River Update Birchdale, Frontier, and Vidas landings are all open on the Rainy River now. Water was flowing just to the west of The Clementson Rapids yesterday when we snapped these pictures. Clementson is located 8 miles east of Baudette and 20 miles east of the lodge. Won’t be long before there is open water in Baudette and soon after in front of the lodge. We expect that to happen this week. Timbermill access will open next. Click here to view the local boat landing map. We are going to run out and check Timbermill later today. Watch our Facebook page and website for that update coming soon.
The fish are biting too! A few of the guides got out this weekend. Caught some nice fish. Check out these pictures and give us a call to book your spring trip.
Lodging and guided trips are available. Spring lodging specials available starting at only $95 for 2 adults per night plus tax.
Water is flowing through Frontier now and the river is open just west of there. Frontier Landing is located 19 miles east of Baudette. Birchdale landing is fully open for boats and it doesn’t look like it will be long before Frontier opens up, especially with the wind and shot of rain in the forecast. Once Frontier opens up, Vidas will be the next landing just east of Clementson and then Timbermill on the east side of Baudette followed by Wheeler’s Point. It is opening up quickly this year!
Birchdale Landing
Birchdale
Birchdale
Frontier Landing
Frontier Landing looking west
Frontier Landing looking east
Vidas Landing
Clementson
Talking with a few anglers yesterday they said the big sturgeon are biting and they caught some walleyes too. Right now sturgeon and walleye can be caught and released. The pike limit is 3 only 1 over 40″, all pike between 30″ and 40″ must be released. Walleye catch and release season is open through April 14. Sturgeon catch and release runs through April 23. “Keep 1″ season (45″-50″ inclusive or over 75”) runs April 24-May 7 followed by one more week of catch and release May 8-15 before closing for 6 weeks. Pike season never closes. A jig and a minnow work well for walleye this time of year, Here is a quick little video on how to set up for sturgeon fishing https://lakeofthewoodsmn.com/sturgeon-fishing/ and for spring pike dead baits, spinnerbait, spoon or crankbait are all going to be good options to start with.
Spring is in the air. The rainy river is opening up!
Ice is disappearing. We have spotted open water about 2 miles west of Birchdale. There is still some shore ice at Nelson Landing in Birchdale but I am sure the county will be out to clear the landing soon. Looks like the warm temps are going to continue. If the wind and rain hit us like the forecast is staying the ice should get chewed up quickly. Stay tuned for more updates.
We took a drive to Nelson Landing at Birchdale this afternoon. We have open water!
We could see open water for about 200 hundred yards to the west of the landing. It won’t be long before boats are splashing in. I am sure the county will be out to clear the landing soon. Check back for another update Wednesday.
Lodging is available now, guided trips will be starting soon and our restaurant, bar, and pool are open. Spring is in the air! www.sportsmanslodges.com
Thank you, guests, staff, and fans for making it another great season! Our ice fishing season is coming to a close. We moved fishing areas and accesses this week but have decided with the warm weather in the forecast it is time to call it a year. Friday will be our last day for rentals. A few accesses remain open on the south shore but be sure to call ahead to the resort or outfitter of your choice for updates before venturing out as conditions are changing.
Our bar and restaurant remain open through Sunday morning 6 am – 10 am and 11 am – 10 pm for food and drinks until 11 pm. Watch our website and Facebook page for updated hours for after the weekend coming soon.
Lodging remains open and spring soft water action is just around the corner. Give us a call to reserve your trip! We have some great spring deals 800-862-8602.
Sportsman’s Oak Island
Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge is done for the year too. The restaurant and bar remain open through Sunday morning.
Currently, we still have 36 inches of ice and 1-5 inches of snow in the areas we fish and travel. We plan to continue fishing up on the reefs through the weekend and look at moving in closer to the south shore depending on how the weather shakes out and the future forecast looks. Right now it continues to look like we are going to freeze every night and cold weather is back in the forecast next week. That will help! We continue to monitor ice conditions daily and safety is #1.
The bite has been decent, lots of small fish but anglers have been sorting through finding some good eaters and an occasional lunker. Orange, pink, gold small jigs and spoons, and plain hooks tipped with a minnow in 26’-32’ has produced the best. The snowmobile trail to Oak Island was groomed yesterday and hopefully grooming to Warroad in the early morning this weekend depending on conditions. The overall snow cover continues to lessen but the snow-packed trails still have snow for travel.
Heading out on your own? Ice conditions vary on this big pond, always a good idea to use an ice road or trail maintained and marked by a trusted local outfitter or resort, and always check with the maintainer for any changes before heading out. We do not maintain a public ice road, although there are several in the area. We provide all of the transportation to our rentals via track vehicle.
