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Lake of the Woods - Zippel Bay Fishing Reports


walleyeking19

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Ooofda, short notice, and the weather could make it tough! Supposed to be cold and rainy (maybe?).

I'd like to come but will have to do a quick inventory and see if I can make this work.

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Yea, it just started opening up over the weekend and both arms of the bay are open and about half of the main bay between the state park and the lake is open....they went out in the airboat on tue & wed before they made the final decision if there was enough open water for the tourney....they also went out in the air boat on the lake and drilled some holes...they said there was still a good couple feet of ice out front of zipple where they drilled...but, Nick said he thinks the lake still has a chance at being open for the 11th! We'll see! If you can't make it and want to listen in for live results, we'll be broadcasting the final day...Sunday, noon to 3pm from Zipple on KQ92 out of Warroad...Interviews, leader board updates, and we'll also try and talk with the winners!

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Saturday and Sunday will be very nice weather days.

Good Luck all

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Yep, looking at the forecast for Williams right now. Sunny and 53 on Saturday and sunny and 65 on Sunday. Good luck all! I will be stuck doing spring cleaning. yuck!

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So did anyone hear how the Tourney went? I wondered how the pike were biting in Zipple Bay. Also I wondered if live bait or trolling crankbaits was the way to go.

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I only heard that 1st place was 7 lbs 13 oz. 2nd was 6 lbs something.

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Very few fish caught, biggest sounded like a 33" that had to of course go back.

One group I know caught 2 small ones and placed 5th.

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I fished in it. It was a very tough bite. We ended up catching our only fish with about 15 minutes left of the tournament. The fish were just starting to come into the shallows on Sunday with the sun and warmer weather. Only 11 teams weighed fish in. I think this weekend will be a very good weekend to target the pike in the bay because I think they will be very hungry.

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just got back from Zipple Bay today after spending 4 days there. Pike were hungry !! We had 2 boats in our group and everyone caught several 40 inchers each day that were all put back. Smelt went very fast in 4 days. Had a great fish fry Saturday afternoon. All the folks at Zipple were great as usual !!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • smurfy
      i cant help you with the weed thing, but i just came back form out that way......Regal, New London Hawick area. i dont no how big the swat of rain was but there is water standing everywhere. my buddy told me they had over 3 inches of rain yesterday/last night 
    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
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