fishing reports 2020 Lake of the Woods Fishing Reports & Info

[Dash 1]

Just got home from LOW. Fished last 2 days out of Sportsman’s Lodge. Brother and I had a meal up there and brought home a limit, but it was all we could do to get them.  16.5 and 19 were our biggest. Mostly 14 inch saugers.  Fish were tight to the bottom and most caught on dead sticks. They would look at anything we jigged, but not much for taking it. Great trip any time I can fish. Was our first time ice fishing on LOW, looking forward to it again someday. 

[Xplorer]

Thanks for the report.  

I'm headed up tomorrow morning for the weekend.  Going with a couple buddys and their wheelhouse, either Cyrus or Morris point it sounds like.

I'll be happy with a bunch of 14" saugers for a dinner, I'm just along for the ride and  's this weekend 

How far out were you with Sportsman's? 

[Dash 1]

Roughly 4-5 miles. 28 ft water. Other resorts out in 30-32 ft, but doing about the same. This steady weather should be good hopefully. Good luck.

[Xplorer]

Back home. 

Fishing was tougher than tough for us.  Tough as in for 6 guys I took top honors with 4 fish from Friday afternoon to this morning. 

We were in 30’ out of Morris Point.  24” of clear solid ice. 

Sill had a great time, and the weather was awesome for late January!!

 

[Jake Payson]

1 hour ago, Xplorer said:

Back home. 

Fishing was tougher than tough for us.  Tough as in for 6 guys I took top honors with 4 fish from Friday afternoon to this morning. 

We were in 30’ out of Morris Point.  24” of clear solid ice. 

Sill had a great time, and the weather was awesome for late January!!

 

Same 28' off Morris Point and 1 fish with 12 lines in the water. T Shirt weather but slow from everyone we talked to as well.

[Rick]

10 hours ago, Jake Payson said:

Same 28' off Morris Point and 1 fish with 12 lines in the water. T Shirt weather but slow from everyone we talked to as well.

Welcome to FM @Jake Payson.

 

Thank you for the update sir!

[CLPDB]

Three of us fished out of Adrians and we were started 12 miles out on Friday and fished there until noon on Sat.  Caught 4 fish and kept one.  Moved in 4 miles and caught 5 and kept 2.  Decided to move Sat. night at sunset and ended up 6 miles out.  On Sun. the fishing picked up a little.  We left at noon on Sun. and were able to keep 7.  The three of us caught a total of 19 fish and kept 10.   Talked to a handful of people and everyone said fishing was poor.

[Rick]

From Wheeler's Point Resort

Check this one out!  The Nelson group had a nice one today.

[Better Than Working!]

I am heading up Friday morning! Can't wait! I will post a report when I get back.

[PRO-V]

1 hour ago, Rick said:

From Wheeler's Point Resort

Check this one out!  The Nelson group had a nice one today.

The walleye looks nice too!

[Better Than Working!]

Short but fun trip to LOW! went with my dad and we caught 90 or so fish. They ranged from really tiny to pretty nice! Largest fish was just under 25 inches. No 1 bait or color was the trick. Had to keep changing throughout the day. My best was a UV pink firetiger rippin rap. I want to thank the people at Wheeler's Point Resort. My dad is in his 80's and they do a great job of making sure a good time is had by all! Looking forward to next years trip! Nothing about this picture is as nice as the previous pic!

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end...  A great week of ice fishing with good numbers and some very quality fish.  Ice conditions on LOW remain excellent. Resorts working hard to keep fish houses on walleyes and saugers.  Most anglers fishing 27' - 36' with ice roads 7 - 20 miles long.  Resorts traveled farther out which improved fishing.  Jig one line to draw fish in and get them excited.  Have a deadstick with a live minnow in the second hole for neutral fish.  Rattles and vibration can help in the stained waters of LOW.  Gold, glow, wonder bread and pink good colors.  Electronics a big plus and can be rented from some resorts, bait shops.  

On the Rainy River...   The river is frozen over with snowmobile traffic on marked trail.  Some reports of good fish in the river.  Extra caution is always needed on the river, especially with higher current this year.  Thin ice around the International Bridge in Baudette.  Work through resort or know ice conditions if ice fishing the river as ice thickness varies.

