Report from the Dock
Monday’s warm weather and powerful sunshine took their toll on ice conditions throughout the state. In some areas, main-lake ice was already compromised and shorelines had started to open before Monday. If you still want to fish through the ice, you’re going to have to head north at this point, and possibly quite a ways north heading into the weekend. ATVs were still being used in the far northern part of Minnesota early this week, and there were some walkable options in the north-central part of the state. From central Minnesota and points south, lakes are no longer safe to walk on. Some lakes in southern Minnesota are already ice-free. Hall Lake in Fairmont for example, opened up completely on Tuesday morning, which is more than a month ahead of its average ice-out date. Even where you can still get on the ice, fishing pressure has dropped way off now that the inland walleye and pike season is closed.
Leech Lake Report
Resorts throughout the lake have shut down their access to any form of travel. Cracks in many areas continue to cause issues on the lake, so extreme caution is advised if you’re traveling out of any public access. ATVs or walking out were options early this week from some public access locations, but you need to really watch where you’re traveling, especially now that resorts are no longer checking ice conditions. Fishing pressure has been light but look to the Sand Point area or shoreline breaks in Walker Bay for perch as they start to move shallow.