It’s referred to as the premier walleye fishery in the state.

Lake of the Woods anglers might take offense to that, but most folks in the know in the Brainerd lakes area will agree that, at the very least, Lake Mille Lacs is the best walleye fishery in the area. And that’s saying something.

There are other big-time walleye lakes in the area. In fact, Whitefish Chainers might argue that, with Mille Lacs being down a bit in recent years, Whitefish is king.

It’s confusing stuff, this legislative process.

Take the Omnibus Game and Fish bill. Besides being a mammoth bill involving a ton of outdoors initiatives, the bill was in non-stop motion, its initiatives fluctuating greatly from day to day. It was a tough one to keep up on.

MOUNTAIN HOME, Texas — So a monkey, a warthog and a wildebeest walk into a bar.

Seriously.

Alright, so the baby monkey was a spectator — perched on its owner’s shoulder in line at a make-shift bar — and the baby pig and a number of wildebeest — or white-bearded gnu — were among the exotic animals on the auction block nearby.

They were joined by zebras and watusis and oryxs and gazelles and much more. And just outside the quonset-like auction hall at the famous Y.O Ranch, a camel rested in the Texas sun.

This is an anxious and exciting time for walleye anglers.

Anxious in that the Minnesota fishing opener is just two weeks away.

Exciting in that the crappies are running.

“It’s so much fun,” Jim Kalkofen, former executive director of the Professional Walleye Trail and a former professional walleye angler, said of fishing crappies this time of year. “It’s the same tactics for walleyes — you’re just downsizing the gear.