Minnesota Fishing Report from Sportsman’s Lodge
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| 28.5 inch walleye caught by Nick. Fun father son weekend. It was his first fishing trip. Caught and released in house #17 on a gold macho minnow. Way to go buddy! |
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| Chad Veer reeled in and released a nice 23 inch walleye. Nice one! |
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| Hunter reeled this nice 19 inch walleye on a gold angel eye. Nice catch! |
We have been seeing a large amount of slot walleyes in the 24”-26” range this week. So pump up your arms!
Anglers are still getting some nice eater sizes too, but definitely lots of big ones to catch and release. The best bite has been in 24-27 feet of water. The water is clear for Lake of the Woods standards. Anglers also finding several suspended walleyes 3-4 feet off bottom so bring the vexilar!
Ice Conditions
Currently we have 20-22 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.
Trail Conditions
Groomer was out today grooming the trails around the Northwest Angle. A fresh grooming will be done today from Wheeler’s Point to Oak Island, Wheeler’s Point to Warroad and the following day from Wheeler’s Point to Baudette. Most lake trails are groomed 1-2 times a week based on conditions and traffic.
Plowed road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island.
Road is in great shape! Take a ride out!
Don’t let winter pass you by! Give us a call to book your winter getaway! 800-772-8411 or request online at www.oakislandlodge.com.
Some of the best walleye fishing has been found in deep rocky areas in 22’-25’ feet of water this week. Dead minnow on a 3/8 oz chartreuse and black jig has worked best. Little Oak Island and areas north around Skeet have been good. The evening bite has been the best. Go charter fishing in Minnesota and catch yours!
Pike & Musky
Pike and musky have been found in the deep weed beds especially in the late afternoon using a cowgirl.
Nice Walleyes! Guided by Captain Eric
It has been a great week of fishing! Lots of nice size walleyes have been found. Many good eaters, 14”-18” and several 23”-27” along with some whoppers 28”+. Check out the pictures here and on our Facebook page!
The best bite has been found trolling with crank baits. Red and gold lures in deep 30’-34’ of water along the outside of Graceton Beach and Long Point have been good spots. The guides have been hot on the walleye trail. Get in to catch your excitement before the snow flies! We have openings. www.sportsmanslodges.com
John Royer IA 60 inch sturgeon Captain Mike
Labor Day Weekend Special
Bring the whole family. Stay 3 nights and get the 4th night free! Labor Day weekend at Sportsman’s Lodge Baudette location. Reserve today 800-862-8602.
Fall into Walleyes!
Fall is just around the corner. Check out our fall packages.
Brittany 24.5 inch walleye with Captain Eric
I have received so many pictures this past week they are overflowing onto our Facebook page for you to view. Check them out and keep sending us your pictures! We truly enjoy seeing them and having you share your experience with us. Thanks to everyone who has shared theirs with us.
A mix of bait and trolling with crank baits have been producing great results. Fish seem to be starting to change to early fall characteristics. It has been unseasonably cool the past few weeks with temperatures in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s during the day and cooling down to 50’s in the evening. Trolling with crank baits in the mud 30’-32’ outside Zippel Bay area and drifting while bait fishing over shallow sand bottom in 5-10mph winds has produced good results. Rock reef bait fishing has been tougher the past week. Lots of big walleyes have been found, especially 23”+.
Summer may be winding down, but the fishing continues!
Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River are legendary fisheries in the fall. Catch the walleye excitement right up to freeze up. (Usually early November) Enjoy great fall rates including lodging as low as $39 per person per night and lodging and Minnesota charter fishing packages through October starting at just $188 per person for 2 nights and 1 day. You won’t want to miss it! Click here for more information or here to reserve online. *Rates based on double occupancy plus tax.
Amy Kirkpatrick 28.5 inch walleye Captain Mike
Grant 32 inch Leiseth Group Captain Dave
It’s a double! Paul Carlson Captain JP Nice!
50% off Fall Camping if you book by August 15!
