Recent snowfall isn't deep enough to slow down vehicle traffic, but it's perfect for breathing new life into the snowmobile season.

Ice Fishing Report February 1, 2017 Ice Fishing Report "With Added Whiteness" The timing for the "January Thaw" couldn't have been better. First the surfaces of most lakes were reduced to standing water. Then the cold front froze them solid, eliminating slush and making travel by truck easy. Now we have a blanket of fresh white snow that's making fishing fun again by allowing us to travel by snowmobile again.

Don’t worry, at 5 to 6 inches deep, the snow isn’t deep enough to stop vehicle traffic. On Tuesday I saw pickup trucks travelling freely through the powder, you’ll likely encounter some rough spots caused by tracks in the slush; but you can go most anywhere you want to in your pickup.
One may argue that driving a truck onto the ice is the most convenient way to fish. But for me, Tuesday’s ice experience re-affirmed my belief that the most efficient way to cover territory is with a snowmobile. Equipped with a GPS, a portable, flip-over type fishing shelter and a light weight auger, my rig comes as close to fishing from a boat as one can find. There’s no better mode of transport that allows more mobility in moving around the lake, checking spots quickly.
Now just imagine how happy I’d have been if I would have selected the right lake!
Yup, Tuesday was just one of those days for me. I tried shallow water, deep water, weeds, flats, points, corners and everything in between; the lake fell well short of my expectations.
That doesn’t bother me, the reality is that when you’re exploring, days like this are common. In fact my formula is that only one out of 3 days works out to be really good. That sounds like poor odds, but if you think about it, they are fantastic. That’s because no matter how much I value catching fish, I value gaining knowledge even more.
Almost every lesson that I’ve learned as a fisherman came by failure, not by success. Yesterday’s experience taught me something. I may not be fully aware of the lesson yet, but after I do some more research, ask some more questions, I will know something that I didn’t know before; that’s the way it works.
Today, I’ll be off the ice for a meeting of the “Panfish Workgroup”, a panel of citizens who have an interest in preserving and expanding the opportunity for quality Panfishing experiences in Minnesota. Just for the record, the subject of the next story, Stanley Paalksnis, is not a member of the panel.

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism February 1, 2017 "The anglers working their one two punch of a jigging line and a dead stick are being rewarded. Good reports continue. Most catching in 29-31 ft with glow red, pink and gold with a rattle on jigging spoons tipped with minnow head or tail. Dead stick plain hook (try glow or colored) and live minnow or smaller glow walleye jigs. Some big eelpout continue to come in, with a 17 lb giant this week. Electronics improving catch rate. Working each fish is helpful. The Rainy River continues with a good morning and evening bite. Know the river or use a resort or guide for safety. The snowmobile trail is staked from Wheeler's Point to Baudette on the river. Do not deviate from trail unless you are familiar with ice conditions. Great fishing continues up at the NW Angle. Everything has frozen up and travel is good. Resorts are fishing in 21-30 feet of water with a nice walleye, sauger, and perch bite. Best colors include glow red, silver, pink, green and gold. Evening bite in 14-16' in current areas. Slab crappies in good numbers being caught in Ontario in 30'. Keep crappies if fishing deeper than 25'. Work through resorts and stay on ice road."  – Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Photo Courtesy Flag Island Resort, LOW Tourism: There are good travel conditions on the lake and fishing action continues to be strong.

Alexandria Ottertail Area, Capt Josh Hagemeister February 1, 2017 "Crappie action remains strong throughout the area. We are finding them in the deep holes now 45-60 ft suspended anywhere from 20-30 ft down. Keep a close eye on your electronics to quickly learn the best presentation depth. Glow jigs tipped with a crappie minnow or a wax worm has been working the best. Because of the deep fish, a good day time bite is not uncommon.

Large pike and walleye can also be a nice bonus in the same areas. Simple use a much larger minnow like a shiner suspended at the same depths, but don’t ignore the bottom –even at depths of 45 or more. Ice conditions are good for vehicle travel, however do not leave your common sense on shore. Avoid current areas, any narrows, or any ice heave. Good luck, Capt Josh" Capt Josh, Minnesota Fishing Guide Service 218-732-9919, 320-291-0708

Ice Fishing Report January 30, 2017 Go Anywhere, Ice Conditions Fantastic

Travel conditions on the ice are likely to be the best they will ever be for the balance of this season. With snow cover virtually eliminated, single digit low temperatures have completely re-frozen slushy areas. The surface of the ice is now dry, clear and slippery with small patches of hard-packed snow.
Despite the easy travel by pickup truck, even 2WD cars, ice fishing traffic has tapered off. In fact I was surprised by how manageable the crowds were this weekend; if an angler wanted to stake out some quiet territory, they could do it easily.

Jigging baits tipped with wax worms worked better than either minnow heads or whole, live minnows. A medium size Perch Talker on one rod and a Perch/Gold Quiver Spoon on the other produced nearly identical results.

We targeted Perch this weekend, a mission that was successful despite a shaky start. Maybe it was the cold front or possibly the sunny skies that discouraged Perch from roaming the shallow flats early in the morning. Or it could have been the presence of Pike that had them jittery, it’s hard to say. I had just entered our large, hub style fishing shelter to let the crew know that I was going to leave them for a while. My plan was to drive further out and drill into some fresh territory; I’d come back and get them whenever I found an exciting area. That was as far as I got, before I even un-zipped the door to leave, one of the girls already had a fish hooked. Not long after, there was a nice flurry and from 11:30 and 1:00 PM, all I did was sit alongside the girls, providing assistance as it was needed.

