Lake of the Woods South Shore & Rainy River Fishing Report
6/4/2019
It’s Heating Up!
Fishing has been crazy this past week! As the air and water temperature warms up, the walleyes have started moving out to 26-28 feet water. Water temps are ranging from 56 to 62 degrees and the forecast looks great this week! Our guides have been successful in the rocks, mud, and sand using 3/8 oz. jigs. The walleyes have been biting on gold jigs tipped with a shiner. Many guests are catching fish that are 17” to 19” along with many walleyes 27” or bigger! Pro tip of the week – make sure you are setting your hook, practice makes perfect! Guided trips available, come have some fun this summer.
Celebrate Dad in June!
Lodging & Guided Charter Packages starting at only $233*per person, gift cards available too! Purchase yours online or call 800-862-8602.
*Plus tax and based on double occupancy
Lake of the Woods Oak Island & the Northwest Angle Fishing Report
Great Walleye Bite
Depths 18’-20’ in the mud jigging a jig and minnow has been hot. Gold and orange have been good jig colors. Captain Steve and his crew boated over 100 fish along with some nice slot fish this week. Lots of sun in the forecast. Water temp currently 57 degrees.
Nice Pike
Casting out flashy spoons and shad raps have been the hot ticket 6’-20’.Smallmouth Bass
Anglers are having the most success finding the bass casting using mallet spinners and shad raps deep 20’-30’.Muskie season opens June 15.
Cool Last Weekend but Warmer Weather is here!
Another cool weekend over the Memorial holiday but it was hot fishing! Fish are moving out into the deeper water (25-26 feet was great) as the water temp has warmed up to 53 degrees. Most anglers found success using frozen shiners with a variety of jig colors, including pink/gold, orange/gold and even blue/white/pink. A variety of walleye sizes were caught this past week again with many fish between 15” to 17” and 25” to 28”. Pro tip of the week – when you are in the mud, make sure you find the bottom and raise your jig up about a foot. The weather forecast looks fantastic for this week – perfect for a day on the lake!
Lake of the Woods Oak Island & the Northwest Angle Fishing Report
It was a cool weekend
It was a cool weekend but it looks like the forecast is finally looking warmer this week. The cool weather sure hasn’t kept the walleyes from biting. It has been an active bite and deeper than normal. 22′-26′ along rocky points and in the sand were good this week using a jig and a minnow. Water temp is 51 degrees. Anchored or a slow troll has been working the best. Lots of nice walleyes biting at the hooks. Pike and bass anglers have also had good luck. casting shad raps in shallow weed beds is the best approach.
Stay all week in a quiet cabin on Oak Island
Our three bedroom vacation homes nestled in a protected harbor with a dock ¼ mile away from the lodge is the perfect place to relax at this summer. Need gas, bait or want to go out for dinner? Just take a short 5-minute walk or boat ride to Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge. Week-long rental start at $1,995 (plus tax). Check it out.
5/21/19 Sportsman’s Lodge South End Fishing Report
What a Weekend!
The weather was a bit cool and breezy this past weekend but the anglers sure enjoyed the great fishing!
Guides found that the fish were active in a large depth range, from 18’ to 28’ of water, fishing in rocks, mud and sand with success. It proved to be no problem to catch a limit and the big walleyes were hungry too using a chartreuse/gold or pink/gold jig with a shiner or chub. The average water temp is 49 degrees in the river and 46 degrees up north by Garden Island right now. Moving your rod to get some nice jig action is the key to success. Pro tip from one of our guests – make sure you get your jig and minnow in the water before you catch a bird! (It does happen.)
Check out some of the pictures of the week!
Meyers Group enjoyed an incredible Sportsman’s Adventure!
What a trip! 5 Nights, 4 Days of Incredible Fishing and 2 Sportsman’s locations, made for an absolutely epic adventure! The 4 person group reeled in and released well over 400 walleyes including over 50 19.5”-29” walleyes with Captain Baihly Hontvet this past week all while enjoying beautiful Lake of the Woods scenery and wildlife. The weather and the walleye bite aligned making this an awesome adventure for this crew. Of course not every experience is quite as epic like this, some nice limits, throwbacks and a few 19”+ is a pretty common and great experience, fishing is fishing, but another reminder when you hit it just right, it can be absolutely amazing. Lake of the Wood’s, one awesome fishery.
Meyers Group enjoyed an incredible Sportsman’s Adventure!
Summer Kicks off this Weekend ~ $99 Special
We still have a few left openings available at our 3 locations this weekend. Lodging, guided fishing, dock rental, dining, entertainment awaits you. Grab our hot summer deal $99 per night Lodge Rooms for up to 2 adults/4 kids all summer long at Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River and lodging starting at only $59 per person per night at Oak Island. Give us a call and come have some fun. Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River 800-862-8602 Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge & Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge 800-772-8411 *Plus tax and based on double occupancy.
