Tag Archives: Walleye Fishing

Open Water & Fishing Report

by
04/29/2015

Sturgeon season is in full swing!
Some nice sturgeon continue to be found this week and how about this weather! Excellent days to be out on the water.  4/0 and 5/0 circle hooks, 1-3 ounce no roll sinker and night crawlers work best. Anchor up along the incline of a deep hole in the river bottom and get ready for the action. Areas in front of the lodge, Four Mile Bay, Wheeler’s Point and Clementson have all produced some nice sturgeon.  Keep one season, fish must be 45”-50” inclusive or over 75” last until May 7. Catch and release season runs May 8-15. Guided Trips available.

april281 april285
Brett Heinlein
65 inch sturgeon guided by JP
What a catch!		 Cindy Hunter
60 inch sturgeon guided by JP
Nice catch Cindy!

Check out this forecast!


9th Annual Sportsman’s Sturgeon Tournament is this weekend
The tournament is full but we do still have lodging available.  Get into the sturgeon action! Lodging starting at only $45 per person per night. *plus tax and based on double occupancy.

Pike Season
Pike season never closes on Lake of the Woods and we have a very large population of nice trophy pike right now. Some of the best luck has been found in Zippel Bay, Four Mile Bay and shallow creeks. Casting dare devils or any shiny spoon has been working well.

Walleye Opener is only a few weeks away
May 9 walleye season will be back open! Lodging and guided trips are filling up fast.

The ice continues to break up!
This week we expect to see lots of changes due to the warm weather. Check out the latest pictures.

april282 april283
Morris Point Gap
4-28-2015		 Pine Island and Light House Gap
4-28-2015
april284 Satellite 4-28-2015
View from Rocky Point looking East
4-28-2015

Open Water & Fishing Report

by
04/22/2015 

Sturgeon & Northern Pike are in the spotlight!
With walleye season closed until May 9, sturgeon and pike are taking center stage! The sturgeon bite this week has been consistent. Not as many monsters, but still good action. Lots of 25-40 inchers were caught and released. The best approach has been anchoring up in the Rainy River in deep holes or mid channel. Mornings favored the afternoons this weekend, but that can usually change with the day. Areas 3 miles west of Baudette, in front of the lodge and near Wheeler’s Point have all been good spots. A 2 oz. weight, 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook and gob of night crawlers bring them in. We still have openings this weekend! Book your stay 800-862-8602!

40 inch sturgeon 51 inch sturgeon Kyle Hanson
40 inch sturgeon caught by Devin
Guided by Dave Winters		 51 inch sturgeon
Kyle Hanson
 
57 inch sturgeon Harleigh Beth
57 inch sturgeon
Joshua LaFerriere & Harleigh Beth O’Dier
Guided by Evan Smith		 April 11 – Nice sturgeon
caught by Harleigh Beth O’Dier 
Guided by Evan Smith

The pike bite has been best in the winter road river area and any creeks along the river that are open. A decent bullhead bite has also been reported when targeting pike. Flashy spoons or dead ciscos floated with a bobber are great approaches. Some have been just using a jig and a minnow too.

Stats
Water temperature currently 51 degrees. Water is churned up from the wind but not too bad. Water level is lower than normal and run off is minimal if any.  Forecast this week is:

Ice Out
Slow but sure, we are making progress.

ice out 1 ice out 2
April 18, 2015 April 11, 2015


Guided Trips Available!
We have 18’-20’ boats available with a guide, poles, tackle and fish cleaning all provided. Take the work out of fishing and let one of our knowledgeable guides do the work so you can sit back, relax and reel in the fish! The boats hold up to 4 passengers plus the guide. $450 for the day.  Book your trip today.

Spring Lodging Special
$40 per person per night midweek, $45 weekends lodge rooms or cabins. $59 in our new villas. Based on double occupancy plus tax now through May 20.  Food and Drinks available too. Click here for our current hours and make your spring trip reservation today 800-862-8602.

Wheeler’s Point Landing is Open!

by

Wheeler’s Point landing is open!
Birchdale, Frontier, Vidas and Timbermill Park as well. Our lodging is full for 4/10 & 4/11 but we have openings the rest of the month.

  Sportsman's Lodge's photo.

Lots of fishing opportunities available!
Walleye season is open until April 14, re-opening May 9.  Sturgeon catch and release season is open now through April 23. Keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15 before the season closes for a short time May 16-June 30. Northern Pike season will be heating up very soon. Spring is a great time to catch some of these monsters and did you know Lake of the Woods is one of the top 5 best places in the state to catch a trophy pike! Northern pike season is open year round.

Spring Lodging Special
Lodging as low as $40 per person per night! (plus tax based on double occupancy) Now through May 20. Guided trips and boat docking available too. Book your trip today! 800-862-8602 or online by clicking here.

 

Walleye & Sturgeon bite are picking up! 4-6-2015

by

The walleye bite is picking up and the ice is on the way out! Walleye season is open until April 14 and re-opens May 9 here on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River. Good reports coming in from the weekend of many slot fish being caught with keepers mixed in. This weekend, 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with frozen shiners or rainbows produced well. Bryan “Beef” Sathre and Evan Smith two of our guides here ventured Saturday and found some nice eyes in the 22″-25″ class. The ice is out up to Wheeler’s Point and a channel is open in Four Mile Bay. The Wheeler’s Point public access just a mile away from us at this point only has 6 feet of shore ice in front and will be gone soon. Timbermill Park in Baudette, Vidas Landing, Frontier and Birchdale landings all east of Baudette are open as well.
Evan Smith spring walleye released Wheelers Point 4-4-2015

 Bryan Beef Sathre nice walleye releasedSturgeon are being caught by both those targeting them and the accidental one caught while walleye fishing. The best approach for sturgeon is sturgeon rigs, 18″ heavy leader material paired with a 5/0 circle hook. Teamed up with a 4 oz no roll sinker, a nightcrawler and a frozen shiner and you are in business. Find a deep hole in the river and anchor up. Sturgeon catch and release is open until April 23, keep one season is open April 23-May 7 within size limits, we go back to catch and release May 8-15 and the season closes for a short time May 16-June 30.