However it worked, it wasn’t until I announced my intention to go exploring that the Perch began to move.
The water we fished was both shallow and clear, so we didn’t rely much on electronics, we could see the fish moving below the ice. Small schools of fish moved in and out at random intervals and most of the fish we saw were small. There were larger fish present though and occasionally they’d hook a fish between 10 and 11 inches. The final catch consisted of about 20 Perch and 3 Pike, plenty for a good meal, but well short of a limit.
Jigging baits tipped with wax worms worked better than either minnow heads or whole, live minnows. A medium size Perch Talker on one rod and a Perch/Gold Quiver Spoon on the other produced nearly identical results.
The area we fished features a large 30 foot hole that is surrounded by shallow water flats. Depths ranging between 7 to 9 feet, near scattered patches of Cabbage hold the most fish. For me, the key to finding fish has been to stay away from the deep hole, fishing on the shallow side of the breakline, but near the drop off.
A combination of cold wind and cold air temperatures discouraged exploration. That, along with my desire to stay close to my family was all the incentive I needed to be content inside our nice warm shelter. Besides, it was ten times more fun for me to watch the girls reeling in fish than I would have had out on the ice alone, even if I was catching ‘em.
That said, traffic was light and the majority of the area surrounding the hole was not being fished by anybody. I think that there’s a good chance I would have found more schools of fish by continuing to move, drilling along the edges of the hole. I can save that for the next time.

Ice Fishing Report January 27, 2017 RE-FREEZING the Freezable! Travel conditions on the ice continue to improve and access ramps that were temporarily closed will be available again today. On most lakes in the Itasca area, roughly 2/3 of the surfaces are now covered with clean, hard ice. The remaining 1/3 of them are covered with ruts, frozen slush and whatever is left of the deepest snow drifts. Travel by truck is the best option on any lake that has an access ramp or user developed road. Lake in the back woods are best accessed by ATV’s now, snowmobiles are of little use until we receive another significant snowfall. Driving your truck “off road” may actually be better than following plowed roads, at least for the moment. When I drove onto the ice on Thursday morning I was surprised by how much water remained un-frozen along the plowed roadway.

The berms of snow piled up along the road were acting as dams, holding water between them and vehicles moving through broke the thin ice, making a real mess.
Once I got off the main roads, driving was much easier, but it was bumpy because of the frozen ruts and snow drifts. If I watched the horizon, I could find stretches of smoother travel by avoiding rutted or snow drifted areas.
Fishing action had been really good earlier this week, but slowed somewhat with arrival of colder, blustery conditions. Still, reports of fair to good Perch and Panfish fishing came in from Lake Winnie, Leech Lake, Bowstring and a variety of smaller lakes in the Grand Rapids area.
Walleye and Sauger action remained good on Lake of the Woods, the epicenter of action for most of this winter. With a month of Walleye fishing left to go, Lake of the Woods would be my top pick for a better than average chance at Walleye limits for the remainder of this season.
For me, a two week stint of nearly exclusive Bluegill fishing came to an end yesterday. Now I’ll be spending most of my time in pursuit of Perch, with an occasional detour to Panfish whenever I feel the effects of withdrawal setting in.
But before I go fishing anywhere, I’ll take a couple of days off to repair the repairable and enjoy the fruits of somebody else’s labor. That’s right; I don’t need to catch my own fish this weekend because I’ll be eating a nice big slab of Lutefisk. It’s the one day of every year when some big, burly Norwegian finds enough Lutefisk to feed all of the hungry guests at the annual Sand Lake Lutefisk party.
So if you’re new to these pages or want a recap of the event, you can get your own insider’s look at the shindig by viewing this video >>  “Ya Don’t Need No Teeth Ta Eat Lutefisk”

Ice Fishing Report January 25, 2017 - Favorable Travel, Improved Fishing; Green For Go This Weekend Travel conditions on the ice improved tremendously on Tuesday. It was obvious that Mother Nature had dispatched her top team of weather experts to combat watery roads and deteriorating access sites caused by the “January Thaw”. On Grand Rapids area lakes, the upper layers of surface ice were already almost dry by yesterday afternoon.  Below freezing temperatures are predicted for the rest of the week and barring a major snowfall, re-freezing will produce ideal travel conditions for the upcoming weekend. For me, the pickup truck and pop up ice shelters are now in vogue; snowmobiles and portable pull behind shelters are going to be left at home for a while. I mentioned yesterday that I’d spent considerable time in search of Bluegills for a special project. I hope that you’ll be glad to know that the fish saw fit to participate yesterday, allowing us to check off another mission, completed as scheduled. We’re not finished with project yet, but for the moment, Perch fishing has captured our attention and for today, that’s our new mission. Generally speaking, ice fishing action has been good and continually improving over the past few days. Crappie, Sunfish and Perch are cooperating locally, Walleye and Pike are entertaining anglers further north. There are so many variables in fishing that I never know precisely why the fish act the way they do. There is no doubt though that something “turned ‘em on” just recently. One theory that I heard advanced on Tuesday is that the run off from melted surface water helps refresh Oxygen and triggers an increase in fish activity. I don’t know how to prove that, but it makes sense to me because I KNOW how I feel when I don’t get enough “Good Air”. If you think about it, the January thaw really could be a miniature version of what happens during the spring meltdown; another period that is typically very good for ice fishing. No matter how you look at, fishing is good right now and so are travel conditions. If you can make time in your busy schedule, then I think this should be a good weekend to wet a line.