Book your 2 nights or better camping stay for available dates of Sept 2-Oct 16 or Oct 20-31 by Aug 15 and get 50% off our regular rate! Enjoy dining, bar, weekend entertainment, gift shop, indoor pool, hot tub, game room and more. Dock slips, boat rental, guided fishing trips, conference center and more available too.
The water is on the rise!
This springs showers have helped raise the water levels in the rainy river and four mile bay area, which has been much needed due to last years dry conditions. Fishing is moving right along as well, walleyes are mostly done spawning and fish are scattering along shorelines and shallow rock reefs not far offshore. Most of the fishing action is taking place lakeside and little pressure on the river due to higher current levels and dirtier water.
Anglers have been successful at many different depths on the lake as of late.
Fish are being caught out in the mud in front of PineIsland anchored in 18’ to 30’ of water using jigs and minnows. Both frozen and live minnows, at times one will out fish another but try them both. Change up your jig colors to find the color they prefer gold and orange are good stand-by colors lately. Also shallow rock just off of shore is holding fish, pulling spinners with crawlers or minnows along the rock will work as well as crank baits.
Hungry? Thirsty? Check out our summer specials!
www.mysportsmans.com
Escape to Sportsman’s this summer!
Lodging, Camping, Guided Fishing Packages, Restaurant, Bar, Indoor Pool, Lake Tours, Conference Center, Dock Slips and much more! http://www.sportsmanslodges.com/
Bob Saunders Fargo, ND 29 1/2 inch Walleye caught while fishing with Capt. Flip on May 26.
Nathan Olsen. 3 yrs old-18 inches. Capt. Dave.
Warm Weather Heats up the Walleye fishing!
The week started off with nice weather and great fishing. Captain Keith Ayers capitalized on the opportunity and caught some nice fish including this 28 inch walleye. Some of our guest enjoyed the great conditions including Bronson, who just turned 13, showing off one of his nice walleyes. Windy cool weather moved into the area by the weekend and made things a little more challenging, but fishing was still good for the conditions given. More eating size fish seems to be the theme later in the week, which would indicate that a lot of males are on the move down river.
Walleyes are still being found up shallow in 12’-16’ of water and some fish being caught in as little as 4’-5’. The water temps are still cool so the shallow warmer water is holding the baitfish and the walleyes. Jigs and minnows are still the preferred presentation, current levels are slowly going down so smaller jigs are being used. 3/8 and 1/2 size jigs in orange and gold worked well this week. Don’t rule out crank baits and spinners up shallow as aggressive walleyes will continue to seek out warm water and food. The river and bay continue to hold a bulk of the fish and fishing pressure, but the lake is receiving new batches of walleyes daily and will soon have a good bite.
Memorial Weekend Special!
Stay 3 nights get the 4th night free! Lodging and Camping at the Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River location.
Don’t forget Dad!
Father’s Day is just around the corner. Plan a trip to Sportsman’s with Dad in June. Lodging & Guided Packages starting at just $224 per person. http://sportsmanslodges.com/rainyriver/rates/summer/
We have gift certificates too! Always the right color, size and price! Purchase yours online today http://shop.sportsmanslodges.com/
28 inch walleye caught and released by Captain Keith Ayers on 5/14/13
5/13/2013
Walleye Opener Weekend 2013 Results are in! Walleye Opener 2013 was a cool and windy one, giving anglers a challenge, but some nice ones were found! Check out this nice 25 inch walleye Kelly Moore caught guided by Captain Alan “Flip” Phillippe! Sunday, the weather cleared with 5-15 mph winds and sunny. Still a cool 55 degrees but much nicer and boy did Captain Alan “Flip” Phillippe and his crew get into the walleyes! His group caught a 30”, 27”, and a 28” for big walleyes along with 18 other slot fish (19.5”-28”) and lots of good eater size. What a day! Check out the pictures! It is walleye time!
