Tag Archives: family fishing

Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing Report

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So many fish, only a few more days!
To sum up fishing; lot’s of eating-sized walleye. Fishermen have been reeling in a lot of fish throughout the last week. Some of the fish have flirted with with lengths near the slot limit, but most have been good eating fish.Sportsman’s Lodge guides have been helping guests find fish in water depths ranging from 18’ to 26’ about 5 miles from the lodge. Shallow water has been consistently producing fish in the early and late hours of the day, while deeper water has been successful during the afternoon hours.

Minnows and fatheads remain the popular bait, while buckshot lures in pink and gold have been the tackle of choice.

Trail Conditions
Public trails continue to be groomed as much as state and local club funding allows. The river trail from the resort area to Baudette had its last grooming on Saturday, and is in good condition. The trail from Wheelers to Warroad is in fair condition, and lake trail from Wheelers Point to Oak Island was recently groomed. Many resorts help maintain the trails or use their own private trails. Local groomers and riders have reported excellent riding conditions throughout the area.

Ice Conditions
We are still sitting on plenty of ice. Guides are consistently reporting 46” to 48” of ice in areas we travel and fish.

Only 5 days left to rent fish houses!
Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River location still has houses open until March 31! Give us a call to book your stay 800-862-8602!

End of the Season Mardi Gras Party is this Saturday, March 29!
Join us for the best party of the year!
Fishing, Beads, Entertainment, Contests and a whole lot of fun! Check out our Mardi Gras weekend stay and play packages.

Sturgeon! Pike! Walleye! Make plans for April & May soft water fishing!
Excellent sturgeon, walleye and pike fishing is on its way!
Walleye season is open until April 14, reopening May 10
Pike season never closes
Sturgeon season is catch and release through April 23. Keep one (within size limits) April 24-May 7, catch and release again May 8-15.

Get your reservations in today.

Ice Conditions Update 11-26-2012

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11/26/2012

Good Morning Ice Fishing Fans!
We have the first signs of ice on the lake! Last night we dipped down to -4 with a wind chill of -15.  The week ahead is calling for lows in the single digits and highs in the teens and twenties. We are making ice!  At this point based on what we know we could be out fishing with 12 inches of safe ice by as early as Dec 8. Stay tuned for our next update at the end of the week!  If you are planning on venturing out on your own, we are in no way advising anyone to go out yet. This is our first signs of some decent ice, which is probably merely an inch or less.  This time of year the conditions can change quickly. No sense it rushing it, it will be here before we know it! Stay safe and start polishing off your fishing rods ice time is soon here!

Fire
In the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day some of our vehicles and trailer we use for early ice were lost in a fire. The cause is yet to be determined at this point.  This of course was very disheartening to us but we were thankful no one was hurt. We want all of our guests to know that this WILL NOT delay our ice fishing season. Our phenomenal staff, friends and neighbors have pulled together and we plan to start the year as planned as soon as we have safe ice.

Check out some of the pictures of the start of the ice formations taken this morning. We hope to get a satellite picture this afternoon of the lake. So be sure to log on to our Facebook page or website later today.

Front of Lodge Four Mile Bay (place where we
access the lake early in the year)
Four Mile Bay (place where we
access the lake early in the year)		 Graceton Beach
A south shore view of Lake of the Woods

11/26/2012

Good Morning from Oak Island!
We dipped down to zero last night and the bay in front of the lodge closed up and we have a layer of ice as far as we can see. The weather forecast looks cool in the week ahead. We are looking forward to some good ice making weather! We usually start about a week later than the Sportsman’s Lodge location, so around the 15th is in our sights at this point. Stay tuned for more updates to come!

Rainy River & Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing Report 4-25-2012

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Rainy River & Lake of the Woods South Shore
Fishing Report 4-25-2012

It’s Sturgeon Time! Limited Time Only! Only 20 days left! Don’t miss out!
Check out this picture of one of the healthy sized ones caught recently. Riley Tarsi guided by Captain Keith reeled in and released a nice 61 inch sturgeon this past weekend.

Check out this entertaining video of the sturgeon action Jake & Aaron from Bemidji Outdoors had recently.

The details…..
Areas from one mile up river from the lodge through Four Mile Bay have been producing some nice sturgeon.  Quite a few are being caught right out in front of the lodge. It is a blast watching from our front window these prehistoric monsters being caught daily.  The water temperature has come up a little bit over the past week; we are sitting around 45 degrees right now, typical for this time of year.  Even though it was a early spring the weather the past few weeks overall has been quite cool keeping the temperature water low.