Up at the NW Angle...  Warmer weather made for some good fishing at the Angle.  Resorts in 23 - 32' of water.  Some houses on structure, others in mud on edge of reefs.  Jig one hole with spoons and rattle baits, plain red hook with live minnow on deadstick.  Snowmobile trails from south end to Angle and around the area groomed and in good shape.  Fish houses on the ice through March 31st, walleyes and saugers open through April 14. 

[chaffmj]

Got back yesterday afternoon after spending 2 nights fishing out of Baudette in a sleeper house we rented from Border View. Two of us caught 66 fish. Included in that count was one nice Jumbo perch, a 12 inch crappie, 4 white fish and one big old ugly eel pout. The rest were saugers and walleyes measuring in length from about 3 inches to 15. Sorry no pics, what happens in Baudette stays in Baudette. 

[Chris B.]

Coming up through Baudette Thursday with a wheelhouse. Who is the best to go through? Who has plowed spots?

[Rick]

Welcome to FM @Chris B..

 

There are a lot of great places up there. Most folks drive out of Adrians.

 

There are others further west with less traffic.

 

I'll let them tell you.

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end...  A lot of nice walleyes and saugers caught this week up at Lake of the Woods.  Many resorts traveling 16 - 22 miles out on the ice and most reports are very good.  Lots of big walleyes this week.  Ice conditions on LOW remain excellent.  Jig one line and don't be afraid to use noise such as rattles or vibration to draw fish in.  Have a deadstick with a live minnow in the second hole for neutral fish.  Best colors vary but gold, glow, green, orange and pink good colors.  Electronics tell you where fish are and how they are reacting to your bait and presentation.  Pike anglers already pulling some trophy fish.  Should only get better as month progresses.

On the Rainy River...   The river is frozen over with snowmobile traffic on marked trail.  Some reports of good fish in the river.  Extra caution is always needed on the river, especially with higher current this year.  Thin ice around the International Bridge in Baudette.  Work through resort or know ice conditions if ice fishing the river as ice thickness varies.

Up at the NW Angle...  Some great reports from the Angle this week.  Resorts in 26 - 32' of water.  The snowmobile trails from south shore to Angle in great shape.  Jigging spoons and Rippin Raps in one hole.  In second hole, plain red hook with live minnow working well.  Fish houses on the ice through March 31st, walleyes and saugers open through April 14.  

[Hoey]

My wife and I fished Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It sure seemed like February fishing for us.  34" of ice, tough bite, but yet a lot of fun.  We fished the same spot Friday and Saturday off the edge of a mid-lake reef, 25 feet reading on the Vexilar.  We managed enough for a meal, plus a couple to travel with.  Friday was sunny and you'd expect a better bite.  Saturday was more overcast.  Here is a photo of a 27 incher from Friday. 

 

She had one similar on Sunday that slid out of her hands and down the hole while she was measuring it.  On Sunday we ventured north, out in the mud and the sun came out, we had a lot of action, some nice keepers, some slots mixed in with some perch too. 

[chaffmj]

On 2/10/2020 at 6:24 AM, Chris B. said:

Coming up through Baudette Thursday with a wheelhouse. Who is the best to go through? Who has plowed spots?

 

Border View and Wheelers roads were in good shape and looked pretty quiet when I was up there but that was during the week. Good luck and welcome to FM!

Edited February 13, 2020 by chaffmj

[Hoey]

Another thing I failed to mention is out in the mud, there are what I call "high flyers," fish suspended 3 to 5 feet off the bottom.  These fish were larger than bucket fish, hungry, and aggressive.  So watch you water column and be ready to adjust your bait to their depth.  

[IceHawk]

Great Advise Hoey!  I always tell people keep a eye on the lookout for those high marks up in the water column.   The big females are out cuiseing targeting the cisco population  9 out of ten times it will be a much larger fish popped back to back 27 inchers one time 8 foot  off the bottom out there. 

[opsirc]

How far out are people going

[Hoey]

Sounds like Adrian's road is out there 20 to 22 miles....  with some roads going to the east shore reefs, some out towards Garden, etc...  We could see houses out south of the west end of Garden too.  I do not know if Long Point roads get you there.  Need to call.  How far out do you need to go?  I'd say get out in the middle, out in the mud, maybe 12 miles.  You really do not need to be reef or structure oriented this time of year.  The fish are feeding on hatches, larvae, etc...  I had many squirmy things on my fish house floor that were spit up by the fish.  

[chaffmj]

We went 13 miles out on Border View's road. We were at a depth of 35 feet and caught several fish that were 5 to 10 feet off of the bottom. We would pull our lure up just above the fish mark give it a little jiggle and they would move up and inhale it.

