Author Archives: Sportsman's Lodges

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge – 2/28/2018

February 28, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Check out the pictures of the week!

Afternoons have been the most favorable lately for catching walleyes and saugers. The best bite has been in 26′-31′ right now using Buckshots, Glo Shot spoons, yellow and gold jigs tipped with a chub minnow. Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking has been the best approach. Got an underwater camera? Bring it along and have some fun.

Ice Conditions
We have 38+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.

Trail Report
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 road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.

Spring is just around the corner.
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.

Spring Break in the Islands!

February 22, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Check out the pictures of the week!

Who needs the tropics when you can come to Oak Island and enjoy peace and quiet and ice fishing? Need a break? Come see us! We have some openings March 12-18.

The best bite has been in 25’-31’ right now using Glo Shot spoons, small spoons and jigs in the colors of gold and pink tipped with a chub minnow. Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking has been the best approach. Vexilars are certainly helping too. Anglers are reeling in a mix of walleyes and saugers with an occasional northern pike or perch.

Ice Conditions
We have 36+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.

Trail Report
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 Fishing is Going Strong!

February 22, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Check out the pictures of the week!

The Bite
Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking in 17’-31’ using Buckshots, Glo Shots, green, gold and yellow jigs and orange and green glow spoons tipped with a chub minnow have been bringing in some fish. Few nice fish suspended 3’-12’ off bottom too. Mix of walleyes, saugers, northern pike, tullibee and jumbo perch coming up through the holes. We have had lots of weather fluctuations again this week. It looks like the forecast for the week ahead is going to stabilize. That should help the bite! We consistently see Vexilars or Fish Finders of your choice help catch rate. Rentals are available if you would like to try one, be sure to call ahead to reserve.

Walleye season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods. We plan to have our day houses out until March 31. You still have time!

Ice Conditions
We have 40+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time. 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. The entire lake never freezes equally. Stay safe and have fun!

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

21^st 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!

Loving that walleye

February 14, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Some of us have lovers and some don’t but I think we can all agree we all LOVE fishing! It’s always a great day to go fishing!!

Best bite continues to be deep 26’-30’ right now using glo shot spoons, gold, white and pink jigs or a plain hook tipped with a minnow. Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking has been the best approach. Vexilars are certainly helping too.

Ice Conditions
We have 36+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Looking good to bring us right through late March! We have openings after March 12^th.

Trail Report
Currently we have 12-24 inches of snow in the islands. 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

45 Days Left of Ice Fishing!

February 14, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

It has been a fun year so far! Lots of fishing time yet. Come see us!

Check out the bite this week!

Anglers have been catching mix of walleyes and saugers in 16’-30’ lately using bright orange, pink/glow jigs or small spoons, Northland Tackle’s glo shot spoons and a plain hook. A chub minnow is bait of choice. Some are having good luck with just minnow head, some with a full minnow and some with a combo of both. Mix of light jigging and dead sticking is working the best. Vexilars and Fish Finders of your choice help catch rate. Rentals are available if you would like to try one, be sure to call ahead to reserve. Lots of 10”-18” walleyes and saugers this week with a few big daddies mixed in.

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

Snuggle up with our sweetie in February at Sportsman’s!
Lodging & Fishing Packages starting at $215 per person and two nights of dining specials Feb 14 & 15.
Sportsman’s gift cards make great gifts! Click here

As always a great time by all.

February 9, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Many thanks. See you next year! David Prudhomme

Bill Greig 25.5 in. walleye

Jim Tiffany 34.5 in. northern

Good times had by the Amundson Group

February 7, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Good times had by the Amundson Group.
Thanks for coming guys!
www.oakislandlodge.com

If you have recently visited us, and have some pictures you would like to share, text them to 218-395-0042. We love to see your pictures! You may be featured in an upcoming fishing report!

Starting to Pick Up

February 7, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

The bite has started to pick up in the islands this week. Guests have been getting some nice fish with the good old jig stick, pink, glow or gold jig tipped with a minnow head or full minnow in 26’-29’. Vexilars are certainly helping too. Change it up! The best technique can vary day by day. Try some light vertical jigging, hard jigging and dead sticking and make sure your hooks are sharp! That favorite jig may have brought you previous luck, but it may also have dulled, so always a good thing to double check. The days are getting longer, come enjoy some winter fun with us!

Ice Conditions
We have 29”-34” of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Looking good to bring us right through late March! Come see us!

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

Making ice for March

February 7, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

Check out these pictures!

Making ice for March ice fishing
Cold temperatures have once again blown in this week. The good news is we are making more ice to allow ice fishing to run right through the end of March. Lake of the Woods has a unique season most other lakes in Minnesota do not have, an extended walleye season through April 14 and due to it’s location a much better chance at cold temps to keep good ice right until March 31. The DNR also allows anglers to have houses on the lake overnight through March 31. We have both weekends and midweek trips available in March. Make your spring break ice fishing plans today.

The bite this week has been a finicky this week. Some anglers doing better than others in varied shallow and deep depths 16’-30’. Warm temps coming in this weekend should help. Successful anglers have been using a light jigging technique using pink and glow jigs or a plain hook tipped with a minnow. Sometimes a minnow head has been successful too. Vexilars and Fish Finders of your choice help. Anglers have been seeing lots of fish on electronics. Mix of varied sized walleye and sauger mainly with a few big pike, sturgeon and a guest this past week even caught a crappie, not something we usually see in our area in the winter.

Ice Conditions
We have 32-36 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time.

You still have time! Ice Fishing trips available through March 31!
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we ice fish until March 31. Come see us! We have weekend openings in March and midweek openings in February and March.

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

Snuggle up with our sweetie this Valentine’s Day at Sportsman’s!
Lodging & Fishing Packages starting at $215 per person and two nights of dining specials Feb 14 & 15.
Sportsman’s gift cards make great gifts!
Click here

“We had another excellent trip up at Oak Island”

February 2, 2018 by Sportsman's Lodges

We had another excellent trip up at Oak Island on Jan. 25-28, 2018. Wack and all the guys took great care of us, getting on the fish and cleaning them for us. We sure appreciate their hard work. The meals at the Lodge were fabulous as always.

Each of us caught some nice note-worthy fish.