Do the Great Lakes freeze over?

Rarely completely. Lake Erie, the shallowest, comes closest in a cold winter. The deep lakes keep large areas of open water in most years, and ice cover swings widely from winter to winter. NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory publishes daily ice-cover data through the season.

Where is the best ice fishing on the Great Lakes?

The protected bays: Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, Green Bay and the Bays de Noc on Lake Michigan, the western basin of Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior. All of them depend on a cold enough winter, and conditions change week to week — local bait shops are the best source of current ice reports.

Can you fish the Great Lakes in winter without ice?

Yes. Tributary steelhead and brown trout fish all winter in open water on Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie streams, and warm-water discharges and harbors can hold trout and salmon close to shore. Dress for the cold and watch shelf ice along the banks.

The Season · December through March

Great Lakes Fishing in Winter

The open lakes rarely freeze over, but the bays do. Winter fishing on the chain means shallow, protected ice in a cold year and tributary steelhead whenever the water is open.

Lakes covered

Species in season

Through the ice

Months

December–March

Great Lakes ice is a bay fishery. The open water of Superior, Michigan, Huron and Ontario seldom freezes solid, but protected bays and the shallow lakes do: Saginaw Bay on Huron, Green Bay and the Bays de Noc on Michigan, Chequamegon Bay on Superior, the western basin of Erie, and much of Lake St. Clair in a cold winter. Walleye, perch, pike and whitefish are the core targets, and in good years lake trout under the ice near the Apostle Islands.

Ice cover varies enormously from one winter to the next, and NOAA tracks it across the whole chain. In a mild year the ice may never be fishable; in a hard one it lasts into March. When the ice will not cooperate, the tributaries do: steelhead and brown trout hold in open river water all winter, and fish whenever the water is above freezing.

Lake by lake

Winter on the six lakes

Lake Superior

Ice where the bays let it form, and nowhere else

Superior rarely freezes over. What does freeze is protected water — Chequamegon Bay near Ashland, the Duluth-Superior harbor, Munising Bay, Keweenaw Bay — and those bays carry a real hardwater fishery for splake, coho, lake trout, whitefish and burbot. Ice conditions on a lake this big are local and change with one hard offshore wind. Check with a bait shop the morning you go, not the week before.

In season hereWalleye Yellow Perch Lake Trout Steelhead Brown Trout Northern Pike Lake Whitefish

The full Superior field guide →

Lake Michigan

Harbor ice, tributary steelhead, and open water for the brave

The open lake does not freeze in any usable way. What you get instead is perch and pike through the ice in protected harbors, bays and drowned river mouths — Green Bay is the serious hardwater destination in this basin, and the Bay de Noc system holds walleye. Tributary steelhead fishing runs all winter on the Michigan side whenever the rivers are not locked up. Big Green Bay ice conditions vary hugely year to year.

In season hereWalleye Yellow Perch Lake Trout Steelhead Brown Trout Northern Pike Lake Whitefish

The full Michigan field guide →

Lake Huron

Saginaw Bay is one of the great ice fisheries in America

When it locks up, the inner bay carries a genuine hardwater town of shanties out of Linwood, Bay City, Quanicassee and Sebewaing, targeting walleye and yellow perch in 6 to 20 feet. Tip-ups with shiners, jigging spoons, and small jigging raps all work. The North Channel and Les Cheneaux bays add pike and whitefish. Ice quality on Saginaw Bay varies enormously with wind and is notorious for pressure cracks and shifting plates.

In season hereWalleye Yellow Perch Lake Trout Steelhead Brown Trout Northern Pike Lake Whitefish

The full Huron field guide →

Lake Erie

Ice when it comes, tributaries when it doesn't

Erie is shallow enough to freeze more completely than any other Great Lake, and in a cold year the western basin out of Port Clinton and the islands supports a serious walleye and perch ice fishery. It is also the least dependable ice on the chain: wind moves it, warm spells rot it, and guides pull off it early. Steelhead in the Alley tributaries fish all winter whenever the water is open and above 34 degrees.

In season hereWalleye Yellow Perch Lake Trout Steelhead Brown Trout Northern Pike

The full Erie field guide →

Lake Ontario

Tributaries stay open, the lake mostly does

Ontario is deep and rarely freezes across. The winter fishery is the rivers — Salmon River steelhead and browns whenever flow and ice allow — plus protected ice on Chaumont Bay, Henderson Harbor and the eastern bays for perch, pike and walleye in a cold year. Dress for wet cold; the lake-effect belt off the east end gets enormous snow.

