Author Archives: Sportsman's Lodges

It’s Spring Fishing Time!

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4/5
River Update
We snapped some pics of what the river looked like yesterday afternoon around the Birchdale and Frontier area.

Fishing has been decent despite the cool temps. Current temperature is 33 degrees, clarity is about 1-2 feet and current is slow. Some anglers doing better than others. Some having luck vertical jigging and others dragging the bottom using 3/8 oz jigs tipped with a shiner.

 

Ice Fishing
There is still quite a bit of good lake ice right now. We don’t have any houses out but if you are interested in venturing out on your own, Adrian’s and Morris Point roads are still open.

 

Adrian is allowing vehicles 3 miles past Pine Island, and Morris Point is allowing 4 wheelers, side by sides, and snowmobiles 5 miles out.

 

For more information about their roads call Adrian’s at 218-634-1985 and Morris Point at 218-634-2570.

 

Seasons
Walleye open through April 14, reopening May 12
Northern Pike open year round
Sturgeon catch and release open through April 23
Keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and July 1 – Sept 30
Catch & release May 8-15 & Oct 1 – April 23

 

Join us this spring!

Openings available this weekend and throughout the spring. Lodging starting at $43* per person per night and guided trips available. Click here to learn more www.sportsmanslodges.com/spring

*Plus tax. Minimum rates may apply.

Few more days of ice fishing

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Few more days of ice fishing
We have 40-50+ inches of ice on the lake in the areas we fish and travel right now.  Ice fishing trips available through Saturday.  Give us a call if you are interested in getting one last blast in! If you are planning on venturing out on your own, some of the public ice roads are getting pretty beat up so be sure to call ahead for current conditions. Adrian’s, Morris Point and Zippel are some of the ice roads near us.

Check out these pictures!

The Bite
Not too many changes from last week. Mix of jigging and dead sticking in variety of depths between 16’-31’ using gold and pink jigs,  Glo Shots, red hooks, Buckshots tipped with a minnow has been working the best for walleyes and saugers. Big pike are coming up the holes in shallow waters on the lake and bays using live suckers.  Log Cabin Bait just a mile away from us has suckers for sale.

Ice Conditions
We have  40-50+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run off of our private access.   If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check current conditions/what they are allowing out with the road maintainer before venturing out.

Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods.
When walleye season closes for a few weeks, pike and sturgeon fishing heats up in the river and bays. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods is home to an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike.

River Report
We have plenty of ice on the lake to keep us fishing safely for the next week and there will probably be quite a bit of ice on the lake for a while after March 31 this year.  Despite the cool temps there are signs of spring popping up.  The Rainy River is starting to open up to tour east.  Currently the river is open at Birchdale 36 miles east of us and the Birchdale landing opened yesterday for boats.  Frontier landing will be the next landing to open. I would expect that to open within the next week at this rate, then Vidas Landing near Clementson (6 miles east of Baudette (18 miles east of us)) Timbermill in Baudette and then Wheeler’s Point shortly after. Click here for more information about spring river fishing and stay tuned for updates.

Spring Specials
Lodging starting at $43 per person per night and guided river trips available April 1-May 23! Come see us!

*plus tax and based on double occupancy

7 Days left!

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7 Days left!
The ice is good on the lake, 40-50+ inches in the areas we fish and travel right now.  We have just lost snow up to this point and evening temps remain below freezing.  Guests have been catching some nice fish. We have some openings available this week. Come have some fun!

Check out the pictures of the week!

The Bite

Mix of jigging and dead sticking in variety of depths between 17’-31’ using Hyperglides, gold jigs, Glo Shots, red hooks, glow green  and glow red Buckshots have been catching some walleyes and saugers this week. A lunker 15lb eelpout was caught on a buck tail. Big pike are coming up the holes in shallow waters on the lake and bays using live suckers.   Electronics help catch rates! Bring them a long or call ahead to rent.

Ice Conditions
We lost some snow this week, but not changes in the ice conditions. We have 40-50+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run off of our private access.   If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check current conditions with the road maintainer before venturing out, conditions vary.

Trail Report
Zero to a foot of hard packed snow is on the ice right now, more the farther north you go and varied amounts on the land trails.

For more information check out these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods.
Once we end our ice fishing season we will be getting ready to hop in boats on the river for a few weeks of walleye fishing. When walleye season closes, pike and sturgeon fishing heats up in the river and bays. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods is home to an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike.

River Report
We have plenty of ice on the lake to keep us fishing safely for the next week and there will probably be quite a bit of ice on the lake for a while after March 31 this year.  Despite the cool temps there are signs of spring popping up.  The Rainy River is starting to open up to tour east.  Currently the river is open to nearly Birchdale, 38 miles from the lodge and 26 miles east of Baudette.  I would suspect in a few days the first boats will start sliding over the ice chunks into the water. After Birchdale, it will only be a matter of days before the rest of the landings start to open up.   There is a public landing at Birchdale, two between Birchdale and Baudette, a couple in Baudette and one at Wheeler’s Point.  Click here for more information about spring river fishing and stay tuned for updates. We will start checking landings on a regular basis next week and post updates on our website and Facebook pages. Stay tuned!

21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is tomorrow night!
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!

Reel in a deal 25% off all Lodging March 25-31!
Give us a call 800-862-8602 or click here to book.

Last week in the Islands!

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Check out the pictures of the week!

