Heart of Ice Fishing Season

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the south end... We are in the heart of the ice fishing season up on Lake of the Woods.  Resorts continue to move houses with a goal of staying on the walleyes and saugers.  The most active depths for fishing this past week was 30 - 36 feet of water.  

Numbers of smaller walleyes and saugers being caught and sorted through mixed with eaters (under 19.5 inches), slot fish (19.5 - 28 inches which must be released after a photo) and trophy walleyes (28 inches and over).  

The limit on the MN side of LOW is a combined limit of walleyes and saugers of 6, with up to 4 being able to be walleyes.  

Jigging with a small jigging spoon tipped with a piece of minnow has been effective.  Wonder Bread (white with colored spots), chartreuse, glow red and gold have been good colors.  Try glow colors on cloudy days and during low light.  Try gold or even silver on sunny days.  

On your second line, use a live minnow set anywhere from 6 inches to 2 feet off of the bottom.  Sometimes by having the minnow a bit higher in the water column can get fish to react better.  A plain colored hook with a sinker just above the minnow has been working well.  

Watching electronics will help you understand the mood of the fish, see where they are in the water column and tip you off on when they are swimming through.  

In addition to the walleyes and saugers, eelpout (burbot), pike, jumbo perch, tullibees and a few crappies and sturgeon have been in the mix.

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

As border waters, LOW has extended ice fishing regulations.  Fish houses can be overnight through March 31st, walleye and saugers open through April 14th on the lake, pike never close.

On the Rainy River...   A similar report to last week on the river with a mixed bag of walleyes and saugers with the morning and evening bite being the best.  Using a jig and minnow in one hole and deadsticking with a minnow just off of the bottom on the second hole working the best.

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.  Resorts are fishing many different areas of the Angle with good results.  Lots of fish in a lot of different areas which is good.  

A nice mix of small fish, eaters, slots and trophies.  Some big pike showing up for walleye anglers.  Some anglers like this, some, not so much!  They are big, put up a heck of a fight and while they are around your house, there is a good chance the walleyes and saugers are not.

Some nice crappies being caught on the Ontario side of the lake amongst the islands.  Some Angle resorts can assist with that special trip.  

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.