Catching Fish
Mix of walleye and sauger, mostly sauger this week. A few guests reeled in some real nice sturgeon up through the holes, 49″, 52” and 55″ and a few eelpout too. Glo green and red buckshots tipped with minnows are hot right now in 18′ – 26′ in the mud. Limits are being caught within 1-2 days of fishing.
Ice Conditions
We currently have 17”-20” of ice in the areas we fish and travel and little snow cover.
If you are headed out on your own.
Area roads are open. Here is a recent report from a few open roads near the lodge. Adrian’s out of Four Mile Bay is currently allowing 1/2 tons pulling up to 24′ houses and bigger pickups pulling up to 21′ houses. The road goes out about 3 1/2 miles past Pine Island. Morris Point is allowing up to 1/2 tons with no wheel houses yet but possibly very soon. Please remember to stay on the marked roads and trails, ice conditions vary on the lake.
Snowmobile Trails
Not much change in the trail conditions this week. We have 0-4” of snow on the trails. The lake trails are marked between Four Mile Bay to Oak Island and Graceton Beach to Warroad with black stakes. Sounds like we have a chance for a few more inches of snow coming in on Thursday. When you head out, watch for several bare ice spots as well as chunk ice sticking up. Grooming will begin as soon as we get more snow. No travel is advised on the Rainy River. Ice is inconsistent and not safe yet due to the current. For more information about the trails check out the Lake of the Woods Drifters and Northwest Angle Edge Riders updates.
Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
We open up Thursday, December 26!
The fish houses are ready! The fish are biting! Gold, red and orange are hot colored jigs right now. Right now we have 10-16 inches of ice in the areas we travel. Apps, pizzas, and cocktails will be available starting at 11 am today and the full dinner menu starting at 5 pm. We will start serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily starting Friday. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Road from Young’s Bay to the Resort
The main ice road from Young’s Bay to the island is not quite ready yet so we will be using an alternative route for now. Guests, please give us a call ahead of time to be led out.
Trail from Four Mile Bay/Sportsman’s Lodge
The lake trails are marked with black stakes from Four Mile Bay near Sportsman’s Baudette location to Oak Island and Young’s Bay at the angle to the lodge. We don’t have much snow, 0”-6” right now, so if you head out, be sure to watch for bare spots and ice chunks. The Lake of the Woods passengers Service will be running from Sportsman’s Lodge to Oak Island starting December 26.
Happy Holidays from the Sportsman’s Family to yours!
