Nice fish caught this week!
Check out some of the pictures of the week. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos to us.
If you have  photos you would like to share of your recent trip, Text 218-395-0042, Tag us on Facebook, or Click here to Email.  We always love to hear your fishing story.  You just might show up in our next fishing report!

What’s Hot
Anchored and jigging gold or any glow 3/8 or ½ oz. jig tipped with a shiner has been successful approach to bring in some nice walleyes.  In the river, break lines and holes have been the best areas.  Anchor on or adjacent to these areas. Outside of the gap anglers are finding nice results as well using the same method in 12’-26’.  Shallow bite producing better in morning and evenings. Water temperature dipped 3 more degrees this week, sitting at 48. We got some wind and rain this week. Forecast says the wind is going to settle down in a few days and more sun expected next week although not much past upper 40’s.  This should only help the river bite!  Lodging, Bar, Food, dock slips, guided trips available through late October. Come have some fun!

It’s Party Time!
Throw your costume in your tackle box and join us Saturday, Oct 27 for a great time!  $200 cash awarded for best costume, FREE Witch’s Brew, $2 Beer Specials and more great food and drink specials, entertainment and a whole lot of fun. Lodging starting at only $48* per person per night. Click here to learn more and book your lodging today.
*plus tax and based on double occupancy

Ice fishing season is just around the corner do you have your reservations in?

Check out what a great weekend the Ratajczyk’s had with Captain Brent!

The Ratajczyk’s write: “Wanted to say what a great guide Brent was this past weekend.  Three of us got slot fish and had a memorable time at Sportsman with Brent as our guide.  Wanted to send you the pics as we are all so excited to come back next fall again!”

Pink and pink/gold were hot colors for them!

The Bite is on!

Anglers are having some great luck anchored, jigging with shiners and chubs in varied depths between 12’-28’ in the main basin of Lake of the Woods, bays and the Rainy River. Lots of nice walleyes and saugers are being boated.  Gold, pink and white are all notable colors working well. Some anglers having good luck trolling with plugs too.  The shiners are moving and the water temperature continues to dip. We are down to 51 degrees right now.

For more information about the water temperature and statistics, click here for USGS data.  The guides are ready to take you out! Guided trips available through late October.

Hook into a Monster
Catch and release sturgeon fishing started October 1 and runs through April 23.

Good Fishing & Party Time
Sportsman’s Annual Halloween Party is Saturday, Oct 27

Rustle up a costume; come for some good fishing and a fun party! $200 cash awarded for best costume, FREE Witch’s Brew, $2 Beer Specials and more great food and drink specials, entertainment and a whole lot of fun. Lodging starting at only $48* per person per night. Click here to learn more and book your lodging today.
*plus tax and based on double occupancy

Water temperature is down 14 degrees this week
What a difference a week makes. The water temperature plummeted from 68 degrees to a cool 54 this morning.

The walleyes are really moving now.  Anglers are seeing more and more walleyes move in shallower and in bays and the river daily.  Anchored and jigging with a gold, glow in the dark or orange jig tipped with a shiner in 25’-29’ feet of water has been working well along the shorelines to find a mess of walleyes.  Trolling with crank baits in the main basin also continues to bring in some nice fish too. Sturgeon fishing is hot. Check out this 68 incher caught by Andy!

Sturgeon – What a monster! Nice catch Andy 68 inch sturgeon guided by Captain Dan.

This is the last weekend for the “keep one” sturgeon season until April. Catch and release season starts Oct 1 and runs through April 23.   A 4/0 hook, 2 ounce no roll sinker and a gob of minnows works well in deep holes. These monsters are a blast to catch. Come hook into a lunker.

Walleye – Great Day!

Time to start thinking winter reservations!
For the best dates and accommodations, book your winter trip now! 800-862-8602 or online here.

