Dark-house spearing opens on November 15, when Upper Red Lake drops to four walleye, and musky close at the end of the month as Lake Superior's lake trout reopen on December 1. The winter lake trout lakes open on January 16. The inland walleye, pike and spearing seasons and every license end on February 28, and Mille Lacs and Upper Red set their winter walleye rules after the fall netting.
What to fish for in early November
Minnesota's winter is an ice fishery first and last. The open water that carried the musky and the fall walleye gives way to first ice on the northern lakes, the southern ones weeks behind, and from then to the end of February whole towns of shelters stand on Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs, Upper Red and Leech, with sauger beside the walleye on the big border lake. The southeast's spring creeks stay open through all of it and reopen for catch and release on New Year's Day.
Walleye
The fish the season is built around, feeding hardest at dawn, at dusk and well after dark under the ice, along the edges where the flats meet the reefs and bars.
Where. Mud flats, the sharp edges of rock reefs and gravel bars on Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs, Upper Red, Leech and Winnibigoshish, and the stained lakes of the Arrowhead.
The walleye waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Lake of the Woods about 42F Best Sun, Nov 8, C+Today's forecast Upper Red Lake about 41F Best Mon, Nov 9, B+Today's forecast Mille Lacs Lake about 43F Best Mon, Nov 9, B+Today's forecast Yellow Perch
Roams in big schools and feeds through the daylight hours, when the walleye are slow, so a day on the big lakes often runs perch in the bright hours and walleye at the ends.
Where. Soft-bottom flats and the shallow bays of Leech, Winnibigoshish and Mille Lacs, and the prairie lakes from Big Stone to Minnewaska.
Crappie
Suspends over the deepest holes of small and middling lakes, and rises toward the ice in the last light.
Where. The basins of the Brainerd lakes and the Arrowhead's stained lakes, the east end of Upper Red along its ice roads, and the west-central lakes around Alexandria.
The crappie waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Lake Minnetonka about 47F Best Mon, Nov 9, B+Today's forecast Northern Pike
Hunts the weed edges all winter, and is the fish the tip-ups and the dark-house spearers are after.
Where. Shallow bays and the dying weed lines in every zone, under each zone's own size rules, and Lake of the Woods, where its season never closes.
Lake Trout
Cruises cold, deep basins and comes up under the ice to chase cisco and smelt, on Lake Superior from December and on the inland trout lakes from their opener in the middle of January.
Where. The clear Shield lakes of the Arrowhead, the Gunflint Trail and the Boundary Waters, and Lake Superior off the North Shore.
Usual water now is that water's normal for this point in the season: a lake's modeled seasonal curve or a river gauge's long-run average, not this year's reading. The forecast link reads this week's.
Ice in early November
- Usually not iced over yet: Lake Minnetonka and Mille Lacs Lake.
From the middle dates of each lake's own ice record, not a call on this winter's ice. No date makes ice safe.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Minnesota.
- Sun November 15Minnesota's dark-house spearing opens for northern pike, catfish, whitefish and cisco, and Upper Red Lake's walleye limit drops to four, only one over 17 inches.
- Mon November 30Last day of Minnesota's musky and flathead catfish seasons. Mille Lacs's open-water walleye rule and its five-perch limit run through today.
- Tue December 1In Minnesota, Lake Superior lake trout reopen, three a day.
Every date for Minnesota from November to February (7)
- Sun November 15Minnesota's dark-house spearing opens for northern pike, catfish, whitefish and cisco, and Upper Red Lake's walleye limit drops to four, only one over 17 inches.
- Mon November 30Last day of Minnesota's musky and flathead catfish seasons. Mille Lacs's open-water walleye rule and its five-perch limit run through today.
- Tue December 1In Minnesota, Lake Superior lake trout reopen, three a day.
- Fri January 1Minnesota's southeast trout streams open for catch and release, and the lake trout and stream-trout lakes lying entirely inside the Boundary Waters open.
