Tag Archives: lake of the woods ice conditions

Ice Update

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12-4-2014

Ice update!!!

The crews have worked hard all week and have made some nice smooth trails to and from the fish houses. There is 16″ of ice on the lake and 14″ on Four Mile Bay (the bay we access early in the season to get to the lake). The cracks have mostly healed and things have come together nicely for our opening weekend of ice fishing. The rainy river has 8″-10″ of ice.

 

The snowmobile trail to Oak Island will be marked next Tuesday or Wednesday with the trail to Warroad and the Rainy River to Baudette trail being marked the day after the oak trail. We are very excited about the ice thickness and the upcoming season. The guides have done some scout fishing and report good water clarity and some hot action. Please remember that it is still early and there may be thin weak spots of ice yet. At this time there are no full size vehicles allowed. Please call ahead or check our website to find out the latest ice report. Also remember we only report on the areas we travel and fish and the entire lake is certainly not treated equally. Safety first!  Good luck fishing! For reservations contact us online or call 800-862-8602.  Bring on the season!!!

It’s Freezing Season

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Soft water fishing has pretty much come to a close this week. A few hard core anglers are still out, but for the most part we are getting ready for hard water! It is time to start stocking the tackle boxes and re-stringing the poles.

11-12-2013-freezing-up

It Won’t Be Long Now!

We have had some real cold nights earlier this week that froze up some ice sheets on the river and some of the larger bays. Unfortunately, most of those have dissipated, but that is typical for this time of year. It is still early. The water is cold and ready! If we can get 10 days of below zero weather that usually sets us up with 10-12 inches of ice to kick off the season. Typically we start ice fishing in early December. It won’t be long, we can’t wait!

Lots of projects are going on at the lodge this fall at Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River location.
Three New Villas are being constructed and in the completion stage. They will be ready to rent in December. Stay tuned on our Facebook page for pictures coming soon! Our 3rd floor of motel rooms is getting a face lift, some new fish houses are being built, landscaping in front the lodge main entrance has been re-done, the lodge was freshly painted on the exterior and new shingles were put on the lodge room wing over the summer too. We are excited to show you are new improvements!

Winter Reservations
If you haven’t made your reservations for winter yet, now is the time! Give us a call Sportsman’s Lodge 800-862-8602, Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge & Eagle Ridge 800-772-8411, Sportsman’s Sleeper Division 218-634-1589 or request online. Ice fishing season starts in is less than a month!

11-14-2013-freezing-up-2

Freezing Up!

 

Ice Conditions Update 11-26-2012

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11/26/2012

Good Morning Ice Fishing Fans!
We have the first signs of ice on the lake! Last night we dipped down to -4 with a wind chill of -15.  The week ahead is calling for lows in the single digits and highs in the teens and twenties. We are making ice!  At this point based on what we know we could be out fishing with 12 inches of safe ice by as early as Dec 8. Stay tuned for our next update at the end of the week!  If you are planning on venturing out on your own, we are in no way advising anyone to go out yet. This is our first signs of some decent ice, which is probably merely an inch or less.  This time of year the conditions can change quickly. No sense it rushing it, it will be here before we know it! Stay safe and start polishing off your fishing rods ice time is soon here!

Fire
In the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day some of our vehicles and trailer we use for early ice were lost in a fire. The cause is yet to be determined at this point.  This of course was very disheartening to us but we were thankful no one was hurt. We want all of our guests to know that this WILL NOT delay our ice fishing season. Our phenomenal staff, friends and neighbors have pulled together and we plan to start the year as planned as soon as we have safe ice.

Check out some of the pictures of the start of the ice formations taken this morning. We hope to get a satellite picture this afternoon of the lake. So be sure to log on to our Facebook page or website later today.

Front of Lodge Four Mile Bay (place where we
access the lake early in the year)
Four Mile Bay (place where we
access the lake early in the year)		 Graceton Beach
A south shore view of Lake of the Woods

11/26/2012

Good Morning from Oak Island!
We dipped down to zero last night and the bay in front of the lodge closed up and we have a layer of ice as far as we can see. The weather forecast looks cool in the week ahead. We are looking forward to some good ice making weather! We usually start about a week later than the Sportsman’s Lodge location, so around the 15th is in our sights at this point. Stay tuned for more updates to come!

