Starting to Pick Up

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The bite has started to pick up in the islands this week. Guests have been getting some nice fish with the good old jig stick, pink, glow or gold jig tipped with a minnow head or full minnow in 26’-29’. Vexilars are certainly helping too.  Change it up! The best technique can vary day by day. Try some light vertical jigging, hard jigging and dead sticking and make sure your hooks are sharp! That favorite jig may have brought you previous luck, but it may also have dulled, so always a good thing to double check. The days are getting longer, come enjoy some winter fun with us!

Ice Conditions
We have 29”-34” of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Looking good to bring us right through late March! Come see us!

Trail Report
For more information about the trails click on these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.

Spring is just around the corner.
It is never too early to start planning your spring trip!  Come visit the islands this spring and get into some hot soft water action. Spring lodging specials available May 11-25! Contact us today.

Making ice for March

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Check out these pictures! 

Making ice for March ice fishing
Cold temperatures have once again blown in this week. The good news is we are making more ice to allow ice fishing to run right through the end of March. Lake of the Woods has a unique season most other lakes in Minnesota do not have, an extended walleye season through April 14 and due to it’s location a much better chance at cold temps to keep good ice right until March 31. The DNR also allows anglers to have houses on the lake overnight through March 31. We have both weekends and midweek trips available in March.  Make your spring break ice fishing plans today.

The bite this week has been a finicky this week. Some anglers doing better than others in varied shallow and deep depths 16’-30’. Warm temps coming in this weekend should help.   Successful anglers have been using a light jigging technique using pink and glow jigs or a plain hook tipped with a minnow. Sometimes a minnow head has been successful too. Vexilars and Fish Finders of your choice help. Anglers have been seeing lots of fish on electronics.   Mix of varied sized walleye and sauger mainly with a few big pike, sturgeon and a guest this past week even caught a crappie, not something we usually see in our area in the winter.

Ice Conditions
We have 32-36 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time.

You still have time! Ice Fishing trips available through March 31!
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we ice fish until March 31. Come see us! We have weekend openings in March and midweek openings in February and March.

Trail Report
Trails are groomed and staked. For more information check out these links.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Snuggle up with our sweetie this Valentine’s Day at Sportsman’s!
Lodging & Fishing Packages starting at $215 per person and two nights of dining specials Feb 14 & 15.
Sportsman’s gift cards make great gifts!
Click here

“We had another excellent trip up at Oak Island”

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We had another excellent trip up at Oak Island on Jan. 25-28, 2018. Wack and all the guys took great care of us, getting on the fish and cleaning them for us. We sure appreciate their hard work. The meals at the Lodge were fabulous as always.

Each of us caught some nice note-worthy fish.

Group: Kusilek
Name: Mike DeMarce
Fish: 22.5” Walleye
Date: 1/27/2018

Group: Kusilek
Name: Mark Stenseth
Fish: 20” Walleye
Date: 1/27/2018

Group: Kusilek
Name: Chad Young
Fish: 18.5” Walleye
Date: 1/27/2018

Group: Kusilek
Name: John Balk
Fish: 13.5” Perch
Date: 1/26/2018

Group: Kusilek
Name: Jim Kusilek
Fish: 13” Perch
Date: 1/26/2018

We hope to make it back up again next year, and look forward to seeing you all then.

Thanks.
Kusilek Group

The bite picked up this week!

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Check out these pictures!

Bobber Down!
Nice mix of varied sized saugers and walleyes have been coming up through the holes this week along with some nice big walleyes 22”-30” in length and a few pike too.  Pink and glow have been hot!  Pink and glow 1/8-1/4 jigs, Northland Tackle Glo Shot Spoon and Buck shot spoon as well as some anglers noting just a red hook tipped with a minnow.  Some anglers have found the best luck using just a minnow head and light jigging or a full minnow when dead sticking.  Depths have been all over the map the past few weeks, varying by day, 16’-30’. Don’t count out the afternoon bite. 2-4pm have been one of the best times lately.  Bonus ~ Wow have we had some cool sunrises and sunsets lately. Be sure to check it out!

Ice Conditions
We have 30-34 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time.

You still have time! Ice Fishing trips available through March 31!
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we ice fish until March 31. Come see us! We have weekend openings in March and midweek openings in February and March.

Trail Report
Trail grooming is in full swing. We could use another shot of snow or two. We have varied amounts of snow on the lake between 0”-8” on the south end and 10-12 inches up past Garden Island and around Oak Island and the Northwest Angle. More snow on the land. Not much for bare spots on the groomed trails as of today.  For more information about the trails on these links.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Big Game Party!
14 TV’s, Drink Specials, Food Specials, Free Apps 5-6 and over $1,000 in prizes to be given away! Join us!