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| Jim Jorissen from Little Canada, MN pictured with his 28 inch walleye he caught and released 5-12-2013. Guided by Captain Flip. | James Jorissen from Little Canada, MN pictured with his 27 inch walleye he caught and released 5-12-2013. James also caught a 30 inch walleye too! Guided by Captain Flip. |
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| Kelly Moore reeled in a nice 25 inch walleye opening day! Guided by Captain Flip | Lake Satellite picture 5-12-2013 |
Anglers are finding some nice walleyes in 12’-16’ of water right now along shorelines and areas with some current. The technique of choice has been anchoring and jigging with a 3/8 oz jig tipped with a minnow. The lake ice is starting to disappear more and more. More hot fishing spots are opening up daily. Check out the latest satellite picture.
Get in on the spring bite. We have a spring lodging special that runs through May 23. Lodging rates starting at only $39 per person per night. Don’t miss out on our Memorial Day Special too! Stay 3 nights and get the 4th night FREE! This offer won’t last long. www.sportsmanslodges.com Give us a call today 800-862-8602!
5/9/2013
Walleye Opener is in 2 days!
It is time to start reeling in the walleyes! Over 75 miles of open water is right out our front door. Are you ready for some action?
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Current water temperature has climbed to 45 degrees at our docks, water level is low, and water clarity has improved over the past week with the run off now gone and no precipitation. The current is slow –moderate in speed. The DNR reports the spawn has not occurred yet. We are looking forward to some good fishing this weekend! Guided Outfitter and Charter Trips are still available. We can accommodate groups of 1 or more. Give us a call 800-862-8602 or log on to our website.
The summer walleye limit is now in effect on Lake of the Woods is 4 or sauger/walleye combination of 6 no more than 4 walleyes. One walleye over 28 inches may be kept per angler. All walleyes between 19.5 inches and 28 inches must be released.
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| Four Mile Bay & Rainy River are wide open. This is a Picture of the Lighthouse Gap 5-8-2013 | Satellite Image of Lake of the Woods 5-8-2013 |
Morris Point Gap 5-8-2013
Still catching some nice sturgeon Sturgeon “keep one” season is now closed but catch and release season still continues for another week through May 15. Some huge monsters over 70 inches have been reported this past week. A 5/0 octopus or circle hook tipped with night crawlers is working well in the deep holes of the river bottom. Guided Outfitter trips are available 800-862-8602.
The pike bite has been good the past week. This season is continuous on Lake of the Woods and never closes. Zippel Bay, Four Mile Bay and bays up river have been good.
Sportsman’s is your summer fun headquarters. Lodging, Camping, Indoor Pool, Entertainment, Restaurant, Bar, Charter Guide Service, Lake Tours, Conference Center and more! Catch the summer excitement! www.sportsmanslodges.com
Lake of the Woods NW Angle & Oak Island Fishing Report
5/9/2013
Greetings from Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge! Unfortunately we will not be able to open for walleye opener this year due to the ice conditions. We are starting to see some open pockets of water around points, bays and between the docks, but not enough water yet to navigate on a boat. We are hoping for some warmer weather and rain to move in this week and move out the ice soon! At this point we are looking at opening next weekend, May 17 but will know more next week. For sure we believe opening Memorial Weekend will not be a problem. Give us a call to make your summer plans! 800-772-8411.
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| 5-8-2013 Docks | 5-8-2013 Docks |
5/4/2013
Day 2 Winners of the 7th Annual Sportsman’s Lodge Sturgeon Tournament are:
#1$ 1900 Cash – Hunter Deziel from Grand Forks, ND with a 58 1/2 inch length and 24 inch girth
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#2 $820 Cash – Tommy Riggs from Shevlin, MN with a 56 1/2 inch length and 21 3/4 inch girth
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#3 Custom Rod – Nick Simonson from Marshall, MN 56 inch length and 21 1/2 inch girth
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Thanks to all of the particpants! We look forward to seeing you again next year! May 2 & 3, 2014
