Ice Update 12/7/20

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Sportsman’s Lodge
Good News! We are gaining ice. We are now finding 6.5-9 inches of ice in most areas we will fish and travel once our season starts but still have some areas we want to take a closer look at. We fought fog today so we will be doing more checks tomorrow once it clears. For snow, we have a dusting of snow on the lake and a couple of inches on the shore. Stay tuned for more information! We are excited to see the forecast is looking colder! Please remember not all areas of the lake have the same ice conditions. Always check with local resorts and outfitters before venturing out. We are looking forward to another fun season! Get your reservations in call 800-862-8602 or click here

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
We are gaining ice at the Northwest Angle too. In our travels between the mainland and Oak Island, we are now finding more areas with 5-7 inches compared to the 3-6 inches last week. Still, areas of less, and we haven’t ventured south yet but we are gaining! Snow, we have just a few inches and haven’t had any measurable precipitation within the last few weeks which we are very happy with at this time of year since it helps the ice making. Stay tuned for more updates! For reservations call 800-772-8411 or click here.

Sportsman’s Lodges Ice Update – 11/30/20

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Sportsman’s Lodge
On Four Mile Bay, the bay we use to access our fishing spots on the lake, we found 3-6 inches of ice Sunday where we checked. On the lake, we have areas with ice and areas of open water too. The wind kicked up over the weekend and chewed up some areas that had thin ice. Last night the winds calmed down and the temperature cooled into the single digits which did help but more progress needs to be made. Ice making process continues….. For now, bring on the cold temps, light winds, and stay tuned for updates!   

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge & Eagle Ridge
Making Progress
We are finding 3-6 inches of ice in the areas of low current and bay.  Still some areas of open water on the lake and less ice where there is more current, but it is moving along. Stay tuned for updates!

Ice Fishing season will be kicking off before we know it. Contact us to plan your trip by calling 800-862-8602 or clicking here! Trips available from December through March.

Sportsman’s Lodges Ice Update – 11/23/20

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Making Ice!

We woke up to more ice today. At our Sportsman’s Lodge location, we can see ice as far as the eye can see on the river in front of the lodge, 4 Mile Bay (the bay we drive out on to get to the lake) as well as the view from Morris Point of the lake. Once the clouds clear we will share a satellite photo on our Facebook page and blog to give everyone a glimpse of what the entire lake is looking like at this point. It won’t be long and Gregg will be taking his annual early-season flights to get a better view of how things are coming along. Watch for those photos to come in the days ahead too.

Four Mile Bay
The View of the lake from Morris Point
View in front of the Lodge of the River towards Wheeler’s Point
The view of Bobbie’s Bay in front of the lodge at Oak Island

Up at our sister resorts, Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge and Eagle Ridge, a sheet of ice stretches from Young’s Bay to Oak Island and to the south of Oak Island as far as we can see except for an open pocket around Little Oak Island. The airboat broke through in many spots between Young’s Bay and Oak Island the past few days but the open water spots that were seen before had iced over. 

 What’s next? We need calm winds and cold temperatures. No ice travel is advised by any means at this point. This is just a thin sheet that can move and open up within a few hours, but it is progress and one step closer to the beginning of the 2020-2021 ice fishing season kickoff. Exciting news for sure! Stay tuned for more reports to come. If you haven’t booked in for winter yet, give us a call at 800-862-8602, and come have some fun this winter.

From the Sportsman’s Family to your family, we wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Sportsman’s Lodges Ice Update – 11/20/20

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We are making ice!
At Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River a thin layer of ice in front of the lodge has been coming and going this week. Many small bays have a sheet of ice and the larger bays have ice too along with open water pockets.

At Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge and Eagle Ridge, we have a thin layer in the bay and in many areas where there is no current.

Will it stay and continue to build or will it go? Only time will tell, but we know for sure the weather is changing and it won’t be long before the ice fishing season will begin.  Once the temps start dipping and the wind is calm it doesn’t take long to build ice pretty quick in our neck of the woods. 

Here at Sportsman’s, we start our ice fishing season with our day use houses at our Sportsman’s Rainy River location, typically in the first few weeks of December. Our sleeper fish houses are next, a week or so after, and at our Sportsman’s Oak Island and Eagle Ridge locations, we start just after Christmas. Once we have 8-12 inches of good ice in the areas we fish and travel, it’s game on.

What is open?
Lodging in our cabins and villas are open year-round. We will open our lodge rooms back up in early December when the ice roads and trails open up. In accordance with the Governor’s new COVID guidelines, we will start our season with lodging, fish house rentals, take out food, and off-sale with on-property delivery, and our gift shop will be open.  Our pool, dine in services, and game room will be closed until December 18. We are continuing to follow guidelines to keep everyone safe. For more information on our procedures, please click here.  

