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Nelson Lake, Hayward area treat anglers well on Wisconsin’s fishing opener

Tim Eisele (left) interviews Gov. Tony Evers during the 2026 Wisconsin Governor’s Fishing Opener on Nelson Lake in Hayward. (Photos courtesy of Tim Eisele)

The 2026 inland fishing season dawned Saturday, May 2, over the Hayward area for the 60th Wisconsin Governor’s Fishing Opener, this year held on the 2,716-acre Nelson Lake in Sawyer County.
It was a distinctly chilly morning, but a sunny sky eventually greeted anglers for the opening weekend of the fishing season, and, since the event visited Nelson Lake, walleyes were not the chief target of many anglers. The lake is better known for its largemouth bass, northern pike, and panfish fishery, though it also holds walleyes.

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