Ice fishing action has been good and continually improving over the past few days. Crappie, Sunfish and Perch are cooperating locally, Walleye and Pike are entertaining anglers further north. Nice Pike are prowling mid-lake structure. Caught in 26 feet of water on a Frostee tipped with a whole minnow, this fat one provided a delicious broiled dinner.

Thoughtful self-regulation is ideal fish fish management. When I'm hungry for fish, I go ahead and save enough for a meal and when I do, we enjoy them. But wasteful practices are avoided like the plague.

Going back to the subject of Bluegills, my recent extended search for quality fish gave me lots of time to gather my thoughts about how precious these critters really are. Remember my quote from yesterday? "It amazes me how rare it is to find “fresh territory”, a place where untapped schools of Panfish eagerly await the bait as it disappears below the ice hole." It's not getting any easier to find really good places to catch Sunfish, it really isn't. As a form of outdoor entertainment, Sunfish have been at the forefront of my fishing experiences since I was a little boy, barely able to use my own fishing rod. As a food source, Sunfish have provided more fantastic fish dinners for my family and me than all other fish species combined! Yes, that’s what I said; I would rather eat Sunfish than any other species that swims. The problem is that I love catching them and I love eating them so much that I could literally ruin my own fishing unless I exercise restraint. So that’s what I do, show restraint, voluntary restraint.

As a self-professed do-gooder, I could try to impose my opinion about how you and your family should engage in the sport. I could tell you how important it is to preserve the future of our precious resource and suggest goals that I believe are the “right ones”.
We could try more micro managing; legislating and otherwise “forcing” one citizen to do whatever another citizen believes is “the right thing”. The problem is that I can’t see how that’s getting us anywhere. People do whatever they can to work around any rule that they don’t like. So instead of regulating ourselves into oblivion, maybe we should step back and re-visit something that worked really well in the 1980’s; informed self-regulation.
Before the days of slot limits, special regulations and weed police, it was relatively easy for me to influence my fishing customers. If for a good reason, I suggested letting a fish go, they would happily follow my advice. Voluntary catch and release fishing was routine; there were hat’s, patches and all sorts of other rewards for pitching in to help preserve future resources. It was actually sort of fun to participate in the process; it was fulfilling.
There are more than enough reports, plenty of studies and an abundance of experts to lead us in the right direction. The free exchange of information, education that focuses on facts, that’s the lubrication can keep our gears running smoothly.
I think it’s awfully easy to dish out advice, but if I thought I could persuade you, then I’d offer this. If you’re hungry for a meal of fish, then go ahead and keep enough fish for a meal and eat them. Don’t feel guilty about it; don’t worry what somebody else thinks, just do it.
But if you catch yourself doing wasteful things, then face up to it. If you have a freezer full of fish from last year, then why add to the pile this year? If you’re finding yourself giving away fish so that you can legally catch more, then maybe you’re over doing it?
No matter whether we love to eat fish, or if we only want a photo for the scrapbook, we all got into this sport for the same reason; because it’s fun.
For me, the Bluegill is the most fun fish of all, I love to pursue them, catch them and eat them. I’d like to keep doing it and I’d love to see my grandchildren catch them someday too. If that seems reasonable to you, then maybe you’ll consider joining me in a little voluntary self-regulation; it could be fun!

Ice Fishing Report January 24, 2017 - "Pursuing the Pursueable" Okay I added it up and over the past 10 days, I’ve driven 704 miles in pursuit of a single target; Bluegills and during the entire time, I’ve never been more than an hour from home. For someone who grew up in a family who considered every fish a good fish, it felt odd to snub the Pike, Crappies and Perch that occasionally stole bait intended for Sunfish. But the goal was ‘gills and I stuck to it, forsaking all others until I found some good ones. The rest of those fish are just gonna have to get over it; I will pay attention to them later. It amazes me how rare it is to find “fresh territory”, a place where untapped schools of Panfish eagerly await the bait as it disappears below the ice hole. In fact, if you ask me, finding a new place to catch quality size Bluegills is downright hard. If I learned anything over the past 10 days it’s that Sunfish don’t always bite when you want them. Sometimes they do though and lately there’s been more than enough time to reflect on how, why, where and when. There’s a lot I’ve wanted to tell you and I will, I promise. But it’s gonna be a few more days because today is the day when we find out if all the chasing, planning and research will pay off.

I'd walk a mile for a Bluegill like this one. Oh wait, I did walk a mile for this one; never mind.

With luck, the fish will show up on schedule for our special project and before long, I’ll be able to tell you all about it. Either way, I AM up against the clock and gotta run, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow!

Photo courtesy Lake of the Woods Tourism: For most anglers, this 31 inch Walleye would be the fish of a lifetime; Lake of the Woods is one place where you can find one! Photo courtesy Austin Jones: Lindy Quiver spoons and Live Bait Jigs both worked well. Best colors were pinK & glow, chartreuse, and pink & chartreuse. Best bite was between 12:30 and 2:00pm.

