Tag Archives: baudette mn

The Season Is Heating Up!

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Water temperatures continue to climb, currently we are at 56 degrees and walleyes are beginning to get more aggressive.  Jigs tipped with a minnow still are producing good numbers of quality fish.  20’ to 26’ seems to be the best depth to be in.  Gold jigs continue to be the best color, but chartreuse and orange have put some good numbers in the boat as well!

Jigging isn’t the only tactic that has produced though!  As those water temps keep getting warmer and warmer, drifting spinners will produce great walleyes.  That time of year is vastly approaching and I am beginning to hear of a few fish being caught on spinners.  If you do decide to experiment and try drifting, gold spinners from 12’ to 20’ is a great place to start!  Leeches, crawlers, or minnows can all work on spinners, and especially this early any one of them could be the hot bait that day!  The spinner bite will only get better through this next month of the season so don’t be afraid to try it!  Good luck and we will see you out there!

Fathers Day is June 18.

Treat dad to a getaway this June at Sportsman’s Lodge. Lodging and charter packages starting at only $249 per person plus tax. (Based on double occupancy) Contact us today 800-862-8602.

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A wonderful day on Captain Darryl’s boat with slot fish and limits of fish! Awesome job guys!

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Sportsman’s Lodges Oak Island Fishing Report – May 17, 2017

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Island fish was great to start the year off!  The walleyes were snappin’ and we even heard of a few big ones being caught.  Gold, pink, yellow, and orange jigs tipped with a minnow all seemed to work very well!  Rocky points and shorelines were holding good numbers of fish.  The fish are in feed mode so get up here and let’s go fishing!

Bill and Jerry had some good luck this week!

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Off and Running!

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Walleye season is finally here and we couldn’t be more excited!  We had an awesome first weekend with boats pulling in a lot of nice fish!  Fish are being caught all the way from 14’ to 23’.  Do not be afraid to move around and look for fish!  Jig tipped with a shiner seemed to be the best way to target them with the hot colors being Lake of the Woods classics, pink and gold.  With temps remaining in the high 50s low 60s fishing is looking to stay good this week!  Hope to see you out there!

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What a tough day for Captain Mike.  Trying to take a nice picture but cannot seem
to keep people from catching fish in the background!

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Captain Wes off to a hot start this year with a cooler of nice fish!

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Nice Catch!

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Many of you know Mike Vanstrom, a guide who has been with us in the fall and winter seasons for the past 3 years. When Mike is not at Sportsman’s, Mike can be found in the southwest region of Alaska.

Mike has a love for the outdoors and in the summer season guides outdoor enthusiasts brown bear and moose hunting and king salmon fishing 300 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska on the Nushagak River the world’s largest run of king salmon. You may have recently seen the 9′ bear that is in our lobby Mike guided a customer to bag recently. If you are looking for an Alaska adventure check out Mike’s website.

Opener is right around the corner!

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Temperatures are up and the fishing is heating up too!  With water temps scratching 50 degrees, pike are in full swing and aggressive.  Casting spoons and spinnerbaits in the tributaries and at any shallow weeds that may be beginning to grow is the best and most efficient way to target them.  Sturgeon have begun to spawn and are stacking up in rapids and fast flowing shallow water. Best areas to target these monsters is to concentrate on deep holes adjacent to these spawning areas.

Walleye Opener
With the walleye season beginning this weekend, great places to begin the season is just outside the Lighthouse Gap, the north side of Pine Island and Four Mile Bay.  A jig tipped with a shiner is always the best bet to kick the season off.  As far as colors to start with, chartreuse, pink and gold are great choices!

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Sturgeon fishing has been hot! 3 days left of the season until July. Get into the action!

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Unreal! Two hours into these gals sturgeon careers they haul in a 68″ monster!

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Take a Mom fishing
Mother’s Day is May 14.  Treat mom to some great fishing, relaxation and Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch at Sportsman’s next weekend.  She will love our cozy accommodations, indoor pool, hot tub, beautiful views, excellent fishing and delicious food.  Click here for our spring lodging and fishing packages and here to check out our Mother’s Day menu.

