Lake of the Woods Ice Conditions & Fishing Report

3/11/2015

Is spring coming early or are we just being teased?
Like much of the state we have received some warm weather this week too. What does this mean for ice fishing?  Safety first!  At this point we have only lost snow. We still have 33 inches of ice on the river, 38 inches on Four Mile Bay and nearly 4 feet on the lake. The forecast is calling for highs in the forties through the weekend and lows in the upper twenties/lower thirties. Mostly overcast skies (this helps!). Next week’s forecast cools down with highs in the thirties and lows in the lower twenties. We see no problem fishing through this weekend and possibly next week. It all depends on how much sun and warm temperatures we get through this weekend.   We check ice conditions daily and will keep you updated! Daily reports can be found on our Facebook page here.

24 inch walleye Caught & released by a member of the Rohwedder group, caught on a chartreuse swedish pimple	Garrett Rohwedder 25 inch walleye, released Caught on a red buckshot spoon in one of the sleeper houses
A good day! Pink was the hot color! Sent in by Travis Campbell

 

How’s fishing?
We have a variety of houses in the mud and reefs in 25-32 feet of water. The ride out to the fish houses takes anywhere from 15-45 minutes.  If we had it our way, the shorter the ride the better however, the fish aren’t agreeing this year.  That’s fishing!  Our goal is to give you the best fishing experience possible so we go where the fish are.  A mix of walleyes, saugers, tulibees, a few perch and pike have been reeled in this week. Bright colored jigs orange, pink and gold have been working well tipped with a minnow. Buck shots have also done well. A little jigging and using a vexilar helps your fishing success!

Walleye fishing open until April 14, re-opening May 9. Limit change on the Rainy River and Four Mile Bay March 1-April 14. Pike season never closes and sturgeon fishing is catch and release now through April 23, keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15.

Trail Report
Grooming has ended for the year. Trails are being maintained by local resorts with drags. Use caution around the pressure ridges. Pressure ridges pull apart and push together when the temperature warms and cools.

River Fishing
Won’t be long and we will be back in the boats. The river is open 58 miles east of the resort right now. The first landing near us that will open will be at Birchdale, 38 miles away. When? Good question? My guess is 10-14 days at this point. Lots of factors come in to play of course, stay tuned!  Lodging rates as low as $40 per person per night (plus tax based on double occ) April 1-May 20! Get your reservations in now!