The shiners are running now!!
Check out our Facebook page for the crazy bubbling shiners video. They are active and the jig bite is picking up!  It’s that time of year. The weather is cooling off; it’s time for fall fishing.  The water temperature jumped up the past week but now has dropped 4 degrees again in just the past 2 days, currently sitting at 66. Based on the weather forecast for the week I would expect this to dramatically fall this week.

Its Transition Time
Anglers are reeling in some nice walleyes using a variety of methods. If you are not getting into some good fishing, change it up. Drifting with spinners and worms or minnow as well as trolling with crankbaits in 28’-32’ in the basin and jigging with a minnow in 17’-26’ outside of bays have all been producing some nice walleyes. Gold and pink have been hot jig and spinner colors. Silver, white and red have been popular crankbaits. Some huge sturgeon are being reeled in in the deep holes of the bays and river bottom using a 4/0 hook, few ounce no roll sinker, gob of crawlers and topped with a shiner.

More fishing……Pike & Smallmouth Bass- Give a jerk baits a try when fishing for pike in the fall in cabbage weeds adjacent to rock structure.  Pike often hang out on the fringe of cabbage weeds.  Best approach has been starting at 10’-12’ and work to deeper water off reefs and points using a spinnerbait or a jig and a minnow.

Great Fall Fishing Deals
Lodging and Charter Fishing packages up to 20% off now through October 31 & Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night through Nov 30!
Click here now to start planning your trip.
*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Ice Fishing on your mind?
A little over 2 months and we will be drilling holes and putting fish houses out.
Do you have your reservations in yet?

Leaves are Changing and Walleyes are Biting
It has been a great bite this week. If you have never experienced fall fishing on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River it is a must do! There is lot of action, great scenery and endless fishing spots to explore.  The bite this week has been the best in the main basin of Big Traverse in 30’-34’ using crankbaits and drifting with spinners and a crawler.  Current water temp is 66 degrees.  The shiners are showing up in the river though so you can definitely tell we are at the start of transitioning into fall patterns. It won’t be long and the walleyes will start to move in shallower making shorelines, bays and the river a hot bed for a good jig and a minnow bite.

Great Fall Fishing Deals
Lodging and Charter Fishing packages up to 20% off now through October 31 & Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night through Nov 30! Click here now to start planning your trip.
*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Sturgeon, Pike, Smallmouth Bass
Fall is a great time to reel in not only walleyes but multi-species as well. The sturgeon fishing in the river is incredible. We see so many 50”+ get caught it is crazy.  To gear up for sturgeon a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, 1-3 oz. no roll sinker and a gob of minnows is a good approach. Anchored in or near a hole in the river bed or channel is a good spot to find them.  To lure in the bass and pike, throwing out top water baits in weedy bays with some rock structure is good approach.  There are hundreds of spots along the Rainy River and bays along the south shore to fish these fish.  Not sure how to do it or don’t have the equipment? No problem! We have guided trips available via our 18’and 20’ boats, great for groups up to 4 plus the guide. For more information about guided trips click here.

Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Championship Wrap Up
Thank you Cabela’s, anglers, sponsors and guests for visiting us on Lake of the Wood’s for the 2018 Championship Tournament this week. What a blast! We certainly enjoyed having you and look forward to having you visit again soon.

Congratulations Max Wilson 2018 Pro Champion, Scott Matthson 2018 2018 Co Champion, Brett King 2018 Pro Angler of the Year and Terry Hora 2018 Co Angler of the Year! Lots of great fishing went on during this 3 day tournament. The winning 3 day bag total was 45.83lbs. Over $280,000 was given away in cash and prizes. To learn more about the tournament and results click here.

Catching some nice Walleyes

We have been holding on to the 70’s during the day but the evenings are definitely starting to feel like fall! 35 degrees this morning!