Nielsen GroupNielsen Group pic 3Nielsen Sturgeon 5

 

 

 

More bays will be opening up this week. We expect the spring northern pike bite to be strong! Time to get the boat out, lots of soft water fishing opportunities have begun!

Spring Lodging Specials Lodging starting at only $40 per person per night plus tax based on double occupancy April 1-May 20! Guided Outfitter trips and boat slips are available too. Weekends are filling up, get your reservations in now 800-862-8602 or click here.

Summer is just around the corner Excellent fishing, lodging, camping, indoor pool, entertainment, new villas, and outdoor activities. Just a few things Sportsman’s offers for your next summer vacation. Click here and make plans today.

The fish are biting! 64 inch sturgeon and nice walleyes!

by

Check out some of the fish caught yesterday!

Spring soft water fishing is heating up!

'64 inch Sturgeon caught and released Kotrba Group 4-1-2015 Guided by Dave Winters'

64 inch Sturgeon, released. Kotrba Group guided by Dave Winters 4-1-2015

'Dave Winters slot walleye. Caught and released 4-1-2015.'

Nice Slot Walleye Dave Winters 4-1-2015

'Kotrba Group nice slot walleye caught and released 4-1-2015'

Another nice slot walleye Kotrba Group guided by Dave Winters 4-1-2015

Lodging starting at only $40 per person per night plus tax. Guided trips available! Click here

 

Lake of the Woods Ice Conditions & Fishing Report

by

3/11/2015

Is spring coming early or are we just being teased?
Like much of the state we have received some warm weather this week too. What does this mean for ice fishing?  Safety first!  At this point we have only lost snow. We still have 33 inches of ice on the river, 38 inches on Four Mile Bay and nearly 4 feet on the lake. The forecast is calling for highs in the forties through the weekend and lows in the upper twenties/lower thirties. Mostly overcast skies (this helps!). Next week’s forecast cools down with highs in the thirties and lows in the lower twenties. We see no problem fishing through this weekend and possibly next week. It all depends on how much sun and warm temperatures we get through this weekend.   We check ice conditions daily and will keep you updated! Daily reports can be found on our Facebook page here.

24 inch walleye caught and released by a Garrett Rohwedder 25 inch walleye released caught on a red buckshot spoon in one of the sleeper houses

24 inch walleye
Caught & released by a member
of the Rohwedder group, caught on
a chartreuse swedish pimple

 Garrett Rohwedder
25 inch walleye, released
Caught on a red buckshot spoon
in one of the sleeper houses
A good day! Pink was the hot color! Sent in by Travis Campbell
A good day! Pink was the hot color!
Sent in by Travis Campbell

 

How’s fishing?
We have a variety of houses in the mud and reefs in 25-32 feet of water. The ride out to the fish houses takes anywhere from 15-45 minutes.  If we had it our way, the shorter the ride the better however, the fish aren’t agreeing this year.  That’s fishing!  Our goal is to give you the best fishing experience possible so we go where the fish are.  A mix of walleyes, saugers, tulibees, a few perch and pike have been reeled in this week. Bright colored jigs orange, pink and gold have been working well tipped with a minnow. Buck shots have also done well. A little jigging and using a vexilar helps your fishing success!

Walleye fishing open until April 14, re-opening May 9. Limit change on the Rainy River and Four Mile Bay March 1-April 14. Pike season never closes and sturgeon fishing is catch and release now through April 23, keep one within size limits April 24-May 7 and catch and release again May 8-15.

Trail Report
Grooming has ended for the year. Trails are being maintained by local resorts with drags. Use caution around the pressure ridges. Pressure ridges pull apart and push together when the temperature warms and cools.

River Fishing
Won’t be long and we will be back in the boats. The river is open 58 miles east of the resort right now. The first landing near us that will open will be at Birchdale, 38 miles away. When? Good question? My guess is 10-14 days at this point. Lots of factors come in to play of course, stay tuned!  Lodging rates as low as $40 per person per night (plus tax based on double occ) April 1-May 20! Get your reservations in now!

Oak Island Ice Conditions & Fishing Report

by

3/11/2015


Fish On!
Warm weather has been in the area, but we are still freezing at night and the 10 day forecast is calling for much of the same. We have lost some snow but ice is good, no loss. As long as we don’t get a stretch of nights not freezing we see no problem continuing to ice fish through our season. Here at Oak Island we will be for ice fishing through March 21 and the lodge open through March 22. The main lodge near Baudette does not close during ice out.

Anglers have been reeling in 30% walleyes, 60% saugers and the balance in perch and northern pike. The catching success has increased over the past week.  Depths ranging from 17’-27’ have been doing the best. As far as big fish, a few nice 38” and 41” pike have been caught as well as some nice walleyes in the 22”-27” range. A good run from 8am-10am and 2pm-5pm have been the most aggressive times of the day.  Gold jigs tipped with a minnow are the hot ticket and keeping your jig really tight to bottom.

Grant
Grant with one of his nice walleyes he caught!
Way to go Grant!
Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge

 

Ice Conditions
38+ inches of ice in the areas we travel and fish.

Ice Road from Young’s Bay to Oak Island
Open and in good shape.  This could change based on the weather conditions so please call before coming out.

Trail Report
Trails are in fair condition. A little slushy depending on the daily temperature.

Summer is just around the corner!
Get your reservations in now! 800-772-8411 or click here.