Detroit Lake Fishing Report (April 1, 2026)

This just in, ice is out on Cotton, Detroit, Sallie, and Pelican. The DNR has issued a waiver to allow catch and release on all inland waters open to fishing, but only from a boat.

🎉APRIL FOOLS!!🎉

I've been waiting ALL DAY to type that.

The ice fishing season is effectively over in the Detroit Lakes area. There were reports of a foot of water on top of 3 feet of ice up on Lake of the Woods last week. But, there are still plenty of massive pike pics coming through my Facebook feed so you can still find some good ice if you look hard enough. While you may find spots to ice fish, I recommend you hang up the boots, and shift gears to open water!

South Dakota has lots of opportunities, as Lake Traverse is now open. the Mississippi is open for business, and the early catch-and-release season is underway on Rainy River as county crews keep opening public accesses farther east each day. If you have a day to burn and wife's not looking, get outta town! There are plenty of places to fish right now. 

Now the question on everyone’s mind is: when will the ice go out on local lakes? I can tell you this—not anytime soon. The forecast shows more hours below freezing than above next week. If you aren't heading to open water opportunities far from home, it’s a good time to pour a cup of coffee, pet the dog, and watch other people fish on YouTube!

Next week, we'll dive into some more details on the bite on Lake Traverse. I'll have a fresh info from Rainy River, too. Thanks for reading this week's report!

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My orders from Rapala, Northland, and Scheels have been delivered. I officially had more packages at my door than my wife (for one day)! I'm busy organizing jigs, rigs, bobbers, terminal tackle, and everything else so I can fill the new boat as soon as I snag it from J & K!

I'll do the prep work, you do the booking! It's a great time to book your Summer fishing trip on the Baxstar Boat. Booking are coming and but there is still plenty of availability. Early season prices are lower than ever before and they go up through peak season in July. You can see all prices when you click here. I hope to see YOU on my boat this spring!