The Rainy River is opening up more by the day and sturgeon fishing is heating up!
We have open water up to a mile or so east of Baudette and open water spots in front of Timbermill landing on the east edge of Baudette. We expect to have open water at our docks within a few days. The weather is warming up.
Check out the latest…
Vidas Landing is open along with Birchdale and Frontier Landings.
Timbermill Park (East side of Baudette)
Boat Access Map Click here for the Baudette Area Boat Access Map
What a catch! It’s time!!!
Ryan Shinabargar reeled in this monster 64 inch sturgeon yesterday in the river near Birchdale. 🏻Nice catch Ryan!
Sturgeon fishing is heating up. More river holes are opening up by the day.
A few ounce no roll sinker and 4/0 and 5/0 hooks tipped with a gob of minnows and a shiner is a good approach. Guided trips available!
Fishing Seasons
Sturgeon catch and release now Oct 1-April 23 and May 8-15
Keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and July 1 – Sept 30
Northern Pike open year round
Walleye currently closed, reopening May 12
Spring Specials!
Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night now through April 23 and up to 20% off Charter Fishing packages May 12-23.
River update from this morning. We are making progress! Slow but sure. Forecasting is looking warmer for the week ahead, 40’s and 50’s!!! Bring on the open water!
There is an open water channel 2 miles west of the Vidas landing and open water patches 4 miles west of Vidas now. At this rate, I would guess we could see open water in front of the Lodge within a week.
Good Morning! Check out the latest open water report from Frontier Landing. The river has opened up a little bit more this week. Open water has now been spotted 6 1/2 miles west of Frontier Landing. That is 3 1/2 miles east of Vidas Landing and 12 1/2 miles east of Baudette. Hopefully Vidas will break loose in a few days. Bring on the warm temps!
Lodging and Guided Trips Available! Walleye Season open through April 14 and re-opening May 12 Spring Sturgeon season open through May 15. (Some dates catch and release and some keep one) Pike season open year round Come have some fun! Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night April 1-May 23, 2018.
This morning, April 10, from Frontier and Birchdale Landings:
Yesterday afternoon, April 9, from Frontier and Birchdale Landings:
The river is open up to a few miles west of Frontier landing as of today. Approximately 15 miles west of Baudette. Weather forecast although not nearly as warm as last year at this time, is warming up. We will be doing another update Thursday. Stay tuned!
The River Bite
Some getting into a great bite with reports of 50+ fish in a few hours most ranging from 19″-30″ walleyes and 30″+ sturgeon to others struggling to get a dozen. Water is cool hovering around 33-35 degrees and the current is still slow. Walleyes – Gold, pink and orange jigs and plastics have been tackle of choice and shiners. Mix of vertical jigging vs dragging bottom depending on day. Some having the best luck drifting and others anchored. Sturgeon – Gob of worms, on a 4/0 or 5/0 hook and few ounces of no roll sinkers. An added shiner works sometimes too. Sturgeon are being found in deep holes and at the incline of holes along the river.
Seasons
Walleye open through April 14, reopening May 12
Northern Pike open year round
Sturgeon catch and release open through April 23
Keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and July 1 – Sept 30
Catch & release May 8-15 & Oct 1 – April 23
Ice Fishing
Due to the cool spring, we still have lots of ice on the lake. Extensions are still needed. We don’t have any houses out but if you are interested in venturing out on your own, Morris Point road is open to ATV’s and snowmobiles. For the most to up to date conditions they can be contacted at 218-634-2570.
Join us this spring! Openings available this weekend and throughout the spring. Lodging starting at $43* per person per night and guided trips available. Charter fishing packages up to 20% off May 11-23. Click here to learn more: www.sportsmanslodges.com/spring
What a crazy spring so far. We have gone from two of the warmest spring season’s to now one of the coldest. I guess that is Mother Nature for you, unpredictable. We are going to head out this afternoon and tomorrow morning and snap some pictures of what the river looks like and how far it is open to share with you tomorrow morning. We also will post another update Thursday afternoon too.
Over the weekend, the morning bite on the river was a struggle. Temps dipped down causing some of the accesses to freeze up and then thawing late morning/early afternoon. Some anglers went ice fishing on the lake for morning and headed to the river for the afternoon/evening soft water bite. Still lots of ice on the lake. Although it doesn’t appear to be time to break out the shorts yet, the forecast does look warmer for this week. Warmer temps should help navigating the river and the increase the bite for the last few days of walleye season. Walleye season runs through April 14, re-opening May 12. Spring sturgeon catch and release season runs through April 23 and May 8-15, keep one (within size limits) April 24-May 7. Pike season never ends. If you haven’t experienced reeling in a monster sturgeon or trophy pike, spring is one of the best times to do it. It is a blast! Give us a call, lodging and guided trips are available.
The bite over the weekend was hit and miss. Some of those who did the best were jigging with 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz jigs on the river and small jigs/spoons on the lake in 16′-24′ tipped with a minnow. Sturgeon anglers were using a gob of worms, on 5/0 hook and a few ounces of no roll sinkers in deep holes of the river. Pike anglers using live suckers and big smelt in pre-spawn areas. The current is slow right now. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow and Thursday.
We snapped some pics of what the river looked like yesterday afternoon around the Birchdale and Frontier area.