The depth to hook into one of these monsters is all over the board really 16′, 21′ and 40′.  Depth doesn’t seem to be the biggest factor, than finding a hole in the river bottom is.   Sitting at the edge of a hole so the current will pull your hook into the hole where the sturgeon lurk seems to be a successful approach.  If after a half hour or so you are not getting anything adjust your anchor by moving closer or further away, even sometimes 3 feet can make all of the difference.  Once you hook into a good one you better have ate your Wheaties, they will fight you for it, sometimes up to 1-2 hours.  Size 5-6 circle hooks and a 2 oz no roll weight works best tipped with night crawlers work best to lure them in.  Only 20 days left of the spring season, April 24-May 7 you can harvest one within size limits if you purchase a sturgeon tag (only $5) along with your Minnesota fishing license and May 8-15 you can catch and release before the season ends for a month and half time reopening July 1 again. We anticipate the bite to be good right through to the end of the season.  We still have some openings for lodging, camping and guided trips too! Give us a call! 800-862-8602 or contact us online here.

Check out the recent article in the St. Cloud Times more about the phenomenal sturgeon we have here. According to local DNR Large Lake Specialist, Tom Heinrich, in his estimation Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River has one of the largest sturgeon populations in the country!
Read all about it here….

Pike Bite
The best pike bite continues to be in the Zippel Bay & Four Mile Bay area lately.  Anchored with dead bait has been best.

6th Annual Sturgeon Tournament is next weekend!
May 4 & 5 is our annual sturgeon tournament. One boat spot remains available. Give us a call to book your spot. Entry fee is only $70 per person and includes a prime rib awards banquet dinner.  Live Entertainment and prizes up to $4800 in mostly cash will be given away over the two days. Always a great time!

 

Latest Ice Conditions Lake of the Woods, MN 11-16-2011

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Latest Ice Conditions Lake of the Woods, MN 11-16-2011

Latest Ice Conditions
The bays are starting to freeze and we had some shore ice on the river this morning.

The forecast this week looks cold, lows in the single digits. We received a blanket of snow last night.  It is beginning to look like winter!  It won’t be long and ice fishing season will be here. At this point we are looking at Dec 10 to start our season. We just need 10 days of zero degrees and we will have 12 inches of ice to start fishing right outside of Pine Island.  First ice is usually one of the best times of year! Be sure to check out our new 5 bedroom, 4 baths Villa available starting early December on facebook!  Get your reservations in now 800-862-8602. For rates & packages click here.  

Christmas Shopping…we’ve have you covered!
Check us out online for all your favorite Sportsman’s attire, gift items and that item that always is the right color, price and size, a Sportsman’s Lodges gift certificate. Remember you can use our certificates at any of our three Sportsman’s Lodges locations.

New Years!
Ring in the New Year, Sporty’s style! We are always game for a party and this year will once again be a blast. Choose our Rainy River location or our Oak Island location for fun and relaxation.  Sportsman’s Rainy River, we will be having live entertainment, a special one night only menu, party favors, champagne and always a whole lot of fun.  How about ringing in the year island style?  Sportsman’s Oak Island will be featuring dinner specials, party favors, and champagne. Make your reservations today 800-862-8602, space is limited so don’t delay.

Frost Fest is this weekend!
Enjoy family fun at Frost Fest 2011! Saturday, Nov 19 in Baudette. Stay with us and take in the festivities. Huge Craft Fair, Turkey Bingo, Holiday Light & Fish House Parade, Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides, Magic Show, Fireworks & more! http://www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/pdfs/frostfest.pdf $39 pp per night lodging special.  Give us a call to book your stay and join in the fun! 800-862-8602 http://sportsmanslodges.com

NW Angle & Lake of the Woods Report

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12/13/2010

It won’t be long now!
The guides and staff are opening up camp this week.  We have 8+ inches of ice around the area and making more ice by the minute.  We plan to have food and drinks available by the weekend and a few fish houses. Give ChiChi a call to book some early season fishing. More information to come in a few days.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge 800-772-8411

www.oakislandlodge.com

Fishing, Ice & Trail Report Lake of the Woods

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For the Areas of Four Mile Bay and just outside of Pine Island on Lake of the Woods

12/13/2010

ICE!!!!
It’s here, it’s nice and think and the walleyes are just waiting to be hooked at Sportsman’s Lodges.
We currently have 12+ inches on the lake right now in the areas that we travel and it was -31 below this morning! We are making more ice every minute!

