Field reports: UMD coach wins Lake Vermilion walleye tourney

Jason Herter, the UMD men's hockey team associate head coach, has had a pretty good spring.

First, in April, his Bulldog team won their second straight national championship. Then last weekend Herter, of Hermantown, and his partner, Kaj Doerring of Chanhassen, Minn., won the City Auto Glass Walleye Classic fishing tournament on Lake Vermilion.

The pair weighed just four fish that totaled 12.51 pounds, but that included the biggest fish of the tournament, a walleye that weighed 9.12 pounds. The team took home the $15,000 first prize.

Second place went to Tyler Glad and Shane Holman of Pengilly who weighed six fish totaling 11.54 pounds; third place went to Todd and Tim Lescarbau of Chisholm with a six-walleye catch totaling 11.17 pounds.

Conditions were tough, with wind and cold temperatures. A full field of 125 boats entered the tournament but only 76 teams weighed any fish. Just 350 walleyes were weighed and released. Proceeds from the event, held at Fortune Bay Casino, go to fund merit-based college scholarships for local high school students.

Clough, Edquist win St. Louis River tournament

Chad Clough of Carlton and Chris Edquist of Superior teamed up to beat the elements and the competition to win last weekend's Berg Construction Cup walleye tournament on the St. Louis River in Duluth-Superior.

Clough and Edquist topped the 62-boat field and a weekend of high winds, cold rain and snow. They caught, measured, photographed and released eight walleyes totaling 186.25 inches to take the $2,000 top prize. That's an average length of 23.65 inches.

That was only an inch more than the team of Pete Brzezinski and Derek Cordova of Superior who tallied 185.25 inches. Brandyn Kachinske of Esko and Jon Tomlin of Duluth took third with 177 inches; Jeremy Turchi of Duluth and Scott O'Neil of Oliva, Minn. were fourth at 176 inches and Pat Walsh of Saginaw and Matt LaFlamme of Cloquet were fifth with 175.5 inches total length.

The event is sponsored by the Twin Ports Walleye Association which conducts all of its tournaments as catch, measure, photograph and release. For more information go to twinportswalleye.com.

Comment through Friday on Minnesota duck, pheasant plans

Have thoughts on the status of duck and pheasant populations in Minnesota and how the DNR manages the birds? The agency is seeking public input through May 31 on its updated management plans.

The plans "form the basis of DNR's approach to managing Minnesota's ducks and pheasants'' by guiding how the agency spends money to preserve habitat and how it conducts habitat projects with partner groups. Each plan focuses on habitat, populations and outdoor recreation as they relate to ducks or pheasants.

You can read the drafts and comment on them by going to www.dnr.state.mn.us and searching for pheasant or duck plans.

Minnesota elk hunt deadline June 14

Minnesota hunters will have increased opportunities to hunt elk this fall and winter in northwestern Minnesota, with additional antlerless permits available along with a new December hunting season.

Hunters can apply for one of the 27 total elk tags through June 14 at any DNR license agent or through the DNR License Center online at licenses.dnr.state.mn.us or by calling 888-665-4236.

Officers in training will help fill vacant stations

The 19th class of candidates to take part in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Conservation Officer Academy started training at Camp Ripley last week.

This year's class includes 14 recruits who bring with them a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Some of them have been sheriff's deputies and police officers, while others serve for the Minnesota National Guard or decided to make a career change and study to become a conservation officer.

The training camp continues until August with candidates learning about topics ranging from fish and wildlife laws to patrol procedures and rules of evidence to fish and wildlife investigation. Upon graduation, they'll spend several months field training with experienced officers. The candidates will be assigned to their own stations in December.

There are 155 conservation officer field stations in Minnesota. Currently, 27 of them are vacant; this current class will reduce the vacancies by about half. Each station covers about 650 square miles.