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Report from the Dock

You can probably still find a spot to fish through the ice this weekend, but you’ll have to go even farther north, likely near the Canadian border. The ice-out line slid to the north during the past week with strong winds taking care of any ice that remained in a lot of locations. Many lakes are now wide open north of Brainerd and if ice did remain, a lot of it was floating and being chewed up by strong winds early this week, even on the big lakes.

A large chunk of the state is now ice-free – much earlier than most years. With that, there hasn’t been much for open-water fishing activity, mainly due to continued poor weather conditions. Panfish were being caught over a week ago in a few areas, but not much has happened over the past seven-day stretch. Cold air and winds are expected through this weekend in much of the state, and measurable snow is expected in some parts as well, so fishing options will likely remain limited. 

Leech Lake Report

Last weekend’s wind chewed away at the ice, opening big stretches of the lake. Early this week, Agency Bay was mostly open with some floating ice. Steamboat Bay is ice-free, and parts of Walker Bay, along with portions of the main lake, were open as well. Any ice that remains is moving, being pushed by the wind, and expected to be gone soon.

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Report from the Dock The first open-water fishing activity of the “spring” was reported this week. Even though it’s only the middle of March, the ice is mostly gone and anglers have started fishing from shore or in boats from central Minnesota to points south. The crappie bite has been slow, with most fish still […]

Report from the Dock If you’re an angler in Minnesota, you currently have the best of both worlds, ice and open water. There are still plenty of ice-fishing options once you get north of Brainerd, and with this week’s cooler weather to the north, that should remain viable this weekend. With that, some shorelines have […]

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