Lodging & Ice Fishing Packages Available
3 nights lodging and 2 full days of ice fishing starting at $373 per person.
Click here to start planning your trip.

Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing Report – 11/9/20

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Our 49th soft water season is coming to a close. We want to THANK EVERYONE who was able to visit us this season and to those who couldn’t, we can’t wait to see you soon. We are now sliding into “freezing season” and fall cleaning and projects for in full swing. If you are still interested in coming up and wetting a line or just relaxing in a cabin, we welcome you with lodging available. The public ramp will continue to be open as long as mother nature allows. Our dining rooms, guide service, bar, pool, and lodge rooms are closed until ice fishing season kicks off in December. For lodging reservations for fall or the upcoming seasons give us a call at 800-862-8602 or click here to contact us online.

The river bite has been hit and miss. It has been a different fall this year. Many reports of anglers seeing fish on the graphs in the river but a light bite. Anchored using a jig or minnow in 8’-25’ on the lake or river has been the go-to approach. Gold and pink have been the best-colored jigs.

For sturgeon, deep holes in the river and bays are good spots using a sturgeon rig tipped with crawlers and shiners. The best pike bite is in bays trolling along shorelines with a crankbait.

Thanks again for a great season! Good luck to all the hunters and we look forward to seeing you this winter! 

Sportsman’s Lodges 2020 Sturgeon Tournament

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Thank you to all the tournament participants, sponsors, and staff,
and congratulations to the winners!

2020 Winners (May Tournament rescheduled to October due to COVID.)

Day 1

1st – Alex Peterson 55″ X 20″    $605 Cash

2nd – Jason Kennedy 50 1/4″ X 18 1/2″    $260 Cash

3rd – Mayson 47″ X 18 3/4″    Custom Rod

Day 2

1st – Terry Gronseth 55 7/8″ X 20 1/2″    $605 Cash

2nd – Dylan Koyranta 28 1/2″ X 12 1/2″    $260 Cash

3rd – Bill Luukonen 28″ X 13″    Custom Rod

Eelpout – Aaron Jackson 24″ X 13″
Bullhead – None
Sucker – None

Facebook Picture Contest – Deric Erickson

Kids Division – Dannica E. 31 1/4″ X 11 1/2″

Silent Auction ~ Thank you participants for raising $535 for the Lake of the Woods Take a Kid Fishing Program!

Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing Report – 10/29/20

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Last Weekend of the Season! Sturgeon Tournament starts tomorrow.
Our regular spring tournament rescheduled to this fall will kick off tomorrow morning and run for 2 days Friday and Saturday to close out our 2020 softwater season. The spring tournament usually produces lots of monster fish. What’s in store this fall? Stay tuned! Good luck anglers, stay safe, and have fun!

Looks like we are in for a warm-up for a while starting tomorrow. The walleye bite has been up and down lately. Anglers have been chasing walleyes in a variety of spots including outside of the gap, bay, and river in 7′-15′ and 16′-24′ anchored with a jig and a minnow. 

The water temp is in the 30s, the level remains low and the current slower than normal. We received a couple of inches of snow yesterday and have accumulated some shore ice in the bays.  There is minimal shore ice on the river in front of the lodge. The dock stalls are all open.  Wheeler’s Point landing continues to be open with a dock and no shore ice. Sand has been put down on one side of the landing after the snow and the sun is peaking out. The warm weather should melt off the packed snow soon.

Dining, Bar & Lodging
After breakfast on Sunday, we will be closing our dining, bar, lodge rooms, and pool during the freezing season. Cabins and villas will remain open.

Everything will open back up for the ice fishing season. 
Time to make your winter reservations! Give us a call at 800-862-8602 or contact us online.

Lake of the Woods South Shore & Oak Island Fishing Report – 10/23/20

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Sportsman’s Lodge

Jig……set…….reeeeeeeeel!

Weather continues to be unseasonably cool.

Water temp has dipped down to high 30’s. River bite is getting better but outside the gap has been more favorable lately.   Jigging pink, green, or gold jigs tipped with a shiner in 7’-14’ and 17’-23’ have been good depths.

Some nice sturgeon are being found in deep holes of the river using a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, no roll sinker, gob of works and a shiner or two. Our sturgeon tournament is still on for next weekend. Openings are available. 

Friday 10/23/20 – no ice!

One more week left to sign up! Sturgeon Tournament on October 30 & 31
Cash and prizes! Prime Rib Dinner and lots of fun. Click here to learn more or call us at 800-862-8602.

Ice fishing on your mind? Make your winter reservations now.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge

Our island resorts are now closed for the season. See you this winter!
For winter and next summer, reservations give us a call at 800-772-8411 or contact us online.