MN Governor’s Fishing Opener Encourages Virtual Statewide Fishing Derby

The Minnesota Governor's Fishing opener is taking place this May in Otter Tail County, located in West Central Minnesota. Governor Tim Walz will fish in person at one of the lakes in the county, but he's also encouraging people to participate in the statewide fishing derby via FishDonkey.

FishDonkey has been used as an app for many fishing tournaments in the last year because of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. The app allows fisherman to record their catches and compete without having to have a public weigh in.

This FishDonkey tournament is being called the first ever #OnlyinMN Cup. It's a free tournament that celebrates the fishing opener in Minnesota. You can access it by downloading the FishDonkey app, and search Minnesota. Then you can fish at whichever lake you would like and participate in the tournament.

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Prizes for the tournament include a$1,000 gift card from Fleet Farm, a $500 gift card that you can use anywhere in Otter Tail County. There's also another $500 Fleet Farm Gift Card, $400 to Blackfish Gear, lifejackets from Onyx, and a fishing rod/hat combo from Gene's Sport Shop.

This tournament will be a walleye only tournament and takes place on this year's fishing opener on May 15, 2021.

Prizes will be awarded to the top positions in each of the following categories:

• Largest Walleye - Adult
• Largest Walleye - Youth (Under 16)

Here's a video that shows how you enter your fish in a tournament.

The Governor's office also encourages everyone that participates to post photos of their fish on social media using the hashtag #OnlyinMN.

You can find rules and regulations for the tournament in the app that help ensure your fish are recorded correctly.

Have fun on the water and good luck!