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism January 24, 2017 "Resorts moving around to stay on walleyes. Another great fishing week. Warm weather and a lot of fish. Most catching in 29-31 ft with glow red, chartreuse, pink and gold with a rattle on jigging spoons tipped with minnow head or tail. Dead stick plain hook and live minnow or smaller jigs. Walleye and sauger mix with a jumbo perch, eelpout and sturgeon as well. Electronics improving catch rate as fish are following jigs 4-5 feet off bottom to strike. 20"+ of ice on the lake in most areas along with only 3-6" of snow. Ice roads allowing full sized vehicles. The Rainy River has had a great morning and evening bite but lots of slush on the ice right now. Know the river or use a resort or guide for safety. The snowmobile trail is staked from Wheeler's Point to Baudette on the river. Do not deviate from trail unless you are familiar with ice conditions. Great fishing continues up at the NW Angle. 20+ inches of ice on ice roads traveled by resorts in good shape. Resorts are fishing in 21-29 feet of water with a nice walleye, sauger, and perch bite. Best colors include glow red, silver, pink, green and gold. Slab crappies in good numbers being caught in Ontario in 28-34'. Crappies caught in 25' or greater have high mortality rate, thus keep up to limit and move on to another species. Work through resorts and stay on ice road." – Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Bowstring Lake, Geiger's Trails End Resort January 23, 2017 "Fishing has finally picked up again with those hungry Crappies, Walleye, Jumbo Perch and Northern. You might even get into a few Bluegills if you're lucky. It's not really common for ice fishermen to pull in monster size Walleye, but it does happen and for Pete Bauer, the 28 inch catch and release Walleye will surely go down in the log book as one of his highlights of the 2017 season. Wanted to give everyone a heads-up about the lake conditions. We got some rain yesterday, and with the warm weather, the lake has become sloppy. Both the North access and the West access are rutted up and difficult to navigate. A person can do it, but Bill has had to pull some people out of a sticky situation.

Be cautious when gaining access to the lake. We offer plowed roads and access to the lake for a fee. That fee is a safety net with our phone number on our passes. So, if you get into a jam, you can call us and we will be happy to help you out.
Bill is working hard to keep the roads passable. Please show respect out on the ice. We have cleaned up after a few people already. Take pride in our wonderful outdoors!" - Bill & Erin Charlton, Trails End Reosrt .

Lake of the Woods, Border View Lodge January 23, 2017

"Always on the move, we are out 7 plus miles past Pine Island and continue the path North. March weather in January is somewhat strange. We started out the week with clear sunny days and the best bite of the season happening. The last few days have been cloud covered with rain and fog, the bite remains good but not as strong as earlier in the week. Anglers are catching many fish in the slot as well as trophies to release. Mixed bags of Walleye and Sauger are being brought home, and, as always while you are here a fresh Walleye dinner is the best way to do it!
While Minnesotans are known for their fishing and 10,000 lakes, it is Border View Lodge on Lake of the Woods who is home of the Walleye Master! We know the need to be fishing is not always a Minnesota thing, the past few weeks we have had many different guests representing many different states and countries. It is truly the greatest parts of being in this business, we have the best customers on earth! Our Professional Guides put in the work so you don’t have to.
Fishing action is mostly coming from the bottom and electronics continue to be a great advantage. Those anglers who continually work their baits to get fish to come up generally always end up with a hook set. Many fishermen and women are switching to small presentations and or plain hooks. Although it seems, what works in the morning may not work in the afternoon and vice versa. Always plan ahead for what to put on your line next.
The forecast is looking to move us back into freezing temperatures this week. We are excited for that, we have lost most of the snow on the ice and are ready to get back to winters norm." - 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge .

Alexandria Ottertail Area, Capt Josh Hagemeister January 19, 2017 "Fishing has been steady with the crappies moving in to the deeper holes in most area lakes.  Look for suspended fish anywhere from 20-30 feet down over 35-45 of bottom depth.  Using 2 lines, have a crappie minnow on a glow jig and your second line rigged with  a small jig tipped with a wax worm.  Northern pike are still cruising shallow weed beds as the oxygen levels seem to be maintaining.  Weed flats in the 7-12 foot range wherever there is cabbage weed.

Using a number 2 chartreuse hook to help attract the fish, suspend a medium sized shiner about 2 feet off of the bottom. 
Walleyes are using deep weed lines in the 12-18 foot range, feeding primarily at dawn/dusk.  Set a tip up rigged with a shiner minnow on a number 2 glow hook in one hole, while using a gold/perch colored jigging spoon tipped with a small minnow head on another rod. 
Look for deep sunken islands for a potential day time walleye bite and stick to the jigging spoon only while covering water with multiple holes. 
Good Luck out there and be safe...." Capt Josh, Minnesota Fishing Guide Service 218-732-9919, 320-291-0708

Marcell - Edge of the Wilderness, Frontier Sports, Paul Larson January 19, 2017

"A break in the cold weather patterns that have been plaguing the area for the past several weeks seemed to be in order. Then along came Monday and temperatures had started to rise to more acceptable levels. The opening of the winter trout season was indeed cold but there were some hardy souls that braved the conditions and were amply rewarded for their diligence. The bite was somewhat slow but most anglers brought home some fish. Fishing was most productive in water depths of fifty to sixty plus feet. White tubes, spoons and Sandeels were the ticket. Some had success with a shiner on a dead stick as well. Walleye fishing has been slow for the past few weeks. The fish are there but the bite has been tentative. Crappies have taken this stand too but this should all change with the coming warmer weather forecast for this weekend. Already I’ve had reports of improved success this week especially for Crappies. We’re about do for a change in the action and this weekend looks like it will be a great time to get out on the ice and catch some fish! The Tackle department and bait shop are fully stocked with everything you need for a successful outing on the ice so be sure to drop by when you’re in the area. Have a Great Weekend Everyone!"
Frontier Sports features a complete and fully stocked Sporting Goods department and Bait Shop, Gas, Grocery, Deli and Gift Shop. Frontier Sports is an authorized LIVE TARGET and SAVAGE GEAR dealer. Frontier Sports 218-832-3901 or Email .