Get on the fish with a Guided Trip
Whether you are looking for sturgeon, pike or walleye we have trips available this spring. Contact us for more information 800-862-8602.

Cool beginning but the weekend looks sunny!

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Last weekend we enjoyed some average spring weather but it has been a cool start to the week with some rain and snow showers.  Looks like it should shape up for the weekend. The water temperature is currently 41 degrees. Despite the weather, anglers are finding some nice sturgeon and pike.  Sturgeon anglers are finding them in several areas wherever a good hole in the river bottom can be found between Wheeler’s Point to Birchdale.  Size 4/0 or 5/0 circle hooks and a 3-8 ounce no roll sinker tipped with a gob of crawlers and a frozen shiner has been working well.  If you have trouble with the worms falling off, try a piece of a plastic grub at the end.  Anchored at deep river holes or crevices with a little current are best.  You can keep one sturgeon now within 45”-50” or over 75” through May 7 with a sturgeon tag (available at the lodge or anywhere MN fishing licenses are sold) and catch and release resumes May 8-15. Sturgeon are fun to catch and pretty tasty thrown in a smoker.

Captain Matt McClure 40 inch pike Captain Travis Madrazo  Captain Travis Madrazo with a nice pike!
 Captain Matt McClure 40 inch pike  Captain Travis Madrazo  Captain Travis Madrazo with a nice pike!

Northern Pike bite
Tributaries along the river and shallow bays are great places to find some huge pike right now.  Anchored and casting out a jig tipped with a shiner and bouncing off the bottom or casting out a jointed rapala has been working well.

Reeling in sturgeon of all sizes. Captain Travis Campbell

 

Reeling in sturgeon of all sizes. Captain Travis Campbell

11th Annual Sturgeon Tournament is May 5 & 6. The tournament is full this year but everyone is welcome to stop in and check out the action from our docks or in the bar. The tournament takes place right out in front of the lodge over a 1 mile stretch. Annually we see over 100 sturgeon caught over the two day tournament. Stop by for great fishing stories, food, drinks and entertainment Friday and Saturday evenings. The tournament runs from 8:30 to 4pm Friday and 8:30 to 3pm Saturday.

Walleye Opener is just around the corner
May 13 is walleye opener. Lodging starting at $46 per person and up to 20% off summer lodging/charter fishing packages. Click here to choose your package. *plus tax and based on double occupancy

Get on the fish with a Guided Trip
Whether you are looking for sturgeon, pike or walleye we have trips available this spring. Contact us for more information 800-862-8602.

Mother’s Day Brunch
Treat mom to some great fishing, relaxation and Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch at Sportsman’s May 14. From walleye, to salads to mimosas and more click here to check out the menu we have planned and make your reservations today.

Record Breaking Catch & Release Sturgeon

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When you are fishing for walleye and you reel in a record breaking sturgeon!!

What an experience!
When three friends, Taylor Schroeder, Tyler Hill and Paul David from Virginia, MN area set out March 30, 2017 on the Rainy River to get into some walleyes, they had no idea what was going to be in store for the that day.

Check out Taylor’s story……Two friends and I set out to catch some walleyes last Thursday morning. We started the day with a nice 25″ fish, but then the fishing slowed, so we decided to move. We anchored in a new spot and soon after I hooked into a sturgeon. The sturgeon decided to bolt down river. I had to put a little pressure on my drag to make sure I had line left to fish with for the rest of the day. Of course, that resulted in my line breaking. I retied, and started fishing again.

Meanwhile, my friends, Tyler Hill and Paul David, started to catch some walleyes. I then felt weight again, so I set the hook, another sturgeon. This time, we pulled up anchor and went for a ride. Having only six pound test and a medium light rod, I didn’t know how long the fight would last. I assumed it would end with me tying on another jig. That was not the case!  It ended up taking around an hour of boat work and drifting to eventually get the fish off the bottom. When we first saw the fish, it became clear we had a BIG one. After wrestling with it at boat side, we found it impossible to lift the fish out of the water by hand, so we grabbed some rope and lassoed the tail. It took two of us to get the fish up and into the boat. When the chaos was somewhat over, we looked at the fish and noticed that it had two of my jigs stuck in its mouth. It was the same sturgeon that broke me off half an hour earlier!

