I just got off the phone with the Tofte Ranger Station. When I inquired about Silver Island Lake ice out he mentioned that the DNR is considering moving the walleye opener back by a week or two in Northeast Minnesota since many of the lakes still have ice. He said they might need to do it to protect spawning fish.

Has anyone else heard this?

Semantics. They are not moving fishing opener. They are posting some areas as closed to fishing to protect spawning beds. This will not be the first time. This issue and confusion about it has been on the DNR website. MN DNR news release

Thanks. That clarifies the statement.

As Inspector13 said, general opener is not changing. There will be, as always, some areas that are closed to fishing beyond the opener for extra protection of spawning, or post-spawn concentrated walleye. Even those areas are the same locations and dates as in previous years.

A case of the media picking up a story and mucking it up with lots of resulting confusion. All you need to know is still in the regs.