- Sat January 16Minnesota's winter lake trout and stream-trout lakes outside the Boundary Waters open, and Take a Kid Ice Fishing Weekend runs to Monday, January 18.
- Sat February 20Shelters off the Minnesota and Iowa border waters.
- Sun February 28Last day of Minnesota's inland walleye, sauger, northern pike and largemouth harvest, of dark-house spearing and of Upper Red Lake's winter season, and every Minnesota license expires at the end of the day.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
Minnesota is the best-reported winter state in the region, because ice fishing is its season. Lake of the Woods, Leech Lake, Upper Red and the Ely area each had a weekly written report all last winter, and Mille Lacs a near-daily one once the ice held. Around them, the Duluth News Tribune carries Jarrid Houston's weekly column on the St. Louis River and Chequamegon Bay, the Forum papers print the DNR's conservation officer reports every week, and the DNR's Lanesboro office reports the southeast streams every few weeks. The statewide weekly, Outdoor News, is for subscribers, and only the Twin Cities had no written winter reporter.
- Lake of the Woods Tourism, Fishing Report
- Lyback's Ice Fishing, Fish/Ice ReportEddy Lyback
- Leech Lake Area Chamber, Fishing Report
- FishrapperJeff Sundin
- Arrowhead Outdoors, Ely Area Fishing Report
- Duluth News Tribune, Northland Outdoors columnJarrid Houston
- Minnesota DNR conservation officer reports
- Minnesota DNR, Lanesboro stream conditions
Where to fish in Minnesota, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River
Lake of the Woods · Rainy River · Four Mile Bay · Northwest Angle
A vast border lake on the Canadian line: the open south basin, a shallow sand-and-mud flat with walleye and sauger under it, the island country of the Northwest Angle to the north, and the Rainy River coming in from the east past Baudette.
Who reports here. Lake of the Woods Tourism posted a fishing report every week last winter, with the South Shore, the Rainy River and the Northwest Angle each in a paragraph of their own: ice roads, depths, baits and colors. Outdoor News runs its own weekly report on the lake, for subscribers.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, C+6 good hours44F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
Ice
- Lake of the Woods: the ice usually goes out around May 8 (between May 2 and May 14 in 8 of 16 recorded springs, and May 15 in 2026).
Upper Red Lake
Upper Red Lake
Two huge, shallow, saucer-shaped lakes north of Bemidji. Only the eastern end of Upper Red is open to the public, the rest of both lakes being Red Lake Nation water, and its walleye and crappie are fished from shelters strung along plowed ice roads.
Who reports here. Cookie's, an ice-house outfitter on the east end, kept a diary of the ice, the road markers and where the walleye and crappie were, about once a week from first ice to its last guide trip in March. It is the only dated account of the lake, so check that it is still posting before planning around it.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, B+8 good hours43F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h36 cfsat RED LAKE RIVER NEAR RED LAKE, MN26 mi away
Ice
- Upper Red Lake: the ice usually goes out around Apr 29 (between Apr 18 and May 5 in 8 of 16 recorded springs, and Apr 28 in 2026).
Mille Lacs
Mille Lacs Lake
One big, round, fairly shallow lake an hour and a half north of the Twin Cities, with rock reefs and mud flats under its ice, a city of rented and private shelters on it all winter, and a walleye fishery managed together with the Ojibwe bands who share it.
Who reports here. Lyback's in Wahkon posted an ice report almost every day once the ice held last winter, with ice depths, the ice road and where the walleye and perch were; its first post came on January 1, because the ice came late. Two other outfitters' report pages carried no dated winter entries. The winter walleye and perch rules come in a DNR release each fall, last year on November 20.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, B+9 good hours45F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
Ice
- Mille Lacs Lake: usually ices over around Dec 4 (between Dec 2 and Dec 7 in 7 of 10 recorded winters, and Dec 4 in 2025).
