March 24th, 2026

***Fishing Report***

Lake trout - Lake trout fishing was generally good for anglers. Many anglers reported finding the best lake trout fishing is shallow water. 15-35ft of water was reportedly the best depth. Choke points like the mouths of shallow bays were the best spots. Smaller baits like squid tails of small bucktails continue to be red hot. Laying a herring on the bottom, under a tip up has also been very effective for anglers. 

Panfish - Panfish reports have been as up and down as the weather lately. One day anglers reported catching numbers of big sunfish and crappies. The next day, they struggled to even catch a few fish, much less even mark fish. There’s still 30” of ice on area lakes so don’t panic if your favorite lake hasn’t turned on yet. Anglers catching crappies are catching them with soft plastics or crappie minnows about 10-15 ft under the ice when they are active. Sunfish are a different story. Sunfish are often glued to the bottom and often will only hit small jigs tipped with a wax worm. Both fish are being found in 20-30ft of water, over mud. 

Whitefish/tullibees - As with the panfish, whitefish and tullibees have been up and down. Finding them hasn’t been the problem as they often can be found with panfish this time of the year, getting them to bite when they are not in the mode has been. Small jigs or small spoons loaded up with wax worms has been the most consistent approach. When they are really active small crappie minnows and soft plastics have been effective too. 

Stream Trout - Anglers taking advantage of the warm weather to walk into some of the little more challenging to access, stream trout lakes, have been finding aggressive brook, brown, splake and rainbows. Wax worms and small tungsten jigs or spoons have been very popular for anglers. Brookies and small splake are being found tight to shore, often 5ft of water or less. Bigger splake, browns and rainbows continue to be found in deeper water, ranging from 18-50ft of water. Oftentimes these trout are cruising 5-15ft under the ice, looking for bugs or minnows.

Eelpout - Eelpout don’t stop biting just because they wrapped up spawning. The few anglers that are still targeting them are still reporting catching good numbers of them. Most of the best fishing is happening during the overnight hours and still on or around sunken islands in 15-35ft of water. Bright glowing and heavy pout spoons loaded up chunks of herring or smelt has been getting the job done for anglers. 

Three anglers out on the ice March 24th, 2026 with a solid lake trout caught near Ely MN and the BWCA. The laker is bronze with classic spots and flared fins, caught right next to the hole on a clear, warm, sunny day. Late-March lake trout hit hard on tube jigs or spoons tipped with minnow heads in 30-60 feet over structure. Sunny warm days like this bring them shallower and feeding heavy before ice-out. This is another good day on the ice near the BWCA. Swing by Arrowhead Outdoors – voted #1 bait and tackle shop in MN – to grab tube jigs, minnows, warm layers, and get the latest ice conditions.