[IceHawk]

Speaking of Border view had to dig a couple old photos up of the crazy bombardier we use to ride out in years ago. Maybe some of the old timers on here might of got to ride in it 

[expl]

Was way out off Adrians road last week in the mud and fishing was good.Like said above keep your eyes on your screen for fish coming in high.I kept my setline within a foot and a half of bottom and for the most part my spoon was 3 ft off of bottom.A few fish  showed up 10ft below the ice and they were nice walleyes,the majority of walleyes I caught were 3-10ft off of bottom.

[Hoey]

I fished Friday and Saturday with two guests from work.  We went to the mud both days.  The bite was tough.  Not as many high flyers compared to two weeks ago.  Fish seemed more finicky, some spooked easily while others were just sniffers.  The guides indicated that the bite had softened over the past week as the fish were consuming larvae from a hatch, fishing deeper resulted in a lot of tulibee, shallower were smaller eyes and sauger. 

 

My cabin neighbor spent a day fishing.  He started off in the mud and headed to shallow water around 230pm, as he heard this was the place to be.  They added one to their bag.  

 

I just spoke to another party that moved their house into 16 feet along a sandy break and did really well yesterday 230 to 6pm.  

 

We had fish dinner on Friday night and surprisingly enough, we scratched out one short of our take home limit.  Size-wise, these fish were in the lower range with larger ones being 17s down to 13s.  We also were able to enjoy some slots.  Here are a couple.  

 

 

The weather was probably the best we have experienced this season, both road and lake-wise.  I am hoping for 4 more weeks of winter, as I have some trips planned between now and mid-March.  

 

 

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end...  An awesome week of ice fishing.  Most anglers fishing in 27 - 33' of water.  Ice conditions on LOW remain excellent.  Use combo of jigging line and deadstick.  Work your lines, keep jigging and keeping minnow on deadstick active.  It will pay dividends.  Some good colors overall, pink / gold, glow, chartreuse / white.  Electronics helping to catch suspended walleyes.  Pike activity has increased with some big fish being caught.  Tip ups and big baits on quick strike rigs the norm.  This is bonus ice fishing on Lake of the Woods.  As a border waters area with Canada, fish houses can be left overnight on the ice through March 31st, walleye and sauger season is open through April 14th and pike season never closes.  

On the Rainy River...   Local anglers continue to catch some walleyes in the river.  Extra caution is always needed on the river, especially with higher temps,melting and runoff.  Thin ice around the International Bridge in Baudette.  Work through resort or know ice conditions if ice fishing the river as ice thickness varies.

Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing reports good up at the Angle with a mix of walleyes, saugers, big jumbo perch and pike in the mix.  Resorts in 20 - 32' of water targeting both structure and mud.  Jigging spoons with minnow head for jigging line, plain hook and live minnow on deadstick.  The snowmobile trails groomed and are in good shape.  

 

[Rick]

Nice walleye!

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end...  A great week of March ice fishing. Anglers fishing anywhere from 27 - 33' of water.  Ice conditions on LOW remain excellent with freezing temps keeping ice firm.  Work lures on jigging line with a live minnow on an ice jig or plain hook on second line.  Some good colors overall, pink / gold, glow, red glow, green glow.  Electronics helping to catch suspended walleyes.  Pike activity increasing with more big fish caught this week.  Tip ups with big baits on quick strike rigs the norm.  Fish houses can be left overnight on the ice through March 31st, walleye and sauger season is open through April 14th and pike season never closes.  

On the Rainy River...   As spring approaches, extra caution needed on the river.  Thin ice around the International Bridge in Baudette.  We are watching open water line progress from east to west.  No open water fishing as of yet.  We report open water progress often on Lake of the Woods Tourism Facebook page.

Up at the NW Angle...  A great week of ice fishing reports up at the Angle.  A mix of walleyes, saugers, big jumbo perch and pike in the mix.  Resorts in 20 - 32' of water targeting both structure and mud.  Glow colors, gold and pink effective.  The snowmobile trails groomed and with freezing temps, are still in good shape.  

[opsirc]

Daughter and i came up yesterday, got to the lake about 11 or so. Only went couple miles past pine and set up. Real slow manage only couple small ones. Today moved out farer, graphed a few but no takers. Tried alot of different jigs with no luck. Noticed alot houses leaving early, people having same luck or better.