5/21/2019
Oak Island Fishing Report
Weather and fishing is heating up!
The water is warming up and the bite is getting more active by the day. A limit of walleyes and plenty of throw backs in a day has not been hard to come by. 18’-20’ along shorelines and points have been producing some good fishing using gold, pink or glow in the dark jig with a minnow. Current water temp is in the mid to upper 40’s. The Minnesota and Ontario side are now both open for walleye season. Pike, bass, crappie and perch season are also open and Muskie season opens mid-June. We have openings now through October for the summer season. Come have some fun!
Walleye Opener was a success! Saturday brought a nice high temperature of 67 degrees. While it was a little breezy, that did not stop the fish from biting! Patience was the key to the fish this weekend. Anglers did well in a range of depths between 15-23ft of water, favoring the deeper depths and mostly in the mud. There were many fish caught between 21” – 30” with a good amount of eating fish that were 14” – 19”. The walleyes loved gold/white and pink/gold rattle jigs tipped with fatheads, rainbows and shiners. Water temps still hanging around the mid 40’s.
Check out some of our pictures from this weekend and come have some fun!
Opening Week Success! Check out this double caught by Father and Son, Bill and Ryan Winter!
A jig and a minnow along shoreline and up to 22’ feet of water has been hot. Gold, red and pink have been hot colors. More bays are now open for pike and bass fishing and the Ontario side of the lake opens for walleye season on Saturday. Come wet a line, the walleyes are waiting! Ask about our May specials. Looking for a private cabin to getaway for a week or more in July or August? Check out our 3 bedrooms, 1 and a half bath, Cedar cabin at Eagle Ridge just a hop, skip and a jump from Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge. Only $1,995 per week. (plus tax)
Baudette, MN – The Sportsman’s Lodge Annual Sturgeon Tournament had a full field of 60 boats and 179 anglers that battled it out over two days on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 for over $10,000 in cash and prizes. The 13th annual catch and release tournament was headquartered at the beautiful Sportsman’s Lodge and the fishing area was focused on 1.2 mile area right in front of the lodge on the Rainy River
Day one, the participants were rewarded with a beautiful calm morning. As the day progressed the weather turned a little more challenging as the clouds and rain moved in. The anglers stuck it out and finished day one with plenty of smiles. Day two started out with more Lake of The Woods sunshine and as the day went on the wind picked up and mother nature made the conditions a little tougher on the anglers. In true fishing tournament action the anglers braved the conditions and finished the day strong.
Tournament coordinator Bryan “Beef” Sathre said “Over 75 sturgeon were caught and released with two of those fish being previously tagged by DNR fisheries.” Tournament participants paid a $90 entry fee per person which included an incredible prime rib dinner as part of the tournament fee. The top two sturgeon of each day were awarded large cash prizes to match their big catch, with third place each day receiving a custom built fishing rod built by Sportsman’s guide, Ralph Christofferson. In addition, many more prizes were awarded for the biggest Sucker, Eel
Pout, under 18 years old, and biggest sturgeon caught by a female.
In 2018 for the first time in the history of the tournament, the participants that were involved in
the Sturgeon Tournament raised over $2,500 for the Lake of the Woods Take a Kid Fishing Program (TAKF). This year the Sturgeon Tournament and the generous participants raised over $4,000 for the TAKF event. Along, with the money raised, Two lifetime fishing licenses were donated for the upcoming TAKF event for two lucky youth. “We are very deeply appreciative
of the support the participants put forth to raise this money for such a great local program,” Gregg Hennum, Owner of Sportsman’s Lodge said. Lake of the Woods TAKF board members Ralph Christofferson, Jaime LaValla, Reed McFarlane and Diana Hennum were on hand to accept the donation. “This is amazing,” he said.
One the highlights from this past weekend was created by an 11 year girl who was fishing in the tournament with her dad. Earlier in the banquet on Saturday night, some prize drawings were held and an adult angler won a cool little princess rod in a mystery prize game. He gave it to this young girl and made her night.. As the night was winding down and the banquet was almost over, she approached the podium. The little girl mentioned to the emcee, she wanted to donate the rod back and to have it auctioned off so the money could go to TAKF and help other kids to be able to fish. The announcement of what this young angler just did, it was received with all the anglers in the room applauding her decision. The $19.99 rod was auctioned off for over $400 and the Lake Of The Woods TAKF benefited from this unselfish decision.
