It hardly feels like spring with the recent cold temperatures and late snowfall, but trout fishing season is right around the corner. This Saturday, April 14th,  marks the opening of the stream trout fishing season in southeastern Minnesota. Elba Valley Express will be open from 7am to 7pm, and we welcome all fishermen and women to our store. Here are a few things to know before you head out for the season.

Buy a License. The Department of Natural Resources sells licenses for residents and non-residents ranging from 24 hours to lifetime coverage. You can buy your fishing license and trout stamp from Elba Valley Express or online from the DNR’s website. The price for a license can be found here.

Know the Rules. There are special regulations on 22 trout streams in six counties across southeastern Minnesota, which include size restrictions, bait and lure restrictions, and catch-and-release only areas. You can find more details about southeastern Minnesota rules and regulations here and the 2018 Minnesota Fishing Regulations here.

Know where to go. There are many trout streams across southern Minnesota to try your hand at! The DNR has created downloadable PDF maps that outline trout streams by region and the associated restrictions for each stream. You can see those maps here.

Stop by with your Fish! We would love to add a picture of you and your fish to our Wall of Fame! Stop in and have your trophy fish added to our wall!

We will be open during normal hours all weekend. We also sell hand warmers, hot drinks, and microwavable sandwiches if you need a break from the cold and rainy weather.

We wish all anglers a safe and successful season!

Live Life. Live Wild.

Let the games begin! The highly anticipated and always exciting Firearm Option Statewide (A) deer season begins tomorrow, November 4th, thirty minutes before sunrise. The State of Minnesota predicts over 500,000 hunters statewide will take to the woods tomorrow in an attempt to harvest a deer for the 2017 season. Don’t forget to wear your blaze pink or blaze orange, get permission from landowners prior to hunting on private property, and brush up on the rules and regulations here.

We will be open during normal hours and want you to stop by to register your deer and have your picture taken for our Wall of Fame! We also sell hand warmers, hot drinks, and microwaveable sandwiches if you need a break from the cold and rainy weather.

We wish all hunters a safe and successful season!

Live Life. Live Wild.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, Youth ages 10-15 can participate in a special deer season that runs from Thursday, Oct. 19, to Sunday, Oct. 22 in the following SE Minnesota areas: 341, 342, 343, 344 (including Whitewater Game Refuge), 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, and 603. You can take a better look at the deer season map here.

Here are a few regulations to know for this hunt:

• An adult parent/guardian/mentor 18 or older must accompany the youth hunter at all times during the hunt. The adult does not need to be licensed.

• Blaze orange/pink requirements apply to all hunters, trappers and adult mentors in areas open during this season.

• The accompanying adult cannot hunt and party hunting is not allowed (youth must tag their own deer), except in early and late antlerless seasons with the correct license.

• Youth 12 years of age and older must have a firearm safety certificate or apprentice hunter validation. Participating youth must possess a valid firearm deer license. Youth age 10, 11, and 12 must possess a free license.

• Public land is open, and private land is open if the hunters have landowner permission.

• The bag limit is one deer only. Youth may use their regular license or a bonus permit if they take an antlerless deer, regardless of the management designation.

 

• Bucks must be tagged with the youth’s regular license.

• Participation does not affect eligibility for the regular deer season; however, the harvested deer counts against the youth’s annual statewide bag limit.

• Youth hunters in permit area 603 must have their deer tested for chronic wasting disease, in accordance with the CWD regulations, found here.

• Regulations and more information about the youth season can be found on page 34 of the 2017 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook and online at mndnr.gov/regulations/hunting.

Stop by with your kids and their Youth Season trophy deer so we can take their picture and add it to our Wall of Fame! We also sell the essential items that will make your hunting, camping, or fishing trip a success, including DNR licenses, State-Park approved firewood, groceries, gas, ice, camping supplies, bait and tackle. We wish all hunters the best of luck this season.

Live life. Live wild.

On October 9th, the DNR announced an early anterless-only season in permit areas 346, 348, 349, and 603 in Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, and Winona counties (see the permit area map here).  The season will run from the 19th to the 22nd of October, 2017.

If you are interested in the hunt, here are a few rules to know ahead of time.

• Hunters must possess at least one valid unused early antlerless permit. Bonus permits may be used but hunters must possess at least one valid unused early antlerless permit.
• Only antlerless deer may be taken, and hunters may use up to five early antlerless permits.
• Deer harvested during the special season do not count toward a hunter’s statewide limit during other deer seasons.
• Early antlerless deer permits cost $7.50 for residents, $40 for nonresidents, and may be purchased wherever hunting licenses are sold.
• Hunters in permit area 603 must have their adult deer tested for chronic wasting disease and cannot move the carcass out of the permit area until a negative test result is received. CWD testing during the early antlerless and youth season outside the CWD zone is not required. You can find more information about chronic wasting disease here.
• All deer harvested during the early antlerless-only season must be tagged with an early antlerless or bonus permit, or disease management permit if the deer was taken in permit area 603.
• Hunters also must have a valid archery, firearms or muzzleloader deer license to participate.
• You can read the DNR’s early anterless-only permit news release here, learn more about Permit Area 344 here, and brush up on your hunting regulations here.

Unfortunately, Elba falls outside of the early anterless-only permit area (we are in permit area 344). However, Archery Season is still open through the end of December, and the Special Youth Deer Season starts Oct 19th.

Stop by with your deer so we can take your picture and add it to our Wall of Fame! We also sell the essential items that will make your hunting, camping, or fishing trip a success, including DNR licenses, State-Park approved firewood, groceries, gas, ice, camping supplies, bait and tackle. We wish all hunters the best of luck this season.

Live life. Live wild.

 

 

 

It’s time to take your Blaze Orange (or Blaze Pink!) out of the closet, fill up your Thermos, and get ready to go hunting because deer season is here! Yesterday kicked off Minnesota’s Deer Hunt – Archery Season throughout the state, and we can’t wait to see what this year’s harvest brings in. Stop in to fill up, grab a bite, and take a picture with your deer so we can add you to our Wall of Fame!

Campers and Anglers, we haven’t forgotten about you! Most campgrounds in the area are still open and the warm weather is perfect for spending time outdoors. We sell State-Park approved firewood, groceries, gas, ice, and camping supplies that will make your trip a success.

For all of the anglers still out there for Catch-and-Release trout fishing, stop in for all of your bait and tackle needs. Don’t forget to brush up on the regulations for the area, specifically for the Whitewater River and Winona County.

Live life. Live wild.