Ice Fishing Report January 18, 2017 - January Thaw, Travel Conditions Favorable

Over the past few days, the most notable part of my fishing experience has been the improving travel conditions.
Warm air temperatures and sunshine have taken a bite out of the fluffy snow cover that blanketed our lakes. Now that the snow has become compacted, travel by pickup truck appears to be available almost everywhere in the Itasca area. The lakes that I fished on Monday and Tuesday offered multiple sets of tire tracks to follow and despite arriving with my snowmobile in tow, I really didn't need it.
I wish I could say that the fish had responded favorably to the increased traffic, but apparently they haven't. It's been common to see fish on the Humminbird that swim up to the bait, take a look and meander away.

On Tuesday, I stumbled into an old friend on the lake and he reported waiting until after dark for the Bluegills to begin feeding on the previous evening. Following his lead, I hunkered down, prepared to wait out the arrival of hungry fish.  Sunset, tick tock, 5:30 tick tock, 6:00 it never happened. Except for a few straggler Bluegills and a couple of small Crappies, the feeding run never got started for any of us.
Sometimes during the winter, timing changes and fish show a strong preference for feeding at one end of the day vs the other.  We speculated that it’s possible these fish would feed better in the morning right now. The theory is unproven, but yesterday’s experience was my cue to switch gears and see what happens if I arrive during the wee hours and fish “the morning bite”.
However that works out, you will definitely be the first to know.
For tomorrow, I am going to tackle a question from a reader. It’s one that came in via email on Monday and it’s the type of question that would be all too easy to blow off with a simple answer. This time though, I’m gonna take a stab at making sense of this equation even though it’s filled with variables.
Q) “I have a small lake in your area that the walleye bite is great for about two weeks mid-summer and then you would be lucky to catch one either before or after that 2 week bite. Any ideas why or suggestions for the rest of the year? It has always been a spinner leech bite as well. But I have tried everything. I have been trying for years to solve the mystery.” - Signed; wants to eat walleye more than two weeks a year.
Before I give you my take on his question, I want you to think about how you would answer it. If you’d like to chime in with some advice for me, please do so via Email.

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism January 17, 2017 "Great ice fishing continues on Lake of the Woods. The key depth's are 28 - 31 ft with glow red, pink and gold overall best colors. Walleyes and saugers mix with some jumbo perch, eelpout and sturgeon as well. Most fish on the bottom. Electronics really help your catch rate. Live emerald shiners available. 20"+ of ice on the lake in most areas. The Rainy River has been good for walleyes. More of a morning / evening bite. Know the river or use a resort or guide for safety. The snowmobile trail is staked from Wheeler's Point to Baudette on the river. Do not deviate from trail unless you are familiar with ice conditions. Excellent fishing continues up at the NW Angle. Reports of 20 inches of ice in areas traveled by resorts. The ice road from Young's Bay to resorts on Flag Island and Oak Island is open to vehicles. Resorts are fishing in 21-28 feet of water with a nice walleye and sauger bite. Best colors include glow red, pink and gold. Big crappies, 12-16" in good numbers being caught in Ontario in 28-34'. Crappies caught in 25' or greater have high mortality rate, thus keep up to limit and move on to another species. Walleyes and perch biting very well. Work through resorts and stay on ice road."  – Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Photo courtesy Wheelers Point/LOW Tourism: Walleye and Sauger action continues to be good on South shore and in the Rainy River. Photo courtesy Ballards Resort: Monster Eelpout!

Lake of the Woods, Border View Lodge January 17, 2017;

"Another week of some great catches! We are in the 4 miles off of Pine Island range and continue to move. Our houses are currently in the 31-32 foot range of depth.
Nice mixed bags of fish with mostly Walleye has been the trend this past week. We continue to see the Burbot and Tulibees being caught along with the Walleye and Sauger. Each year we find a Crappie or two in this area, we are wondering who will it be this year that gets the catch. Most of the fishing has been right on the bottom, there has not been many suspended fish this year. Although the ones which were suspended were big! The electronics are still a big help and they give you more opportunity to catch the fish you know are there.
Mid-January warm up is in the making this week. We are showing temperatures to stay above zero with highs around 35 for this week. It also looks like there will be plenty of sunshine. With the amount of snow on the lake the sun will feel good and hopefully penetrate some areas to cast some light in the water." - 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge .

