Tag Archives: Rainy River Fishing Report

The ice is starting to breakup more at Timbermill Landing today!

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The ice is starting to breakup more
at Timbermill Landing today!

Timbermill Park and boat landing is located on the east edge of Baudette. Baudette is located 12 miles from the lodge. Currently Birchdale, Frontier and Vidas landings are all open. Timbermill will be next and then Wheeler’s Point. Based on the forecast, we should have water at our docks in a few days!  Spring is finally here!





River Update Coming Soon

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River Update Coming Soon

 

Hey Everyone!

What a crazy spring so far. We have gone from two of the warmest spring season’s to now one of the coldest. I guess that is Mother Nature for you, unpredictable. We are going to head out this afternoon and tomorrow morning and snap some pictures of what the river looks like and how far it is open to share with you tomorrow morning. We also will post another update Thursday afternoon too.

Over the weekend, the morning bite on the river was a struggle.  Temps dipped down causing some of the accesses to freeze up and then thawing late morning/early afternoon.  Some anglers went ice fishing on the lake for morning and headed to the river for the afternoon/evening soft water bite.  Still lots of ice on the lake.   Although it doesn’t appear to be time to break out the shorts yet, the forecast does look warmer for this week.  Warmer temps should help navigating the river and the increase the bite for the last few days of walleye season. Walleye season runs through April 14, re-opening May 12. Spring sturgeon catch and release season runs through April 23 and May 8-15, keep one (within size limits) April 24-May 7. Pike season never ends.  If you haven’t experienced reeling in a monster sturgeon or trophy pike, spring is one of the best times to do it. It is a blast! Give us a call, lodging and guided trips are available. 

The bite over the weekend was hit and miss. Some of those who did the best were jigging with 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz jigs on the river and small jigs/spoons on the lake in 16′-24′ tipped with a minnow. Sturgeon anglers were using a gob of worms, on 5/0 hook and a few ounces of no roll sinkers in deep holes of the river.   Pike anglers using live suckers and big smelt in pre-spawn areas.  The current is slow right now. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow and Thursday.

Hey Ice Fishing Fans!

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ice update

The weather forecast looks great and we expect to start our ice fishing season soon. We are unable to get out on the lake right now to check the ice due to wind conditions and poor visibility. It sounds like the wind is going to settle down tonight and we should be able to get out tomorrow to see how things are coming along. We will post a report tomorrow as soon as we can! Stay tuned! We have trips available December through March. Make plans to join us for some winter fun today.

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Snow, ice….is ice fishing going to start early this year?

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11/6/2017

Snow, ice….is ice fishing going to start early this year?
It has been a cool and snowy weekend here at Lake of the Woods.  Cool temps have made the water temperature plummet and ice to start to form in bays.  Saturday, 8-12 inches of snow fell, sure looks like December around here!  Not enough ice had formed prior to getting the snow so no problems there.  A few anglers are still out in boats and blaze orange is the color of choice for clothes around here this week.  Hunters are out and about.  Check back often for ice updates! If this keeps up, it could be an early start to the ice fishing season!

Current Bite
Fishing continues to be good. Anchored up, jigging using shiners in the Rainy River and Four Mile Bay/Light House Gap has produced some nice walleyes in 6’-26’ water.  The DNR reports that the fish population looks good.   We are looking forward to a good ice fishing season.  The early season walleye bite usually starts out aggressive. Times to make winter reservations, weekends are starting to fill up!

Four Mile Bay 11-6-2017 Lake of the Woods, MN

Four Mile Bay 11-6-2017 Lake of the Woods, MN

Winter Road River MN

Winter Road River MN

Water Temp Rainy River

Wheeler's Point Landing 11-5-2017

Wheeler’s Point Landing 11-5-2017

Sportsman's Lodge  11-5-2017

Sportsman’s Lodge 11-5-2017

 

8-12 Inches of Snow Baudette, MN 11-4-2017

8-12 Inches of Snow Baudette, MN 11-4-2017

Forecast 11-6-2017

Fishing continues to be hot!

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Fishing continues to be hot!  Walleyes are being targeted and caught using a variety of tactics.  Gold and pink jigs tipped with a frozen shiner are still producing very well.  27’-30’ has been the best depths the past few days.

Like I said last week, the spinner bite will be picking up and that has held true!  8’-20’ with a hammered gold spinner tipped with a minnow, leech, or crawler produced good numbers of quality walleyes!  Drift speed is very important when spinner fishing. The best speed right now is .7-1.2 mph.

