So many of us anglers, myself included, have local hotspots, regional knowledge, and our close-to-home hangouts that we visit year after year. Sure, we take trips to some of the bigger fish factories of the north-country, but seldom do most of us look beyond our current locale to do something….well…..adventurous. Enter Lake of the Woods fishing excursion. The distance can be prohibitive for many in the state, but the walleye fishing…..ah the fishing, can be nothing short of spectacular.

As you make your way across the various landscapes on the trip northward, and begin to enter the Lake of the Woods basin, you realize that this isn't just a fishing trip, it's an expedition. The nearer you get to the lake and its fishing, the further you get from that which your ice-fishing experiences are accustomed to. For the seasoned Lake of the Woods anglers, I'm preaching to the choir. But even those who've spent decades on the big lake still take wonderment in the endless horizon, dotted with seemingly thousands of fish-houses as you climb up and over Pine Island.

For the full-effect, we chose Schusters Resort with their Bombardier and track-vehicle transport. I have fished Lake of the Woods several times, but my friends had yet not, and didn't fish much to begin with. This method of transfer proved the slickest and most interesting yet. As I spoke with Tom, owner of the resort, he mentioned that this is the only way to fly, especially as winter snows gradually deepen. He also mentioned that fishing this year was much better than last, given the improved water clarity and relatively low pressure and harvest from last year. Still, with a cold-front heavily upon us, and inexperienced anglers facing a notably wary fish, our expectations were tempered. Tom's weren't.

We settled into our sleeper house and within minutes had the first fish on; a chunky sauger, which we were interested in for some pan-frying later. Then, a 15" walleye, and while posing for pictures of it, my friend Greg mentioned something about his bobber being lost. He set the hook before I could say anything, and the sweet sound of drag filled the room. This was a big fish, no-doubt, and with some coaching, Greg coaxed the 27" female to the hole.

While that was our largest fish, the rest of the day continued as such, with 18 fish over 15" and several smaller fish to boot. Our best period was from 8:30AM-11:30AM, with about half the fish coming on red-glow JB Rattling Varmints, and the other half under Ice Buster Bobbers with plain hooks. Trimming the bobbers down so the fish felt no resistance was a major key to our success with the finicky cold-front fish.

Tom came by to check up on us mid-afternoon, and to make sure our bait was fresh and plentiful. Because Schusters also rents cabins on shore, we could've reserved a cabin and headed back just for the day bite. However, our plan was to try and tie into some eelpout at night. The saugers fried up nicely with some sides, and by the time we were going to relax and play some cards, we were pretty wiped out from a full-day of action. No eelpout fishing for us, but Sunday would come quickly. Amidst some concerns about the -23° F temps and heavy winds, our sleeper house stayed warm and we slept fast.

The 'eyes especially hugged the bottom, almost to the point of being invisible on the Marcums. However, when you zoomed in, especially in SuperFineLine with the LX-5's, you'd see the bottom rise up a bit, and then see the line get more definition to it as the fish rose towards the bait. This enhanced target separation was critical to our success with the jigging rods.

Sunday brought a new day, with the beckoning call of another lake to hit, so we took the bombardiers back to shore and took to the warmed cleaning house to fillet our catch. A quick bite at the bar, and we were on our way, being better for our experiences and good fishing. Like every great fishing destination should be, the road back home, though the same distance in miles as the road there, seemed much longer as we left such great fishing in our rear-view.

Joel

Minnesota Ice Fishing Info - CLICK HERE.