Tag Archives: Fishing Report

7th Annual Sportsman’s Sturgeon Tournament Day 1 Results

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5/3/2013
7th Annual Sportsman’s Sturgeon Tournament Day 1 Results

It was a cool, 45 degree clear and sunny day for day one of the 7th Annual Sportsman’s Lodge Tournament.  It is a full tournament, 50 boats and over 100 people participating. The tournament is a two day catch and release tournament. The three longest sturgeon of each day receive prices. First two receive cash and the third a custom built rod.  Despite the cool spring, the Rainy River in front of Sportsman’s Lodge where the tournament is held has plenty of open water. Live Entertainment, food and drinks will close out the day. Day 2 starts at 8:30 am and finishes at 3pm. 6pm is the prime rib dinner banquet where the prizes will be given. Fireline Live Band will then take the stage one more time Saturday night to close out the 7th Annual Sturgeon Tournament.
The sturgeon season is open through May 7 and May 8-15 is catch and release season before closing for about a 6 week period of time. Lots of nice sturgeon have been caught this spring and their is still plenty of time to get in on the action. Give us a call to make a quick trip and reel in one of these monsters! 800-862-8602
Official Day 1 Results Sportsman’s 7th Annual Sturgeon Tournament Prizes awarded to the 3 longest fish of each day.
Thanks to all participants we look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!
#1 $1900 Cash – Jim Benson 61 inch length, 23 inch girth approx 53 lbs

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#2 $820 Cash – Mark Capouch 60 1/4 inch length, 24 1/2 inch girth approx 56 lbs

 

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#3 Custom Made Rod – Mark Capouch 56 inch length, 21 inch girth approx 41 lbs

 

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Lake of the Woods South Shore Fishing Report 5-1-2013

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5/1/2013

It’s PRIME TIME STURGEON TIME!
The sturgeon fishing has been incredible! Several nice sturgeon were boated the past few days especially monster size 50 inch plus! What a blast!  Sturgeon “keep one” season lasts until May 7. You can keep one within 45”-50” inclusive or over 75”. Licenses and sturgeon tags are available at the lodge. May 8-15 get in on one more week of catch and release before the season closes May 16.

Anchoring and working deep holes of the river bottom has worked best.  The best tackle to use is a 5/0 or 6/0 octopus or circle hook, a couple of ounces of weight and 2-4 crawlers.

Our 7th Annual Sturgeon tournament is this weekend!
The tournament is always a good time! Over $4500 in cash and prizes to be given away! Come on out and watch the boats from our docks, hear good fish stories and listen to the live entertainment. At this time, this year’s tournament is full but we are taking names for a waiting list in the event we receive last minute cancellations and we are now taking reservations for next year’s tournament, May 2 & 3 2014.

Don’t just take it from me, read what other recent guests are saying….
65 31.5 girth 115 lbs!! Great cabins great food and great people!!! You rock!!! Especially Jennifer !!! Thank you!!!!
65″ 31.5 girth 115 lbs!!  Great cabins great food and great people!!!  You rock!!!  Especially Jennifer!!! Thank you!!!! We will be back for sure, best fishing weekend of all time!
Don Gregerson

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We had the best success employing a run and gun approach giving each spot a ½ hour before moving. The heads of deep holes seemed to be holding the most fish but keep eyes on the electronics as fish are easily spotted. Our rigs consisted of large Water Gremlin Dipsey Swivel sinkers with 12” leaders tied to 5/0 circle hooks. 4- 6 night crawlers sprayed with Berkley Gulp Minnow spray was our bait of choice. Freshen scent often. When fish hit simply point the rod at them, lift tip, and reel in. Please handle these prehistoric giants with care!
Water Gremlin Pro Staffer Garett Svir

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Thanks for your support of Wounded Warrior Guide Service! Our stay was great! You guys are AWESOME! Here is Brandon and Darius with one of the fish from our two day trip! These guys had a great time!
Jake Flaa

Bill & Jyothi

As usual, we had a great stay at Sportman’s plus few nice fish! Can anyone think of a lake that gives you a better chance to catch an so many different kinds of trophies?
Bill & Jyothi

Steven Wintemute
Had a great time fishing at Sportsmans Lodge sturgeon fishing at its finest! Great food, great accommodations, great people and of course GREAT fishing
Steven Wintemute
Hooked Magazine

Limits & Seasons
Sturgeon “keep one” season is open through May 7 within size limits of 45”-50” or over 75”. One sturgeon per angler per year.  May 8-15 is catch and release season. May 16-June 30 is closed. July 1-Sept 30 is keep one sturgeon.
Pike season never closes. You can keep 3 only 1 over 40”.  All pike between 30”-40” must be released.
Walleye season opens May 11. Limit of walleye is 4. Walleye/Sauger limit is 6, no more than 4 can be walleye. Only 1 walleye over 28” and all walleye between 19.5”-28” must be released.

