1/16/21
Moving houses out to deeper water in the mud! Several houses catching slot fish and smaller fish. Still catching a few burbots. The fish bite is off to a good start in the deeper water.
1/16/21
Moving houses out to deeper water in the mud! Several houses catching slot fish and smaller fish. Still catching a few burbots. The fish bite is off to a good start in the deeper water.
12.22.2020
On the south end… Some excellent Ice fishing this week. Resorts have fish houses out and good numbers of walleyes and saugers being caught. Most ice fishing taking place between 20 – 27′. Using the one-two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking with a live minnow for the second line. Jigging spoons with a minnow head or tail effective for jigging line. Colors, gold, glow, glow red, pink. Some jumbo perch, big pike and eelpout keeping things interesting. An angler caught an eelpout just over 17 lbs this week. The MN State record, also caught on LOW was 19.67 lbs. Eelpout or burbot are great eating.
On the Rainy River… Ice fishing is taking place on the river mainly by locals. The majority of ice fishing is done on the main lake during the ice fishing season where there isn’t current. Some nice walleyes are being caught in various spots of the river. Ice conditions vary greatly, work through a resort for safety. No snowmobile trail yet, stay tuned.
Up at the NW Angle… With the border closure, NW Angle Resorts and Community have pulled together and will have a guest ice road across the lake up to the Angle so anglers can drive to resorts. The NW Angle Guest Ice Road will begin when ice conditions allow, most likely early January. The snowmobile trail will be staked soon across the lake, stay tuned. Another option, North Country Air is flying anglers to the Angle. More info on Facebook at Northwest Angle Guest Ice Road 2020.
Ice fishing has started up at the Angle with excellent reports. A mix of walleyes, sauger and jumbo perch. Great morning – evening bite in 15-19′ of water. Afternoons, 22-26′ have been best. Communicate with your favorite NW Angle resort for specifics and safety.
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We got a start on fishing! Lake conditions still have a ways to go! Open areas now a thin layer of ice 1-2” and we have 11 – 11.5” – Day House’s and 2 Sleepers set up with 7 more Sleepers to go! Fishing up and down – Terry fished in our small 2 man – 23 caught- kept 2, 12 lb burbot and a slot walleye in the mix- small one’s morning – afternoon bite – they turn on around 3:30. Ice not safe enough to open access – keep watching temps- bring on the cold!!
Our deepest apologies to the guests that reservations were cancelled due to the unsafe ice conditions. Early ice fishing is a time we love but only works if the cold temps are with us!! There is an area of ice that continues to be unsafe but this too will be thick enough for safe ice fishing conditions.
Jerome and Brad Thank you so much for joining us again this winter! Nice Fish Jerome!!
12.9.2020
On the south end… Ice is thickening and making progress. With safety in mind, resorts have been out checking ice thickness, ice conditions, cracks, and in some cases starting to mark trails. Each resort fishes a different part of the lake with varying ice conditions and will make the decision when ice fishing can begin. Some areas have decent ice, other areas still need more time. As some ice fishing will begin this week for some resorts and not for others, it is important to check with each resort as to when they will start fishing, what is allowed on their ice trail (ATV’s, snowmobiles, etc) and if they have fish houses to rent or only a marked trail in which you would bring your own ice transportation, collapsible fish house, etc. Resorts and outfitters monitor ice conditions throughout the season daily. Please stay on their marked trails when it is time. Trails are marked for good reasons, please stay on them for safety.
On the Rainy River… The river is covered with ice. Most ice fishing is done on the main lake during the ice fishing season where there isn’t current. There can be some good ice fishing on the Rainy, but with current in the river, work through a resort for safety. Some locals have been ice fishing certain areas where ice conditions allow. No snowmobile trail yet.
Up at the NW Angle… With the border closure, NW Angle Resorts and Community have pulled together and will have a guest ice road up to the Angle so anglers can access resorts while staying in the U.S. and not crossing the border. The NW Angle Guest Ice Road ice access on the south end will be at Springsteel Resort. Anticipated start, January. More info on Facebook at Northwest Angle Guest Ice Road.
The Angle is iced over and resorts are monitoring ice thickness. Initial fishing reports by resort guides checking have been good. It’s not ready yet, but the ice is coming along nicely.