Last week in the Islands
This weekend will be our last weekend at Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge for this ice fishing season. Our sister property, Sportsman’s Lodge will be have ice fishing available for a few more weeks. Thanks everyone who visited us this season. We always enjoy seeing old friends and making new ones.  Soft water fishing is just around the corner, we hope to see everyone again soon.

The Bite
This week depths in 21’-27’ around structure using plain hooks, gold jigs, Glo Shots and small spoons tipped with a minnow has been the best approach for catching walleyes and saugers.  Guests have also been catching an occasional perch, tullibee, perch, pike and eelpout. The most aggressive bite has been between 8am -10am and 2pm-4pm.  Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking. Electronics help!

Ice Conditions
We have 40+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.

Trail Report
For more information about the trails click on these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The ice road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.

Time to book your spring and summer trip.
Come visit the islands this spring and get into some hot soft water action.
Spring lodging specials available May 11-25! Contact us today.

Fishing Away!

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Check out the pictures of the week!

The Bite

Single red hooks,  gold jigs, pink/blue Clam rattle spoon and red Glo Shots tipped with a minnow or two some guests said worked well for them mainly dead sticking was the best approach this week.  Although, I wouldn’t count out jigging.  It is always a good idea to do a mix of jigging and dead sticking and see what works for you.  Lots of saugers,  nice 15”+ walleyes, few eelpout, perch and more tullibees and pike this week than we have been seeing in previous weeks.  Best depth has been 17’-30’. The guides have been running and gunning chasing after active schools.  Electronics help!  This is the last weekend for our sleepers but we will continue to have day houses out for a few more weeks, give us a call 800-862-8602.

Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods. Once we end our ice fishing season we will be getting ready to hop in boats on the river. During the time walleye season is closed, there is an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike moving around in the river and bays. Fun time of year!

Ice Conditions
We lost some snow this week, but not changes in the ice conditions. We have 40-50 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run off of our private access.  If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check current conditions with the road maintainer before venturing out, conditions vary.

Trail Report
For more information check out these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is March 24
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!

25% off all Lodging March 25-31
Give us a call 800-862-8602 or click here to book.

Spring River Fishing
It’s just around the corner. Lodging specials and guided trips available.
Click here to learn more.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge – Better bite this week

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Check out the pictures of the week!

Better bite this week

Depths in 22’-28’ around structure using gold and pink jigs, Glo Shot spoons, Buckshots, Charmers and flashy small spoons tipped with a minnow has been working to catch the attention of the hungry walleyes and saugers this week.  Some guests have reeled in a limit by noon. Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking. Lots of good ice on the lake and according to the forecast we will have plenty for a while. We will be open through March 18 here and Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River will have ice fishing trips available through March 31. So if you are looking to make one more trip, give us a call! March is a fun time to be out!

Ice Conditions
We have 40+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.

Trail Report
We have 18-24 inches of snow in the area right now.  Grooming continues. For more information about the trails click on these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The ice road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.  The gravel road to the Northwest Angle has been a little sloppy. Use caution.

Time to book your spring and summer trip.
It is never too early to start planning your spring trip!  Come visit the islands this spring and get into some hot soft water action. Spring lodging specials available May 11-25! Contact us today.

Lots of ice, ice fishing trips available through March!

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Check out the pictures of the week!

The Bite

Sporadic fishing this week. Some doing better than others. Mix of sizes. Walleyes, saugers, few perch and pike coming up the holes.  Best bite has been using electronics and mix of jigging and dead sticking using pink glow, green/glow and gold jigs and small spoons tipped with a chub minnow in 19’-26’ of water. Hugging bottom or reeling up just a few inches and jigging have been a successful approach.   As we move closer to spring, the warming weather should only heat up the bite!

Walleye season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we have ice fishing trips available until March 31. Come see us! Lodging and fishing packages starting at only $215 per person.

*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Ice Conditions
No changes in the ice conditions, lots of ice. We have 40-50 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel on the groomed trails at this time. Forecast says the freezing will continue.  If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check with local resorts before going out.

Trail Report
Trails are groomed and staked. For more information check out these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is March 24
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!

25% off all Lodging March 25-31
Give us a call 800-862-8602 or click here to book.

Days are getting longer! Bring on March fishing!

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Check out the pictures of the week!

March sunshine usually means more fishing action and with 40-50 inches of ice, we should have a solid month left of ice fishing! Anglers are finding walleyes and saugers in 18′-32′ using Glo Shots, green and yellow Buckshots, bubble gum spoons, gold and orange jigs and pink hooks tipped with a chub minnow. Some anglers having success with a minnow head, some with a full minnow and some prefer 2! Have some fun, try some new tactics. Despite the stained waters of Lake of the Woods, many guests have had good luck using underwater cameras this year. If you have one, bring it along! Vexilars/Fish Finders are popular amongst Lake of the Wood’s anglers too and we do usually see a higher catch rate with those anglers who use them. Vexilar rentals are available at the lodge but be sure to call ahead, they go fast.

Mix of dead sticking and vertical jigging is the best approach. When jigging, usually reeling up a 3-4 inches and jigging is a good approach. If that isn’t working for you, try hug bottom and jig. You never know what might get you hooked on dinner!

Walleye season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we have ice fishing trips available until March 31. Come see us! Lodging and fishing packages starting at only $215 per person.

*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Ice Conditions
We have 40-50 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time. Yes! You read that right, 4+ feet. You should see the augers the guides have been using! We run a groomed trail. There are a number of plowed roads in the area, if you decide to venture out on your own, as always be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check with local resorts before going out.  Remember, the entire lake never freezes equally.

Trail Report
Trails are groomed and staked. For more information check out these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is March 24
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!