NISSWA — Gov. Mark Dayton will be among the nearly 500,000 Minnesotans going fishing this weekend.

Preparations are under way in Nisswa for the Governor’s Fishing Opener, a Minnesota tradition since 1948. The governor’s office says Dayton plans to go fishing on Gull Lake right when the season opens at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. And he plans to fish again on Saturday morning before the official shore lunch at 11:30 a.m. on the Gull Lake Docks.

Dayton plans to buy his fishing license at a Brainerd bait shop on Friday afternoon, then head for a community picnic in Nisswa.

Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon is following a similar schedule.

The ice is out on Gull and other lakes in the Brainerd Lakes area, but some far northern and northeastern lakes still have ice.