The river is open in front of the lodge and all public boat landings on the river are open.Over 40 miles of fishable water is now open from Wheeler’s Point to Birchdale and beyond. Four Mile Bay is still pretty locked up today but it won’t be long before it starts breaking up.
Fishing has been great! Anglers have been reeling in nice walleyes and sturgeon this week along with a few suckers and saugers too. Best depths for walleyes have been 16′-22′ holding tight to rocks. Trolling slowly into current jigging a 1/2 oz. gold, pink or bright jig tipped with a live fathead or shiner. Some are doing well trolling with crankbaits too.For sturgeon, a heavy rod and tackle that can withstand a fish of 100lbs, #4 or #5 circle hook, no roll sinker and a gob of worms anchored in or near a hole in the river are producing.
More bays should start opening up this week. Water clarity remains good and water temp is 37 degrees.
Lots of melting going on but still mostly ice in the islands right now. We expect to see more water this week. It is a good time to make plans for summer. We have some great spring deals May 10-25. Check us out and give us a call 800-772-8411.
The river is now open to Baudette! Birchdale, Frontier and Vidas Landings are all open and it is looking like Timbermill on the east edge of Baudette is not far behind.
Vidas Landing
Vidas Landing
Walleye and sturgeon fishing has been good! Walleye season runs through April 14, re-opening May 11. Pike season never closes and sturgeon catch and release runs through April 23, keep one season April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15 and re-opens in July.
Bro reeled in a beauty!
4-3-2019 3/8 oz. Thumper Jigs & Whistler UV Watermelon (color)
Check out his video with some great tips: https://youtu.be/VnIuA-1tzuI
The Rainy River is now open 7 miles east of Baudette and open spots within 5. This is 19 miles from the lodge. Birchdale landing (32 miles east of Baudette) and Frontier landing (17 miles east of Baudette) are open. Vidas landing (8 miles east of Baudette) has water flowing by but still some shore ice left on the landing. Next landing to open will be Timbermill Park just on the east edge of Baudette.
Frontier Landing
Frontier Landing
Frontier Landing
Vidas Landing
Hopefully, with the warmer temps coming in in a few days we will have 4 landings open by Saturday and open water at the lodge within a week.
Several groups did very good fishing over the weekend. Lots of good action of all size walleyes and some nice sturgeon too. Water clarity is about a foot.
Guided Trips Available
The guides are ready to take you out! Check out Baihly’s new boat.
He is ready to rock. Baihly will be taking trips from the south shore to the islands all spring, summer, and fall in his new Skeeter and the charter boat. For info on spring walleye, sturgeon and pike and walleye charter trips click here. For island fishing, muskie, pike, walleye, bass and crappie click here.
Birchdale Landing is open for boats and as of late yesterday afternoon when we checked, the Rainy River was open within 1.5 miles from Frontier Landing. I would guess Frontier landing will open today or tomorrow. Birchdale is located 32 miles east of Baudette/44 miles east of the lodge and Frontier landing is located 17 miles east of Baudette/29 miles east of the lodge. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more updates over the weekend!
Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night through May 22 and guided trips available too. The Bar and Dockside Dining Room are open too. 1/2 Price select apps and $1 off domestic beer and rails daily 3pm-6pm. Click here for hours (*plus tax and based on double occupancy)
Mardi Gras Party this weekend!
Costume contest, win $100 CASH, free hurricanes 8pm-9pm, live band, great drink specials and lots of fun!
The river has opened up a couple more miles the past couple of days despite the cool temps. It is now open within 1/4 mile of Birchdale /Nelson Park Landing when we checked yesterday afternoon. At Birchdale there are a few open water spots but for the most part, pretty locked up still at this point. Today is supposed to be high in the upper 40’s and possibly a few rain showers which will certainly help the thaw. Stay tuned for another update Thursday afternoon!
We have made great progress! The river is opening quick! The river has an open water channel now within a couple miles from Birchdale Landing. It has opened up 10-11 miles since Thursday. ️
Another day of warm temps and a few more after to get the shore ice pushed away should be all we need until this landing opens is our best guess at this point. We are also seeing lots of bare ice spots between Birchdale and Frontier so this should break up fairly quickly this week too. We will be out checking again Tuesday afternoon. Stay tuned for updates! It’s almost time! ️
Birchdale Landing 3-24-2019
Franz Jevne Park 3 miles east of Birchdale Landing
Lodging Specials and Mardi Gras Party!