Sportsman’s Lodge would like to thank the participants, tournament coordinator and emcee extraordinaire Bryan “Beef” Sathre from Fathead Guide Service, guides, staff, and the gracious sponsors, Northwood’s Bait and Tackle, Log Cabin Bait, CLAM, Mission Tackle, Jim Joy from Sysco Foods, S.S. Bait Co, Striker, NLFX, Reeds Sporting Goods, LaValley Industries, Evinrude, Otter Outdoors, Rapala, Lake of the Woods Brewery, 13 Fishing and Northland Fishing Tackle. “Without all the help we couldn’t have made this such a huge success,” Sathre said. “Thank you to everyone who attended, It was a blast and we can’t wait for next year.” Next year’s tournament is scheduled for May 1 & 2, 2020. At this time the tournament is already sold out for next year but anyone interested in joining is always encouraged to join the waiting list by contacting Sportsman’s Lodge at 800-862-8602 or online at www.sportsmanslodges.com. If you can’t make it to the tournament, there is plenty of opportunities to get into the sturgeon action. Be sure to check out Sportsman’s Lodge.
Results:
Day 1
First Place: 66 inch and 28 inch girth Gary Kullhem $2,345 Second Place: 63.5 inch and 24 inch girth Brian Stennes $1,005 cash Third Place: 60⅞ inch and 24 inch girth Mark Sage custom built Rod
Day 2
First Place: 60 ¾ inch and 22 ½ inch girth Jake Willborg $2,345 Second Place: 60 ½ inch and 27 inch girth Brian Stennes $1,005 cash Third Place: 60 ½ inch and 23 inch girth Jake Willborg custom built Rod
Walleye Opener is this Saturday!!!!
Who’s ready to get out and catch some walleyes??? I have been dreaming about the taste of fresh walleye this week. Yummmmm, looking forward to Saturday! It shaping up to look like it is going to be a great weekend for fishing! Lots of walleyes should still be in the river, bays and shallow shorelines of the lake due to the cool spring. Current water temperature is hovering in the mid 40’s and there still is some ice on the lake floating around although it is dissipating more and more by the day. A popular opener approach is going to be in 8’-18’ of water anchored, using a gold or brightly colored jig and chub or shiner minnow. The current in the river is moving pretty good right now so be sure to bring a few jig sizes up to 1 ounce.
Sturgeon and Pike are options too
After you get your limit of walleyes or just want to try something different. Sturgeon catch and release season continues through May 15 and pike season never closes. This is a perfect time of year to reel in monster sturgeon and pike. Try the incline of deep river or bay hole using a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook, 3-5 ounce no roll sinker and a gob of worms. Pike, fishing with dead bait in the bays has been hot. Lots of great fishing opportunities abound.
Spring Specials
Get in on some great specials! Up to 20% off summer lodging and charter packages and lodging as low as $43 per person per night now through May 23.
*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.
Oak Island
It’s Prime Time Walleye Time!
We still have some rooms available if you haven’t made plans yet. Lodging starting at only $49 per person per night including free docking. Give us a jingle! Minnesota Opener is this Saturday, May 11 and Ontario opens up Saturday, May 18.
Shoreline structure and points is going to be a great place to start using a jig and minnow this weekend. The walleyes should be hungry after spawning. Water temp is hovering around the mid 40’s right now. Several areas to fish between Oak and the Northwest Angle right now. Still ice floating around especially south of Oak Island but it is pretty mushy and continues to disappear more by the day.
Water temp continues to hover in the mid 40’s. Melting continues, more bays are open including Zippel Bay and the lake ice continues to deplete. It has been a cloudy week so I couldn’t grab a recent satellite photo to share but stay tuned to our Facebook page. We will post one as soon as we can. Sturgeon fishing continues to be good. We will be hosting our 13th Annual Sturgeon Tournament this weekend. For more information about the tournament click here and be sure to tune into our Facebook page all day Friday and Saturday for leaderboard updates.
What are they biting on?
Deep river bed holes and in bays where a little current is present using a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook, 4-5 ounce no roll sinker, 18” sturgeon rig tipped with a gob of crawlers and a shiner or two is a good go to sturgeon approach. Pike fishing has been good too in bays using dead baits, spinnerbait, spoon or crankbaits.
Spring Happenings -Main Lodge, Sportsman’s Rainy River is open. Our bar and kitchen will be closed briefly after breakfast, May 5 until 10:30am Friday, May 10 as we finish up our spring cleaning. Lodging will remain available during that time.
-Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge & Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge open May 10
-Sturgeon Season going on now through May 7 and catch and release May 8-15
-Pike season is open all year.
-Minnesota Walleye nearly a week away, Saturday, May 11
-Ontario Walleye Opener is Saturday, May 18
-Mother’s Day Brunch is May 12
-Spring Specials going on now. Lodging starting as low as $43* per person per night through May 22.
