Tag Archives: walleye fishing resort

Lake of the Woods South Shore & Oak Island Fishing Report – 9/23/20

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Sportsman’s Lodge

Warm Week
Is this the last warm blast? We have had highs in the upper 60’s and 70’s this week. Sounds like a cool down is coming starting Sunday.

Hit and miss bite this week but yesterday it picked up. Water temp has pushed up to lower 60’s. Anchored and jigging a chub or shiner or drifting pulling spinners with a crawler or chub has been luring in the walleyes.  9’-15’ and 22’-28’ outside of Pine Island and Zippel Bay. Gold, yellow and orange have been popular colors. 

Fall Sturgeon Tournament Openings October 30 & 31
Limited space! Sign up for this fun event!  Our normally scheduled spring tournament is coming up this fall October 30 & 31.  We had rescheduled this year’s tournament due to COVID. Cash prizes! Check out the details online and give us a call 800-862-8602 to sign up.

Oak Island

The Bite
Jigging a gold, orange or glow in the dark jig tipped with a minnow in 10’-14’ and 21’-27’ on or around structure and shorelines has been good for walleyes.  The landscape with the leaves turning is absolutely beautiful right now.

Check out our Great Fall Rates through mid October
Click here or call 800-772-8411.

We have open water in front of the lodge and Wheeler’s Point landing is open!

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Sportsman’s Lodge Rainy River
April 23, 2018

What a difference a few nice days make! All of the public boat landings are open on the river now. The current water temperature at our docks is 40 degrees. The water level is low. Birchdale will be closed April 24 for the day only. Wheeler’s, Timbermill, Vidas, Frontier and Birchdale are the landings near us. For a map, click here.

Sturgeon and pike fishing is going on now and walleye season opens back up May 12. Come get into some goooooood fishing and don’t forget to share or tag your pictures with us. We love to see and hear your fishing stories! You might even show up on our next fishing report.

Logan and Corey reeled in some nice sturgeon!

The bite should only heat up this week with many more fishing holes opening up. The weather forecast looks pretty great too!

Sturgeon are moving around in deep holes of the river bottom. Anchor up and rig your line with a few ounces of no roll sinkers, 4/0 or 5/0 hook tipped with a gob of minnows and shiner. Once one of these dinosaurs take a nibble, get ready for a heck of battle. The big sturgeon are known to wrestle for an hour or two.

Northern pike are another fun fish to target in the spring on Lake of the Woods. Lake of the Woods has an abundant trophy pike population. Whether you enjoy catch and release or keeping a few to bake or pickle, Lake of the Woods won’t disappoint. Shallow bays off the river and lake are great spots. Casting orange, red and flashy spinner baits with a slow retrieval works well in the spring along with a jigging presentation bouncing off the bottom with a spinner tipped with a shiner. Come have some fun! Guided trips available.

Fishing Seasons
Sturgeon catch and release now Oct 1-April 23 and May 8-15
Keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and July 1 – Sept 30
Northern Pike open year round
Walleye currently closed, reopening May 12

Spring Specials!
Lodging starting at only $43* per person per night now through April 23 and up to 20% off Charter Fishing packages May 12-23.

Book your trip today. Click here or call 800-862-8602.

*Plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Few more days of ice fishing

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Few more days of ice fishing
We have 40-50+ inches of ice on the lake in the areas we fish and travel right now.  Ice fishing trips available through Saturday.  Give us a call if you are interested in getting one last blast in! If you are planning on venturing out on your own, some of the public ice roads are getting pretty beat up so be sure to call ahead for current conditions. Adrian’s, Morris Point and Zippel are some of the ice roads near us.

Check out these pictures!

The Bite
Not too many changes from last week. Mix of jigging and dead sticking in variety of depths between 16’-31’ using gold and pink jigs,  Glo Shots, red hooks, Buckshots tipped with a minnow has been working the best for walleyes and saugers. Big pike are coming up the holes in shallow waters on the lake and bays using live suckers.  Log Cabin Bait just a mile away from us has suckers for sale.

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/what they are allowing out with the road maintainer before venturing out.

Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods.
When walleye season closes for a few weeks, pike and sturgeon fishing heats up in the river and bays. The Rainy River and Lake of the Woods is home to an abundant amount of trophy size lake sturgeon and northern pike.

River Report
We have plenty of ice on the lake to keep us fishing safely for the next week and there will probably be quite a bit of ice on the lake for a while after March 31 this year.  Despite the cool temps there are signs of spring popping up.  The Rainy River is starting to open up to tour east.  Currently the river is open at Birchdale 36 miles east of us and the Birchdale landing opened yesterday for boats.  Frontier landing will be the next landing to open. I would expect that to open within the next week at this rate, then Vidas Landing near Clementson (6 miles east of Baudette (18 miles east of us)) Timbermill in Baudette and then Wheeler’s Point shortly after. Click here for more information about spring river fishing and stay tuned for updates.

Spring Specials
Lodging starting at $43 per person per night and guided river trips available April 1-May 23! Come see us!

*plus tax and based on double occupancy

Lots of ice, ice fishing trips available through March!

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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.

Spring Break in the Islands!

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Check out the pictures of the week!

Who needs the tropics when you can come to Oak Island and enjoy peace and quiet and ice fishing?  Need a break? Come see us! We have some openings March 12-18.

The best bite has been in 25’-31’ right now using Glo Shot spoons, small spoons and jigs in the colors of gold and pink tipped with a chub minnow. Mix of vertical jigging and dead sticking has been the best approach. Vexilars are certainly helping too.  Anglers are reeling in a mix of walleyes and saugers with an occasional northern pike or perch.

Ice Conditions
We have 36+ inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel.

Trail Report
Grooming continues!  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.

Ice Fishing is Going Strong!

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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!

Starting to Pick Up

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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.

Making ice for March

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Check out these pictures! 

Making ice for March ice fishing
Cold temperatures have once again blown in this week. The good news is we are making more ice to allow ice fishing to run right through the end of March. Lake of the Woods has a unique season most other lakes in Minnesota do not have, an extended walleye season through April 14 and due to it’s location a much better chance at cold temps to keep good ice right until March 31. The DNR also allows anglers to have houses on the lake overnight through March 31. We have both weekends and midweek trips available in March.  Make your spring break ice fishing plans today.

The bite this week has been a finicky this week. Some anglers doing better than others in varied shallow and deep depths 16’-30’. Warm temps coming in this weekend should help.   Successful anglers have been using a light jigging technique using pink and glow jigs or a plain hook tipped with a minnow. Sometimes a minnow head has been successful too. Vexilars and Fish Finders of your choice help. Anglers have been seeing lots of fish on electronics.   Mix of varied sized walleye and sauger mainly with a few big pike, sturgeon and a guest this past week even caught a crappie, not something we usually see in our area in the winter.

Ice Conditions
We have 32-36 inches of ice in the areas we fish and travel at this time.

You still have time! Ice Fishing trips available through March 31!
Walleye season is open through April 14 on Lake of the Woods and we ice fish until March 31. Come see us! We have weekend openings in March and midweek openings in February and March.

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

Snuggle up with our sweetie this Valentine’s Day at Sportsman’s!
Lodging & Fishing Packages starting at $215 per person and two nights of dining specials Feb 14 & 15.
Sportsman’s gift cards make great gifts!
Click here

“We had another excellent trip up at Oak Island”

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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.

Thanks.
Kusilek Group