Leech, Winnibigoshish and Cass
Leech Lake · Lake Winnibigoshish · Cass Lake · Pokegama Lake
The big lakes of the Chippewa National Forest between Walker and Grand Rapids: Leech with its many bays, Winnibigoshish on the headwaters of the Mississippi, and Cass, each wide enough for walleye on the open flats and perch in the shallow bays.
Who reports here. The Leech Lake Area Chamber in Walker posted a report every week last winter, on Wednesday or Thursday: walleye and perch depths, the night bite against the day bite, and whether trucks or only ATVs could travel. Jeff Sundin's Fishrapper pages reach Winnie and Cass now and then, with his own reports and reposts from around the state; neither lake has a weekly reporter of its own.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, B+8 good hours45F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
Ice
- Leech Lake: the ice usually goes out around Apr 28 (between Apr 15 and May 8 in 8 of 16 recorded springs, and Apr 26 in 2026).
The Brainerd lakes
Gull Lake · Whitefish chain · North Long Lake · Pelican Lake
A dense cluster of resort lakes around Brainerd and Nisswa, deeper and clearer than the prairie lakes to the west, with walleye, crappie, sunfish and pike under the ice and cabins on almost every shore.
Who reports here. No dated winter fishing report for these lakes could be found: searches for Gull, the Whitefish chain and North Long, the Dispatch's own pages and Lakeland News turned up photo captions, listings and an archive page. The DNR's conservation officer reports, which the Dispatch prints every week, are the one regular word here on the ice and the bite.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, A10 good hours49F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
Ice
- Gull Lake: the ice usually goes out around Apr 24 (between Apr 8 and May 4 in 8 of 14 recorded springs, and Apr 18 in 2025).
Ely and the Arrowhead
Boundary Waters lakes · Burntside Lake · Shagawa Lake · Lake Vermilion · Gunflint Trail lakes
The rocky, cold, deep lakes of the Canadian Shield around Ely, the Boundary Waters and the Gunflint Trail: lake trout and stream trout in the clearest of them, walleye and crappie in the stained ones, many reached only on foot or by snowmobile.
Who reports here. Arrowhead Outdoors in Ely writes a report every Wednesday from first ice, with the openers, the walleye and crappie and a note on the ice. It reaches the web through Fishrapper's reposts, which carried it every week last winter.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A10 good hours47F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 5h
Ice
- Lake Vermilion: the ice usually goes out around May 1 (between Apr 18 and May 8 in 8 of 16 recorded springs, and Apr 28 in 2026).
The North Shore and Duluth
Lake Superior · St. Louis River estuary · Duluth harbor · North Shore streams
Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian line: deep, cold water that rarely freezes far from shore, the sheltered harbor and St. Louis River estuary at its western end, and short, steep streams falling to it off the ridge.
Who reports here. The DNR's own weekly report here runs on Thursdays from Memorial Day to early October, and it stopped for the year on October 9. Through the winter the News Tribune carries Jarrid Houston's column nearly every Friday, with the ice on the St. Louis River and the bays, and the conservation officer reports, which last January noted the crowd at the winter trout opener up the shore.
The Twin Cities
Lake Minnetonka · White Bear Lake · Forest Lake · Mississippi River
Hundreds of lakes within an hour of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Lake Minnetonka the largest of them, with panfish, pike and walleye through the ice, and the Mississippi running through the middle of both cities.
Who reports here. No written weekly report covers the metro lakes. Outdoor News posts a short Metro Area Fishing Report video every week from mid-December, for its readers, and a forum and a charter's booking-site posts were all else that turned up.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, B+11 good hours52F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 6h
Ice
- Lake Minnetonka: usually ices over around Dec 8 (between Dec 2 and Dec 15 in 8 of 14 recorded winters, and Dec 7 in 2025).
