The reels have been spooled with new line, and your tackle boxes have been re-organized. The boats have been cleaned, and the bait buckets are teaming with shiners and fatheads. Anglers are filled with high expectations, and the boat ramps are busy. It must be the fishing opener.

What a tradition! A few hundred thousand anglers taking to the water on that one particular day of the year when regulations say that people can once again begin fishing for walleyes and northern pike. It's the start of a new season, with the opportunity to shake the dust off those live-bait rigs and spinnerbaits, and try out some new techniques, as well as prove the reliability of the standard presentations. For some people, it's an excuse to be on the water. For others, the opener is the start of a long race that won't end until the season closes again.

Many anglers have decided long before the opener which lake they're going to fish. They could have a home or a cabin on the lake. They may be joining someone who lives on a particular body of water. Some anglers venture to the same resort each year and appreciate the familiarity of the lake they fish. And others wait until they see what the conditions are going to be like, and then that dictates where they'll go fishing.

Whatever your plans, picking the right lake for opening-day success is often more about luck than anything else. But then, of course, there's something to that old saying about making your own luck.

Some anglers look at walleye numbers in a lake to make their pick. It surely helps to have high numbers of walleyes in a body of water, but if the forage base is strong, then that could negate the benefit of having a lot of game fish.

Some anglers let weather dictate the lake they're on for opening day. If the ice was off early and it's been warm, then they're up north where they can find some textbook walleye structure and post-spawn fish. If the early-spring weather stayed cool with a late ice-out, then those prairie pothole lakes in the southern region of the state look like prime candidates.

Past history can be a guide in choosing an opening-day lake. Certain bodies of water tend to be productive for opening-day walleyes every year, and with a bit of research, these lakes will divulge their secrets.

Whatever your criteria for picking the lake you'll be on for the opener, it won't hurt to keep your fingers crossed and hope you're in the right place at the right time. If you still haven't picked one yet, here are a few lake options with good potential. Good luck on the opener!

LAKE OKABENA
Lake Okabena on the edge of Worthington in Nobles County, in southwestern Minnesota, is referred to as a "prairie pothole lake." These lakes are shallow and prone to winterkill, but with the aid of aeration systems, the likelihood of a winter die-off is marginal. Heavy stocking and some natural reproduction ensure high numbers of walleyes in Okabena.