Lake of the Woods Fishing Reports by Curt Quesnell

[Ballyhoo]

Went out for a couple of hrs this afternoon. Still a little choppy but not real bad. Probably the best action I have seen all year. Not the biggest fish but fastest fishing. Averaged a fish every 2 min for the time we were out there and did not get a bite until we had fished for 10 min. After that it was wide open. Had 3 kids under 8 and they had a ball. Fishing was so good, they did not have time to even think about the waves. It was awesome to have them experience it as that is all they talked about was catching fish. Will make it easier to get them out fishing next year. If you are on the fence about fishing right now jump off it and get in the boat.

[curt quesnell]

The fishing is so fast right now it is just crazy. The post above this one was right on, not all huge fish but good solid keepers. Lots of 16 inch Walleyes and we set our keeping line for Saugers at 14 inches and were still done in an hour and half. Anchor up in the deep water and jig em up!

[Vlasin]

Great new!!

Myself and 9 others will be up on the 15th! T-minus 4 days and counting...i can't wait!

[curt quesnell]

It is time to get excited, be prepared to buy a lot of bait! And don't be too quick to put little fish in the cooler or livewell.

[deehawk]

Are there still fish around the Zippel Bay State Park area or is the majority of action closer to the Lighthouse Gap? We are hoping to go out of the state park on Saturday. Lots of fish there 2 weeks ago in 28' of water.

[sandyshoresshack]

They were still there Saturday in 27 feet of water.

[jwmiller33]

They are all over that area right now at various depth ranges. On Saturday/Sunday this past weekend, we caught them in as shallow as 18', but spent the majority of our time in 22', and also had success in 26'

[curt quesnell]

Its a good thing the wind blows once in a while in the fall to keep us off the lake or I think we could catch all the fish. I know that's a

stretch but the fish are on the feed big time ,so willing to bite right now and there are so many of them. The fish are just about all

of reasonable keeper size, not to many dinks and while you get fish up

in the slot once in a while most of the Walleyes are 15 to 18 inches and

the Saugers are 13 inches or better. It is perfect. close in fishing and

the fish are fat and fiesty.

Get a good anchor, several bags of frozen shiners and a handful of long shanked jigs and get out in the pack and get some scrappy fall Walleyes.

(People ask me why my shotgun sits in the closet all fall)

[icefishermen]

where they at right now curt out in the lake or the river

[curt quesnell]

Very much in the lake 1000-1.

[curt quesnell]

Solid as can be is the best way I comment on fish in the lake this weekend. People come from all over to fish the river when the water is still too warm to really deliver. The Lake is right there and the fish bite every day. Only wind can mess this deal up from now till freeze.

It was good to see the boat landing at Wheelers Point over flowing all

weekend lots of people still fishing Lake of the Woods, that is very good.

I went out alone on Saturday afternoon and got a limit of good keeper Walleyes by leaving the rod in the rod holder and just watching for the bites. It took 20 minutes to get the four over 15s. Great fishing, steady fishing right now.

[JbuZZo]

were you in the river, gap or out on the big water Curt?

[jerkbait]

Curt was out on the lake.

[curt quesnell]

Seriously, the only time I fish the river is when the wind forces the issue.

[JbuZZo]

right on...we fished from 1-4:30ish on Friday out by the Big Pine, zipple, and just outside of the gap. 3 guys, 4 fish, 1 being a walleye.

saturday- fished zipple, by the big pine, lake, and river from about 9am-6pm (off the water from about 1-2pm for lunch) and put 6 in the box 3 walleye/3 sauger.

between the two days we probably had 15-20 throw backs (small saugers/no slot walleyes

NOTE: We incurred lots of misses on light bites, as others we spoke to reported as well...

[fiskyknut]

I was fishing Zippel Friday afternoon, I managed a limit but the bite was tough. From what I've gathered from friends and my own trips the bite has been a bit 'off' since the week of wind. First few trips in October before the big wind a guy could'nt keep the fish off the hook long enough to lite a smoke!!