Catch the spring action! Lodging as low as $39 midweek and $43 weekend per person plus tax. We have it all! Docking, Restaurant, Bar, Entertainment, Indoor Pool, Guided Trips and more!

Pike
The pike bite is heating up. Anglers have been finding some nice ones in Four Mile Bay the past few days.

Let us Guide you to the action!
Guided sturgeon and pike trips are now available. Walleye trips available starting May 11.  Let our professional guides guide you to the action. No equipment or experience required. Click here for more information.

Open Water & Fishing Report from Sportsman’s Lodge 4-22-2013

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4/22/2013
We have open water in front of our docks! A channel of open water opened up in front of the lodge yesterday!  We expect it to be wide open by the end of today or tomorrow and Four Mile Bay to be open by the weekend. Bring on the sturgeon and pike fishing! It is prime time!
view from oru docks 4-22-2013

Sturgeon Bite Check out some of the recent action!

Steven Wintemute
Steven Wintemute from Hooked Magazine reels
in a monster sturgeon!

Ryan Knutson
Ryan Knutson from Hooked Magazine
reels in a nice sturgeon.

Nikki Breuer 57 inch
What a fish! Nikki Breuer reeled in a 57 inch beauty!

The sturgeon bite is heating up! Anglers reported reeling in good numbers of sturgeon this past weekend and they expect it to be a real good bite through the season.  Several 30-40 inch sturgeons as well as some monster 50”plus were found.  Areas near Baudette Bay, Baudette Airport and near Wabanica Bay were good. Once the river opens up completely in front of the lodge and Four Mile Bay we expect those areas to be hot as well.  These dinosaurs are usually found in the deepest hole you can find.  Use 2-3 oz sinkers, 5/0 or 6/0 circle or octopus hook and a gob of crawlers.  Anchor above the hold and work it. Test the bottom, mid and upper rim of the hole. It may be quiet at first, but once you hook into one, get ready for a fight!
The water clarity continues to be good, water level low and current slow.  Sturgeon season is catch and release through tomorrow, April 23. April 24-May 7 you can keep one with a sturgeon tag, within 45”-50” or over 75”. These fish are excellent smoked.  Sturgeon tags are available for purchase at the lodge.  May 8 you have another chance for catch and release before the spring season closes May 16. Sturgeon season then remains closed until July 1.

Our 7th Annual Sturgeon Tournament is May 3 & 4. Stay tuned for coverage next week on our Facebook page. To get into next year’s tournament call 800-862-8602 to reserve your space today.

Pike Bite
A few pike have been found in the river. Most of the larger pike are still staging just outside the tributaries. We expect to see them start moving into the bays, river and creek as soon as we see a few days of temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s. Possibly by the weekend!  We suggest anchoring  at the mouth of the river, creek or stream and use dead suckers or frozen ciscos.  Lake of the Woods currently has a very healthy population of trophy size pike right now, so your odds are good!  The limit is 3, only 1 over 40” and all pike between 30”-40” must be released.

Get on the bite!
Guided Outfitter trips available!  Head out with one of our knowledgeable guides watching the fish patterns daily. Boat holds up to 4 passengers plus the guide. All day trips only $400 for the day. Poles, bait and tackle included. Call 800-862-8602 to schedule yours today.

Boat Ramps
The nearest boat ramp to us as of this morning is Timbermill Park Ramp just 1 mile east of Baudette off Hwy 11. We expect Wheeler’s Point Ramp to be open by the weekend. For a map of all river ramps, click  here.

Walleye Opener is just around the corner!
 Less than 19 days and walleye fishing will be here again!  Get your reservations in! We expect with the late spring spawn the bite will be good!

Lodging, Restaurant, Bar, Specials, Camping, Indoor Pool ~ We have it all! Sportsman’s is your spring fishing headquarters.

Latest fishing report and river opening information 4/18/2013

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4/18/2013

Still cool but the Rainy River continues to open! The weather continues to be cool, but forecast says we getting closer to start a warming trend. Forecast says we could see 40’s by this weekend and 50 by next week. Not exactly 70, but we will take it!  The Rainy River is wide open within 7 miles from us as of this morning and pockets of open water within 5 miles. We are expecting to see open water in front of our docks by late this weekend.  At this time 4 boat ramps to are open.  Franz Jevne, Nelson Park, Frontier, and Vidas.  Timbermill still has some shore ice left as of this morning.   Click here for a map of ramp locations.

