Fish Moving to Deeper Water

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end... A good week of fishing.  Resorts are working at staying on the walleyes and saugers and the fish, as a rule, are moving deeper as the winter progresses.  Some good activity this past week in 30 - 34 feet of water.  

Most anglers report having to sort through a number of smaller fish to find keepers with the occasional larger slot or trophy walleye in the mix.  Jigging with a small to medium jigging spoon tipped with a piece of minnow on your jigging line.  On your second line, a deadstick with a fathead, rainbow, sucker or live emerald shiner has been effective.

Some effective colors this week have been pink, glow red, yellow and gold.  

A number of nice sized eelpout (burbot) being caught this year.  Most anglers fishing for walleyes targeting the bottom will catch the pout as they swim through.  Normally a minnow head on a jigging spoon or live minnow on a deadstick will entice them to eat.  Delicious table fare.

Ice conditions are very good overall with larger trucks and fish houses being allowed on many ice roads.  Weight limits are potentially different on every ice road.  Check out Facebook pages or call resorts / outfitters for current info.

As happens most years as ice thickens, some cracks at various locations have popped up.  It is important to work through a resort / outfitter as they monitor conditions, re-route roads and utilize ice bridges as needed. 

Please remember to Keep It Clean and remove all trash and waste from the ice.  Have a plan.

On the Rainy River...   A mixed bag of walleyes and saugers on the river with the morning and evening bite being the best.  Use a jig and minnow in one hole, deadstick with a minnow just off of the bottom on the second hole. 

Ice conditions vary on the river as there is current, work through a resort or outfitter for safety.  

Up at the NW Angle... A great week of ice fishing with good numbers of walleyes being caught.  The ice road from Angle Inlet at Young's Bay to the island resorts is open and ice fishing is in full gear.  

In addition to walleyes which make up most of the catch, jumbo perch, saugers, eelpout and some big pike are showing up as well.

Driving through Canada to the Angle no longer requires COVID vaccinations or the use of the ArriveCan App.  

For those looking to access the Angle while avoiding customs, snowmobiling across the lake on the marked trails, utilizing the Lake of the Woods Passenger (bombardier) Service or flying up via Lake Country Air are all good options. 

As border waters, fish houses can be on the ice through March 31st.  Walleye / sauger season open through April 14th, pike season never closes.