The southeast trout streams
Root River · Whitewater River · Trout Run · Rush Creek
The Driftless country of the southeast corner, which the glaciers never flattened: limestone spring creeks in steep coulees that run at an even temperature all year and stay open through the hardest freeze.
Who reports here. The streams open for catch and release on January 1. The DNR's Lanesboro office keeps a dated fishing report with each stream's clarity and flow, every few weeks, and its entry of February 17 last winter had them looking very good. The one fly shop found, in Preston, has a brochure site with no report. The outlook leaves the Root River out: no thermometer we can read sits on any of these spring-fed streams, and a model built on the air cannot see the springs that keep them open.
The west-central lakes
Lake Miltona · Lake Carlos · Lake Osakis · Otter Tail Lake · Detroit Lake
The lake country around Alexandria, Fergus Falls and Detroit Lakes, hundreds of lakes left by the glaciers, Miltona, Carlos and Osakis near Alexandria and Otter Tail and Detroit Lake to the north, walleye, perch, crappie and sunfish water under the ice.
Who reports here. The DNR's weekly conservation officer reports, reprinted by the Grand Forks Herald and KFGO in Fargo, carry the area's officers: in the report of February 9 the Alexandria officer was out checking anglers on the Douglas County lakes.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A9 good hours48F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
Ice
- Lake Miltona: the ice usually goes out around Apr 14 (between Apr 6 and Apr 27 in 7 of 13 recorded springs, and Apr 14 in 2026).
The prairie lakes and Big Stone Lake
Big Stone Lake · Lake Minnewaska · Green Lake · Lake Shetek
The lakes of the western and southwestern prairie, Big Stone Lake on the South Dakota line at Ortonville, shared with South Dakota, Minnewaska at Glenwood, Green Lake at Spicer and Shetek in the southwest, perch, walleye and crappie water through the ice.
Who reports here. No dated winter report could be found for these lakes.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A10 good hours49F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 4h
Ice
- Big Stone Lake: the ice usually goes out around Apr 6 (between Mar 26 and Apr 19 in 8 of 16 recorded springs, and Mar 26 in 2026).
- Lake Minnewaska: the ice usually goes out around Apr 9 (between Mar 30 and Apr 26 in 9 of 15 recorded springs, and Apr 3 in 2026).
Lake Pepin and the St. Croix, the Minnesota side
Lake Pepin · Mississippi River at Red Wing · Lake St. Croix · St. Croix River
The Minnesota shore of the two big river lakes, Lake Pepin on the Mississippi below Red Wing past Lake City to Wabasha, and Lake St. Croix from Stillwater down past Afton, both shared with Wisconsin, walleye, sauger and perch water where the current keeps some of the ice unsafe.
Who reports here. No dated winter report could be found; anglers' forum threads on the St. Croix are leads, not sources.
Ice
- Lake Pepin: the ice usually goes out around Mar 29 (between Mar 16 and Apr 8 in 9 of 15 recorded springs, and Mar 29 in 2026).
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- New this year: bass are catch and release in every part of the year that is not a harvest season, which for smallmouth in the Southern and North-central zones reaches through the ice, from the second Monday in September to the end of February. Non-motorized spring or bent-rod hook-setters are legal through the ice for the first winter.
- Upper Red Lake: an emergency rule in effect since May 4, 2026, sets the winter walleye limit at four, only one over 17 inches, from 12:01 a.m. on November 15 to February 28. The DNR said the winter rules would follow its fall netting, so check its announcement before going.
- Mille Lacs: the perch limit was cut from ten to five in the middle of last winter, on February 9, and that limit runs through November 30. The winter walleye and perch rules had not been announced by October 20; last year they came on November 20.
- Proposed: a statewide walleye limit of four, only one over 20 inches, down from six, from March 1, 2027, the day after this quarter ends. No adoption had been announced by October 20. Special rules proposed for 2027 on several sunfish, walleye and pike lakes are due to be announced before March 1.
