The Beauty of Experiencing Bemidji's Awesome Ice Fishing

Statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox—folklore heroes in the northern United States and Canada—greet visitors to Bemidji, Minn., at a visitor’s center at Lake Bemidji. The town of Bemidji is one of several locales billed as the birthplace of Bunyan and Babe, and the pair welcome visitors to a region filled with forests, rivers, lakes and more, offering tons of outdoor adventure. For anglers visiting in winter, though, the big draw is the incredible ice-fishing. With 400 lakes within 25 miles of the city limits, anglers will run out of time to fish long before they run out of places to fish.

Brady Laudon is Visit Bemidji’s assistant director of tourism, but he’s also a fishing guide who spends ample time each winter plying the ice on area waters. He has many favorite ice-fishing spots in and around Bemidji, and ice anglers considering a trip should take note. The following lakes and lake chains are consistent fish producers throughout the hard-water season.

LAKES BEMIDJI AND IRVING

The obvious starting point for any traveling angler is the town of Bemidji itself, which holds the namesake Lake Bemidji and connected Lake Irving. Laudon says both offer fantastic fishing, with the larger Bemidji best known for jumbo yellow perch. Getting on the ice here is easy, as several public accesses ring the lake. These include Lake Bemidji State Park and various other city- and state-owned access areas.

“There are humps on the north end of the lake,” Laudon says. “It’ll be really deep and then come up to like 20 feet. If you can find those humps, those are great places to find jumbo perch.”

Beyond huge perch, the lake offers incredible and varied multi-species opportunities. Northern pike, walleyes and giant rock bass are plentiful, as are a couple fish species not commonly found on most Midwestern lakes: ciscoes (aka tullibees) and burbot (aka eelpout). The burbot is the only freshwater codfish on the planet and spawns beneath the ice in late February and early March, resulting in huge concentrations of fish that can fuel amazing ice-fishing. For burbot, perch, walleyes and northern pike, try dropping a minnow head on a jig.

UPPER RED LAKE

A short drive north of Bemidji sits one of Minnesota’s largest lakes and a proverbial walleye factory: Upper Red Lake. A few resorts offer private access and plowed roads to prime ice-fishing grounds, as well as ice-fishing houses. The lake is world-famous for lights-out walleye fishing, especially at first-ice when the fish are snapping. Because the lake is a shallow, gravelly bowl, Laudon recommends finding and fishing near a transition of just a few feet, or pinpointing rock piles or transitions from gravel and sand to mud. Be cognizant of bag and size limits, though, as the lake’s walleyes are carefully co-managed between the state of Minnesota and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa.

Huge northern pike are also found in the lake. While all pike 30 to 40 inches in length must be released, grabbing a quick photo with your trophy catch is allowed. The lake’s black crappie populations cycle up and down and provide a niche angling opportunity opposite the more ecologically suited walleye. When walleye populations were depressed and that fishery was closed for recovery, crappies boomed and ice anglers caught limits of trophy-sized fish in minutes.

TURTLE RIVER CHAIN

Just north of Lake Bemidji, the Turtle River chain of lakes includes Big Turtle, Little Turtle and Movil, among others. Each lake has public accesses, and Laudon loves fishing this chain for excellent chances at walleyes, northern pike, sunfish and crappies.

“There’s usually good vegetation lines, even in winter, that fish can stack up in or around,” the guide says. “Staying mobile and finding the fish first will pay dividends. Once you get on them, you can set up and work them over.”

Just watch out for inlets and outlets on the Turtle River, which can weaken ice in neckdown areas. Humps, points, islands and shelves adjacent to drop-offs are great places to find fish, as are the vegetation lines Laudon loves exploring. It’s also worth noting that lakes on the Turtle River Chain have a 5-fish daily limit on sunfish, which is designed to protect and maintain high-quality, large bluegills and other sunfish.

CASS LAKE CHAIN

East of Bemidji along U.S. Highway 2 lies the Cass Lake Chain, which includes Pike Bay and Cass, Andrusia, Kitchi, Big and Wolf lakes. Like other lakes mentioned so far, these all have public-access sites. Off the chain, another nearby lake worth visiting is Grace Lake. Walleyes and jumbo perch are the primary targets here, though heading out to some of the chain’s smaller lakes can produce solid crappie and sunfish action, too. As with the Turtle Lake Chain, the Cass Lake Chain has a five-fish daily limit for sunfish.

