GUNFLINT TRAIL – The ice fishing season for lake trout will, at least on paper, end this weekend on Saganaga and Gunflint lakes due to a technicality in state law and the 2026 fishing regulations that both list March 15 as the closing date for trout on certain border lakes.

However, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it will not issue citations this year if anglers fish beyond March 15 on various border lakes due to contradictory dates the agency shared publicly.

The typical closing date for lake trout on Minnesota lakes is March 31. Buried in state statute is a description saying March 15 is the actual closing date for lakes on the Canada-U.S. border that are not entirely within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Included on the list are Gunflint and the U.S. waters of Saganaga. The law in question, and any March 15 closure, applies to border lakes only.

The news of the closure is catching anglers, business owners, and officials from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources by surprise. Adding to the confusion is the fact the DNR’s 2025 fishing regulations book differs from this year’s book, which clearly states that the season ends March 15 for all border lakes not located entirely within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  The 2025 regs book says the season ends March 31 for all lakes, including Sag and Gunflint.

“The season for lake trout closes March 15 for both (Gunflint and Sag) as well as all other lakes on the Canada-Minnesota border that are outside or partly outside the BWCA Wilderness,” said David Tauchen, a spokesman for the DNR Fisheries Division.

DNR regs book for 2026-27 trout season for border lakes. Photo courtesy of DNR

Tauchen told Paddle and Portage media it is not legal to trout fish lakes that have a legal closure of March 15. 

“We cannot tell people to violate the law, or that it is ‘ok’ to violate the law,” he said. “We do not have the authority to ‘make it legal’ without going through the lawful process.”

That being the case, Tauchen said “we cannot tell people that it is legal to trout fish when the legal Minnesota” law is clear that it is closed.  

“If someone asks, we must tell them what the law is, and it is closed,” he said. “However, we recognize our mistake in the reg books vs Minnesota rule, so we are not taking enforcement action because of the confusion and error.”

Paddle and Portage media asked the DNR if the state agency plans to keep the March 15 closing date for Sag, Gunflint, and other border lakes outside of the BWCA. The DNR did not immediately respond to this request.

The issue boiled over this week as word of the March 15 closure spread. Paddle and Portage media spoke with multiple state officials and business owners this week about the issue. Evidently the state law citing the March 15 closure was always there; it was simply overlooked in the printing of the regulations book, which for decades has incorrectly said March 31 is the closure date for all Minnesota lakes when it comes to ice fishing for lake trout.

Brad Parsons is the fisheries section manager for the DNR. He told Paddle & Portage media this week that March 31 is not the correct closing date for Sag, Gunflint, and other border lakes that are outside the BWCA.

“This date was published in the regulations book incorrectly in previous years,” he said. “March 15 is the correct closing date for these waters as prescribed (by state law.)”

The state law that led to the March 15 closure date in current DNR regs book. Photo courtesy of state of Minnesota

Parsons acknowledged the issue will require patience from the public as the DNR sorts out the situation.

“We recognize the confusion that has been caused,” Parsons said. “Because of this discrepancy, enforcement will not be issuing citations for people fishing for lake trout in these waters due to the incorrect date in the 2025 regulations book. We appreciate anglers’ patience as we work to resolve the issue.”

Meanwhile, many of the border lakes holding lake trout are not impacted by this change in the regulations book. Those lakes are all located entirely within the BWCA Wilderness. Border lakes that will remain open for trout fishing until March 31 include Mountain, Rose, Knife, and Basswood. Non-border lakes, such as Duncan, Seagull, and Clearwater, among many others, will remain open for lake trout fishing until March 31.

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