It's a fair question and it might be the only issue the
Legislature hasn't brought up in this year's endless session.

Do I hear any nominees?

Did somebody say Esox? The Great Northern Pike?

Nominations closed.

At roughly 6 a.m. Saturday, the opening day of Minnesota's
angling season, the only fish in Bowstring Lake who wanted to
participate in the grand Ice Age event was the northern pike.

Now that's being a team player.

Think about it. Thousands of catch-hungry anglers floating on
lake water only a few degrees removed from being ice and who was
willing to bite and give us a few tugs? Well, it wasn't the golden
walleye. Yes, northern pike provided the first fishing action of
the season and, frankly, should be honored for being willing to do
anything in water that was about 44 degrees Saturday.

Now the Bowstring pike were a long ways from being lunkers. Or
even keepers. But they bit. And daughter Simone caught three pike
before the sun came up, which gave her a reason to stay awake until
sunrise.

As for those party-pooper walleyes, they didn't start joining in
on the fun until mid-morning in my boat, when uncle Charles Schara
hauled in an 18-incher.

Now who wants an official state fish that plays hard to catch?

Time to vote.

This piscatorial insurrection might not fly, but the northern
pike deserves a hand for keeping opening day anglers happy until
the walleyes decided to join in.

On Bowstring, the walleye bite seemed to start about 10 a.m.,
under quiet skies and late-winter conditions. Brother Rick Schara
along with his sister, Deann Schara, and her son, T.C., caught
seven walleyes by noon, using small jigs in 8 to 10 feet of water.

In an informal survey, most Bowstring anglers had "a few"
walleyes, but six-fish limits were rare. The cold water made the
bite sensitive. Light jigs or Lindy Rigs seemed to be the right
ploy, although the walleyes were scattered.

Clearly, the opening menu called for a spot-tail shiner minnow
attached to a 1/16th-ounce Fireball chartreuse lead head jig. But
water depth played a key role in fishing success.

Most anglers reported finding walleyes in water less than 10 feet
deep. In fact, a 4-to 7-foot range of water seemed to be holding
male walleyes that were scattered along shorelines, rock and sand.

"Most of the boats coming in have one or two, although some
anglers are doing better than that," said Jerry McLane, of
Bowstring Shores Resort.

Said Mark Bundgaard, "I was surprised. The fishing was better
than the weather forecast and we caught seven walleyes for two of
us."

As an opening day experience, the angling results were mixed. But
this always is the case. The champions of a year ago were sucking
wind this year. Nephew Steve Schara and his buddies came to the
dock with seven walleyes and were proud of the accomplishment.

At noon, the walleye count in my boat didn't take long to total.
Yet, three hours later, we could brag.

So - that's the way it was Saturday.

Brother Robert, of Hutchinson, Minn., was acting pretty humble,
unlike last year when he was boasting. Seems everybody has their
time to be humble.

Mary Jane Orth, of Cresco, Iowa, is the big fish leader.

In the non-fish category, Bob Dickens of Boscobel, Wis., showed
up with 20 pounds of morel mushrooms, a feat that might be
unmatched in the northern half of Minnesota. That is why he is
invited to the Schara opener party every year.

Uncle Bob always shows up with bags of fresh-picked morel
mushrooms that he fries for everybody, using butter and rolled
saltine crackers.

Brian Johnson, of St. Paul, looked for crappies in Bowstring, but
found nothing.

When the Schara Opening Day Bash began Friday afternoon,
anticipation was high. Todd Porter, of Minneapolis, caught a
19-incher early Saturday, but it didn't appear to be a winner.

Uncle Charles Schara, 80, and uncle Kenny Schara, 82, both of
Austin, Minn., as usual showed the most restraint, catching one
walleye each and being happy about it.

Daughter Simone caught her first walleye after four years of
trying. We high-fived.

There's something special about landing a walleye, I must admit.
Northern pike are fine, but I must withdraw the nomination. We are
intending to have a shore lunch.

A shore lunch of walleye.

Thanks anyway, northern pike.

- Ron Schara is at ron@mnbound.com.