- Since June 9 licenses are sold through a new system, online, from an agent or in an app that carries the license; prices did not change.
Read on October 20, 2026, from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (its fishing regulations, the Lake of the Woods and Rainy River winter summary, its emergency and proposed rules, its ice safety guidance and its news releases) and from the Minnesota Statutes and Rules on revisor.mn.gov.
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- The license year runs from March 1 to the last day of February, so a winter trip that runs into March needs the new year's license.
- Anglers 18 and older need a license. Residents pay $25 a year, $14 for 72 hours or $12 for 24 hours. Nonresidents pay $46 a year, $38 for seven days, $31 for 72 hours or $14 for 24 hours, and every nonresident license except the 24-hour and youth ones carries a $5 surcharge on top.
- Residents under 16 fish without a license. A nonresident under 16 may fish without one when a parent or guardian holds a license, and the fish count in that parent's limit. Anglers who are 16 or 17 buy a $5 youth license.
- Anglers from 18 to 64 need a $10 trout-and-salmon stamp to fish a designated trout stream or lake or Lake Superior, or to keep a trout or salmon, unless they are fishing on a 24-hour or 72-hour license.
- On Take a Kid Ice Fishing Weekend, in mid-January, residents may fish or spear without a license when they are with a child 15 or under.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- Two lines may be used through the ice and one on open water. On a designated trout lake only one line may be used at any time, through the ice included, and live minnows may not be used or kept as bait there.
- A rig may carry up to three hooks within 18 inches of each other with a single bait. Through the ice, a non-motorized spring or bent-rod hook-setter is legal, but no device may reel in a fish by itself.
- Never dump bait into a lake or stream. Pull the drain plug and drain live wells and bilges when leaving any water; a portable bait bucket used through the ice is exempt, except on waters listed as infested with VHS.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Walleye, sauger and northern pike stay open on inland waters through the last Sunday in February, with six walleye and sauger combined and no more than one walleye over 20 inches. Muskellunge and flathead catfish close at the end of November 30. Crappie, sunfish, perch and channel catfish are open all year.
- Northern pike limits run by zone. East and north of US 53 the limit is two, every pike from 30 to 40 inches goes back, and one may be over 40. In the North-central zone it is ten, every pike from 22 to 26 inches goes back, and no more than two may be over 26. In the Southern zone it is two, each at least 24 inches long. Dark-house spearers have their own length rules in the first two zones.
- Bass may be kept through the last Sunday in February east and north of US 53. Everywhere else largemouth may be kept, but smallmouth are catch-and-release from the second Monday in September.
- Winter lake trout and the stream-trout lakes open on the Saturday nearest January 15 and close at the end of March 31. Lakes lying entirely inside the Boundary Waters open on January 1, or on the Saturday before when January 1 falls on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
- Trout streams in Houston, Fillmore, Mower, Dodge, Olmsted, Winona, Wabasha, Dakota and Goodhue counties are closed from October 16 to December 31 and catch-and-release from January 1 to the second Saturday in April. Every other inland trout stream stays closed until the second Saturday in April.
- Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River run on their own rules. Walleye and sauger: six combined, no more than four walleye, every walleye from 19.5 to 28 inches goes back, and one may be over 28. The lake stays open to April 14, while the Rainy River and Four Mile Bay are catch-and-release from March 1. Northern pike: three, every pike from 30 to 40 inches goes back, one may be over 40, and the season never closes.
- On Lake Superior, lake trout reopen on December 1 with a limit of three. Walleye (two, each at least 15 inches) and northern pike (two) close at the end of March 1. Up to three clipped rainbow trout of at least 16 inches may be kept all year, and every unclipped steelhead goes back. Two lines may be used, but only one within 100 yards of a stream mouth.
- Mille Lacs and Upper Red Lake set their winter walleye rules each fall after the DNR's netting, and Mille Lacs has cut its perch limit in the middle of a winter. Read the DNR's announcement for the current winter before fishing either lake.