-Summer Kick off Memorial Weekend is just around the corner too, May 24-27. Kids stay free in lodge rooms with 2 adults and Oak Island has some great getaway options too!
*plus tax and based on double occupancy
Oak Island Fishing Report 5-1-2019
More melting continues. More bays and channels continue to open by the day. Our bay still has mostly ice but we think that is going to change over the next few days. Stay tuned for updates! Walleye openers are just around the corner. Give us a call to get in on the spring bite. We have some great spring deals starting at only $49 per person per night lodging including FREE docking 800-772-8411! Minnesota’s walleye opener is May 11 and Ontario’s opener is May 18.
*plus tax and based on double occupancy, 4 person minimum $49 and 2 person $59.
What a day! Tanner 47″, Kamin 69″ and Trevor 55″!!!
Brian “Bro” Brosdahl
66 inch Monster Sturgeon
Lots going on this Spring in our Neck of the Woods -Main Lodge, Sportsman’s Rainy River is open throughout the spring for lodging, guided fishing, indoor pool, food and drinks. -Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge & Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge open May 10 -Sturgeon Season going on now through May 7 and catch and release May 8-15 -Pike fishing heating up – More bays are opening up by the day -Minnesota Walleye Opener is 2 weeks from Saturday, May 10 -Ontario Walleye Opener is May 18 -13th Annual Sportsman’s Sturgeon Tournament is next weekend, May 3 & 4 -Mother’s Day Brunch is May 12 -Spring Specials going on now. Lodging starting as low as $43* per person per night through May 22. -Summer Kick off Memorial Weekend is only a month away May 24-27. Kids stay free in lodge rooms with 2 adults. The Bite I think we finally have spring! Woohoo! Water temp is 45 degrees today. Melting continues. The river, 4 mile bay, several small bays and a just outside of Pine Island on the lake side is open. More iced over areas continue to open up more and more by the day.
Stay tuned to our Facebook page for a new satellite picture of the melting progress coming soon. The sturgeon bite has been good, lot of 45”+ being caught. Deep river bed holes and in bays where a little current is presents using a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook, 4-5 ounce no roll sinker, 18” sturgeon rig tipped with a gob of crawlers and a shiner or two. We are gearing up for our sturgeon tournament May 3 & 4. Pike anglers are starting to have more open water opportunities. Four Mile Bay and several small bays are open. Zippel Bay should soon be open too. Dead baits, spinnerbait, spoon or crankbait are all working well.
Catch a big fish? We love to see and share your fish and vacation photos! Tag us, Text us 218-395-0042 or email [email protected] *plus tax and based on double occupancy
Oak Island Fishing Report 4-25-2019 Melting Continues We hope to have an open water pic for you next week. Spring is in the air and we are gearing up for walleye opener! Give us a call to get in on the spring bite. Minnesota’s walleye opener is May 10 and Ontario’s opener is May 18. We have some great spring specials going on. Give ChiChi a call 800-772-8411.
Get out the sturgeon & pike rods
It’s that time of year. While the walleye season closes for a few weeks, it’s time to get into those river bed holes and bays and get on the hunt for the sturgeon and pike. More tributaries and bays have been opening up this week. The lake has started to open up just outside of Pine Island and the river is open all the way to the lake. The river is pretty dirty right now due to the tributaries letting loose but the sturgeon are active. Sturgeon are bottom feeders and rely more on smell vs sight to feed so the water clarity doesn’t affect them as much as the walleye and saugers. What’s the best approach to reel in one of these prehistoric fish? Check out this video for some great tips and come join us this spring!
Mike Knoop reeled in a awesome 61 inch sturgeon while jigging for walleye last week. Nice catch Mike!
Pike Four Mile Bay is open now and several other bays shortly behind. The warm weather forecasted for the week ahead should really help open more areas up. Dead baits, spinnerbaits, spoons or crankbaits are all going to be good options to start with.
We love to see and share your fish and vacation photos.
Tag us, Text us 218-395-0042 or email [email protected]
Oak Island Fishing Report 4-18-2019
Ice Melt
We are starting to see some open water around points and areas with current. The bay in front of the lodge is still all ice but it won’t be long with the warm temps in the forecast. We are looking forward to the open water and spring fishing! If you haven’t made your spring, summer or fall reservations yet, give us a call 800-772-8411 and be sure to ask about our spring deals going on May 10 through May 25!
The tributaries started opening up last night. It will take a few days for it to run through the river and clear up water and debris. On a good note, Four Mile Bay is opening up quickly so we should have open water to the lake in a couple of days allowing for more areas of cleaner water to fish. The sturgeon bite usually isn’t affected by the darker water so that is always an option too.