Looks like a chance of rain later in the week, Sunday and Monday but overall it continues to be dry like most of our summer has been.  Water temperature has dropped a couple degrees from 69 to 67. Deep water trolling with shad raps continues to be good in 30’-34’ along with a good spinner bite drifting using hammered gold tipped with a crawler. We are starting to see bait move into the Lighthouse gap and Rainy River. Walleyes will be on the move soon.  The jig and minnow technique should start ramping up later in the month.
Cabela’s National Walleye Tour Day 1 on Lake of the Woods

We are proud hosts of the 2018 Cabela’s’ National Walleye Tournament Championship this week. Click here for the latest information and results. Stay tuned to Facebook for another live weigh in Sept 6 and 7. Good luck anglers!

Fall is here! Guided Trips Available

2 nights and 1 day charter packages starting at only $207* per person. Give us a call 800-862-8602 or email for rates and availability. [email protected].
*plus tax and based on double occupancy

Walleye anglers are having lots of fun. A good bite in 26’-34’ of water in the mud and reefs drifting with spinners tipped with a crawler or trolling with shad raps has been the best method to reeling in the walleyes this week.  Silver, gold, white, red and orange have been popular colors of tackle. It looks like it is going to be a nice weekend to be out on the lake.

Fall is in the air, the water temp has dropped to 69 degrees this week.

Sturgeon
The sturgeons are biting.  Holes in the river bottom anchored using a 5/0 size hook, 1-2 ounce no roll sinker and a gob of minnows has been working well.   Keep one season runs until Sept 30 and Oct 1-April 23 is catch and release season.  Guided trips available!

We welcome the Cabela’s NWT Walleye Tournament Championship Sept 5-7 to Lake of the Woods.
Sportsman’s Lodge is proud to be the tournament headquarters for this year’s event. The tournament will feature some of the country’s best walleye anglers in a pro-am style format and guarantees over 100% payback.  For more information about this tournament click here.

Thank you Veteran’s!
We sure had fun this week during the 2018 Pay it Forward event. Thank you veterans for visiting Lake of the Woods and more importantly, thank you for your service. We were honored to have you visit. The Pay it Forward event is a 3 night/2 day fishing extravaganza bringing in 60 injured and disabled veterans to honor, recognize and celebrate leading to healing and happiness. The event was put on by Walleye Master Charity Events, Lake of the Wood’s Tourism Bureau and many volunteers and businesses. For more information about the event, click here.

Fall at Sportsman’s starts Sept 4
Up to 20% off summer lodging and charter fishing packages. Visit us this fall!

The evening and morning temperatures have started to dip into the 50’s and daytime highs in the 70’s. Water temperature is currently 72, down from the upper 70’s earlier this week. Anglers caught some nice fish this week. The best bite this week has been in the deep mud 32’-34’ and in Little Traverse 14’-18’. Drifting with spinners tipped with a shiner minnow or crawler and trolling with crankbaits have been the most successful techniques. Gold, white and pink have been hot colors. Areas around Garden Island and Long Point have been bringing in some nice walleyes too. Check out the pictures of the week! Late summer trips available, contact us to get in on summer’s last blast.

Fall is just around the corner!
Get in on the great fall rates. Lodging starting at just $43 per person per night Sept 4-Nov 30, 2018 and up to 20% off summer lodging and charter fishing packages Sept 4-Oct 31, 2018. Click here to contact us today or call 800-862-8602.

Check out the pictures of the week!  Fall is just around the corner.

Sportsman’s Lodge

8/15/2018

Chasing down the Walleyes
The bite has been good this week. It was a warm week with highs in the 80’s and 90’s. Water temperature is currently 75 degrees. The weather for the week ahead looks great. Highs in the 70’s and 80, light winds and cooling down in the evening.

Anglers have been chasing down the schools of fish in 27’-32’. Drifting using spinners tipped with a minnow or crawler as well as trolling with crank baits have been the most successful techniques. Gold and orange spinners have been good colors and white and bright colors for shad raps. The mud flats have been hot for finding a mix of good eaters and trophy walleyes.  Stay on the move and get out and have some fun! Guides available!

Check out the pictures of the week!  Fall is just around the corner.

Check out our Labor Day Special