These lakes offer loads of structure, including bars, points and flats. The sandy makeup of the lake bottoms is perfect for plant growth and houses a variety of insect life. Invasive rusty crayfish have exploded in numbers recently, providing a unique forage opportunity for fish on the Cass Lake Chain. Try a crayfish pattern jigging spoon with rattles to attract fish into your setup. Bang the bottom to create a commotion and watch the perch come running.

SUCKER CHAIN

For a chance at some bulging, hand-eclipsing crappies and sunfish, check out the Sucker Chain of Lakes just east of Cass Lake. The Sucker Chain falls within the Chippewa National Forest and has Forest Service-owned federal public accesses. These lakes have special reduced bag limits of five crappies and five sunfish. The conservative limits ensure the fish have extra time to grow large. Some great panfish are found here, likely the result of solid catch-and-release practices, which should keep the chain of lakes sustainable for panfish anglers well into the future.

Look for suspended fish and get ready at dusk. That’s when huge panfish come out of the woodwork to take advantage of daily zooplankton migrations off the bottom of the lake. Small vertical- and horizontal-profile jigs shine when tipped with waxworms, spikes or segmented microplastic insect imitations that fidget about easily under water when jigged.

PIMUSHE LAKE

Pimushe is a skinny, 7-mile-long lake just north of the Cass Chain known for abundant northern pike and excellent crappie fishing. Some local resorts offer access to the lake, and there’s also a U.S. Forest Service public-access area.

Laudon recommends searching for schools of fish with 2-D or forward-facing sonar, then dropping a waxworm-tipped tungsten jig down, keeping it just above crappies.

For northern pike, utilize tip-ups and sucker minnows placed parallel to shore to cover various depth ranges. If one depth proves more productive than others, move other tip-ups to similar depths and spread out. Also, remember that Minnesota limits winter anglers to two fishing lines.

LAKE PLANTAGENET

Plantagenet hooks into lakes Irving and Bemidji, but it has its own excellent fishing. Anglers can gain access at areas on both the north and south end of the lake. The body of water holds jumbo perch, as well as numerous walleyes. The west side of the lake runs deep with fast breaks, whereas the east side has flats, a major point and a sunken island. Try working various depth ranges, starting in 10 feet and then moving deeper as the day grows longer. Perch are always on the move, so be ready to find and chase them.

Muskies are another species managed in this lake. If you do happen to catch one through the ice, handle it carefully, snap a photo and release it quickly, as Minnesota’s musky season is closed through the winter months.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

• Places to stay, things to do and other considerations for ice anglers planning a trip to Bemidji.

Bemidji has nine different hotels, plus several resorts and bed-and-breakfasts situated on surrounding lakes. The restaurant scene offers a variety of options, including Bar 209, Tara, Slim’s Bar and Grill and Lazy Jacks. Check out the concert lineup at the Sanford Center, or, if you’re feeling lucky, head out to gamble at Northern Lights, Cedar Lakes, Seven Clans or Shooting Star casinos. Take in a college basketball or hockey game at Bemidji State University or try some recreational axe throwing downtown.

If snow sports are your thing, you’re in luck. Bemidji has more than 80 miles of challenging and scenic cross-country ski trails spread across nine different trail sites. The North Country Snowmobile Club runs groomers on nearly 400 miles of snowmobile trails in the Bemidji area, too. Bemidji is the first city on the Mississippi River, so take some time to visit Itasca State Park and see the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca.

Minnesota is also one of several states where darkhouse spearing is legal. With a resident or nonresident angling license and a darkhouse spearing license, you can spear northern pike through the ice. Lure fish to your position with a live sucker on a harness or a fish-imitation decoy lowered below the ice. Darkhouse spearing might best be described to a novice as the marriage of hunting deer from a stand and ice-angling. An abundance of northern pike and the region’s exceptional water clarity make Bemidji a great place to give darkhouse spearing a try if you’ve never done it before.

For bait and other gear, stop off at Northwoods Bait and Tackle (northwoodsbait.com). Get your fishing license, some bait, tips on the hot bite and any essentials you might’ve forgotten.

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• This article was featured in the February 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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