Through the ice
- Dark-house spearing runs from November 15 to the last Sunday in February. Northern pike, catfish, whitefish and cisco may be speared only from a dark house, and spearers 18 and older need a spearing license ($6 for residents, $12 plus the $5 surcharge for nonresidents) as well as an angling license.
- Every shelter that is not portable needs a shelter license ($15 for residents, $37 for nonresidents, running from March 1 to April 30 of the next year). A portable shelter needs one only when it is left unattended, with everyone more than 200 feet away. No shelter license is needed on the Wisconsin, Iowa and Dakota border waters.
- No shelter may be left on the ice unattended between midnight and an hour before sunrise after the first Monday in March south of the line along US 10, MN 34, MN 200 and US 2, or after the third Monday in March north of it. Border waters run on fixed dates: Iowa February 20, Wisconsin March 1, the Dakotas March 5 and Canada March 31.
- On the Wisconsin border waters (the St. Croix, the Mississippi and the lower St. Louis River) an angler may set no more than two tip-ups, each within 400 feet, and no game fish may be speared.
- The DNR does not measure the ice on any lake and says no ice is 100 percent safe. Its guide, for new clear ice only: 4 inches on foot, 5 to 7 for a snowmobile or small ATV, 9 to 10 for a small car or SUV, and 11 to 12 for a medium SUV or small truck. Double each figure on white ice.
Read on these agency pages: Minnesota DNR: Fishing licenses, Minnesota Statutes 97A.475: License fees, Minnesota Statutes 97A.451: License exemptions and youth licenses, Minnesota Statutes 97C.305: Trout-and-salmon stamp validation, Minnesota DNR MinnAqua: Ice fishing, Minnesota Statutes 97C.315: Angling lines and hooks, Minnesota Rules 6264.0050: Restrictions on designated trout lakes and streams, Minnesota Rules 6262.0100: General angling regulations, Minnesota Statutes 84D.10: Prohibited activities (aquatic invasive species), Minnesota Rules 6262.0200: Fishing regulations for inland waters, Minnesota Statutes 97C.401: Daily and possession limits, Minnesota Statutes 97C.395: Open seasons for angling, Minnesota Rules 6264.0400: Designated special management waters, Minnesota Rules 6266.0700: Taking fish on Minnesota-Canada boundary waters, Minnesota Rules 6262.0300: Fishing regulations for Lake Superior and tributaries, Minnesota DNR news, November 20, 2025: winter regulations for Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota DNR news, March 16, 2026: open-water regulations for Upper Red Lake, Minnesota DNR news, February 5, 2026: Mille Lacs yellow perch limit drops to five, Minnesota Statutes 97C.371: Spearing, Minnesota DNR: Ice shelters, Minnesota Statutes 97C.355: Shelters on ice; dark houses and fish houses, Minnesota Rules 6266.0500: Taking fish on Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary waters, Minnesota DNR: Ice safety, Minnesota DNR: Ice thickness guidelines.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gull Lake | 46F | 37F | 35F | 34F | 34F |
| Lake Miltona | 45F | 36F | 35F | 35F | 35F |
| Lake Minnetonka | 48F | 38F | 35F | 34F | 35F |
| Lake Minnewaska | 46F | 37F | 35F | 34F | 35F |
| Lake of the Woods | 43F | 36F | 35F | 34F | 34F |
| Lake Vermilion | 44F | 36F | 35F | 34F | 34F |
| Leech Lake | 43F | 36F | 35F | 34F | 34F |
| Mille Lacs Lake | 44F | 36F | 35F | 34F | 34F |
