March 17th, 2026
***Fishing Report***
Lake trout - Lake trout anglers struggled again this last week. Again, some lake trout anglers reported having great success while others struggled significantly just to mark trout. Anglers having success were using small bucktails or squid baits, tipped with a minnow and jigged aggressively in hopes of attracting a lake trout. Just like last week, many anglers reported lake trout were often unwilling to chase baits very far off bottom. Rainbows, fished on a tip up about 1-3ft off the bottom, were very effective for some anglers. Best depths were on the shallow side at 20-40ft.
Panfish - We continue to get flashes of a hot spring bite, but weather shifts quickly knock it down. Anglers are now reporting at times they are catching crappies as high as 4ft under the ice with soft plastics for crappie minnow under a bobber. Sunfish are also being found in the same areas but still glued pretty close to the bottom. Sunfish prefer wax worms in a small jig. Both fish are being found in 20-30ft of water, but seem to be preferring depths closer to the 20ft range.
Stream trout - Stream trout anglers continue to report good success on local stream trout lakes. Splake were a popular catch by anglers. These anglers ventured into some of the little more remote lakes and reported great fishing waiting for them. Dead minnows, fished on a small jig or jigging spoon loaded with wax worms was the ticket. Depths ranged from 16-30ft of water.
Whitefish/tullibees - Many anglers targeting panfish reported catching a handful of nice tullibees. Small jigs, jigging spoons or crappie minnows on a jig all produced fish. Key is, as always, keep the bait moving to keep the tullibees interested until it bites. For anglers targeting whitefish and tullibees, they continue to find them over 20-30ft of water. A few anglers reported seeing whitefish up on shallow sand/weed flats in 10ft of water or less.
Man, what a fantastic day on the ice this was up here in Ely, MN! Steve Renneberg from Arrowhead Outdoors checking in with the latest. This angler nailed a beautiful northern pike during a bright sunny March afternoon on one of our classic lakes bordering the U.S. and Canada. The snow was sparkling, the sky was that perfect Northwoods blue, and the fish were hungry for sure. This is exactly the kind of ice fishing action we love seeing around Ely right now in late winter. Pike are providing some really solid catches as we head toward spring. Whether you’re using tip-ups or jigging, the bite has been good on several area lakes. If you’re thinking about heading up for some BWCA ice fishing, now’s a great time. Come see us at Arrowhead Outdoors for all the right tackle and the freshest local information before you hit the ice. Got a great report here for the March 17 2026 conditions and it sure makes me want to grab my auger and get back out there myself. Nothing beats these sunny days on the frozen lakes near the BWCA!