My next trip out will most likely find me on the river somewheres?

[Schwanny]

Geez...I took the wife out Friday & Saturday and we couldn't keep them off. We probably caught 150 fish with the biggest being 25". We missed just as many as we caught. We were in 20ft just off morris gap. Anything with gold/orange or all silver was the best. A guy next to us caught a 31".

[curt quesnell]

We have been sitting in the same spot for a couple of years now winter and summer...all alone except for a few friends that would come and go. Best fishing ever. Numbers, size and quality almost every time. A couple of weeks ago 3 charter boats rolled in on us and this weekend there were 10 boats scattered here and there in the honey hole area.

Fishing was still great and nobody was crowding anyone and a good time was had by all. I found out that fish are probably on the break for

a couple of miles and not just in this spot. Never had a secret spot

before and it isn't really busted yet but the honeymoon is over. Darn.

BTW, Morris Point Gap, Zippel and Lighthouse Gap are smokin hot right now.

[curt quesnell]

Maybe all this talk of great late season fishing has you talked, or nearly talked, into one more trip on open water. Where would you fish?

A good rule of thumb is go to where you would go on your first ice trip or where you would go opening day. The fish are really feeding now and will stay close to food until well into this hard water season. They will come back to the food after the spawn and go on another binge. ALL IN THE SAME PLACES.

Of course the fish will feed all winter but the big bunches of fish are pretty easy to find your first time out if you use these familiar spots

Good Luck

[curt quesnell]

Nov. 4th Sturgeon suprise. I was trying out my new camera in the wind over the weekend and along with the Walleyes, Saugers and Perch this biggee showed up http://youtu.be/vfHhOSAG26U

[bturck]

Curt I think you might have to install seat belts on your boat chairs. You definitley got the big boy/girl. Great video, nice stringer as well, good eating...Bill

[curt quesnell]

Big and fat Walleyes of the keeper variety were the fish du jour Saturday as we hit it for the last time on open water for the season. Nothing new as far as presentation or location. Anchored up in 30 feet of water and pounded the bottom with 3/8th oz jigs of many colors. Actually, the fishing was a bit slower than normal but I think it was because there were hardly any Saugers or Perch. Plenty of walleyes. 2.5 hours 4 of us were done. Probably the best fall fishing ever for us this year I hate to see it end. Hope the fish stay put till the ice comes.

[curt quesnell]

I brought my Crestliner TS 202 to the car wash with a wheel barrel full of quarters determined to rid of the shiner minnow scales which were pretty much on every square inch of cockpit, dashboard, steering

wheel, even on the outside of the boat. Hot soapy water is a miracle. You may find a stray scale here or there but they are pretty much all

gone. I have the full vinyl floor and it was fun to watch the floor

turn white again fairly easily. Even the water film on the windshield and on the motor cowlings is gone............Sweet. In a couple of weeks I will put the storage cover on it to keep the dust out and the long winters nap will begin...................

[bturck]

Curt: Saw your boat on Facebook for sale? Did you sell it? Someone is going to get a really sweet set up.

[curt quesnell]

All of the bays were at least mostly iced over, a light wind from the west kept the water moving and not frozen on the lake. It was not near as cold up there because the skies stayed cloudy and temps stayed in the teens above zero. I looks like a decent start.

[lakevet]

Curt,

When does the winter radio show start up?

lakevet

[curt quesnell]

Next Monday NCOR will back on the Radio and on line with a great new web page with more information, news and video. Watch for the link to return to the top of this page very soon for easy access. I am pretty excited about the new season and I hope you all will like the on line format.

[lakevet]

Excellent!

[curt quesnell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP81nea-HUk&feature=player_detailpage

Last year it was Dec 10th the first time we hit it ice. Here is the vid

we made that day to help pass the time....

[jjohnson5150]

18 days until our first LOW trip of the season. That video makes me think I should get my gear ready today during the football games.