The weather forecast looks great and we expect to start our ice fishing season soon. We are unable to get out on the lake right now to check the ice due to wind conditions and poor visibility. It sounds like the wind is going to settle down tonight and we should be able to get out tomorrow to see how things are coming along. We will post a report tomorrow as soon as we can! Stay tuned! We have trips available December through March. Make plans to join us for some winter fun today.
View from Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge 11-15-2017
Island fish was great to start the year off! The walleyes were snappin’ and we even heard of a few big ones being caught. Gold, pink, yellow, and orange jigs tipped with a minnow all seemed to work very well! Rocky points and shorelines were holding good numbers of fish. The fish are in feed mode so get up here and let’s go fishing!
Temperatures are up and the fishing is heating up too! With water temps scratching 50 degrees, pike are in full swing and aggressive. Casting spoons and spinnerbaits in the tributaries and at any shallow weeds that may be beginning to grow is the best and most efficient way to target them. Sturgeon have begun to spawn and are stacking up in rapids and fast flowing shallow water. Best areas to target these monsters is to concentrate on deep holes adjacent to these spawning areas.
Walleye Opener
With the walleye season beginning this weekend, great places to begin the season is just outside the Lighthouse Gap, the north side of Pine Island and Four Mile Bay. A jig tipped with a shiner is always the best bet to kick the season off. As far as colors to start with, chartreuse, pink and gold are great choices!
Sturgeon fishing has been hot! 3 days left of the season until July. Get into the action!
Unreal! Two hours into these gals sturgeon careers they haul in a 68″ monster!
Take a Mom fishing
Mother’s Day is May 14. Treat mom to some great fishing, relaxation and Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch at Sportsman’s next weekend. She will love our cozy accommodations, indoor pool, hot tub, beautiful views, excellent fishing and delicious food. Click here for our spring lodging and fishing packages and here to check out our Mother’s Day menu.
Get on the fish with a Guided Trip
Whether you are looking for sturgeon, pike or walleye we have trips available this spring. Contact us for more information 800-862-8602.
Last weekend we enjoyed some average spring weather but it has been a cool start to the week with some rain and snow showers. Looks like it should shape up for the weekend. The water temperature is currently 41 degrees. Despite the weather, anglers are finding some nice sturgeon and pike. Sturgeon anglers are finding them in several areas wherever a good hole in the river bottom can be found between Wheeler’s Point to Birchdale. Size 4/0 or 5/0 circle hooks and a 3-8 ounce no roll sinker tipped with a gob of crawlers and a frozen shiner has been working well. If you have trouble with the worms falling off, try a piece of a plastic grub at the end. Anchored at deep river holes or crevices with a little current are best. You can keep one sturgeon now within 45”-50” or over 75” through May 7 with a sturgeon tag (available at the lodge or anywhere MN fishing licenses are sold) and catch and release resumes May 8-15. Sturgeon are fun to catch and pretty tasty thrown in a smoker.
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| Captain Matt McClure 40 inch pike | Captain Travis Madrazo | Captain Travis Madrazo with a nice pike! |
Northern Pike bite
Tributaries along the river and shallow bays are great places to find some huge pike right now. Anchored and casting out a jig tipped with a shiner and bouncing off the bottom or casting out a jointed rapala has been working well.
Reeling in sturgeon of all sizes. Captain Travis Campbell
11th Annual Sturgeon Tournament is May 5 & 6. The tournament is full this year but everyone is welcome to stop in and check out the action from our docks or in the bar. The tournament takes place right out in front of the lodge over a 1 mile stretch. Annually we see over 100 sturgeon caught over the two day tournament. Stop by for great fishing stories, food, drinks and entertainment Friday and Saturday evenings. The tournament runs from 8:30 to 4pm Friday and 8:30 to 3pm Saturday.
Walleye Opener is just around the corner
May 13 is walleye opener. Lodging starting at $46 per person and up to 20% off summer lodging/charter fishing packages. Click here to choose your package. *plus tax and based on double occupancy
Get on the fish with a Guided Trip
Whether you are looking for sturgeon, pike or walleye we have trips available this spring. Contact us for more information 800-862-8602.
Mother’s Day Brunch
Treat mom to some great fishing, relaxation and Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch at Sportsman’s May 14. From walleye, to salads to mimosas and more click here to check out the menu we have planned and make your reservations today.
