Tag Archives: Lake of the Woods Fishing Report

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

Sportsman's Lodge

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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.

The Rainy River is opening up quick!

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The Rainy River is opening up quick!

The river opened up to 1/2 mile west of Clementson (6 miles east of Baudette) now. Frontier landing has 25 feet of shore ice and Vidas (2 miles east of Clementson) has about 50 feet shore ice.
Birchdale and Pelland landings are wide open.

Birchdale Landing 3-20-17 - Copy

Birchdale Landing 3-20-17

Frontier Landing 3-21-2017

Frontier Landing 3-21-2017

$99 lodge room special and 20% off villas and cabins. Guided trips available! It’s spring fishing time!
Our 20th Annual Mardi Gras Party Saturday! 800-862-8602 www.sportsmanslodges.com

Vidas Landing 3-21-2017

Bring on the cold!

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It looks like the brief winter warm up is finally going to end after today and boy are we excited!  Enough of the warm weather, what was Mother Nature thinking we still have a month of ice fishing left! LOL!

Currently we have 23-27 inches of ice in the areas we travel and fish. We have made some changes to where we are accessing the lake and have been playing in some sloppy conditions the past few days but other than that we are still fishing, checking ice often keeping safety #1 and looking at the forecast we plan to keep fishing until late March.

If you are looking to venture out on your own we can’t stress enough to please work through resorts and outfitters. Check conditions before going out and stay on the trail.  The conditions are not the same over the entire lake and now with very little snow left on the lake many people may think they can go anywhere.  That is not the case.  That is not the case even in the coldest of winters and the winters when we have 4’ of ice.  On a good note once we start to cool down we should build ice quicker without the snow.  So stay safe and come join us for some great late season fishing!

Fishing Action
Gold and pink spoons jigging or dead sticking with a plain hook tipped with a minnow has been working the best in 26-32’.  Overall some anglers doing better than others depending on the day, hour, weather, depth, approach and mother nature.  Electronics users seem to do better than those without. Still seeing some suspended fish in various depths from a foot off bottom to 15 feet.  Bite has been mainly made up of walleyes and saugers for the pan or throwback with an occasional slot walleye (19.5”-28”) or larger.  Best tip is to try some different techniques and talk with your guide for the best approach for the day. March usually considered an active month for fishing. Come visit us!

Check out what some of the guests have been reeling in this week!

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Winter pike
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Trail Report
Due to the warm weather we recently been having most of our snow has melted. Trails are marked and groomers will fire back up as soon we get another shot of snow!

Happy New Year! We can build a snowman now!

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Good ol’ Mother Nature decided we needed more snow so she threw down 12 inches the past few days J.   The guides have the bombardiers out in full force getting guests to the fish houses, moving houses and chasing down the best bite.  We aren’t slowing down…..just another day in the north land. Come see us!

The latest bite
What a great start to the year!  14lb walleye, a few 50”+ sturgeons, 19.67 lb. eelpout and many other nice fish caught.

We are seeing many nice pails of walleyes and saugers and a few nice 25”+ walleyes this week.  Jigging pink, gold or red glow 1/8-3/8 oz. jigs tipped with a minnow head or full minnow has worked well.  Some anglers are finding the smaller jig and minnow head is working best to entice the fish and set the hook with better success.  The bite is on the move deeper, 18’-29’now.  Check out some of the pictures.

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Ice Conditions
Current ice conditions are 17-20 inches in the areas we travel and fish.  We run a private groomed trail. If you looking to venture out on your own, check out Adrian’s Road report below.

Adrian’s Road Four Mile Bay near Wheeler’s Point Access
As of January 1, ½ ton trucks pulling up to 17’ wheel houses and smaller vehicles pulling up to 21’ wheel houses are allowed out. ¾ ton and 1 ton trucks can drive out but cannot pull a wheel house.

Trail Report
Lake trails are marked from Baudette on the Rainy River all the way around Wheeler’s Point to Lake of the Woods  and 40 miles north across the lake to Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge. The trails are also marked from Wheeler’s Point to Warroad. The crew is dragging the trails now and as soon as we get a few more inches of ice they will start grooming. This new snow has really improved trail conditions.  The land trails are being groomed often.  For more information about the land trails check out the Lake of the Woods Drifters Snowmobile Club.

