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
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.
Some people fish a lifetime hoping to catch one of these monster walleyes. Ashton Nills caught two in one day on March 16, 2018 at Sportsman’s Lodge. A 27 inch and 28.5 inch walleyes. What a day! Awesome angling Ashton and excellent release. Thanks for visiting!
Check out the pictures of the week!
Last week in the Islands
This weekend will be our last weekend at Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge for this ice fishing season. Our sister property, Sportsman’s Lodge will be have ice fishing available for a few more weeks. Thanks everyone who visited us this season. We always enjoy seeing old friends and making new ones. Soft water fishing is just around the corner, we hope to see everyone again soon.
The Bite
This week depths in 21’-27’ around structure using plain hooks, gold jigs, Glo Shots and small spoons tipped with a minnow has been the best approach for catching walleyes and saugers. Guests have also been catching an occasional perch, tullibee, perch, pike and eelpout. The most aggressive bite has been between 8am -10am and 2pm-4pm. Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking. Electronics help!
Ice Conditions
We have 40+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.
Trail Report
For more information about the trails click on these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information
Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
The ice road is in good shape. Follow the signs and take a ride. It is about 10 miles out.
Time to book your spring and summer 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.
Check out the pictures of the week!
The Bite
Single red hooks, gold jigs, pink/blue Clam rattle spoon and red Glo Shots tipped with a minnow or two some guests said worked well for them mainly dead sticking was the best approach this week. Although, I wouldn’t count out jigging. It is always a good idea to do a mix of jigging and dead sticking and see what works for you. Lots of saugers, nice 15”+ walleyes, few eelpout, perch and more tullibees and pike this week than we have been seeing in previous weeks. Best depth has been 17’-30’. The guides have been running and gunning chasing after active schools. Electronics help! This is the last weekend for our sleepers but we will continue to have day houses out for a few more weeks, give us a call 800-862-8602.
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods. Once we end our ice fishing season we will be getting ready to hop in boats on the river. During the time walleye season is closed, there is an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike moving around in the river and bays. Fun time of year!
Ice Conditions
We lost some snow this week, but not changes in the ice conditions. We have 40-50 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run off of our private access. If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check current conditions with the road maintainer before venturing out, conditions vary.
Trail Report
For more information check out these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information
21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is March 24
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!
25% off all Lodging March 25-31
Give us a call 800-862-8602 or click here to book.
Spring River Fishing
It’s just around the corner. Lodging specials and guided trips available.
Click here to learn more.
Check out the pictures of the week!
The Bite
Sporadic fishing this week. Some doing better than others. Mix of sizes. Walleyes, saugers, few perch and pike coming up the holes. Best bite has been using electronics and mix of jigging and dead sticking using pink glow, green/glow and gold jigs and small spoons tipped with a chub minnow in 19’-26’ of water. Hugging bottom or reeling up just a few inches and jigging have been a successful approach. As we move closer to spring, the warming weather should only heat up the bite!
Walleye season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we have ice fishing trips available until March 31. Come see us! Lodging and fishing packages starting at only $215 per person.
*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.
Ice Conditions
No changes in the ice conditions, lots of ice. We have 40-50 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel on the groomed trails at this time. Forecast says the freezing will continue. If you are looking to venture out on your own, there are a number of plowed roads in the area. Be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check with local resorts before going out.
Trail Report
Trails are groomed and staked. For more information check out these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information
21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is March 24
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!
25% off all Lodging March 25-31
Give us a call 800-862-8602 or click here to book.
Check out the pictures of the week!
The Bite
Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking in 17’-31’ using Buckshots, Glo Shots, green, gold and yellow jigs and orange and green glow spoons tipped with a chub minnow have been bringing in some fish. Few nice fish suspended 3’-12’ off bottom too. Mix of walleyes, saugers, northern pike, tullibee and jumbo perch coming up through the holes. We have had lots of weather fluctuations again this week. It looks like the forecast for the week ahead is going to stabilize. That should help the bite! We consistently see Vexilars or Fish Finders of your choice help catch rate. Rentals are available if you would like to try one, be sure to call ahead to reserve.
Walleye season is open until April 14 on Lake of the Woods. We plan to have our day houses out until March 31. You still have time!
Ice Conditions
We have 40+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time. If you decide to venture out on your own, as always be sure to stay on marked trails and roads and check with local resorts before going out. The entire lake never freezes equally. Stay safe and have fun!
Trail Report
Trails are groomed and staked. For more information check out these links.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information
21st Annual Mardi Gras Party is March 24
Visit us for great fishing and a whole lot of fun! Entertainment, beads, free hurricanes, food and drink specials, lip sync and costume contest win $100 CASH and much more. Click here to check out all of the fun we have planned and book your stay and play package today!
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!
Trail Report
For more information about the trails click on these links:
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information
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.
We hope to make it back up again next year, and look forward to seeing you all then.
Thanks.
Kusilek Group
Targeting walleyes and saugers is always our #1 priority in the winter, but Lake of the Woods is an incredible fishery and you just never know what might be looking for something to munch on. Lake of the Woods is home to not only walleyes and saugers but also northern pike, lake sturgeon, tullibee, perch, eelpout, muskie, bass, lake trout and crappies. Check out some of the pictures from the past week and two monster sturgeons! It is quite a rush to see a 45+ inch fish come through an ice fishing hole!
Bite
The weather continues to be mild and it looks like it will continue for at least through the weekend at this point. The bite has been fair the past week. Anglers have been having the most success jigging and dead sticking glow and gold colored jigs, small rippin raps, glo-shots and forage minnows tipped with a minnow. 8am-11am and 2pm-4pm have been some of the best times in a range of depths 16’-29’. The best depth has really been changing frequently. The guides are always moving houses and doing their best to stay on the best bite. If you have electronics, bring them along. We consistently see a lot of success with folks who use them. If you don’t have your own, give us a call ahead of time, we have a few vexilars available to rent.
Ice Conditions
We have a good base of ice of over two feet, 28-32 inches in the areas we fish and travel. Looking good for March ice fishing! Remember walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we plan to keep our houses out until the end of March.
Trails
Grooming is in full swing. Groomers caution riders to stay on the trails especially this year with how rough the lake froze; there are a lot of ice chunks sticking up off the trail. Click below for the latest conditions and more information about the Lake of the Woods area trails.
South Shore Lake of the Woods
Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods Trail Information
Join us for the BIG GAME and GREAT FISHING!
Feb 3-6 Trips available! Click here
Snuggle up with your Sweetie in February at Sportsman’s.
Two night lodging and fishing packages starting at just $215 per person. Can’t make it in February? Sportsman’s gift cards make great gifts! Click here to order yours.
Come see us! 800-862-8602 or [email protected]
*plus tax and based on double occupancy.
