“There’s no question in my mind that there is a shortage,” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources division director Dave Ofelt said during a minnow resource meeting in Brainerd earlier this year. Potential solutions could be on the way, though it’s doubtful they’ll arrive in time for this year’s fishing season. The driving factors behind the ongoing minnow shortage are both environmental and human-caused, including a federal crackdown on bait bootlegging. There are multiple factors driving the state’s minnow shortage, which has gotten worse in recent years, according to some of the bait suppliers who feed the state’s multi-billion-dollar sportfishing economy. As winter loosens its icy grip and anglers count down the days until the celebrated fishing opener on May 13, the state’s bait dealers are concerned there won’t be enough minnows to go around this year. Marlin Levison / Star Tribune via Getty Images SHARE
Fathead minnows jump from a scoop net at a live bait shop in Chisago, Minnesota.
