Sportsman’s Rainy River
12/27/18

Happy Holidays Everyone!
A good bite in 18’-28’ of water is bringing in a nice mix of walleyes and saugers along with an occasional sturgeon or pike.  Check out the video and watch for the huge 55 and 68 inch sturgeons caught this week!

We primarily target walleye and sauger but you just never know what might be swimming under your fish house!  A mix of jigging and dead sticking a plain hook with a few split shots, chartreuse glow jigs and spoons, orange rattle buckshot, Gem N Eyes and gold jigs tipped with a minnow or minnow head has been working. Vexilars and Fish Finders are popular among many anglers to help increase catch rates. Don’t have one? We have a few to rent, call ahead.

Ice Conditions
Currently we have 13-19 inches of ice in the areas we travel and fish. As of noon today, we have received 4-6 inches of new snow so far since last night and forecasted to receive another 1-2 inches this afternoon. Prior to the snow starting we only had 0-6 inches.

Plowed Ice Roads
If you are fishing with us, we supply the transportation for all of our trips to our houses via groomed trails. If you are interested in venturing out on your own, there are several roads in the area.  Be sure to always check with the outfitter for current conditions before heading out as conditions vary. No travel is advised on the Rainy River at this time. Here is the latest from a few roads near the lodge.

Adrian’s Road out of Four Mile Bay/Wheeler’s Point
Allowing ½  ton trucks not pulling any houses. Smaller than ½ tons pulling up to 17’ houses. ATV’s and side by sides pulling up to 21’ houses. There is 14 ½ to 16 ½ inches of ice in the bay where are our road is.  Please follow our road out to Pine Island as there are reports of thinner ice in some places in the bay.

Morris Point Road out of Morris Point
Allowing up to ½ ton trucks or smaller pulling up to single axle 17’ houses. Please stop in lodge to pay for road pass and do not go more than a couple hundred yards from the road. There is a very clear end to our road, please do not go past this as we have not checked the ice past that point.  As of now we do not have any pressure ridges and we are averaging 16 inches of ice.

Trails
Lake trails from Four Mile Bay to Oak Island and Graceton Beach to Warroad are marked. The trail to Oak Island was packed down with one pass yesterday before the snow. More packing will be done later this week and grooming with the heavier equipment as soon as ice conditions allow.  Use caution around pressure ridges and for your safety, stay on the trail. Conditions vary.  Land trails have been closed up to this point due to lack of snow but now with the new snow groomers will be out!

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
12/27/2018

Happy Holidays Everyone!  We are open for the season!
We started fishing in the islands yesterday.  A mix of jigging and dead sticking produced some nice results with lines settled just a  few inches off bottom using a chartreuse or gold jig, buckshot rattle spoon or glow lure tipped with a minnow in 20’-24’.

Ice Conditions
We have 12-18 inches of ice where we fish and travel but still some areas with less.  For example, the area of Mergan’s Point the area we usually travel around to get to the island is not safe yet, so traveling to the island is different right now compared to previous years at this time.  We expect this to only be temporary until we can build more ice and get the road plowed out to us.   Due to Mergan’s Point area not being safe to travel yet and no ice road plowed out to us yet we are offering alternative options to get to the island for our lodging guests.   We have options of getting you across the lake from Baudette, the snowmobile trail is marked from Baudette to the island or we pick you up from Young’s Bay too.  Give us a call for more information.

Trails
Lake trails are marked from Four Mile Bay on the south end of the lake to Oak Island and to the Northwest Angle as well as from Warroad to the island and Northwest Angle. We are getting more snow today. Prior to today, we had just a few inches. Watch out for the pressure ridges. The fluctuation in temperatures makes them move. The trail from Four Mile Bay to Oak Island was packed down with one pass yesterday.  More packing will be done later this week and grooming will start once ice conditions allow. Grooming to start on the other trails soon.  Use caution and stay on the trail for your safety. The entire lake never freezes equally.  Stay safe and have fun!