Latest Ice Conditions Lake of the Woods, MN 11-16-2011

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Latest Ice Conditions Lake of the Woods, MN 11-16-2011

Latest Ice Conditions
The bays are starting to freeze and we had some shore ice on the river this morning.

The forecast this week looks cold, lows in the single digits. We received a blanket of snow last night.  It is beginning to look like winter!  It won’t be long and ice fishing season will be here. At this point we are looking at Dec 10 to start our season. We just need 10 days of zero degrees and we will have 12 inches of ice to start fishing right outside of Pine Island.  First ice is usually one of the best times of year! Be sure to check out our new 5 bedroom, 4 baths Villa available starting early December on facebook!  Get your reservations in now 800-862-8602. For rates & packages click here.  

Christmas Shopping…we’ve have you covered!
Check us out online for all your favorite Sportsman’s attire, gift items and that item that always is the right color, price and size, a Sportsman’s Lodges gift certificate. Remember you can use our certificates at any of our three Sportsman’s Lodges locations.

New Years!
Ring in the New Year, Sporty’s style! We are always game for a party and this year will once again be a blast. Choose our Rainy River location or our Oak Island location for fun and relaxation.  Sportsman’s Rainy River, we will be having live entertainment, a special one night only menu, party favors, champagne and always a whole lot of fun.  How about ringing in the year island style?  Sportsman’s Oak Island will be featuring dinner specials, party favors, and champagne. Make your reservations today 800-862-8602, space is limited so don’t delay.

Frost Fest is this weekend!
Enjoy family fun at Frost Fest 2011! Saturday, Nov 19 in Baudette. Stay with us and take in the festivities. Huge Craft Fair, Turkey Bingo, Holiday Light & Fish House Parade, Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides, Magic Show, Fireworks & more! http://www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/pdfs/frostfest.pdf $39 pp per night lodging special.  Give us a call to book your stay and join in the fun! 800-862-8602 http://sportsmanslodges.com

NW Angle & Lake of the Woods Report

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12/13/2010

It won’t be long now!
The guides and staff are opening up camp this week.  We have 8+ inches of ice around the area and making more ice by the minute.  We plan to have food and drinks available by the weekend and a few fish houses. Give ChiChi a call to book some early season fishing. More information to come in a few days.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge 800-772-8411

www.oakislandlodge.com

Fishing, Ice & Trail Report Lake of the Woods

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For the Areas of Four Mile Bay and just outside of Pine Island on Lake of the Woods

12/13/2010

ICE!!!!
It’s here, it’s nice and think and the walleyes are just waiting to be hooked at Sportsman’s Lodges.
We currently have 12+ inches on the lake right now in the areas that we travel and it was -31 below this morning! We are making more ice every minute!

Walleyes!
The fishing started out fair last week, but over the weekend it really picked up and limits of fish was not uncommon.  The guides found the fish out deeper than in normal years at this time.  Chubby Darters, stop signs and gold jigs have been the hot tackle lately tipped with a minnow. Check out this beauty caught last week, Joe Cooper from Baudette, MN caught this 11 lbs, 31 inches! Wow! It was released, and is waiting for you!

A few tips from the guides, jigging helps, change up your tackle after awhile if you don’t get any bites and the morning and late afternoon bites are the best.  Vexilars are also a helpful thing to bring along or rent from the front desk.   Also keep in mind last winter we had quite a few fish caught not just at bottom, but also suspended 1, 2, 3, and even 6 feet off bottom.  The best technique to catch one of those is to leave your jig on the bottom, have a vexilar and watch it, when something comes up, reel up. The most popular seasons on Lake of the Woods is here!

Trail Report
The Lake of the Woods Drifters snowmobile club is planning on staking the trail from Wheeler’s Point to Oak Island this Saturday.  The land trails have 12-14 inches of snow but are just starting to be groomed. Hopefully by the weekend we can have our first nice grooming done. No word yet on when the Wheeler’s Point to Warroad trail will be marked. I am sure it will be soon. Stay tuned.