| Upper Red Lake | 42F | 36F | 35F | 34F | 34F |
Ice, from each lake's own record
| Lake | Usually ices over | Usually opens |
|---|---|---|
| Lake VermilionMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | May 1Apr 18 to May 8 in 8 of 16Apr 28, 2026 |
| Gull LakeMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2024-25 | not recorded | Apr 24Apr 8 to May 4 in 8 of 14Apr 18, 2025 |
| Lake of the WoodsMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | May 8May 2 to May 14 in 8 of 16May 15, 2026 |
| Leech LakeMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | Apr 28Apr 15 to May 8 in 8 of 16Apr 26, 2026 |
| Lake MinnetonkaMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | Dec 8Dec 2 to Dec 15 in 8 of 14Dec 7, 2025 | Apr 4Mar 29 to Apr 19 in 8 of 16Apr 3, 2026 |
| Mille Lacs LakeMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | Dec 4Dec 2 to Dec 7 in 7 of 10Dec 4, 2025 | Apr 24Apr 10 to May 2 in 8 of 16Apr 21, 2026 |
| Big Stone LakeMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | Apr 6Mar 26 to Apr 19 in 8 of 16Mar 26, 2026 |
| Lake MinnewaskaMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | Apr 9Mar 30 to Apr 26 in 9 of 15Apr 3, 2026 |
| Upper Red LakeMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | Apr 29Apr 18 to May 5 in 8 of 16Apr 28, 2026 |
| Lake PepinMinnesota DNR, 2010-11 to 2025-26 | not recorded | Mar 29Mar 16 to Apr 8 in 9 of 15Mar 29, 2026 |
| Lake MiltonaMinnesota DNR, 2013-14 to 2025-26 | not recorded | Apr 14Apr 6 to Apr 27 in 7 of 13Apr 14, 2026 |
The middle date across the winters each keeper recorded; under it, the range the middle half of those winters fell in, and the latest one. Each keeper defines ice-out its own way (completely free of ice, passable from one point to another, or 90 percent free of ice, as the Minnesota DNR puts it), so another source's date for the same lake can differ. What the ice usually does, not a call on this winter's. None of these dates means the ice is safe.
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake of the Woods and the Rainy Riverat Lake of the Woods | 8h 14m, Dec 21 | 4:23pm, around Dec 12 | 8:14am, around Dec 31 |
| Upper Red Lakeat Upper Red Lake | 8h 21m, Dec 21 | 4:27pm, around Dec 11 | 8:11am, around Jan 1 |
| Mille Lacsat Mille Lacs Lake | 8h 36m, Dec 21 | 4:30pm, around Dec 11 | 7:59am, around Jan 1 |
| Leech, Winnibigoshish and Cassat Leech Lake | 8h 29m, Dec 21 | 4:29pm, around Dec 11 | 8:05am, around Jan 1 |
| The Brainerd lakesat Gull Lake | 8h 35m, Dec 21 | 4:32pm, around Dec 11 | 8:02am, around Jan 1 |
| Ely and the Arrowheadat Lake Vermilion | 8h 23m, Dec 21 | 4:19pm, around Dec 11 | 8:00am, around Jan 1 |
| The North Shore and Duluthat Lake Superior off Duluth | 8h 32m, Dec 21 | 4:21pm, around Dec 11 | 7:54am, around Jan 1 |
| The Twin Citiesat Lake Minnetonka | 8h 46m, Dec 21 | 4:34pm, around Dec 10 | 7:54am, around Jan 2 |
| The southeast trout streamsat Root River near Houston | 8h 55m, Dec 21 | 4:30pm, around Dec 10 | 7:42am, around Jan 2 |
| The west-central lakesat Lake Miltona | 8h 38m, Dec 21 | 4:37pm, around Dec 10 | 8:05am, around Jan 1 |
| The prairie lakes and Big Stone Lakeat Lake Minnewaska | 8h 41m, Dec 21 | 4:39pm, around Dec 10 | 8:04am, around Jan 1 |
| Lake Pepin and the St. Croix, the Minnesota sideat Lake City, on Lake Pepin | 8h 50m, Dec 21 | 4:31pm, around Dec 10 | 7:47am, around Jan 2 |