Fall Bite is Definitely On

[LakeofthewoodsMN]

On the South End... Walleye and sauger fishing remains excellent with numbers of walleyes and saugers being caught.  The fall bite is definitely on.  Anglers are finding fish a bit shallower this week, ranging from 20 to 25 feet across the south shore of Lake of the Woods.

 

Jigging with frozen, or live emerald shiners, is catching most of the fish.  Locating fish on your sonar and anchoring up for about 30 minutes will normally give you a good idea of what is living in the area and a good strategy.  

 

Areas across the south shore including the Lighthouse Gap (where the Rainy River enters Lake of the Woods) west to the Morris Point area, west to Zippel Bay area to Long Point are all still producing nice fish.      

 

Successful jig colors in the stained waters of LOW are gold, glow white, glow red, chartreuse, orange, and pink.  Gold combined with any one of these colors is often a good choice.  

On the Rainy River... The river continues to get better and better.  There are definitely more shiners and walleyes in the river this week.  Good fish being caught in many sections of the river.

 

Trolling crankbaits in the fall is also a well known strategy to catch hungry walleyes chasing shiners.  A great way to cover water and get that reaction strike.

Sturgeon fishing is really picking up as the water cools.  Sturgeon are catch and release right now into the month of April, 2025 when the "keep season" begins again.

 

Some nice crappies, pike and smallmouth bass were also in the mix for fall anglers fishing the river this week.

The river is a great option for small boats and also a nice option if it is windy.  

Up at the NW Angle... Fishing is flat out excellent up at the Angle.  Some anglers are fishing the MN side, others the Ontario side.  Walleyes are using a variety of areas, but structure such as points and neck down areas with some current are good right now. 

 

A mixed bag of fish is the norm in these parts.  Walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, crappies, pike, smallmouth bass and muskies are all being caught.

 

Fall fishing leading into early ice is some of the best fishing of the year and a beautiful time to be out.