Ice Fishing Report January 16, 2017 - Grand Rapids Area "Nice" Fishing Report It's amazing what happens when the weather turns nice. After weeks of super cold, snowy weather, there was a pent up demand by anglers in the Grand Rapids area hoping for a family weekend close to home. Until now, most folks with big rigs had been forced to drive to Upper Red Lake, where there was enough ice and plenty of access to allow them a spot to fish. By Saturday though, a combination of light snow cover and solid ice have allowed many small lakes in our area to be accessible by pickup truck. Knowing that they can drive on the ice, the crowds responded and the small lake "wheel house" season shifted into high gear. I can’t say that the heavy traffic added luster to the Panfish bite, but it hasn’t forced a complete shutdown either. Despite reports of good Crappie and Bluegill action from morning crews, our optimism was not fully realized. For my crew, timing was poor, an afternoon arrival on a crowded lake. Struggling to find space where we could fish, we wove a path around the crowds, searching for that allowed access to the deeper water. Under the bright sunshine, fish that appeared on our electronics caused more us aggravation than they did bent poles and while we eventually saw plenty of fish, few of them struck. Sooner or later, the evening feeding run would begin and I knew that for the most patient among us, they’d bite eventually. But by the time that run began, the importance of warm cars and romping pets had become equal to the desire to catch fish. I’m not sure that we were doing our best work when the opportunity for improved action presented itself. As always, there was a silver lining and as a reward for suffering slower action, the very nice average size of both Crappies and Sunfish made the fishing seem better. In fact, I was elated because given the choice; I’d prefer low numbers of quality fish over high numbers of small ones anyway. For an hour, fish that appeared on my Humminbird were coax-able, but even then, the action was not fast. The feeding run ended as abruptly as it began and once the fish were satisfied, the aggravation of seeing fish without catching them started all over again. Traffic, angling pressure, a shortage of un-occupied territory; these all factored into the equation of why the action slowed down. There wasn’t much incentive to return to this lake on Sunday, so I got caught up on chores around the house instead. For my almost-a-daughter and her boyfriend who found less pressured water on Sunday, the action was much better. A mixed bag of Bluegill and Crappie kept them busy throughout the afternoon. Size of their fish varied, but if you catch 50 fish, you can certainly sort out enough for one nice meal. For me, today’s plan includes finding a lake that isn’t under as much pressure and with luck; the fish will behave more aggressively. I asked around for some reports from the Trout opener and while most folks were quiet, Greg Clusiau's report today is filled with news about the trout opener. Thanks also to Cody Mueller, pictured right, it's nice to see at least one Rainbow was caught this weekend too. Thanks Cody!

A combination of light snow cover and solid ice have allowed many small lakes in our area to be accessible by pickup truck. While the action was slow, the very nice average size of both Crappies and Sunfish made the fishing feel much better. Photo courtesy Bret Amundson: The 2017 inland Trout opener didn't go un-noticed by Cody Mueller who shared the image of a nice Rainbow Trout.

Photo courtesy Lake of the Woods Toursim. Walleye fishing on Lake of the Woods has been heating up!

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism January 13, 2017 "Ice fishing has heated back up quickly with stable weather. The key depth's remain 24 - 31 ft and glow red, pink and gold. A one-two punch of jigging with a rattle spoon tipped with a tail or head of a shiner and a deadstick with a plain hook has been most effective. Walleyes and saugers mix. Some big saugers and trophy walleyes being iced. 15-20" of ice on the lake. Some resorts are allowing 3/4 ton trucks with wheel houses. Day by day decisions for each resort. Work through resorts as their ice roads are monitored. Know where you are going. As always, safety first. The Rainy River has been good for walleyes. More of a morning / evening bite. Know the river or use a resort or guide for safety. The snowmobile trail is staked from Wheeler's Point to Baudette on the river. Do not deviate from trail unless you are familiar with ice conditions.

Up at the Northwest Angle fishing continues strong. Reports of 16-18 inches of ice in areas traveled by resorts. The ice road from Young's Bay to resorts on Flag Island and Oak Island is open to vehicles. The snowmobile trail from the south shore to the NW Angle is open and groomed. Resorts are fishing in 19-28 feet of water with a nice walleye and sauger bite. Best colors include glow pink and gold. Big crappies being caught in Ontario in 28+'. Walleyes in Ontario 22'-28'. Work through resorts and stay on ice road."  – Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

Ice Fishing Report January 13, 2017 - Flag Island Resort, Hidden Gem On Lake of the Woods If you’d compare our last few days to a lot of fishing trips, it wouldn’t sound very spectacular. The weather was cold; our equipment wasn’t performing very well and our days were filled with unexpected interruptions. Despite all of that, the trip was still a huge success, we made it home safe and sound and today we're all smiles. I’ll tell you why; it was thanks to our hosts and their fabulous staff. With their help, our trip was transformed from what could have been a nightmare, into a happy dream. The first sign of trouble came before we even arrived at the resort. On our 3 hour ride to the resort, my snowmobile was stammering and sputtering along the entire trail. With 3 days of fishing ahead, the last thing we needed was to be one sled short; enter Dan Schmidt. Flag Island’s head fishing guide and resident expert on everything from soup to nuts had an idea. Dan moved his own gear out of his own garage just to help me get my sled warm and cozy. We added some happy juice to the gas, got the machine warm and the next morning I was on my way to go find him, but I never made it to his garage. That’s because before I could get there, he was already delivering the purring sled to our cabin. The ride out for our morning fishing trip was fine, we arrived at the “Walleye Hole” caught a bunch of fish and our trip was back on track. After catching all the Walleyes we needed, life was good. We broke camp intending to make a move over to the “Crappie Hole”. I reached down and turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened. My sled was dead and it was not gonna start, not for me anyway. I recall borrowing Fred Flintstone’s line; “Sickafrackafrickasickus” or something like that as I pondered the next move. There went the afternoon, there was nothing we could do now except to tow the dead sled back to camp; enter Dan Schmidt again. Just as we were ready to leave, Dan arrived on the scene and asked what the problem was. I described it to him and he said; “I know exactly what’s wrong, take out those little grey relays and put ‘em in your pocket for 5 minutes and then she’ll start right up.” I did, and it did, and we were back in business. The 1-1/2 hour delay forced us to skip the stop at the Crappie hole, but that was okay. We still had fish to clean and with 2 more days to fish, we’d surely have plenty of time to re-visit that spot later. On the ride back to camp, everything was going along just fine until Jon’s sled blew up; yes I said blew up. The dramatic ending of that snowmobiles life came grinding to a halt, complete with an explosive cloud of blue smoke, shattered parts and holes in the engine!

