12/30/14 Arnesen's Report

[Bodzee]

Monday the 29th we fished around Tower Reef and it was really slow. We tried every type of lure, every color and a variety of rattle lures to try and call something in. The change in weather was producing mixed results some people were coming in with smaller Sauger others that were fishing in the same area did very well. We weren't marking any fish our guide came out at 10:30 and said he wanted to move the house which he did and had us fishing another reef in less than 25 minutes which was great. The new spot he moved us to was much appreciated but we didn't see much there either. I can't say enough about the guides at Arnesen's they're very well organized they get you out fishing right away in the morning, they check in with you and work really hard to keep people on fish. I've fished LOW for many years and never had a guide offer to move a house in the middle of the day.

Tuesday the 30th we fished Northwest of Tower on one of the 12 mile Reefs. It was pretty slow but we were catching a few on bobber lines with a red hook using small minnows hooked in the tail. On our jigging rods we used small gold Buckshot rattle lures jigged slowly with small tail hooked minnows and then let then sit dead stick style. All the fish were on the bottom and bite very light. At 10:45 they started feeding aggressively they would rise off the bottom and strike our jigging lures as the lure was dropping. We couldn't keep two lines baited and in the water. We limited out in just a little over one hour. We had a good mix of 14 to 16 inch Sauger, 15 to 18 inch Walleyes, two huge Perch and a couple Tulibees. Thanks again to the people at Arnesen's that work hard to make it possible to fish such a great natural resource.

[bak2MN]

Great report! Welcome to the site!

[fishinyround]

I also stayed at Arnesen's 12/29 - 12/31 and agree the fishing was VERY slow. We were in 26 FOW and really didn't graph that many many fish let alone get them to bite. Only 2 slot fish - 21" and 23.5" - both caught on plain #4 pink hooks. We managed to catch some nice 15" saugers, but the walleye ran small. While this was my 5th time staying at Arnesen's, I really didn't get the feeling our guides really cared if we were catching fish or not and didn't offer to move our house - just one guy's experience.

[iffwalleyes]

My experience with Arnesen's and I know several guides here from years of fishing with them. If you are working to catch fish they will make the effort to get you on fish. I have been moved many times by them over 20 years of fishing with them. In my book they are the best on the lake. They are the only resort I pay money to up there to go out with. Otherwise I do it on my own.

[walleye6336]

Spent 5 days fishing 5-9 Jan. Extreme cold conditions may have contributed to poor fishing the first three days but the bite picked up the last two days. We caught enough for a minimal fish fry each night, but we're not able to bring any home this trip. I would have to say toughest fishing for our group of five ever on LoTW. We did manage 5 slots with the largest at 26 inches.

Most brutal conditions we have ever encountered with -27 temps and 30+ MPH winds!. Muppets the fishing improves!