Special Thanks to Sam Westensee for sharing the weekly Ice Fishing Reports. For daily reports stop into locally owned sporting good and bait shops like Thousand Grand Lakes Sporting Goods.

3/5/2025 Ice Fishing Report: Ice thickness has remained relatively unchanged over the last few weeks. An auger extension is still being recommended. With the warming weather we have lost almost all the snow cover. We have not lost much ice yet. However, with warm weather around the corner, be watchful around the shoreline where the sun will begin to melt ice. Always be cautious as we move into the spring thaw.

Now with the typical fishing season closed anglers will have to turn their attention to panfish and trout if they wish to go out ice fishing. The panfish bite has been heating up in the shallower water as we get closer to spring. You can expect to find hungry panfish staging in front of spawning bays near the weed-lines. They can still be found in the basin, but expect them to be moving shallower as we advance into the spring. Live bait and plastics work well this time of year. I tend to switch to larger baits at this time as the panfish grow more aggressive in the shallows. The perch have been biting strong on shallow flats and the bite should only continue to improve. Perch are quite aggressive and will bite anything you would commonly use for bluegill and crappie.

Lake trout fishing has been hit or miss on the local lakes with mostly poor reports. If you’re going to go for lake trout be prepared to spend some time on the water before seeing any signs of fish. Using large 2” – 4” baits over deep water structure will offer your best chance at catching a lake trout.

Stream trout fishing has been more productive than its lake trout counter part. Fish are still being caught similarly to how they have been all throughout the season. Using small lures in the first few hours of the morning has been the most productive, however fish will continue to cycle throughout the day. Typically the best trout fishing can be found in 2’ – 15’ of water. Remember to check out all the special regulations for trout before making your trip. You can find all regulation recourses on the Minnesota DNR website.