Lake Sturgeon
Anglers have been reeling in a few lake sturgeons lately.  Most sturgeon have been caught on a jig and minnow while targeting walleyes however this has raised several questions I thought I would take the time to address.  Can I target sturgeon now? Can I use the same large hook, sinker and worm method as I do in the spring? Does Sportsman’s have fish houses available that target sturgeon?  Yes, you can target sturgeon anytime July 1-May 15. The season to keep one is April 24-May 7 and July 1 – Sept 30. The rest of the season is open to catch and release.   The only time you cannot target sturgeon is when the season is closed May 16-June 30.  Yes, you can use the same method to catch sturgeon in the winter as you do in the summer using a large 4/0 or 5/0 hook, no roll sinker and a gob of minnows however worms can be hard to come by this time of year so many people use shiners.  Sportsman’s  does not have houses that we use to primarily target sturgeon but as we know the sturgeons are out in our fishing areas and it is not that uncommon to sIf you are looking for a soft water trip to target these prehistoric dinosaurs, our guides would love to take you out. Click here for more information.

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Ice fishing is here! Book your trip today!
Lodging & fishing packages starting at only $191 per person. Click here to learn more.
*plus tax and based on double occupancy

Rainy River Fall Walleye Fishing

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The water temperature is now 58 degrees and the forecast is cooling down. We expect to see a sizeable dip in the temperature this week which means better fall fishing!  More and more shiners are showing up in the river every day and the walleyes are starting to chase after them.  Right now the best fishing has been outside of the Lighthouse Gap, Zippel Bay and Graceton Beach in 21’-26’ of water anchored using gold and orange 3/8-1/2 oz. jigs tipped with a shiner minnow.   The sturgeon bite has been good in deep pockets of the Rainy River and Bays using 4/0 hook, 1-2 oz. no roll sinker tipped with a gob of worms and a few minnows.  Get into some great soft water fall fishing action now through early November!

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Nice walleye caught by a member of Hank Specialities Group. Guided by Captain Dave

 

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Fall Fishing Hanks Specialities Group Guided by Captain Dave M.

 

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Winter Ice Fishing Deals!!
Limited Time Deals! 25% off ice fishing and Double Rewards! Click here to learn more and to book your trip today!

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Warm Water Walleyes

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Lake of the Woods is at its peak temperature for the year right now. The temperature is between 74-78 degrees. Where is the best place to find the walleyes? Deep! Depths between 28-32 feet have been best. Anchored jigging and pulling spinners tipped with a leech or minnow has been producing some eyes and saugers but the most action has been using the controlled depth approach pulling crank baits. Red, gold, white and silver have been hot colors. Anglers are reporting several healthy sized walleyes and saugers. Some anglers have also been finding some nice perch, crappies and smallmouth bass fishing in the river using jigs and buck tails. Lots of fishing opportunities going on!

 Stefanich Group with Captain Ralph
 Stefanich Group with Captain Ralph
 Stefanich Group with Captain Ralph August 2016
 Stefanich Group with Captain Ralph. August 2016
 Logan and some nice perch!
 Logan and some nice perch!
 Crappies right off the dock
 Crappies right off the dock
 Bryan “Beef” Sathre found some nice smallies this week
 Bryan “Beef” Sathre found some nice smallies this week

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Fall Fishing is just around the corner
A few more weeks and we will start to see fall creep in. Fall fishing is phenomenal on Lake of the Woods, walleyes, saugers, sturgeon, bass, crappies, pike, perch and muskies abound. Boat rentals, dock slips and guided trips available through late October. Click here to learn more.

Fishing Report NW Angle & Oak Island Lake of the Woods 7-29-2016

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Fishing Report NW Angle & Oak Island Lake of the Woods 7-29-2016

Good action this week.
For walleyes, Little Oak Island has been a hot spot lately 18″-23″water with chartreuse, blue or black jigs tipped with a minnow. Night crawlers on a good ol’ worm harness have also been the hot lure. Water temperature is 75 degrees.

Muskie and northern fishing is heating up!
This week reports five 38-42″ northerns and eight 45″-52″ muskies have been lured to the surface by a group. Top water crank baits and spinners have all been working casting in a weedy bed. Don’t delay book your trip now before the summer passes you by 800-772- 8411.

Fall rates start September 15