Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Oct 28–Nov 12 2025)
Weekly Digest Bulletin (Nov 2 2025): The Minnesota DNR’s early‑November digest highlighted key fall activities. It proposed a year‑round bass season with separate harvest and catch‑and‑release periods and shared fall fishing tips for bass, pike and muskie anglers. The bulletin noted that netting season for cisco and whitefish opens on designated lakes and is timed to minimize. It reminded anglers of best practices for catch‑and‑release fishing and promoted upcoming webinars on sculpin and fall trout stocking.
The digest encouraged sharing fishing photos with the DNR and offered a detailed deer‑season outlook. It advised hunters to use the DNR’s “Plan Your Hunt” tool, stay aware of chronic wasting disease (CWD) management zones, and understand that shotgun‑only areas will change in 2026. It highlighted that the early‑November rut is prime time for deer movement and warned hunters to differentiate between deer and elk. A success story featured a hunter’s first deer harvest using a crossbow, encouraging others to share their stories.
Additional sections promoted Minnesota’s hunter walking trails network and encouraged waterfowl enthusiasts to sign up for migration reports. The pheasant season continues through Jan 4 2026, with the digest offering tips and announcing winners of the state’s pheasant and turkey stamp art contests. It reminded readers to follow wildfire‑safety practices such as completely extinguishing campfires and described how bears enter a hyperphagic state—eating up to 20 hours per day—to build fat reserves for winter. A wildlife highlight featured the northern shrike, a small songbird that impales its prey on thorns for later eating.