10 times longer than the prior requirement after the legislation’s sponsor said some hunters and anglers may be moving to Idaho ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Health has new recommendations on what anglers and their families should eat after a day out on the water, applying a broad framework to almost every waterbody in northeastern Minnesota.

The recommendations for Cook, Lake and St. Louis counties cover some of Minnesota’s most popular areas for ...Read more