Give us a call to book your lodging and guided trips. Now through May 22, Lodging special starting at only $43* per person per night and our Annual Mardi Gras Party is this weekend! Saturday, March 30! Come have some fun! www.sportsmanslodges.com/spring
Goodbye winter, Wednesday, March 20 was the last day of our ice fishing season. The winter season has come to an end and signs of spring are showing up. Thanks to everyone who visited and tuned in to our reports this winter. We appreciate your patronage.
From one season to the next, the popular Rainy River fishing is next on tap in our neck of the woods. We are already starting to see signs of spring show up. The current in the river and the warm spring sun is already starting to change up the landscape. Yesterday we took a drive east of Baudette to check on the river status. We found the river was open 39 miles east of Baudette, and about 12 miles east of Birchdale Landing. It had opened up about 2 miles within 24 hours. Open water holes were spotted 30 miles east of Baudette at Franz Jevne Park (3 miles east of Birchdale Landing).
We are forecasted to get lots of sun this weekend. If the warm weather keeps up, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Birchdale landing open up in a week. For information about spring fishing at Sportsman’s, boat landing map and more, click here. Stay tuned for updates!
Walleye season remains open on Lake of the Woods.
Unlike many Minnesota lakes, walleye season remains open through April 14, re-opening May 11, pike season never closes and sturgeon season catch and release is going on now through April 23, keep season April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15 before closing for about 6 weeks. Spring is a fun time to reel in the monsters! Guided trips available, check us out.
Spring Specials have started, we are open!
Our spring special, lodging starting at only $43 per person per night is now available through May 22 and up to 20% off summer lodging and charter packages May 10-May 22. The bar and dockside dining room remain open through the spring. Come for a visit. For our current hours click here. End of the Winter Bash is next weekend!
Join us! Mardi Gras Sportsman’s Style!
Live Band, Costume contest ($100 cash!!), Free Hurricane 7pm-8pm, Specials, Lots and lots of beads, Lodging Special and a whole lot of fun. Check it out.
Well folks, it’s that time of year. Based on the forecast, Wednesday, March 20 will be our last day of ice fishing for the year. Mother Nature says it’s warm up time. Thanks to everyone who visited us and tuned into our Facebook page and website this winter. We are looking forward to the river opening up and splashing the boats in the water!
Remember walleye season remains open here through April 14, pike season never closes and sturgeon season heats up in April. Stay tuned on our Facebook page and website for river updates coming soon!
The March Bite is Heating Up
We are starting to see more action this week. Nice eating size walleyes 15”-17” have been caught along with a few slot fish (19.5”-28”) and some nice pike too by guests. The majority of the fish coming in have been walleye. Best depth has been 18-25 ft. A dead stick with a plain hook and a minnow has worked well and also jigging buck shots, glo shot spoons, glo shot gigs, tungsten jigs, gem-n-eye jigs, lindy glo spoons. Glow seems to be producing the best. Tip them whole, half, or just the minnow head depending on how aggressive the bite is from day to day.
Ice Conditions
We still have a very solid 30”-40” of ice in the areas we fish and travel on the lake. The guides are running the bombardiers on the groomed trails and keeping the trails packed. The snow on top of the ice is sloppy during the day on the days the temperature rises above freezing but then freezes again at night. We received some drizzle, a few inches of snow and wind with the storm. Not too bad. The sleepers are done for the year but we will continue to have day houses available for a while longer until conditions change.
Ice Roads
We use a private groomed trail but there are a few local ice roads open. If you are venturing out on your own, a few we suggest are Zippel Bay and Morris Point. We suggest calling the outfitter of your choice ahead of time for the latest conditions, it’s that time of year.
Never too early to start thinking about Spring and Summer trips. Spring is an excellent time for walleye, pike and sturgeon. Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night April 1- May 22. Check us out www.sportsmanslodges.com
*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.
Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge 3/14/2019
The Bite
The Bite
Gold, pink and glow jigs and spoons tipped with a minnow have been working best in 20’-30’. The walleye and sauger bite has been spotty this week. Using vexilars and changing up techniques is helpful to bring in more fish. Try some dead sticking with a just a plain hook and jigging jigs or spoons tipped with a minnow for the best results. Watch for the suspended fish too. Reel up and do a little tackle dancing to get their attention. This weekend marks our last weekend for ice fishing for the 2019-2020 season up here in the islands. The south end location, Sportsman’s Lodge will continue to have day houses available for awhile longer. Thank you for another great season! We look forward to seeing everyone again in May. If you are thinking about a spring or summer trip, give us a call, dates are filling up. We open May 10 and have some great spring rates to kick off the season. www.oakislandlodge.com 800-772-8411.
Ice Conditions
We have anywhere from 24-36 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. No ice loss yet, just snow. We received a few more inches of snow the past couple of days.
Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The road is open and in good shape, plowing continues.