Word of the week….YOYO

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Fishing has been much like a yoyo this week, up and down.  Flurry of activity…..quiet……few bites…..quiet…quiet…..a nice one……quiet…flurry…..nibbles….nice one…. So the tip of the week, is…..if you aren’t getting a bite, change up your approach or just sit back and enjoy good friends and family for a bit because just about the time you think today isn’t your day, you might just reel in a beautiful walleye.  A mix of jigging and dead heading right off bottom with a 1/8-3/8 oz. bright fluorescent jig tipped with a minnow or minnow head has been a good choice in 24’-29’ of water.

Ice Conditions
We have 27”-32” of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Looking good to bring us right through late March! We have some openings Feb 13-17 and March 9-late March as I write this. Come see us!

Trail Report
We have about 8-12 inches of snow in our area. Less to the south. We could use another shot or two. For more information about the trails click on these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.

Going Deep

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Fish are on the move.  Guides are busy moving and grooving to 25’-29’ of water. Gold and pink jigs and buck-shot rattling spoons tipped with a minnow have been good tackle along with a plain hook this week. A combo of dead sticking and jigging is the best approach. Electronics definitely help! Bring your own or call ahead to reserve. Mix of walleyes, saugers and an occasional pike or perch have been coming up the holes this week.

Ice Conditions
24-30 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Walleyes season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods. Looking good for ice fishing right through late March. March trips are available!

Trails
Grooming away! Groomers caution riders to stay on the trails especially this year with how rough the lake froze; there are a lot of ice chunks sticking up off the trail.  Click below for the latest conditions and more information about the Lake of the Woods area trails.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Ice Road
The ice road from Young’s Bay to the lodge is in good shape! Come on out!

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall we have a fishing adventure for you!
Check out our packages for every season and make plans to escape to Oak Island this year.

 

Fishing for walleyes and BAM! A Monster Sturgeon!

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Targeting walleyes and saugers is always our #1 priority in the winter, but Lake of the Woods is an incredible fishery and you just never know what might be looking for something to munch on. Lake of the Woods is home to not only walleyes and saugers but also northern pike, lake sturgeon, tullibee, perch, eelpout, muskie, bass, lake trout and crappies.  Check out some of the pictures from the past week and two monster sturgeons! It is quite a rush to see a 45+ inch fish come through an ice fishing hole!

Bite
The weather continues to be mild and it looks like it will continue for at least through the weekend at this point.  The bite has been fair the past week.  Anglers have been having the most success jigging and dead sticking glow and gold colored jigs, small rippin raps, glo-shots and forage minnows tipped with a minnow. 8am-11am and 2pm-4pm have been some of the best times in a range of depths 16’-29’.  The best depth has really been changing frequently.  The guides are always moving houses and doing their best to stay on the best bite.  If you have electronics, bring them along. We consistently see a lot of success with folks who use them. If you don’t have your own, give us a call ahead of time, we have a few vexilars available to rent.

Ice Conditions
We have a good base of ice of over two feet, 28-32 inches in the areas we fish and travel.  Looking good for March ice fishing! Remember walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we plan to keep our houses out until the end of March.

Trails
Grooming is in full swing. Groomers caution riders to stay on the trails especially this year with how rough the lake froze; there are a lot of ice chunks sticking up off the trail.  Click below for the latest conditions and more information about the Lake of the Woods area trails.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Join us for the BIG GAME and GREAT FISHING!
Feb 3-6 Trips available! Click here

Snuggle up with your Sweetie in February at Sportsman’s.
Two night lodging and fishing packages starting at just $215 per person. Can’t make it in February? Sportsman’s gift cards make great gifts! Click here to order yours.
Come see us! 800-862-8602 or [email protected]
*plus tax and based on double occupancy.

The bite

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The bite has been heating up this week. We are seeing lots of nice 18”-19” walleyes and a number of 19”-25” as well. Best depth has been 19’-23’. Gold and glow jigs tipped with a minnow has been working well. A combo of dead sticking and jigging is the best approach.

Ice Conditions
23-26 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Making more by the minute! Walleyes season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods. Looking good for ice fishing right through late March. March trips are available!


Trails
Groomers are out! Groomers caution riders to stay on the trails especially this year with how rough the lake froze; there are a lot of ice chunks sticking up off the trail. Click below for the latest conditions and more information about the Lake of the Woods area trails.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information

Ice Road
The ice road from Young’s Bay to the lodge is in good shape! Come on out!