The bite yesterday was great, but overall spotty this week. Nice buckets of fish came in with a variety of walleyes and saugers. Best depth has been in 23-31 feet of water. Gold and pink jigs, rattle spoons and macho minnows have been working well tipped with a minnow. Mix of jigging and dead sticking is the best approach. Electronics users tend to do the best.
Ice Conditions
We have lost snow but not much ice if any. Weather is cooling off starting tomorrow. Back to ice making!
Trail Report
We have lost most of our snow so the trails are rough. Groomers will start again as soon as we get another shot of snow.
Ice Road from Young’s Bay to the Island
The ice road is in good shape. The landing is pretty muddy so trucks only. Cars will probably not make it out. Cooler weather is coming back tomorrow!
It looks like the brief winter warm up is finally going to end after today and boy are we excited! Enough of the warm weather, what was Mother Nature thinking we still have a month of ice fishing left! LOL!
Currently we have 23-27 inches of ice in the areas we travel and fish. We have made some changes to where we are accessing the lake and have been playing in some sloppy conditions the past few days but other than that we are still fishing, checking ice often keeping safety #1 and looking at the forecast we plan to keep fishing until late March.
If you are looking to venture out on your own we can’t stress enough to please work through resorts and outfitters. Check conditions before going out and stay on the trail. The conditions are not the same over the entire lake and now with very little snow left on the lake many people may think they can go anywhere. That is not the case. That is not the case even in the coldest of winters and the winters when we have 4’ of ice. On a good note once we start to cool down we should build ice quicker without the snow. So stay safe and come join us for some great late season fishing!
Fishing Action
Gold and pink spoons jigging or dead sticking with a plain hook tipped with a minnow has been working the best in 26-32’. Overall some anglers doing better than others depending on the day, hour, weather, depth, approach and mother nature. Electronics users seem to do better than those without. Still seeing some suspended fish in various depths from a foot off bottom to 15 feet. Bite has been mainly made up of walleyes and saugers for the pan or throwback with an occasional slot walleye (19.5”-28”) or larger. Best tip is to try some different techniques and talk with your guide for the best approach for the day. March usually considered an active month for fishing. Come visit us!
Trail Report
Due to the warm weather we recently been having most of our snow has melted. Trails are marked and groomers will fire back up as soon we get another shot of snow!
We gained 3-4 inches of snow this week and below zero temps the past few days. It looks like we are going to warm up tomorrow. Buck shots, flutter spoons, plain hooks and pink, gold and glow in the dark jigs have been good this week tipped with a minnow. Vexilar users are almost doubling their catch rate. 23’-29’ of water around structure has been the best place to find some nice walleyes and saugers.
42 inch northern pike caught by Jim Kusilek on a medium action St Croix rod 8lb test and swedish pimple Sportsmans Oak Island Lodge
Nice 19 inch walleye caught by Chad Young Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
13 inch perch caught by Chad Young Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
Ice Conditions
Currently we have 21-24 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.
Trail Report
The area lake and land trails are being groomed weekly. For more information on the NW Angle & Islands area click here. For the Baudette area click here. The NW Angle club will be hosting their annual Snowmobile Rally March 4 in the NW Angle area. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
Ice Road
The ice road is open. Take the 9 mile drive out from Young’s Bay to the lodge. Signs are posted.
Set the hook!
24-28 feet of water jigging with a gold jig, small silver spoon or buckshot tipped with a minnow has been successful this week. Mostly walleyes, several saugers, few perch and northern pike have been caught. Mix of dead sticking and jigging is the best approach. Vexilars really help the catch rate as some schools of fish are being found suspended 2-8 feet off bottom. Get into the action. We have fish house rentals available until late March. Give us a call 800-772-8411 or reserve online.
Caught 1-24-2017 by Eric Loverude 23 inch walleye. Eric was using a slender green glow red tiger gold spoon.
Ice Conditions
Currently we have 20 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. The lake got pretty sloppy last week after the 4-5 day stretch of warm temps but that has hardened up now and we did not lose any ice. Forecast looks cool and we are back to ice making weather.
Trail Report
Nice base of snow on the trails right now, groomers are out, come take a ride. The area lake and land trails are being groomed weekly. For more information on the NW Angle & Islands area click here. For the Baudette area click here
Ice Road
The ice road is open. Take the 9 mile drive out from Young’s Bay to the lodge. Signs are posted.