Check out some fishing pics from recent guests on our Facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/sportsmanslodges/
Don’t forget to make your New Year’s Eve dinner reservations.
To reserve call: Sportsman’s Lodge 800-862-8602 or Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge 800-772-8411
http://sportsmanslodges.com/new-years-eve
If you are looking for lodging and ice fishing. Sportman’s Oak Island Lodge has a few openings left December 30th, 31st and 1st!
Give us a call 800-772-8411.
Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge opens up Thursday, December 26!
The fish houses are ready! Tim and Josh fished for a few hours yesterday afternoon and kept some nice fish for supper and caught a northern too. Gold, red and orange are hot colored jigs right now. Right now we have 10-16 inches of ice in the areas we travel. Apps, pizzas, and cocktails will be available starting at 11 am Thursday and the full dinner menu starting at 5 pm. We will start serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily starting Friday. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Road from Young’s Bay to the Resort
The main ice road from Young’s Bay to the island is not quite ready yet so we will be using an alternative route for now. Guests, please give us a call ahead of time to be led out.
Trail from Four Mile Bay/Sportsman’s Lodge
The lake trails are marked with black stakes from Four Mile Bay near Sportsman’s Baudette location to Oak Island and Young’s Bay at the angle to the lodge. We don’t have much snow, 0”-6” right now, so if you head out, be sure to watch for bare spots and ice chunks. The Lake of the Woods passengers Service will be running from Sportsman’s Lodge to Oak Island starting December 26.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Sportsman’s Family to yours!
12/18/2019
Good start to the season!
Most people are catching their limits in a day, two. There seems to be an even divide between walleyes and saugers, with a mix of whitefish and eel pout. Few pike and sturgeon caught too! Check out these pictures!
Current ice depth is between 15-16 inches in the areas we fish and travel. We have minimal snow, 0-4” on the lake right now and not much more on land. We are making ice! Some of the best fishing has been in 18’-22’ in the mud lately dead sticking and jigging are both working, using charmers, Buck-Shots, gold or other bright colored jigs and minnows or shiners.
If you are headed out on your own.
Area roads are open. Here is a recent report from a few open roads near the lodge. Morris Point is only allowing ATV’s, snowmobiles and side by sides and announced earlier this week they are opening their road to small vehicles like jeeps and small pickups on Friday, December 20. Adrian’s out of Four Mile Bay is currently allowing small to mid-size vehicles out not pulling any houses. ATV’s, side by sides and snowmobiles can pull out houses up to 18’ long. Have fun and please remember to stay on the marked roads and trails, ice conditions vary on the lake.
Snowmobile Trails
We need more snow! Right now the lake trails have 0”-4” of snow and land trails not too much more. The lake trail from Four Mile Bay to Oak Island is now marked. 10”-14” of ice is reported on this trail right now. Watch for several bare ice spots as well as chunk ice sticking up. Grooming will begin as soon as we get more snow. The trail from Graceton Beach to Warroad is planned to be checked and marked if all goes well Friday, December 20. If you are out and about, please stay on the marked trail as ice conditions vary off of it. No travel is advised on the Rainy River. Ice is inconsistent and not safe yet. For more information about the trails check out the Lake of the Woods Drifters and Northwest Angle Edge Riders updates.
Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
12/18/2019
We are looking forward to opening December 26!
The guides have been checking ice and getting fish houses ready. We are looking forward to opening next week. Right now out at the resort and in the areas we will start fishing we have 10-12 inches of ice.
Road from Young’s Bay to the Resort
Between Young’s Bay to the resort, ice is building but due to the high water and current in those areas it is taking a little longer to build some good ice, some spots currently have 3-6” and others 9”+. The ice road is plowed out to Mergans Point right now. We will be monitoring these conditions and planning an alternative route if we need to for guests to get out to the island from Young’s Bay for the first week or so after opening. The snowmobile trail from Young’s Bay to the resort is staked with black stakes and open for snowmobile traffic now, 5”-14” of ice reported as of Monday. Snow is minimal 0”-6” so watch for bare spots and ice chunks.
Trail from Four Mile Bay/Sportsman’s Lodge
The lake trail from Sportsman’s Lodge on the south end of the lake to Oak Island is currently marked with black stakes and open for snowmobile travel. 10”-14” of ice is reported. We could use more snow, so if you head out, be sure to watch for bare spots and ice chunks. The Lake of the Woods passengers Service will be running from Sportsman’s Lodge to Oak Island starting December 26. For more information about the trails check out the Northwest Angle Edge Riders and Lake of the Woods Drifters updates.
First Ice Check of the Year
The ice is coming along and we happily dodged the snowstorm over the holiday weekend! The guides went out and did the first ice check of the year yesterday. We have made some progress! They found anywhere from 5-9 inches on Four Mile Bay and 1-6 inches on the lake in the areas we fish and travel. Gregg is heading up in a plane on Wednesday to check things out from the sky. At this point, we are looking at the middle of next week for a possible start date with our day houses but we will continue to monitor conditions.
Once we get going, sleepers will start a week or so after and our Oak Island location just after Christmas. If you have a reservation that needs to get rescheduled we will be reaching out to you within the next 24 hours or please give us a call anytime. We are looking forward to kicking off ice fishing season 2019-2020 soon! Stay tuned!
Bring on the cold! We have a thin layer of ice in many areas of the lake and bays right now and open water spots too.
The stage is set and we are just waiting on some colder temps. It shouldn’t take too long to start making some good ice once cold temps set in.
Right now we have our sights set on Dec 4-8 for an approximate season start date for our day houses at the main lodge near Baudette with Sleepers a week or so later and our Oak Island locations just after Christmas. At this time we do not advise any travel as the ice is still thin & varies greatly. As soon as we are comfortable with the ice, we will get our guides out there & be checking the ice closely. Stay tuned and get your reservations in! Weekends are booking up.
Ice Making Update from Sportsman’s Lodges
Gregg took a plane ride today to check out the lake and see how the ice was forming up today. We are certainly ahead of schedule this year but not sealed up yet. Cracks and holes still open at this point.
If the wind doesn’t kick up too much and temps stay cool, we should start to see some sizable ice build soon!
We will keep you posted. Stay tuned and stay safe!