Taylor Schroeder 69 inch sturgeon

After a few pictures and a good measurement, which required all three of us to accomplish, we released the fish. It was about an hour later, when my curiosity caused me to look up the state record (catch & release). I couldn’t believe it when I saw the numbers. Our fish topped the current record by an inch and a half. Unfortunately, we lacked one of the pictures required for it to be considered as a state record fish.  One picture away from a state record, will probably haunt me for a while but in reality, we were just fortunate to have experienced it. In the end, it’s a story of what could have been, but an amazing story nonetheless.

Taylor Schroeder 69 inch sturgeon March 2017
What a catch! 69 inch sturgeon caught on medium light rod, 6lb test, pink and white jig tipped with a rainbow minnow by Taylor Schroeder and assisted by Tyler Hill and Paul David.

Sturgeon season catch and release season is open on Lake of the Woods Oct 1 through April 23 and May 8-15. You can harvest one 45″-50″ inclusive or over 75″ May 8-15 and July 1-Sept 30 with a sturgeon tag purchased from the DNR.

Wheeler’s Point landing just a mile away from the lodge is open and the fish are biting!

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Six landings now open!  Wheelers, Timebermill ( Baudette), Vidas, Frontier, Birchdale and Pelland. We have water at our docks and the forecast looks warm for the week, perfect for spring fishing! Lodging and guided trips available now. Dock slips and boat rental available within a few days as soon as the shore ice is gone from the docks. Click here for a Rainy River boat landing map.

The bite has been great! Check out the pics of the week!

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Water temperature has been hovering between 36-38 degrees the past few days. Clarity is an excellent  4’-6’. Drifting with current in 12’-22’ using pink and gold ½-3/4 oz. jigs has been working well tipped with a rainbow or shiner minnow.  Anglers are reeling in lots of nice walleyes (50-100 fish days) 14”-30”+ and some lunker sturgeon. Sturgeon anglers have been anchored in or near river bed holes using 1-2 oz. no roll sinker, size 5 hook and a gob of minnows.

Open season dates
Walleye now through April 14, reopening May 13
Pike season open all year. With more bays opening up the soft water bite is really going to get good. Ice anglers the past few weeks have been killing it!

Sturgeon catch and release open now through April 23, keep one within size limits season is April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15 before the season closes for a short time May
-June 30.

Spring Specials
$99 Lodge Rooms & 20% off cabins/villas now through the end of March.
Lodging starting at $42 per person per night April 1 –May 24 and up to 20% off lodging/charter packages May 12-May 24. Click here to book now or give us a call 800-862-8602!
*plus tax and based on double occupancy

Hungry? Thirsty?
Food & drinks available 7 days a week.
Click here for our current hours.

Wheeler’s Point landing is now open!

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Wheeler’s Point landing is now open!

Wheeler’s Point landing is just a mile away from the lodge.
Many great fishing opportunities opening daily!

Wheeler's Point landing Baudette, MN

Check out the view from the lodge 3-27-2017

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Walleye season open through April 14, reopening May 13

Pike season open all year
Sturgeon season catch and release now through April 23, keep one (within size limit)
April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15 before closing for 6 weeks.

Sportsman’s Lodge Oak Island Fishing Report – 3/21/2017

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Our ice fishing season has ended  for the year but we are already gearing up for spring.  Our spring specials start in early May and run through May 25 including lodging starting at $60 per person per night and 10% off summer packages.  If you are looking to get into a boat in April be sure to check out our sister resort, Sportsman’s Lodge. The Rainy River is opening up and the walleye, pike and sturgeon bite is on fire! For reservations for Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge and Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge click here or call 800-772-8411. For Sportsman’s Lodge click here or call 800-862-8602.