Veteran Guide and resident expert Dan Schmidt with a fat Lake of the Woods Walleye. In the NW Angle, Crappies are fat, plentiful and readily available. Chuck and Andrea Haggenmiller and their staff provide serive that's above and beyond the call of duty.

Luckily we were closer to camp this time and towing the dead sled wasn’t a huge job. Our obvious logistics problem of getting 3 guys and all of our gear back home on 2 sleds wouldn’t be fun, but for now, we could still find a way to fish.
Back at lodge, we speculated about the 50 mile ride, towing the dead sled and all of our gear back to our rigs. Nobody was looking forward to that, but we didn’t see any choice. Until our next angel, Chuck Haggenmiller arrived on the scene. “I’ll give you a ride back to your truck and you can drive your rig back to camp and load up here” Chuck said.
I asked about that long road back to camp, the one that nobody likes, the one that people have called a nightmare where everybody gets stuck and drifts into the ditches? “Chuck said, no problem, it’s not as bad as everyone thinks, just come along with me and I’ll show you the way out and then your drive back in will be easy."
The next morning I rode out with Chuck and he was right, the road isn't bad at all, in fact I'd say that it’s good. The drive time only adds about 15 minutes compared to crossing the lake via snowmobile and there's a lot less hassle transferring gear.
For me, just learning the road in was well worth the trip because when I go back, I’ll be feeling a lot less worry about crossing the lake on snow machines.
Yes, that’s right, I did say “when I go back” and I’ll tell you why.
In my line of work, it’s not unusual to stumble into cool fishing spots. It’s not unusual to discover nice places to stay either and sometimes we really hit it off with the owners too.
What is unusual though, is to find a place that offers everything without skipping a beat. Flag Island provided us with great lodging, fantastic service and awesome fishing; everything in one package. Add to that the exemplary "bend over backwards" care that we received from the owners and their staff and you have a slam dunk; it’s a place you’ve got to visit!
I didn’t say a lot about the fishing because I don’t have to. If you spend a few days in “the angle”, you are going to catch fish, especially if you connect with Dan Schmidt for some expert guidance. The guides know about where the fish are biting and they're only too happy to help. Catching fish is as close to “guaranteed” as you can get; some days are better than others, but you will definitely catch some fish.
Oh and by the way, they’ll cook ‘em up for you at the lodge too. We had some of ours for dinner and they were tremendous.
So there you have it, the weather was cold, our equipment was finicky and we ran short of time. But the fish were cooperative, the lodging was super and the service was fabulaous, so for me, our trip was a smashing success.
When you're thinking about trying a new ice fishing destination, do me a favor and check in with Chuck and Andrea at Flag Island Resort first, I promise that you won't be disappointed
Flag Island Resort, 218-223-8011 Email

(1/11) From The Marcell Area, Frontier Sports, Paul Larson (Jan. 11, 2017); "Weather conditions have been difficult for a while and the number of anglers willing to brave the extreme cold was relatively low in this area. Those that did go out had a slow time of it but did catch a respectable amount of Walleyes and Perch. The Crappie bite was rather slow as well but that is about to change for the coming weekend. Temperatures are expected to rise into the twenties and even the thirties by early next week and that should bring an about face as far as angler participation and success is concerned. The ice conditions and thickness on the area lakes is excellent with ten to sixteen inches of ice and very few areas of slush.

That being said, the big news for this area is that opening day for Trout fishing is Saturday, January 14th. Itasca County has eleven designated trout lakes and several Lake Trout lakes as well. Last year the hot lure for Lakers was the Savage Gear 5 inch Sand Eel. We recently got a big shipment of these in all the best colors as well as the 4 and 6 inch models. These lures caught a lot of fish last winter as well as open water Walleyes. They are just deadly and in stock now! We have carried these lures for the past four years and they have become a favorite of many anglers in the area. The bait shop is fully stocked with everything you need to have a successful outing on the ice so be sure to drop by when you’re in the area."
Frontier Sports features a complete and fully stocked Sporting Goods department and Bait Shop, Gas, Grocery, Deli and Gift Shop. Frontier Sports is an authorized LIVE TARGET and SAVAGE GEAR dealer. Frontier Sports 218-832-3901

Ice Fishing Report January 7, 2017 - Lending A Helping Hand For Tommy Howell Walleye anglers around the Lake Winnie Region have either met, heard of, or maybe even fished with Tom Howell. As a popular Walleye fishing guide, Tommy made a lot of friends in the area and one of them dropped me a line this morning with a special request for help. Tony Hanson referred me to the GoFundMe website where I found the article about what’s going on in Tommy’s life. I agree with Tony, the Howell family could use a helping arm right now. If you know Tommy, or have made his acquaintance and if you’re the sort of person who will, please do me a favor and follow the story; lend a hand if you’re able. From GoFundMe “The family of Tom Howell and Trena Newman-Howell has dealt with more than their fair share of medical issues in the past.

