Tag Archives: sportsmans lodges

Sportsman’s Lodge South Shore Lake of the Woods Fishing, Trail & Ice Report 1-26-2017

January 26, 2017 by Sportsman's Lodges

Fishing Time!
It has been a strong bite overall this week at Sportsman’s Lodge. Lots of nice walleyes and saugers coming through the ice holes as well as a few northern pike, jumbo perch and eelpout. Successful anglers have found that vexilars definitely increase your catch rate, jigging a small spoon, just a plain hook or a 3/8 oz. gold jig tipped with a minnow is working well. The best bite has been in varying depths between 19’-31’ in the mud.

Joe Hraban 27.25 inch walleye caught 1-24-2017. Sportsman’s Sleepers

Michael Cline one of our guides was out fishing on his day off and reeled in a nice 25 inch walleye on a charmer.

Michael Cline tackle 25 inch walleye

Poor Man’s Lobster! Krista Kappes,Thunder Seed group reeled in this huge eelpout on a bright green and yellow chartreuse lure

Kaylee Bjorklund reeled in this nice 29.5 inch walleye this week on a gold jig. Nice fish Kaylee!

Ice Conditions
Currently we have 20-24 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We run a groomed trail to get to our houses. We received 4-5 days of highs in the mid to upper thirties last week but the weather has since cooled down and we are back to making more ice. Over the warm days we experienced a lot of slush but we did not lose any ice. If you are looking to go out on your own, Adrian’s road is a good choice located at the Wheeler’s Point/Four Mile Bay area off Hwy 172. They are allowing up to 1 ton trucks and wheel houses up to 28’.

Trail Report
Area lake and land trails are being groomed weekly. For more information click here for the Baudette area or here for the NW Angle & Islands.

Need a Vexilar?
They are available for rent at the lodge. Call ahead to reserve 800-862-8602.

Join us for the Big Game Feb 5!
12 Big screens, free apps, giveaways and great drink specials. Specials start at 3!

Ice Fishing trips available through the end of March
On Lake of the Woods we can have our fish houses out until March 31. Fishing and lodging packages still available starting at $191* per person. We have midweek stays open in February and weekend and midweek stays open in March. Book your trip today! *plus tax and based on double occupancy

Spring, Summer, Fall
It is never too early to start planning your spring, summer or fall trip. Get the gang together and contact us today. Click here to learn more about our packages.

Sportsman’s Lodge South Shore Lake of the Woods Fishing, Trail & Ice Report 1-18-2017

January 18, 2017 by Sportsman's Lodges

Fish in the Bucket!
A steady bite of walleyes and saugers this week. Anglers are reeling in a mix of walleyes and saugers. Real nice 14”-18” and a few 24”+ walleyes along with a steady bite of small walleyes and saugers. Pink and gold jigs, plain hook with a little weight, blade and rattle spoons tipped with a minnow or just a minnow head has been working the best in 20’-31’. If you get into a finicky bite try downsizing your lure. Another tip is to try dead sticking with one rod and jigging with the other. The one you use to jig with really pound the bottom stirring it up and jig up 4-8 inches. Some anglers have even had success jigging upwards of 2’ off bottom to draw attention to your bait. Flashers are a good idea to bring along or rent. They tend to really help your catch rate. Vexilars and Marcum’s are good choices. We rent Vexilars at the lodge; give us a call ahead of time to reserve if you would like to try one.

A nice eye!

Missy reeled in a nice walleye on a pink jig and minnow!

A fun way to spend a day with no school!

Thanks John and Kate for visiting us!

Ice Conditions
Currently we have 20”-22”of ice in the areas we fish and travel. We travel on a groomed trail. If you are venturing out on your own, Adrian’s Road out of Wheeler’s Point is a good one to access the lake. They are now allowing out all size trucks and wheel houses up to 28’.

Trail Conditions
The lake trails are marked with black stakes and groomed from Baudette on the Rainy River and across Lake of the Woods to Oak Island. They are also marked from Wheeler’s Point to Warroad. It is about 50 miles from Baudette to Oak Island or Baudette to Warroad via the lake trails. We have a nice base of a couple feet of snow and the trails are in great shape. Click here for more information about the Baudette area. Click here for more information for the Northwest Angle & Oak Island area.

Ice fish with us until March 31!
Ice fishing packages available through March 31. Click here to learn more and book your trip today.

