A largemouth bass, a black crappie and a northern pike were caught, posed for snapshots and then quickly released into Mitchell Lake on Saturday by Alex Strate.
The three fish were among those the Eden Prairie resident had caught mid-morning on May 14 — the Minnesota Fishing Opener. A light breeze rippled the waters. The temperature hovered in the low 70s. The cold spring and the week’s violent weather had retreated.
Strate was not alone during what he described as “the hottest opening on Mitchell Lake I can remember.” He has been shore and ice fishing Mitchell since he was four years old.
The largemouth bass was caught using a top-water lure that he says sparked a lot of action. A torn gill seeped some blood. “It’s not pretty but not uncommon,” Strate explained. “The largemouth should quickly recover.”
Strate and two pals (one from Chanhassen, the other from Burnsville) cast their lines from the Miller Park fishing pier. A guy next to them hooked what they estimated to be a 27-inch plus northern pike. He was using sucker minnows for bait. Others in kayaks were also reeling a variety of fish.
The Mitchell Lake Association scheduled its 16th annual lake clean-up and barbecue on opening day. According to the association’s website, a fish release at the public landing in Miller Park was held Saturday. The release would have been with the approval and oversight of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
What did you catch on opening day?
Send EPLN a single digital photo (a .jpeg or .png image) of your biggest opening day catch or stringer of fish from an Eden Prairie lake, creek or the Minnesota River. Tell us your name, age, where you caught it, and the kind of fish you caught. Send the email with the attached single photo to the editor at editor@eplocalnews.org.
An EPLN editor will verify submissions before publishing. Parents should submit photos on behalf of children under 18.
Editor’s note: Alex Strate is the son of Eden Prairie Local News writer and board member Jeff Strate. Jeff says that he has not been blessed with any fishing skills.
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