Updates on Gull Lake Ice Conditions
Gull Lake near Brainerd, MN, is one of the best fisheries in the state of Minnesota. It’s known for wonderful walleye and pan fishing with great bites and fun fishing challenges. It is also known as the home of the world’s largest charitable ice fishing contest—The Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza. Since 1991, the young people who are the volunteer members of the Brainerd Jaycees, have organized this contest as a way to raise money for local charitable causes. They’ve rallied the community year after year with the promise of a nearly $1-million economic impact as nearly 10,000 participants descend upon the Brainerd area. From bait shops to breweries, and lunch stops to lodging, the local economy gets a boon from this event which helped put Brainerd on the map as a winter-tourism destination. For nearly 100 years, the Brainerd area has been known as a summer tourist destination, but the Jaycees have definitely helped shape and define winter tourism with this event. Each December and early January the world starts watching the headlines and social media posts for any hint of a change in the event’s schedule. We’d like to do our part to keep you up to date on the ice conditions but know this is not an official report and it’s bits and pieces from our local fishing guides who are doing their best to keep people informed while recognizing that ice is nothing to toy with.
Update: January 13: From Walleye Dan, “…the ice conditions for the Extravaganza are looking good…”
Update: January 8: From Walleye Dan, “…there is a solid 9-11 inches of ice with 2-3 inches of soft white ice on top…”