Short on time? Take a quick trip!
One night/one day trips available including lodging, ready to go fish house, transportation to and from the fish house, use of jig sticks, jigs bait and fish cleaning starting at only $144* per person. Available: Jan 22, 26, 29-Feb 2, 5-9, 12 & 22. One day fishing only trips $115* per person. Available: Jan 22, 23, 26, 27, 29-Feb 2, 5-10. Click here to reserve or call 800-862-8602.
*plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Sportsman’s Lodge South Shore Lake of the Woods Fishing, Trail & Ice Report 1-11-2017

January 11, 2017 by Sportsman's Lodges

Bouncing off Bottom
Guides report it has been a good bite for the 11”-17” walleyes and saugers this week. A few big walleyes and another large eelpout were reeled in too. Varying depths between 19’-26’ jigging Rapala slab raps, gold and pink jigs, silver blade spoons and flutter spoons have been working well. Dead sticking a rock and roll jig or a red has also proved to be successful. Anglers found that bouncing off the bottom to churn up some lake bottom to get the attention of the fish at least 4-6 inches and sometimes even up to 2’ was a successful approach. Chub or shiner minnows are the live bait of choice.

Another big eelpout! The Albiston Group a group of 4 gals reeled in this 12lb and 30 inch eelpout while fishing in the Sportsman’s Sleepers. What a fish!

Doug Loos caught this 25.5 in walleye just over 7lb on a Gold Rapala Slab Rap guided by Troy. Doug and his son Dan caught over 90 fish on their recent trip to Sportsman’s!

What a nice walleye!

Ice Depth
17-20 inches of ice on the lake in the areas we fish and travel right now. The bombardiers are ready to bring you out fishing!

Adrian’s Ice Road
If you are planning to go out on your own, Adrian’s ice road out of Four Mile Bay near Wheeler’s Point 12 miles north of Baudette is a good option. As of Jan 1, they were allowing ½ ton trucks pulling up to 17’ wheel house and smaller vehicles pulling up to 21’ houses. ¾ ton and 1 ton trucks can drive out not pulling houses.

Trail Conditions
We have 15”-20” of really nice snow in the area. The lake trails are in good shape and being maintained weekly. As soon as we get more ice the heavier groomers will be out. The trails are staked across the lake with black stakes from Baudette to Oak Island and Wheeler’s Point to Warroad. Come enjoy our over 100 miles of lake trails and 500 miles of land trails! For area land trail information click here to contact the Lake of the Woods Drifters Snowmobile Club.

Ice fish with us until March 31!
Ice fishing packages available through March 31. Click here to learn more and book your trip today.

Short on time? Take a quick trip!
One night/one day trips available including lodging, ready to go fish house, transportation to and from the fish house, use of jig sticks, jigs bait and fish cleaning starting at only $144* per person. One day fishing only trips $115* per person. Available: Jan 12, 18, 19, 22, 26, 29, Feb 1, 8,12,16,19 & 22.
*plus tax and based on double occupancy.

NW Angle/Oak Island Lake of the Woods, MN Fishing, Trail & Ice Report 1-4-2017

January 4, 2017 by Sportsman's Lodges

Jig & a Minnow
A 3/8 oz. gold or chartreuse jig and a minnow head have been working well in 17’-26’ of water this week. A mix of walleyes and saugers are coming up the ice holes. Many anglers enjoy bringing along or renting a fish finder and find they have more success with it. If you would like to try one out, give us a call to reserve one.

More snow!
We received about 12 inches of snow Monday and in the early morning hours of Tuesday. We now have plenty of snow for riding the trails and banking the fish houses J! Trails are marked with black stakes from Baudette to our door step. They are also marked around the Northwest Angle with wooden stakes. The trails are now being maintained as best as possible and will be groomed as soon as we get a few more inches of ice. Get out and take a ride today!

Ice Road
The ice road from Young’s Bay/Northwest Angle to our door step is open. Drive on out!

Ice! Ice! Ice! We are making progress! Lake of the Woods

December 8, 2016 by Sportsman's Lodges

Ice! Ice! Ice! We are making progress!
Lake of the Woods, MN

12/8/2016

Ice Update
We are making progress! Bobbie’s Bay the bay that is in front of our Sportsman’s Oak Island location on Oak Island near the Northwest Angle of Minnesota iced over yesterday and today we have some ice on Four Mile Bay. Four Mile Bay is the bay near Wheeler’s Point that we use to access the lake in the winter time. The channel in the bay still has open water but this is progress and we like progress! The wind is supposed to die down tonight and below zero temperatures are in the forecast for the weekend. No safe is yet, but we like what we see! We are moving in the right direction. Get your reservations in!

