Category Archives: News

River Update 4-6-2022

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Vidas Landing

Open water is 3 miles west of Clementson and within a little over 3 miles of Baudette today. Boats are now being launched at Vidas, Frontier, and Birchdale landings. Next up is Timbermill, then Wheeler’s Point. The parking lot at Timbermill is plowed out.

15 more miles to go and we will have water at our docks. 😀 Mother Nature is throwing us some sleet and snow yesterday and today. Hope to see the sun by Friday. ☀️ Lodging is available and our restaurant and bar will be open this weekend. Book your trip www.sportsmanslodges.com 800-862-8602

Sportsman’s Lodge River Update 4-3-2022

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Took a drive east again today. Birchdale is open to all boats now. Here are some pics of Frontier Landing. Water is flowing past Frontier to the west about a mile or so. Still lots of ice at Frontier today but it is currently 40 degrees and 40’s are forecasted all week. Should see quite a bit of progress this week. After Frontier opens, Vidas Landing will be next followed by Timbermill in Baudette and Wheeler’s Point out by the lodge.

Lodging is available starting at $99* a night for 2 people. Give us a call to make your spring reservations at 800-862-8602. *plus tax

Sportsman’s Lodge River Update 4-1-2022

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Birchdale Landing is open!
**County came out and plowed the landing but an ice shelf still remains. It is deeper on the east side of the landing than west as of late afternoon. Could all be gone within a few hours or could take a little longer. Small boats are being pushed out.
Open water is 4 miles to the east of Frontier Landing this afternoon and lots of black ice within 2 miles. Won’t be long!
The parking lots are nice and plowed at Birchdale, Frontier, and Vidas Landings, ready to go.

CLICK HERE FOR A MAP OF THE PUBLIC LANDINGS

Sportsman’s Lodges Fishing & Ice Report 12-22-2021

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Walleye Lake of the Woods

Sportsman’s Lodges Fishing & Ice Report 12-22-2021

12/22/2021

Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River Fishing Report

Merry Christmas from the Sportsman’s Crew!
We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to seeing you soon.

We are now 11 days into our ice fishing season. The season is kicking off well. Day houses started on the 11th and sleepers last weekend. We currently have 11-18 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel and guests have been catching nice fish. On the ice, we just have an inch or so of snow. As for hot tackle, gold, glow red, glow green, and bigger baits to get the fish worked off the bottom such as Rippin’ Raps are working the best. Bait of choice is chubs or shiner minnows. The best approach for a successful day of fishing is to jig with one rod and dead stick with the other until you find what works best for you. Anglers have been sorting small walleyes and saugers for keepers with a few big guns in the mix as well as an occasional sturgeon and pike. The best depth has been 18’-23’. We now have rods/reels available to use in our rental houses. Contact the front desk to check them out.

Trail Update

The trail from the south shore to Oak Island was marked last Friday. The trail from the south shore to Warroad is being marked today and the trail from Warroad to the island was marked last week. We have a light base of snow with some drifting, areas of bare ice. Could use more snow. For more information on the trails check out the Drifter’s Snowmobile Club and Northwest Angle Edge Riders Club pages.

Going out on your own? 

All of our rentals include transportation to and from the fish house. If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are several ice roads in the area you can choose from that other resorts and outfitters maintain and offer for a fee to use. We encourage you to check with them on their ice conditions before venturing out and stay on the marked areas only. The lake never freezes equally and they have the most up-to-date information on conditions in their area. 

Join us for our New Year’s Eve Party

Dec 31 Dinner and drink specials, party favors, live entertainment by the classic rock band, Cold Shot, and a champagne toast at midnight. Give us a call to make your dinner reservations at 800-862-8602.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge

The houses are out and we are ready to open up for our winter season! The lodge opens at noon on the 26th.
We currently have 12 inches of ice, 3 inches of snow on the lake, and 5-6 inches on land in the areas we fish and travel. What to stock your tackle box with? Gold and glow-in-the-dark 3/8 oz jigs and small spoons are always popular early-season tipped with a chub or shiner minnow. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Transportation The Lake of the Woods Passenger Service will start making trips across the lake from Sportsman’s Lodge to the islands after Christmas and Lake Country Air is also taking reservations now for flights throughout the winter too. The ice road is plowed out a few miles fromYoung’s Bay now with plans to plow to the island soon. We should have another update on the ice road today. Check back on our website here for updates.

Driving to the Northwest Angle
Americans who are fully vaccinated and have a 72 hour negative covid test are welcome to come across the border now. Download and fill out the ArriveCAN app and fill out the information to cross. For more information click here.

Trail Update

The trail from the south shore to Oak Island was marked last Friday. The trail from the south shore to Warroad is being marked today and the trail from Warroad to the island was marked last week. We have a light base of snow with some drifting, areas of bare ice. Could use more snow. For more information on the trails check out the Drifter’s Snowmobile Club and Northwest Angle Edge Riders Club pages.

Join us for New Year’s Eve Dinner
We are planning food and drinks specials! Give us a call to make your reservation at 800-772-8411.

Aerial Footage of our Ice Check Lake of the Woods 12-10-2021

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✈️ Check out the aerial footage of Lake of the Woods from the Rainy River, Pine Island to Garden Island during Friday, December 10th’s ice check flight we captured. 🧊 Looking pretty good overall. Please remember if you are venturing out on your own, the ice does not freeze evenly and some areas are never safe. Go out through a resort or reputable outfitter and always stay on the marked trails. Stay safe!

Sportsman’s Lodges Ice Report 12/10/2021

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Our season starts tomorrow!

The ice has been coming along over the last few weeks and we are ready to kick off another season! We start our season in our day houses at our Rainy River location followed by sleepers next as soon as we get a few more inches of ice (usually a week or so) and our Oak Island locations just after Christmas.

Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River Location

We currently have 10 inches of ice and a few inches or less of snow, in the areas we fish and travel. There are lots of areas on the ice with no snow right now.  Be sure to pack some ice cleats or boots with a good tread if you are heading up this week.  We start our season using light jeeps and passenger trailers. Our bombardiers will come out once we have more ice and snow. 

Going out on your own? 

All of our rentals include transportation to and from the fish house. If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are several ice roads in the area you can choose from that other resorts and outfitters maintain and offer for a fee to use. We STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to check with them on their ice conditions before venturing out and stay on the marked areas only. The lake never freezes equally and they have the most up-to-date information on conditions in their area. 

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge & Eagle Ridge

Making ice!

We are finding 6-9 inches in the areas we have been traveling so far in the islands up north. We haven’t ventured south of the island yet. Gregg took a plane ride today to check things out and he reports the lake looks like it froze pretty good overall considering the wind we battled within the early days of ice making. Rough ice here and there.  He didn’t see much snow on the lake at all which will help in the ice-making process. He and a crew plan to start venturing out further next week to start the ice checks for the trail that runs from the south shore to Oak Island.  Stay tuned for more information.  If all goes well, the trail could be marked in a week for snowmobiles.

The Rainy River is opening up!

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We took a drive to Nelson Landing at Birchdale this afternoon. We have open water!

We could see open water for about 200 hundred yards to the west of the landing. It won’t be long before boats are splashing in. I am sure the county will be out to clear the landing soon. Check back for another update Wednesday.

Lodging is available now, guided trips will be starting soon and our restaurant, bar, and pool are open. Spring is in the air! www.sportsmanslodges.com