The third bite that has been producing is pulling plugs.  This is a method that doesn’t usually pick up steam until the dog days of summer but there has been a few boats doing well.  If you look to try this tactic look shallow.  Troll the breaks from 5’-10’.  Since the water is still warming up, the slower you can run your plugs and keep them in the strike zone the better!

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Captain Matt and the Neimi Group had an unbelievable day filled with a ton of multi-species action!

 

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Looking for a place to have a bachelor or bachelorette party this summer?
Sportsman’s Lodge is a great place! Lodging, fishing (no experience or equipment required), musical entertainment, indoor pool, hot tub, camping and relaxing await you. Make it just a day or weekend trip!  Contact us today for a free quote!

Celebrate Dad the month of June at Sportsman’s!
Lodging & Charter Fishing packages available starting at $249 per person or make it a gift card. Gift cards are always the right color, size and price.  Click here to contact us about a trip and click here to order a gift card online now.

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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vanstrom

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.

Sportsman’s Lodge South Shore Lake of the Woods Fishing Report 5/3/2017

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With air temperatures dropping in the low 30s we all knew the water temperatures were not far behind. Water temperatures dipped all the way to 40 degrees.  And with cooling water almost always means fishing slows, especially in the spring time! This does not mean there are not fish to be caught! As far as sturgeon, get in high percentage areas and camp.  With the water cooling those big dinos will be lethargic but they will bite if they are there.  When targeting pike, if you are casting work those baits as slow as possible.  Although it may take some more patience, dead baits under a float or on the bottom may be the better bet.  As far as location, creek mouths and any areas of slack water are great areas to target! Good luck and we will see you out there!

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Walleye Opener is only 10 days away! Do you have your reservations in?
SPRING FISHING SPECIALS ~ Two nights lodging in your choice of a lodge room or cabin and one day charter fishing aboard a 27’ boat with onboard restroom, experienced guide, use of poles, bait, tackle, assortment of pop/water and fish cleaning package starting at only $210 per person. Two Night/Two Day starting at $323 and Three Night/Three Day starting at $369.  Lodging, boat rental and dock slips also available. Click here to learn more and book your stay today 800-862-8602. *plus tax and based on double occupancy

The man, the myth, the legend is on the board with his new personal best sturgeon… 59.5″.. It was even tagged.. Great job Blue Olson. Great battle.
Guide Bryan “Beef” Sathre

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Check out this nice 39.5 inch pike!

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Charter boats are ready for opener!

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.
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.


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.

The ice is moving on out!

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The ice is moving on out. We can now get from the Northwest Angle/Young’s Bay to the island. The main lake still has ice but it is melting fast. Click here or give us a call 800-772-8411 to book you summer stay.

Check out our spring deals here.

For summer packages click here.

Fishing Dates to Remember

Minnesota Fishing Dates…..

Walleye opens May 13

Northern Pike open all year

Muskie opens June 17 thru Nov 30.

Bass, Crappie & Perch open all year.

Ontario Fishing Dates…..

Walleye season opens May 20

Muskie opens June 17

Northern Pike, Bass, Crappie & Perch open all year

Get your reservations in early for the upcoming summer season, prime dates are filling up.

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Sturgeon and pike fishing is heating up!

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We have already seen some huge sturgeon and nice pike reeled in this year and this is only the beginning! Sturgeon seasons run through May 15 and pike season is open year round. The spring sturgeon catch and release season runs through April 23 and May 8-15. You can keep one sturgeon per calendar year April 24-May 7, between the size of 45”-50” inclusive or over 75” with a sturgeon tag.  Sturgeon tags can be purchased at the lodge for $5 or at any place that sells Minnesota fishing licenses.

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Come and get in on the fun
Water temp is 45 degrees today.  Some of the best sturgeon fishing is just minutes away from our dock. Sturgeon like to hang out in deep holes of the river bottom. One of the best techniques to hook into one is to set up anchored just in a hole or outside of a hole using a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, 2-10 oz. no roll weight depending on the current for that day and tip it with a gob of minnows. The best places to find pike this time of year is in the bays. Throwing dare devils or jointed rapalas usually do well. Hundreds of bays along the river and lake are open now. Guided trips also available too. The lake continues to open up more every day. As soon as the cloud cover clears we will post a satellite picture on our facebook page, stay tuned.

Check out what others have caught this week!

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.

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 lodging/charter fishing packages starting at only $249 per person. Click here to choose your package. *plus tax and based on double occupancy

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.