Leech Lake

Leech Lake covers more than 100,000 acres in Cass County. It's the third-largest lake that lies entirely inside Minnesota, and most of it is within the Leech Lake Reservation and the Chippewa National Forest.

Walleye is what most of the guides here sell. Leech is also a well-known muskie lake, with a 54-inch minimum to keep one. In winter the resorts around Walker and the south shore rent sleeper houses, and one of them plows a road out onto the ice.

We built this guide from what the businesses on the lake publish. In late October 2026 we went through the pages of 39 resorts, guides and ice-house outfitters for the Register's Leech Lake page, and every price here comes from one of them. Many don't put a year on their rates, so we say when a price is dated and check when you book.

Three ends of one lake

Walker sits on Walker Bay at the northwest corner, and that's where most of the trade is. 25 of the 39 places in the Register are on Walker Bay or the bays next to it: Agency, Steamboat and Kabekona. Ten of the lake's guides and both of its dedicated ice-house outfitters work out of Walker. If you want to be near town and pick up a guide at the dock, stay here.

The south shore runs along Highway 200 and County 8 through Whipholt, Pine Point, Traders Bay and Sucker Bay. It has 11 resorts in the Register, including four of the Anderson's group and Brindley's Harbor. Brindley's and several others stay open for ice fishing.

The east end is Federal Dam, where the Leech Lake River leaves the lake through an Army Corps of Engineers dam. It's the quiet end. We found three businesses there: Sugar Point Resort, Tonga's Federal Dam Launch & Cabins, and Last Cast Adventures, a guide who also rents two cabins. Zup's Guide Service launches from both Walker and Federal Dam.

What a guide costs

Leech Lake guides price by the boat, and the price depends on how many of you are in it. Some quote for one or two anglers, others for up to three or four. Compare each price with others of its kind. We didn't find anyone selling single seats on a walleye launch here, which is common on Lake of the Woods.

Live from the Register. "Typical" is the median of published full-day rates.

A half day runs $300 to $450. Tom Wilson charges $300 for four hours with two people and adds $50 for a third. Zup's, Leech Lake Guide Service and Last Cast are each $450, but for one or two, up to three, and up to four people respectively, so Last Cast is the better deal for a full boat.

A full day runs $500 to $700. Zup's is $500 for one or two and $600 for three. Dick's Guide Service charges $600 for eight hours with up to three anglers and $650 with four, and it charges the same for muskie as for walleye. Last Cast is $650 for up to four (2026), and Bullivant Fishing Expeditions $700 for up to four through FishingBooker.

Dedicated muskie trips cost more. Froeschle Fishing charges $750 for six hours, $1,000 for nine and $1,200 for twelve, for two people. There are evening trips too: Zup's runs a twilight trip from 5:30 to sunset at $500 for one or two, and Hooked Up lists night walleye trips starting at $300.

Renting your own boat

Most resorts rent boats, so you can fish without a guide. A 17- to 18-foot fishing boat with a 70 to 90 horsepower motor costs about $175 to $210 a day. A bigger boat or a pontoon costs $200 to $450. Gas is usually extra.

Gas is extra at Bayside, Moonlight Bay, Oak Point and Agency Bay. Most resorts also rent by the week: Agency Bay's Alumacraft is $1,125 a week and Moonlight Bay's $1,197.

Bayside also rents a Livescope forward-facing sonar unit for $120 a day.

Where to sleep

Leech Lake resorts price cabins by the night or the week, and in high summer many only rent by the week. Agency Bay Lodge books Saturday to Saturday only from May 30 to August 21, and Moonlight Bay requires weeklong Saturday-to-Saturday stays in its two- and three-bedroom cabins from June 14 to Labor Day.

A sample. The Leech Lake page lists every resort with its rate and the year it applies to.

By the week, Bailey's runs $705 to $1,965 a cabin and Agency Bay $750 to $2,495 (both 2026). Brindley's Harbor's summer weeks run $1,350 to $6,000 for 2026-27.

A few places price by the person. Anderson's Cove sells a spring and fall package at $40 a person a day for a group of four, which covers the cabin, an 18-foot boat with a 40 hp motor, gas and bait. Tonga's at Federal Dam charges $35 a person a day with a $70 minimum. Neither gives a year. For camping, Agency Bay's RV sites are $65 a night on the beach and $50 off it, and Hiawatha Beach's campground starts at $65 for two.

The hard-water season

Trapper's Landing on Walker Bay plows a road onto the ice from December 26, ice permitting. A pass is $20 a day, $50 a weekend or $300 a season, and it's included if you rent a cabin or ice house there. The speed limit is 10 mph, and the resort's houses sit on pre-cut spots.

Sleeper houses are priced two ways here. Most outfitters rent the whole house by the night. Brindley's Harbor has 14 houses for 2026-27: a four-person house is $275 Sunday to Wednesday and $325 Thursday to Saturday, a six-person house $375 to $425, and an eight-person house $475 to $525, with a two-night minimum and the generator and fuel included. Leech Lake Adventure Rentals charges $245 a night for a two-person house up to $470 for six, also with a two-night minimum. Its houses come with a generator, propane heat, rattle reels and 6 to 10 holes. Trapper's Landing lists a sleeper at $450 a night for 2026-27, or $650 to $850 with a cabin.

Zup's prices by the person instead. Its premium sleeper package is $175 a person a night for two people with a two-night minimum, and its day-house package $125 a person a day. For two people, that makes Zup's premium sleeper $350 a night, against $245 for a two-person house at Leech Lake Adventure Rentals. Check what each one includes before you compare.

Bayside rents Ice Castle trailers and moves them to where the fish are biting: $400 a day for a deluxe 8 by 26 that sleeps six, $300 for an 8 by 17 that sleeps five, with generator and gas (no year given). On Steamboat Bay, Oak Point rents spear houses for $110 to $150 a day for 2026-27, and spears and decoys for $25 a day. If you want a guide on the ice, Bullivant charges $800 a boat for eight hours with up to three people.

Not every cabin stays open. Oak Point keeps three cabins open from November to May, at $290 to $360 a night for 2026-27. Bayside keeps one. Shores of Leech Lake's winter rate is $199 to $339 a night.

When to come

• Walleye, sauger and pike open on May 9, 2026. Most cabin resorts open in early May and close in early October.
• Bass harvest opens May 23. Smallmouth go back to catch-and-release from September 14.
• Muskie season runs June 6 to November 30.
• The Trapper's Landing ice road opens December 26, ice permitting.
• Walleye, sauger, pike and bass close on February 28, 2027, and fish houses have to be off the ice by midnight on March 15.

Rules to know before you keep a fish

• Walleye and sauger: 6 combined, no more than 4 of them walleye, and only one walleye over 20 inches.
• Northern pike: 10 in possession, no more than 2 over 26 inches. Every pike from 22 through 26 inches goes back.
• Muskie: 1 fish, at least 54 inches.
• Crappie and sunfish: 5 a day each under Leech Lake's special limits. Perch: 20 a day and 40 in possession.

These come from the DNR's 2026 Minnesota Fishing Regulations, which run until February 28, 2027. The rules change every March. The full list is on the Leech Lake page.

The outfitter's list

• Minnesota fishing licenseYou need one summer and winter.
• The current DNR regulationsA new booklet comes out every March, and the walleye and pike limits can change with it.
• Money for gasMost resorts charge for it on top of the boat rental.
• A flasher, or the fee for oneZup's rents a Vexilar for $50 a day and a rod for $25.
• An ice road pass$20 a day at Trapper's Landing unless you're staying there.