Anticipating Excellent Walleye Fishing

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end...  The ice is deteriorating and moving around on the big body of water called Big Traverse Bay.  Will it all be gone by the Saturday, May 14th Minnesota Fishing Opener?  Time will tell, but there is already plenty of prime open water to fish nonetheless.

Anticipation is high as past late springs have produced excellent walleye fishing.  Time will tell!

Pike fishing in back bays off of the lake is on fire.  This weekend's Zippel Bay Resort tournament produced 27 pike over 40 inches!  The big fish was 44.75". Lots of slot pike and eaters as well.  Some anglers are using dead bait.  Others are casting and trolling spoons or crankbaits.

The limit of pike on Lake of the Woods is 3 per day.  All pike 30 - 40 inches must be released.  One fish over 40 inches per day is allowed.  

Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay, Zippel Bay, bays off of the Rainy River, bays up at the Angle are all fair game and most are holding fish. 

Pike season is open year round.  Walleye and sauger season is closed and opens again on the MN fishing opener May 14th.

On the Rainy River...   Sturgeon fishing has been very good this week.  The Rainy River is still running fast but the sturgeon are still feeding nicely.  

With heavy spring flow, some sturgeon anglers fishing deep holes in the main channel using 11 ounce weights to keep baits on the bottom.  Some anglers shifted to fishing eddys and current break areas using 5 - 6 ounce weights.  

Some reports of 30 fish per boat.  Most are finding some fish.  Lots of big fish.

The winning Sportsman's Lodge tournament winning fish... Day one top three. 69.5" x 27.5", 56.5" x 23", 56.25" x 18.5".  Day two top three. 65.7" x 26.5",  63" x 22", 3rd.  62" x 23.25".  

Remaining spring sturgeon season dates.

May 8 - May 15, 2022...   Catch and Release only, no tag needed

May 16 - June 30... Sturgeon fishing closed

There are a lot of walleyes in the Rainy River and will be there for the fishing opener this Saturday, May 14.  The river being small water allows boats of all sizes to experience great fishing.  Lodging is available.

Up at the NW Angle...  Open water areas are growing, some quickly deteriorating ice still floating around.  

Good numbers of walleyes should be active come this weekend's fishing opener.  There are various ways to travel to the Angle this summer.

1.  Drive through Canada to the Angle  (must be vaccinated, no covid test required)

2.  LOW Passenger Service (charter boat service across the lake avoiding customs) 

3.  Lake Country Air.(fly from various Midwest locations to LOW and NW Angle)

4.  Take your own boat.  (Safety first, this is a 40 mile ride over big water)

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