Walleyes!
The fishing started out fair last week, but over the weekend it really picked up and limits of fish was not uncommon.  The guides found the fish out deeper than in normal years at this time.  Chubby Darters, stop signs and gold jigs have been the hot tackle lately tipped with a minnow. Check out this beauty caught last week, Joe Cooper from Baudette, MN caught this 11 lbs, 31 inches! Wow! It was released, and is waiting for you!

A few tips from the guides, jigging helps, change up your tackle after awhile if you don’t get any bites and the morning and late afternoon bites are the best.  Vexilars are also a helpful thing to bring along or rent from the front desk.   Also keep in mind last winter we had quite a few fish caught not just at bottom, but also suspended 1, 2, 3, and even 6 feet off bottom.  The best technique to catch one of those is to leave your jig on the bottom, have a vexilar and watch it, when something comes up, reel up. The most popular seasons on Lake of the Woods is here!

Trail Report
The Lake of the Woods Drifters snowmobile club is planning on staking the trail from Wheeler’s Point to Oak Island this Saturday.  The land trails have 12-14 inches of snow but are just starting to be groomed. Hopefully by the weekend we can have our first nice grooming done. No word yet on when the Wheeler’s Point to Warroad trail will be marked. I am sure it will be soon. Stay tuned.

Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing & Outdoor Report 10/20/2010

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Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing & Outdoor Report

Sportsman’s Lodge

Baudette, MN

www.sportsmanslodges.com

800-862-8602

10/19/2010

The Shiners are starting to show up!
Just in the past day we are starting to see more measurable amounts of shiners starting to show up in the Four Mile Bay and Rainy River!
The Current Bite

The current water temperature is at 47-50 degrees this morning, down a few degrees from a couple of days ago. The best fishing as of yesterday had been in 18’-25’ of water outside and around Lighthouse Gap and Zippel Bay however in the next few days we feel this will rapidly change to the Lighthouse Gap, Four Mile Bay and onward up river. Right in front of Sportsman’s is usually a hot spot. We have also heard a few reports of some good walleye fishing in the river around Wabanica Bay, Baudette Airport and Clementson lately.  The best presentation is a 3/8 – ½ oz brightly colored jig tipped with a minnow.

Water Temperature? Current? Water Level? Rain? How long does it last?

These questions are all hot topic right now with the annual shiner run starting.  From what I understand, there is no documented official study ever done in our about the run, but based on my experiences and talks with many veteran anglers, guides and DNR fishery staff here are the common answers I found to the popular questions being asked right now. 

Water Temperature – this seems to be the #1 thing that dictates the start of the run and the fast paced walleye fishing that accompanies it. The upper forties and ideally mid forties are the start of this run. We are currently at 47-50 degrees right now. Warm weather spikes after the first dip into the forties can affect it but the run normally starts back up after it cools off again.

Current – The current in the Rainy River is always fairly rapid. Many said they didn’t feel this speed made much of a difference over the years they have been watching the shiners and fishing for walleyes during this time.

Water level – This again was not something many veterans felt was a factor. Some said if their was an extreme difference they thought it could have some affect but nothing that they remember made that big of a difference.

Rain fall – This does have an affect on the fishing, but only for a few days. Once the rain subsides and the waters have a few days to clear up the fishing usually improves again.

Wind – Other than early in the run when the fishing is best in Four Mile Bay and the Gap did anglers say they have found this to be an issue where the wind really churned the waters up. Many said once the shiners moved in the river the wind didn’t seem have as much affect.
How long does the shiner run last & the active walleye fishing in the Rainy River? Usually right thru November! Many anglers said in the years they fished if they were able to get out fishing in November before the ice starting forming, the good walleye fishing continued.

Guided Trips available through October!

Guided charter trips and alaskan outfitter trips are still available through October. Book a trip today and let the guides lead you right to the walleyes. No equipment or experience required!

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge 10/20/2010

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Lake of the Woods Northwest Angle & Islands Fishing & Outdoor Report

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge

Oak Island, MN

www.oakislandlodge.com

800-772-8411

10/19/2010

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge is now closed until mid December. Thanks for a great season and we look forward to seeing you this winter! 

Time to book your winter trip!

Before we know it their will be a blanket of snow and ice on the lake. Sportsman’s Oak Island and Eagle Ridge are taking reservations for our winter season starting mid December. Give us a call and get in on some excellent early season walleye fishing.  We are open December thru March for ice fishing, snowmobiling, relaxing and fun.