Choose from the following to find a site:

• Ice Fishing
• Lake and Pond Fishing
• River and Stream Fishing

   

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources regulates fishing seasons and a fishing license is required. Fishing Licenses can be purchased at local bait shops, sporting goods stores or the Minnesota DNR website.

Fishing Piers

Visitors don’t need a boat to enjoy fishing in northern Minnesota. Look for more than a dozen handicap accessible fishing pier.

Fishing Piers	Nearest City
Cass Lake Wayside Rest Area on Cass Lake	Cass Lake
Mission Bridge on northwest side of Cass Lake	Cass Lake
Benjamin Lake off scenic Highway Co. 39	Blackduck
Gilstad Lake off scenic Highway Co. 39	Blackduck
Leech Lake off Highway 371/ Shingobee Bay	Walker
Kego Lake	Longville
Leech Lake	Onigum
Boy River Crossing at Co. 8	Federal Dam
Clubhouse Lake Campground	Marcell
Little Cut Foot Sioux Lake off Hwy 46	Deer River
Bowstring River off Co. 35	Inger
Lake Ranier, Edge of Wilderness Discovery Center	Marcell

Ice Fishing

A line dropped into the hole in the ice and the fish pulled back through the hole, whether trying to catch pan fish, perch, walleye, or northern pike, nothing better than ice fishing on the Chippewa. On a nice day, a fisherman can brave the elements perched on a bucket on the ice or choose a warm ice house. Important tips for ice fishing are to remember no ice is 100 percent safe and be prepared with a survival plan; check with the local DNR office for information about ice thickness and safety.

Seasons

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulates fishing seasons in Minnesota.  The fishing season begins in mid-May for northern pike and walleye, and early June for muskellunge and bass.  These seasons run until the middle of February.  Trout season runs from mid-April to October and mid-January to middle of March.  Trout lakes in Cass County are closed to winter fishing.  You can fill a stringer with panfish year long. Fishing on the Chippewa is good throughout the summer, but usually best in late spring and fall when waters are cool.

Resource Management

The DNR,  Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and Chippewa National Forest are partners in managing the fishery resource.  The DNR is the lead agency for surveying, stocking, removing rough fish, renovating lakes and streams, and improving lake access in Minnesota.  Management by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe includes both game and non-game species.  The Band conducts lake surveys, habitat improvement projects,  rough fish removal, and operates a fish hatchery which is open to the public in early spring.  The Chippewa National Forest is responsible for protection and enhancement of fish habitat, shoreline protection and providing boat access, in cooperation with the DNR and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.