Sportsman’s Rainy River Lodge

It’s Opener Eve!!
Feels like Christmas! The day is finally here and the weather looks pretty favorable too. It’s time to finish up the boat work, string the last rods and enjoy the weekend.

Here on Lake of the Woods, the opener approach is pretty straightforward. Tie up a 3/8-1/2 oz gold or pink jig, tip it with a chub or shiner, and head to the shorelines and shallows for some jigging. 7’-16’ is a good start, anchoring or drift/slow troll. After you get done with walleye fishing try some trophy pike fishing. Lake of the Woods is known to have many trophy-sized pike in its waters. Dead bait in the bays is a great approach. You can also get in one more day of sturgeon fishing. Sturgeon catch and release is open through Saturday before taking a pause for six weeks.

Minnows are in the tank!

The bar and grill are open. Guided charter trips are full for Saturday and Sunday but we have openings next week and throughout the summer. Give us a call at 800-862-8602. Dock slips are all by reservation only. Please check with the front desk for availability. Good luck fishing and we look forward to seeing you!

The 15th Annual Sportsman’s Sturgeon Classic Tournament was held at the lodge this past weekend, May 7 & 8. 200 anglers and 60 boats enjoyed another year of beautiful spring weather and lake sturgeon fishing in a 1.2 mile stretch out in front of the lodge on the Rainy River.

Each day the participant with the longest measured sturgeon went home with $3,000 in cash, 2nd place $1,365 in cash, and the 3rd place winner a custom rod. Other priz-es were given away for the largest sturgeon caught by a youth, woman, largest eel-pout, largest sucker, and as well as many other door prizes.

Over a hundred sturgeon were caught and an unusual catch of a channel catfish over the two days. $12,000 plus in cash and prizes were awarded over the two-day catch and release event. Tournament participants also raised nearly $4,000 for the Lake of the Woods Take a Kid Fishing program. The monies will be used for lifetime fishing licenses that will be awarded at the event this year in June and for program expenses to continue to teach kids the lifelong sport of fishing. Many thanks to the gracious par-ticipants and sponsors who took part in this event. Your donation will make a big im-pact on many kids’ lives for a lifetime. Thank you!

This year the event was sponsored by Northwoods Bait & Tackle, RS Nets USA, Fat-head Guide Service and Promotions, Acme Tools of Bemidji, Lake of the Woods Brewing Company, Log Cabin Bait & Tackle, Striker, Sunnyhill Distributors, D & D Beverage, Northwest Beverage, LaValley Industries, Upper Lakes Foods, Sports-man’s Lodge, and Ralph Christofferson Custom Rods. Additional lifetime licenses and money towards lifetime licenses were given by Acme Tools of Bemidji/Aaron Schmitz, Rodger and Kim Haugtvedt in memory of their son Justin, an anonymous donor, Two Rivers Sportsman’s Club of Karlstad, Hibbing Chrysler and, by Spencer Christianson in memory of his Dad, Scott Christianson.

We want to thank all of the participants, staff, guides, tournament co-director, and em-cee Bryan “Beef” Sathre and sponsors who once again made this year another huge success. Thank you!.

Congratulations to the 2021 winners!

Day 1
First Place-Dan Sheedy 63 1/4 x 21 inches
Second Place-Aaron Schmitz 61 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches
Third Place-Curt Howe 61 1/4 x 27 1/4 inches

Day 2
First Place-Chuck Hauble 65 3/4 x 29 1/4 inches
Second Place-Ben Cumber 65 3/8 x 30 1/4 inches
Third Place-Patrick Dunn 62 1/2 x 24 1/2 inches
Powder Puff -Hanna Hastings 57 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches
Largest Sucker- Brandon Dunn 22 inches
Largest Eelpout -K. Johnson 17 inches

We are looking forward to the 16th Annual scheduled for May 6 & 7, 2022. The tournament is full for 2022 but, we are taking a waiting list. To be added to the waiting list, contact us at [email protected] or 800-862-8602.

Sturgeon fishing continues to be very popular on the Rainy River. The catch and re-lease season runs Oct 1- April 23 and May 8-15, the keep one season runs April 24-May 7 and July 1-Sept 30.  If you are interested in learning more about sturgeon fishing click here.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge

Welcome Back!
We are glad to have you back for another season. We open at 2pm today and open at 11:30 tomorrow through May 17. Food, drinks, bait, gas, lodging is available. We will open up for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks starting May 18 for the summer. Good luck fishing and we look forward to seeing you! Visit our website for menus, hours, and more www.mysportsmans.com

Shorelines and points are going to be hot spots for walleye. A 3/8 oz jig tipped with a minnow is all you need. An-chored or slow drift/troll. After walleye fishing try your luck at smallmouth and pike. Both species are very abun-dant in Lake of the Woods. We have some openings next week. Give us a call at 800-772-8411. Good luck fishing!

By Boat or Air
As of now, the Canadian Border is still closed but we have options for you to get here. Click here to learn more.