Frontier Landing
Frontier Landing Area (1)
Frontier Landing Area (2)
1 Mile West of Frontier
Boat going in at Frontier Landing
Rainy River between Birchdale and Frontier Landings
Birchdale Landing Area (2)
Birchdale Landing Area (1)
Birchdale Landing
James Group (1)
James Group (2)
James Group (3)
James Group (4)
James Group (5)
Fishing has been decent despite the cool temps. Current temperature is 33 degrees, clarity is about 1-2 feet and current is slow. Some anglers doing better than others. Some having luck vertical jigging and others dragging the bottom using 3/8 oz jigs tipped with a shiner.
Ice Fishing There is still quite a bit of good lake ice right now. We don’t have any houses out but if you are interested in venturing out on your own, Adrian’s and Morris Point roads are still open.
Adrian is allowing vehicles 3 miles past Pine Island, and Morris Point is allowing 4 wheelers, side by sides, and snowmobiles 5 miles out.
For more information about their roads call Adrian’s at 218-634-1985 and Morris Point at 218-634-2570.
Seasons
Walleye open through April 14, reopening May 12
Northern Pike open year round
Sturgeon catch and release open through April 23
Keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and July 1 – Sept 30
Catch & release May 8-15 & Oct 1 – April 23
Join us this spring!
Openings available this weekend and throughout the spring. Lodging starting at $43* per person per night and guided trips available. Click here to learn more www.sportsmanslodges.com/spring
Few more days of ice fishing
We have 40-50+ inches of ice on the lake in the areas we fish and travel right now. Ice fishing trips available through Saturday. Give us a call if you are interested in getting one last blast in! If you are planning on venturing out on your own, some of the public ice roads are getting pretty beat up so be sure to call ahead for current conditions. Adrian’s, Morris Point and Zippel are some of the ice roads near us.
Check out these pictures!
The Bite Not too many changes from last week. Mix of jigging and dead sticking in variety of depths between 16’-31’ using gold and pink jigs, Glo Shots, red hooks, Buckshots tipped with a minnow has been working the best for walleyes and saugers. Big pike are coming up the holes in shallow waters on the lake and bays using live suckers. Log Cabin Bait just a mile away from us has suckers for sale.
Ice Conditions
We have 40-50+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run off of our private access. If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check current conditions/what they are allowing out with the road maintainer before venturing out.
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods.
When walleye season closes for a few weeks, pike and sturgeon fishing heats up in the river and bays. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods is home to an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike.
River Report
We have plenty of ice on the lake to keep us fishing safely for the next week and there will probably be quite a bit of ice on the lake for a while after March 31 this year. Despite the cool temps there are signs of spring popping up. The Rainy River is starting to open up to tour east. Currently the river is open at Birchdale 36 miles east of us and the Birchdale landing opened yesterday for boats. Frontier landing will be the next landing to open. I would expect that to open within the next week at this rate, then Vidas Landing near Clementson (6 miles east of Baudette (18 miles east of us)) Timbermill in Baudette and then Wheeler’s Point shortly after. Click here for more information about spring river fishing and stay tuned for updates.
Thanks for a great winter season! We look forward to seeing you in May! For April fishing trips, contact our sister resort Sportsman’s Lodge 800-862-8602.
7 Days left! The ice is good on the lake, 40-50+ inches in the areas we fish and travel right now. We have just lost snow up to this point and evening temps remain below freezing. Guests have been catching some nice fish. We have some openings available this week. Come have some fun!
Check out the pictures of the week!
The Bite
Mix of jigging and dead sticking in variety of depths between 17’-31’ using Hyperglides, gold jigs, Glo Shots, red hooks, glow green and glow red Buckshots have been catching some walleyes and saugers this week. A lunker 15lb eelpout was caught on a buck tail. Big pike are coming up the holes in shallow waters on the lake and bays using live suckers. Electronics help catch rates! Bring them a long or call ahead to rent.
Ice Conditions
We lost some snow this week, but not changes in the ice conditions. We have 40-50+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run off of our private access. If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check current conditions with the road maintainer before venturing out, conditions vary.
Trail Report
Zero to a foot of hard packed snow is on the ice right now, more the farther north you go and varied amounts on the land trails.
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods.
Once we end our ice fishing season we will be getting ready to hop in boats on the river for a few weeks of walleye fishing. When walleye season closes, pike and sturgeon fishing heats up in the river and bays. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods is home to an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike.
River Report
We have plenty of ice on the lake to keep us fishing safely for the next week and there will probably be quite a bit of ice on the lake for a while after March 31 this year. Despite the cool temps there are signs of spring popping up. The Rainy River is starting to open up to tour east. Currently the river is open to nearly Birchdale, 38 miles from the lodge and 26 miles east of Baudette. I would suspect in a few days the first boats will start sliding over the ice chunks into the water. After Birchdale, it will only be a matter of days before the rest of the landings start to open up. There is a public landing at Birchdale, two between Birchdale and Baudette, a couple in Baudette and one at Wheeler’s Point. Click here for more information about spring river fishing and stay tuned for updates. We will start checking landings on a regular basis next week and post updates on our website and Facebook pages. Stay tuned!
Some people fish a lifetime hoping to catch one of these monster walleyes. Ashton Nills caught two in one day on March 16, 2018 at Sportsman’s Lodge. A 27 inch and 28.5 inch walleyes. What a day! Awesome angling Ashton and excellent release. Thanks for visiting!
Ryan Shinabargar reeled in this monster 64 inch sturgeon yesterday in the river near Birchdale. 
