Why Isn’t Minnesota Fishing Opener Mom’s Day Weekend This Year?
Minnesota put two very important state holiday's on the same weekend making it a battle of Mother's Day versus the Walleye Fishing Season Opener, but not this year.
If you grew up or lived in Minnesota you never questioned why the state's fishing opener most often occurred on Mother's Day Weekend.
At some point in time, the Land Of 10,000 Lakes decided the desire to fish was perhaps greater than the need to pay tribute to mom. That is some real conflicted thinking.
According to the Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources as early as 11,500 years ago, people first arrived in present-day Minnesota. Not much is known about these ancient cultures, but evidence buried beneath earthen mounds reveals they fished here.
That evidence most likely included fishing line, lures, nets, and six-packs of Grain Belt cans.
It's part of the Minnesota male DNA to want to celebrate the end of a long winter and pay tribute to the woman who gave him life by spending Mother's Day weekend in a fishing boat on a lake somewhere telling lies and drinking beer.
But why in 2022 is this pact broken and Minnesota's Walleye Fishing Opener does NOT fall on Mother's Day Weekend?
In 2022 the Fishing Opener kicks off on Saturday, May 14. Mother's Day 2022 is on Sunday, May 8. What gives?
It's because Minnesota state statute requires the opener to occur precisely two weeks before the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. Memorial Day 2022 is Monday, May 30.
This statute gives Minnesota men two weeks to plan an appropriate family trip for Memorial Day weekend to make up for how badly they screwed up on Mother's Day.