12.2.2020
On the south end… It’s a waiting game. Hoping for cold temps and calm winds. This past week saw some strong winds blow ice around the basin, eating up some of the thinner ice that had formed. Forecast looks promising to lock things up in the very near future. Resorts are monitoring ice conditions on Four Mile Bay, Zippel Bay and various areas of the shoreline. It’s important to wait until they say it’s good to go and stay on their marked trails when it is time. Resorts and outfitters monitor ice conditions now and throughout the season daily. Some spearing and angling for pike in back bays.
On the Rainy River… The river is covered in most places with a layer of ice. Most ice fishing is done on the main lake during the ice season where there isn’t current. There can be some good ice fishing on the Rainy, but with current in the river, work through a resort for safety.
Up at the NW Angle… With the border closure, NW Angle Resorts and Community have pulled together and will have an ice road up to the Angle so anglers can access resorts. The NW Angle Guest Ice Road ice access on the south end will be at Springsteel Resort. More info on Facebook @nwaiceroad.
The Angle is iced over and resorts are monitoring ice thickness. Some resorts have been checking for walleyes in a few spots having good success. It’s not ready yet, but the ice is coming along nicely. A complete list of lodging and ice fishing packages available at www.LakeoftheWoodsMN.com/Lodging
11.18.2020
On the south end… As we roll into mid November, thin ice conditions on back bays as well as the Rainy River have put an end to the open water fishing season. Big Traverse Bay is still open water. The hope each year is to have cold nights combined with low wind and no snow early in the season to create a good early sheet of ice. Every year is different based on Mother Nature of course, but normally resorts will be able to get their smaller fish houses, called day houses, out around December 10th. A couple of resorts who provide spearing for pike in back bays of course earlier. Again, this is just an average. This year could be earlier or later, time will tell, but everyone is watching.
On the Rainy River… The river is covered in most places with a layer of thin ice. The fall season ended up with a good number of shiners in the river from the fall run. The few anglers who fished this past week had some good reports. We believe there are a good number of walleyes in the river despite mixed fishing reports this fall. Some anglers believe the sheer numbers of shiners in the river made the bite more difficult.
Up at the NW Angle… The Angle has a mix of iced over areas and open water. That is quite typical this time of year. The ice is forming nicely and the hopes are for colder weather to keep things moving along positively.
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Oct 16, 2020
9.16.2020
9.9.2020
On the south end… A great week of walleye fishing as seasons are slowly starting the change up at Lake of the Woods. Trees are turning colors and waters are starting to cool. With a few windy days this week, anglers fished both along calmer shorelines and in the river finding some nice eaters for their efforts. Most walleyes are still being caught on crawler harnesses. Crankbaits are a good second choice. Walleyes are being caught in 7 – 15′ along shorelines and 24-36′ over mud. As a rule, the trophy fish have been over deep mud with the eaters being shallower. With colder nights and warmer days, water temps are starting to drop into the mid 60’s with jigging starting to turn on.
On the Rainy River… A fair number of small emerald shiners called “pinheads” in the river this week. More fishing activity as well with some nice walleyes caught. Most anglers are jigging with frozen shiners. Not a heavy run yet, but additional life for sure. Walleyes are scattered on flats and along breaks. Trolling crankbaits or crawler harnesses covering water is still effective. Anglers reporting a mixed bag with walleyes, saugers, smallmouth bass, pike and sturgeon. There are numerous boat accesses on the Rainy River from Wheeler’s Point at the mouth, Peace Park and Timbermill Park in Baudette, Vidas near Clementson, a bit further east Frontier and Nelson Park in Birchdale.
Up at the NW Angle… Until the US / Canada border opens, guests can travel across the lake staying and fishing in MN waters. There are boat shuttle / passenger services available to the Angle. Check with your favorite NW Angle resort for options.
Walleye fishing strong up at the Angle. Walleyes in 10 – 25′ being caught with spinners with crawlers or minnows, trolling crankbaits and even some jigging. Watch your electronics, scattered schools in many locations. Big pike being caught by unsuspecting walleye anglers. Muskies hitting spinners and top water in bays and rocky points. Smallmouth bass still on rocks in 5-15′.
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Received to email address dmrservice@hotmail.com on 9/9/20
Fishing report from Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau
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Received 9/3/20 to our email address dmrservice@hotmail.com from lakeofthewoodsmn.com