Bobbie’s Bay in front of Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge
Lake of the Woods
www.oakislandlodge.com 12-8-2016

Four Mile Bay Lake of the Woods near Wheeler’s Point.
Ice Forming 12-8-2016

Ice Condition Report 12/7/2016

December 7, 2016 by Sportsman's Lodges

Here it comes!
The thermometer is dropping and the landscape is about to change! Ice making is happening now! Stay tuned, we should have lots to report next week! For now, get your reservations in and put that new line on your favorite rod you have been thinking about doing for the last two months! Lodging and ice fishing openings available through late March. Get your gang together and make plans! It’s almost fishing time!

It’s getting colder!

Make it a New Year’s Eve to remember.
What a better place to ring in the new year than at Sportsman’s Lodges on beautiful Lake of the Woods. Ice fishing, snowmobiling, indoor pool, 3 restaurants, bar with entertainment, game room and more! Sportsman’s Lodge will be featuring many dinner specials, musical entertainment, party favors, champagne and lots of holiday cheer. Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge will be featuring dinner specials, party favors, a midnight wine toast and lots of fun island style. Reservations required. Space is limited. Book your trip today!
Check us out on Facebook
For ice condition updates, fishing pictures, hot deals and contests like us on Facebook.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge Fishing Report October 12, 2016

October 12, 2016 by Sportsman's Lodges

Reeling in fish
The bite in the islands this week has been great! Lots of nice walleyes, saugers, crappies, pike, bass and muskies have been reeled in. Jigging with a minnow in 10’-15’ and 22’-26’ has been good for walleyes and saugers around shore lines. Soldier’s Point and McPherson Island have been notable hot spots. Crappies have been found in 24’-30’ using smaller jigs with a minnow in areas with structure but we have also seen plenty caught were the walleyes are targeted too. Bass, pike and muskie fishing has been best trolling using spinner or jerk baits around points and areas with current. Casting around rocks has been successful too.

Few days left
Just a few more days left of our fall season. Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge and Eagle Ridge’s season is winding down. The last day for lodging reservations is Saturday, Oct 15 and the restaurant and bar’s last day will be Oct 16. Thanks for another great season! We are taking reservations for winter and next summer. We look forward to starting our winter season mid-December. Book your stay today for an ice fishing adventure! Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River location remains open year round so if you are looking for a great place to visit after this weekend and get into more fall fishing action, give them a call 800-862-8602 or click here.

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge Fishing Report August 23, 2016

August 23, 2016 by Sportsman's Lodges

Walleyes….
We have seen nice eater size walleye between 14”-18” caught lately in 20’-26’ jigging with minnows along points and reefs. The best presentation has been gold or orange 3/8 oz jigs tipped with a minnow. The reefs around Tug Channel, Skeet and French Portage have good fishing holes. Water temperature is 73 degrees.

Muskies…Pike…and Smallmouth Bass
Top water baits like cow girls, jerk baits and mud puppies have been working well. Weedy bays 7’-15’ with some rock structure has been best.

Best Equipment for walleyes?
The guides favor St Croix, Fenwick, Gloomis or 13 Fishing rods combos, medium fast action 6’-7’. They like a 10lb braid line, 3/8 ounce jig or 1-1.5 ounce sinker/spinner combination.

Fall is just around the corner
Fall foliage, hunting seasons, and excellent walleye, crappie fishing will soon be upon us too. Make your reservations now and fall into walleyes with our great fall rates!

Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge Fishing Report August 10, 2016

August 10, 2016 by Sportsman's Lodges

Structure & Mud
Areas with structure or mud have been hot spots this week. Little Oak Island and the southwest side of Falcon Island have been good in 25’-28’ and 17’-22’ of water using a 3/8 ounce gold, red or pink jig tipped with a minnow or leech. Water temperature is currently a warm 76 degrees.

Muskies, Pike & Bass
The muskies and pike have been real active. Top water baits, buck tails in bays of 7’-15’ with a fast tapering bottom. Working point to point.

It’s Fishing Time

May 20, 2016 by Sportsman's Lodges

It’s Fishing Time!

Sportsman’s Lodges on Lake of the Woods, MN specialize in lodging and guided fishing trips. Learn more about Sportsman’s Lodges fishing packages today.