Fishing trout lake trout will begin on a weekday on the first day of 2025.

The trout opener for lakes entirely within the BWCA Wilderness – which includes lake trout, rainbow, splake, brown, and brook trout – begins Wednesday, Jan. 1. During the 2024 legislative session, state law was changed to move the start date for the ice fishing season to Jan. 1. Lakes outside the wilderness will continue to open on a Saturday later in the month, typically two weeks after the BWCA Wilderness opener. With the change in state law, that gap between the two openers is fluid, and could grow in length over time depending on what day of the week the wilderness opener falls on.

Paddle and Portage reported on this change earlier in the year, though with the opener drawing close, local conservation officers and others from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are reminding people about the change.

“Go with what the (regulation) book says,” said Hudson Ledeen, a DNR conservation officer based in Cook County.

The current DNR fishing regulations say the 2025 season for trout fishing in the BWCA Wilderness runs from Wednesday, Jan. 1 to March 31.

For lakes outside the BWCA Wilderness, the season runs from Saturday, Jan. 18 until March 31. There is typically only a two-week gap between the two seasons when they both started on a Saturday, though it varied depending what day of the week Jan. 1 falls on each year.

The state first passed legislation on this topic nearly 20 years ago. Under the initial reading of the law, the BWCA Wilderness trout opener always occurs Jan. 1, except when New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. When that happens, the opening day is the Saturday nearest to and before Jan. 1. Now, the law reads that the wilderness season will always start Jan. 1.

The change in law doesn’t have as big of an impact this year as New Year’s Day falls on a Wednesday. However, the next time it falls on a Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, there could be a significant time period, beyond the standard two-week gap, between the start dates inside and outside of the wilderness. This means anglers who frequent lakes such as Saganaga, Seagull, Loon, and Greenwood in Cook County will have less time on the ice in pursuit of trout, as the season outside the wilderness will still always start on a Saturday later in January.

In previous conversations with the DNR, the lake trout opener, or special season, inside the BWCA Wilderness was not as popular as it once was. If the shift in the start date impacts pressure on BWCA Wilderness lakes is something the state agency and Paddle and Portage will be monitoring in the upcoming season.

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