BOUNDARY WATERS – Lake trout anglers during the winter months could have more time to target lake trout in the years ahead.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it is evaluating winter angling season dates for trout in lakes in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Public input will help guide whether to maintain or modify the structure of the winter trout season, the DNR says.

The winter trout season in lakes applies to both lake trout and stream trout (brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, and splake). The season currently includes different opening dates for lakes within the BWCA and those outside the wilderness, as we’ve previously reported.

“We want to hear from people while we consider whether to make future adjustments to the winter trout season dates,” said Beth Holbrook, DNR fisheries research scientist.

BWCA Wilderness line toward lake trout lakes. P&P file photo

A team of about a dozen DNR fisheries staff – comprised of fisheries biologists and area fisheries supervisors from Grand Marais, Tower, Finland, Grand Rapids and other locations around the region – have been discussing possible changes to lake trout management in Minnesota lakes for more than a year, according to DNR officials we spoke with for this article. These changes could include having all lakes across northeastern Minnesota open for trout fishing on the same day, rather than two separate seasons set apart by the line distinguishing the BWCA Wilderness from the rest of Superior National Forest.

The trout opener for lakes located entirely within the BWCA Wilderness is Friday, Jan. 1, 2027. This includes lakes such Daniels, Rose, and Tuscarora near the Gunflint Trail, among many others. On the Ely side, lakes that open on New Year’s Day include Basswood, Trout, and Knife, in addition to many others that are located entirely within the BWCA Wilderness.

Lakes that do not open for trout fishing in Minnesota this week include Loon Lake, Greenwood Lake, the U.S. side of Saganaga Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail, and nearby Seagull Lake. Trout fishing on these lakes begins Saturday, Jan. 16, 2027.

The trout seasons for both inside and outside the BWCA end March 31.

The DNR, in its questionnaire, also ask anglers if they want to extend the season beyond March 31. The state agency phrases the question under the auspices of the fact anglers might catch smaller fish, straying from objectivity to an extent that it could be viewed as a negative to keep the season open beyond March 31, as Ontario does in places like Quetico, or on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake, for example.

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 about 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.

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 winter season.

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