Democratic Sen. Tom Bakk wants to move up the fishing opener from Mother's Day weekend to May 5 and 6 and resolve a conflict that so often comes between anglers and mothers. Could the plan even bring together Democrats and Republicans?

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says roughly 531,000 licenses were sold through the Friday before Memorial Day, the Pioneer Press reports. Next year, the price of Minnesota hunting and fishing licenses will increase for the first time in 12 years. License sales help pay for fish stockings and surveillance of lakes.

Experts say most fish are weeks ahead of their typical annual calendar. That means they should be finished spawning and looking for a meal when anglers hit the water for the opener on Saturday.

Minnesota’s fishing opener is scheduled for May 12, but it will likely move up a week to May 5 if the state Senate approves a bill that was passed through the Minnesota House today. Representative David Dill of Crane Lake says Walleyes will spawn earlier this season because of the warm spring and record ice-out.

Outdoors groups say mild winters could hurt fish that rely on the cold to survive, which could hurt the state's $4.8 million fishing industry and provide an even wider opening for unwanted invaders like the Asian carp.

The Governor's Fishing Opener is at Lake Waconia this Saturday at the strike of midnight. Before that, there's plenty of fish and tackle tales to hear -- as Minnesota prepares to toss a line into summer.

Dave Hamilton tells the Duluth News Tribune his 6-pound line "sounded like a banjo string" when he hooked a monster of a muskie. He battled the fish for 15 minutes before he could haul it out of the ice.