The bite has started to pick up in the islands this week. Guests have been getting some nice fish with the good old jig stick, pink, glow or gold jig tipped with a minnow head or full minnow in 26’-29’. Vexilars are certainly helping too. Change it up! The best technique can vary day by day. Try some light vertical jigging, hard jigging and dead sticking and make sure your hooks are sharp! That favorite jig may have brought you previous luck, but it may also have dulled, so always a good thing to double check. The days are getting longer, come enjoy some winter fun with us!
Ice Conditions
We have 29”-34” of ice in the areas we fish and travel. Looking good to bring us right through late March! Come see us!
Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.
Spring is just around the corner.
It is never too early to start planning your spring trip! Come visit the islands this spring and get into some hot soft water action. Spring lodging specials available May 11-25!Contact us today.
We had another excellent trip up at Oak Island on Jan. 25-28, 2018. Wack and all the guys took great care of us, getting on the fish and cleaning them for us. We sure appreciate their hard work. The meals at the Lodge were fabulous as always.
Each of us caught some nice note-worthy fish.
Group: Kusilek Name: Mike DeMarce Fish: 22.5” Walleye Date: 1/27/2018
Group: Kusilek Name: Mark Stenseth Fish: 20” Walleye Date: 1/27/2018
Group: Kusilek Name: Chad Young Fish: 18.5” Walleye Date: 1/27/2018
Group: Kusilek Name: John Balk Fish: 13.5” Perch Date: 1/26/2018
Group: Kusilek Name: Jim Kusilek Fish: 13” Perch Date: 1/26/2018
We hope to make it back up again next year, and look forward to seeing you all then.
Bobber Down! Nice mix of varied sized saugers and walleyes have been coming up through the holes this week along with some nice big walleyes 22”-30” in length and a few pike too. Pink and glow have been hot! Pink and glow 1/8-1/4 jigs, Northland Tackle Glo Shot Spoon and Buck shot spoon as well as some anglers noting just a red hook tipped with a minnow. Some anglers have found the best luck using just a minnow head and light jigging or a full minnow when dead sticking. Depths have been all over the map the past few weeks, varying by day, 16’-30’. Don’t count out the afternoon bite. 2-4pm have been one of the best times lately. Bonus ~ Wow have we had some cool sunrises and sunsets lately. Be sure to check it out!
Ice Conditions
We have 30-34 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time.
Trail Report
Trail grooming is in full swing. We could use another shot of snow or two. We have varied amounts of snow on the lake between 0”-8” on the south end and 10-12 inches up past Garden Island and around Oak Island and the Northwest Angle. More snow on the land. Not much for bare spots on the groomed trails as of today. For more information about the trails on these links. South Shore Lake of the Woods Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods Trail Information
Big Game Party! 14 TV’s, Drink Specials, Food Specials, Free Apps 5-6 and over $1,000 in prizes to be given away! Join us!
Decent bite this week, morning and late afternoon bite continues to be the strongest. We are seeing mainly walleyes coming through the holes along with some sauger and the occasional perch and pike. Jigging and dead sticking with gold and/or pink jigs, plain hook or macho minnow #29 has been working well in 20’-26’ of water. Electronics help too! Rentals available, call to reserve ahead of time.
Ice Conditions
Currently we have 20-24 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. If you venture out on your own, be sure to stay on marked trails and roads. The ice is rough this year! Lots of ice chunks sticking up.
Ice Road
The ice road from Young’s Bay to the resort is plowed and it good shape! Come on out!
Snowmobile Trail Conditions
The trails are marked and grooming is in full swing. We received a few inches of snow last night. Windy day today but it sounds like it is going to start settling down later in the day. The south shore has several spots of bare ice and anywhere from 0”-10” of snow on the ice, more snow in our area of the lake. The lake froze pretty rough this year so we strongly encourage riders to stay on the trails, go slow and use caution. Lots of ice chunks sticking up off the trails. For more information about the trails click here or contact: Lake of the Woods Drifters and the Northwest Angle Edge Riders.
We ice fish until late March! Make your reservations today 800-772-8411 www.oakislandlodge.com
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.
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!
Captain Matt and the Neimi Group had an unbelievable day filled with a ton of multi-species action!
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!
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!
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!
Captain Wes off to a hot start this year with a cooler of nice fish!
Nice Catch!
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.
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.
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
Hey everyone, it has been a good week of fishing here on the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods. The spring season brings lots of changes and successful anglers know that too well. Being ready to change up your location, tackle, bait and approach when the weather, fish patterns, water temp and clarity make a change, is all instrumental in getting more walleyes in your net. Currently the river is clearing up, 1-2 feet clarity today and the water temp has warmed up to 45 degrees. Anchored, using gold jigs tipped with a shiner and Northland Tackle’s gold thumpers have been working well. Depths in the river and lake between 11’-18’ have been good. The lake is open to about a mile and half past Pine Island right now. As the ice melt continues be sure to watch the wind and ice chunks. There is over 40 miles of fishable waters outside our front door right now. Areas from Birchdale all the way out to the lake so even when conditions change, there are miles of good fishing holes to enjoy. Walleye season is open through tomorrow and re opens May 13. The lodge will be closed Easter Sunday but lodging in our cabins and villas are available that day.
Guide Eric’s Best’s dad Doc reeled in this huge strugeon today. Measuring 63 inches.
Awesome Sturgeon Bite
We have seen a lot of nice 40”-70” sturgeon reeled in this year already. It really has been incredible start to the spring sturgeon season. The other cool thing is these dinosaurs seem to bite no matter what the water clarity is like, so always a great option to try in any condition. Deep holes in the river using a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, a good weight 3-10 ounces depending on the day and current and a gob of minnows works well. Spring season continues through May 15. For more information about the seasons and limits click here.
Spring Pike Fishing
Lake of the Woods is home to one of the largest populations of trophy sized pike and March – May is one of the best times to reel them in. Anchoring at the mouth of the river using frozen ciscos has been working well.
Kids love fishing! What a fun day! Guided by Captain Wes
Two hours of non stop action with Captain Wes
No hassles, just good fishing! Guides available for walleye, sturgeon and pike! No boat to worry about, no tackle or bait to buy, no hassles, just great fishing! Give us a call to book your trip 800-862-8602!
Spring Specials
Lodging starting at $42 per person per night, guided trips and up to 20% off summer lodging and charter fishing packages. Click here to learn more! *plus tax and based on double occupancy