In season hereWalleye Yellow Perch Lake Trout Steelhead Brown Trout Northern Pike

The full Ontario field guide →

Lake St. Clair

Perch and pike through ice that is never guaranteed

In a cold year the bays — Anchor Bay especially — carry a genuine ice fishery for yellow perch, pike on tip-ups, and some walleye. Anchor Bay out of New Baltimore and Fair Haven is the traditional hardwater ground. Ice on St. Clair is thin, wind-affected and moved by current from the connecting rivers, and it is one of the least reliable ice sheets in the region. Check locally the day you go.

In season hereWalleye Yellow Perch Steelhead Northern Pike

The full St. Clair field guide →

What is biting

7 species worth chasing in winter

Species	Typical	Best water	How
WalleyeIce	15–22 inches, 1.5–4 lb	Erie, Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, Ontario, Superior	trolling crankbaits; bottom bouncers and worm harnesses
Yellow PerchIce	8–11 inches	Erie, Michigan, St. Clair, Huron, Ontario, Superior	perch spreaders with minnows; small jigs
Lake TroutIce	5–12 lb	Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Erie	deep trolling with cowbells; vertical jigging
Steelhead	5–10 lb	Michigan, Ontario, Erie, Superior, Huron, St. Clair	float fishing with eggs; swinging streamers
Brown Trout	4–10 lb	Ontario, Michigan, Huron, Superior, Erie	shallow trolling with stickbaits; planer boards
Northern PikeIce	24–32 inches	Huron, Michigan, Ontario, St. Clair, Superior, Erie	casting spoons and spinnerbaits; dead-baiting under tip-ups
Lake WhitefishIce	2–4 lb	Superior, Huron, Michigan	vertical jigging spoons; ice fishing over deep flats

Outfit for it

Winter kits

All kits

6 pieces · About $700, or $400 if you already own a decent cooler

Getting a Limit Home: Fillet and Cold-Chain Kit

Ice, a board, a sharp knife and a sealer: how a cooler of Erie walleye becomes good food instead of freezer-burned regret.

8 pieces · $1,100–1,400, and the auger and shelter are most of it

Hardwater Walleye and Perch Ice Kit

The auger, shelter, flasher and jigging setup for Saginaw Bay and western Erie ice, plus the picks you hope never to use.

7 pieces · $3,000–3,400, and the kayak is nearly all of it

Kayak Angler's Great Lakes Starter

A pedal kayak, a paddle, an anchor trolley and a worn PFD: the honest minimum for fishing protected Great Lakes water from a plastic boat.

8 pieces · $1,400–1,900, and the downrigger is most of it

Lake Michigan King Salmon Downrigger Kit

The deep-water trolling setup that reaches the 45-degree band where summer chinook actually live.

Read before you go

Winter guides

gearLake Superior

Cold-Water Layering: Staying Functional at 38 Degrees in an Open Boat

A layering system for Great Lakes spring and fall fishing: what each layer does, what cotton costs you, and why the outer shell is a safety decision.

Updated 2026-09-01

fishingLake Erie

Ice Fishing the Great Lakes Safely

Ice thickness numbers, pressure ridges, current, and what safe ice on the Great Lakes actually means — plus the gear that gets you back off the ice.

Updated 2026-09-01

boatingLake Erie

Sonar for the Great Lakes: What You Actually Need

2D CHIRP, down imaging, side imaging, and live sonar compared for Great Lakes work, and which one earns its money on the water you fish.

Updated 2026-09-01

Common questions

Winter on the lakes, answered

Do the Great Lakes freeze over?: Rarely completely. Lake Erie, the shallowest, comes closest in a cold winter. The deep lakes keep large areas of open water in most years, and ice cover swings widely from winter to winter. NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory publishes daily ice-cover data through the season.
Where is the best ice fishing on the Great Lakes?: The protected bays: Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, Green Bay and the Bays de Noc on Lake Michigan, the western basin of Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior. All of them depend on a cold enough winter, and conditions change week to week — local bait shops are the best source of current ice reports.
Can you fish the Great Lakes in winter without ice?: Yes. Tributary steelhead and brown trout fish all winter in open water on Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie streams, and warm-water discharges and harbors can hold trout and salmon close to shore. Dress for the cold and watch shelf ice along the banks.

Seasons, limits and closures are set by each state and change year to year. Check the agency for your water on our state shoreline pages before you keep a fish.