Walleye The walleye season has now closed .  Walleye will re-open May 11. Now is the time to make plans for walleye opener! Ask us about our lodging & fishing package spring specials 800-862-8602!

Sturgeon The dinosaurs are moving around! The excitement is building! The lake sturgeon is Minnesota’s biggest fish. It can weigh more than an adult human. The Lake sturgeon can generally range from 10 to 50 pounds and 20 to 70 inches long. But sturgeon may grow to more than 300 pounds and 8 feet long.   Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are descendants of a prehistoric fish, and look much the same as fossils from the Upper Cretaceous Period 100 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. They can live for 150 years or more.  We usually see several in the 30-70 inch range caught every year many just a hop, skip and a jump from the lodge.  Currently, the best sturgeon bite has been found near Clementson Rapids in the river.  They are being found deepest area, anchor just above the hole.  Dead sticking with a circle hook or octopus style hook size 5/0 or 6/0 works best with 2-3 ounces of weight and 2-3 crawlers for bait.  The current is slow, water level is low and water clarity is good.  Come on out and try your luck! Catch and release season is now through April 23. Keep one (within size limits) April 24-May 7 and then back to catch and release again May 8-15. Sturgeon season is closed May 16-June 30. Spring is hands down one of the best times of year to hook into one of these incredible fish.

Pike The large female pike have been found on the lake right now staging just outside the tributaries. Smaller males have been found in the river at this time.  As soon as the creeks open up and we get a warm stretch we expect to see more females move to the river and shallow creeks. We could possibly start to see that transition next week if the forecast holds true.  Dead or live suckers have been working well.
Click here for Spring Rates & Packages.

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!

Walleye Opener 2012 in 9…8….7…. days and counting!

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We are enthusiastically waiting for Walleye Opener 2012! Opener this year is Saturday, May 12.  We have had very good fishing the past three years and are looking forward to once again another excellent year here on Lake of the Woods.  The DNR has done a great job at maintaining and growing our fishery over the years.  Many long time guides continue to say they have not seen the fishing like this in years if ever.  The walleye and sauger population is in great shape and continues to thrive.  The large lake specialist, Tom Heinrich from the DNR said in a recent St Cloud Times article that the sturgeon population in his estimation is one of the largest in the country.  We also have one of the highest trophy pike populations in the state as well. We are very happy with where the fishery is at and headed at this time and are looking forward to another great summer!

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!

 

100% Ice Guarantee – Sportsman’s Lodge

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 Book an ice fishing package at Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River location for dates thru March 31, 2012 and we will guarantee we will have good ice for ice fishing or we will not charge you for ice fishing and discount your lodging 50%!. No Worries! If we don’t have ice you get to come and stay for 50% off. Relax, eat, drink, enjoy the hot tub and pool, sight see, hike and enjoy the area.

     No two special offers may be combined. Fishing package must be reserved with full deposit before the final date of the season is announced. Sportsman’s Lodge determines the last day of fishing for the guarantee. Not valid at the Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge, Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge or Sportsman’s Sleeper Division.

Fishing Report from Sportsman’s Lodge Lake of the Woods 12-26-2011

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12/26/2011

Happy Holidays Everyone! We hope everyone had a nice Christmas! Fishing has been great!
We had another great week of fishing last week here on Lake of the Woods. Many excellent and over the top action days! 50-100+ fish per days, not bad, not bad at all!  Some of the best fishing we have seen in years!  The past few days we have seen the bite slow a bit but still very good! A nice pail of walleyes by the end of the day is still a great day!  We are seeing about a 60% sauger and 40% walleye ratio right now.  The best depth has been in 22’-27’ of water just outside of Pine Island.  Stop signs, Buckshots and the glass pink and orange jigs have been hot this week. A little shine to your tackle in our waters tend to really do well.  Anglers using Vexilars/Fish Finders have had even better luck.  Vertical jigging with a minnow has been the best technique at this time.

Ice Conditions
We currently have 14-16 inches of ice in the areas we travel and fish just outside of Pine Island at this time.  If you plan to venture out on your own please remember, ATV’s and light vehicles only are advised at this time and allowed out on the trails and roads. Please check with local resorts before going out as the entire 950,000+ acre lake does not freeze equally or at the same time.

Trail Report
As of today we only still have just a dusting of snow and not a whole lot in our forecast at this point maybe a little shot on Wednesday.  It is a strange start to your season here in the northland.  The land trails are closed and only the trails to fish houses are marked at this time. 

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Looking to rent a Vexilar or hot tackle?
Check out our gift shop open 6am – 11pm daily located next to our front desk.  Vexilar rental is in high demand, we suggested calling to reserve prior to your arrival.