Give us a call for last-minute trips 800-862-8602. We have some great midweek deals.
Oak Island
We have houses strung out in the structure and mud 22’-31’. The bite has been finicky but the guides continue to work hard to get you the best experience. Hopefully the sunshine this weekend will get the fish fired up for a meal. Buckshots, gold and pink jigs, and small spoons tipped with a minnow have been working the best. We have 5-8 inches of snow and 22”-28” inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.
Area resorts are working hard to keep the ice road open to the Northwest Angle and Islands as long as safe and possible. At least through the next week and maybe longer depending on how it goes. The trail across the lake was groomed today and we expect will be open longer than the road. Lake of the Woods passenger service is available. If you are traveling soon, don’t hesitate to give us a call with any questions or for any updates. Flights from Baudette and surrounding areas are available too.
Days are getting longer! March is around the corner!
Check out the pictures of the week.
Anglers are finding walleyes and saugers in 26’-32’ using Glo Shots, green and orange Buckshots, gold and orange jigs, and pink hooks tipped with a chub minnow. Some anglers having success with a minnow head, some with a full minnow, and some prefer 2. Never hurts to try something new.. Anglers are still seeing quite a few suspended fish so watch electronics for those. No vexilar? Give us a call ahead of time. We have a few to rent. Best approach to catch suspsended fish is to fish the bottom and reel up to them once you see them on the electronics. We have found you will catch more fish overall doing this rather than sitting off the bottom several feet and moving down and up. A mix of dead sticking and vertical jigging is best. Some anglers do the best sitting about 4 inches off bottom and others prefer to hug the bottom. If one approach isn’t working for you, give the other a try. You never know what might get you hooked on dinner! We have 36 inches of ice and 1-5 inches of snow in the areas we fish and travel. More snow the farther north you go.
Trail Report Trails are groomed and staked. There are some bare ice spots on the south side of the lake so staying on the trail will give you the best and safest riding. The Northwest Angle Edge Riders rally is this weekend. Check it out!
For more information abou thte trails, check out these links.
The best bite has been in 25’-31’ right now using Buckshots, Glo Shot spoons, pink and red jigs tipped with a chub minnow. Morning and evenings have been the most favorable for catching walleyes and saugers. A mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking has been the best approach.
Ice Conditions We have 22-28 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.
Finally! A break in the weather. Looks like we are going to stay above the donut for awhile. You still have time to come wet a line. Remember we ice fish until late March on Lake of the Woods. This week the best depth has been in 25-32 feet of water. Pink, lime green, and gold have been good colors. Electronics help especially to lure in the suspended fish. 3/8 oz jigs and spoons are good choices tipped with a minnow or even part of a minnow.
We have about 30 inches of ice and about a foot of snow. The guides are ready to take you out and show you a good time.
Walleye, Sauger, Perch, Pike You never know what might come up your hole next. The bite has mostly been walleye and sauger but perch and pike has been common too. Along with eater size and throwbacks being caught, we are seeing some big 19.5”+ walleyes roam the mud flats lately. Deep mud, 28’-32’has been a good depth using small 1/16 oz jigs tipped with plastic that mimics bugs. Do some vertical jigging and dead sticking for your best results. We currently have 20-24”+ of ice and a foot of snow where we fish and travel.
4 ways to get to us this winter!
Fly, let us pick you up (at Sportsman’s Lodge), Take the Ice Road from Warroad or Ride the snowmobile trails. Click here to learn more and on the links below for the latest trail report.
It has been a cold week, warmer temps are in the forecast.
A cold snap has been among us for the past week but it looks like it is going to break after the weekend. The bite has been a little finicky this week, a little more work has had to be put into luring in the catch. Changing up lures, trying different techniques, and using electronics have helped. Rattle spoons and jigs colored wonderbread, pink and gold colored tipped with a full or partial minnow has seemed to work better than others as well as a plain hook and a minnow. A mix of dead sticking and vertical jigging has been the best technique.
The best bite has been in 26’-32’ of water. We currently have over 2’ of ice, making more by the minute and around a foot of snow. Our snowfall so far is below average.
Midweek February trips available as well as some openings the weekend of Feb 26.Can’t swing it in February? We fish until late March. March openings are available too. Pick your favorite package and come have some fun.
Oak Island
Change up your colors On cloudy days try Glo pink and chartreuse. On the sunny days, try favoring gold. Try a mix of small spoons and jigs 3/8 to 1/4 ounce. Tip either one with a minnow or minnow head. The best bite currently is in 27’-31’. We have over 2 feet of ice and about a foot of snow on average. Give both dead sticking and jigging a try. When dead sticking using a bobber is best to see the nibbles so you can take the rod and set the hook at the optimal time.