"While rushing Tommy Howell to the hospital, their truck engine blew and left them stranded not only waiting for an ambulance, but …" Learn More >> Tom Howell Medical Fund

December 3rd has become the latest and most profound medical trauma when Tom had a heart attack.  While rushing him to the hospital, their truck engine blew and left them stranded not only waiting for an ambulance, but … Learn More >> Tom Howell Medical Fund

Photo courtesy LOW Tourism and Twin Island Sleepers. On the main lake, Big Traverse Bay Ice fishing is in full swing and fishing is good. The key depths are 24 to 31 feet. Photo courtesy LOW Tourism and Flag Island Resort. Big crappies being caught on Ontario side in 29-33'.

Lake of the Woods, LOW Tourism January 5, 2017 "On the main lake, Big Traverse Bay Ice fishing is in full swing and fishing is good. The key depths are 24 – 31 feet and glow red, pink and gold are good colors to start with.  Rattle spoons tipped with a minnow head or tail has been the best for the jigging line.  Use a plain hook or an ice jig with a live minnow for the dead stick. Nice mix of walleyes and Sauger. There is 13-19" of ice on the lake and some resorts are allowing 1/2 ton trucks with wheel houses; it is a day by day decision for each resort.  Work through the resorts as their ice roads are monitored and know where you are going; safety first, as always. The Rainy River has been good for walleyes. Know the river or use a resort or guide for safety.   The snowmobile trail is staked from Wheeler's Point to Baudette on the river.  Do not deviate from trail unless you are familiar with ice conditions. Up at the Northwest Angle fishing reports are excellent.  Reports of 14-16 inches of ice in areas traveled by resorts. The ice road from Young's Bay to resorts on Flag Island and Oak Island is open to vehicles.  The snowmobile trail from the south shore to the NW Angle is open.  Resorts are fishing in 19-28 feet of water with nice walleyes and saugers biting. Big crappies being caught in Ontario in 29-33'.  Walleyes in Ontario 22'-28'. Work through resorts and stay on ice road."  – Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH

On Lake Winnibigoshish, Dixon Lake Resort January 5th, 2017

"Ice on the 3rd is at 14inches last hole cut. We have not cut in new holes in a few days. There is snow, but a lot has been blown off, so getting around in your truck is still pretty good. Guys are shooting off all over. The pressure ridge is farther out then normal so giving anglers a lot more space on this side.
Water clarity has cleared up and is just about perfect. Still some clouds move throughout the day, but that just may mean someone speared a fish upstream from you.
Fishing for the pan fish has finally picked up. Getting some nice jumbo perch, a few sonnies and crappies I here are a night bite. Even had a guy get a 25 inch walleye on a tip up right around the spear houses.
The spearing for northern has had a few bad days, but reports are green and yellow decoys and that they are real spooky so no sudden movements. They don't want to come in to the decoy, but you can see the nose at the edge of your hole. We have heard of some big ones, one big 20 pounder, a 16, and 14 along with a few 9s and a lot of good eaters in the 3to 4lb range.
2171 from 46 to the landing road is not plowed, a tree is down and part of one of the bridges is out. So you should come up to the 23rd mile marker on 46, turn left on to 33 for 10 miles, then turn right on fishermen's road down to 2171 to the left then right onto the landing road next to the spearing access sign.  These roads are all plowed and have a nice road down to the clay banks. To all you anglers be safe and have fun fishing." - Dixon Lake Resort has shelter rentals, including sleepers. Reservations 218-659-4612 .

Lake Winnibigoshish, Nodak Lodge January 5, 2017

"We now have 14 to 16 inches of ice. We are currently fishing 1 to 3 miles out on Horseshoe and the Sang hole. From there on down to Hunters hump have been getting the PERCH in deep and shallow water 28 to 32 feet and some days are in 15 to 18 feet.
WALLEYES have been little slow for the start of the year but getting them in 18 to 23 feet has been the best and even had some walleyes come out of 32 feet.
We are now driving up to 3/4 ton trucks and any wheel houses, 4x4 only. No 1 tons yet. We are still in a limited area due to a crack 1 1/2 miles out in front, but still plenty of area to fish. We started to plow all roads on Jan 4th to get ready for the weekend." - Nodak Lodge 1-800-752-2758

Leech Lake, Trappers Landing Lodge January 5, 2017

"Ice Road out of Trappers has 17-20 inches of ice on main basin of Leech. Ice road goes from here out to Huddle’s Reef, over to Variety and over to Big Rock Reef. We are open to all vehicle traffic no restrictions. Anglers are finding most of their walleye in 15-18 ft. of water during the lowlight periods.
During the Day anglers keeping on the move are finding fish at 18-24 ft. Mid Lake Structure is kicking out most of the fish and getting away from the crowds. Walker bay should be open this weekend as well to all vehicle sizes. Fishing for smaller fish has been better over there with most anglers catching fish in 30-60 ft. of water." - Josh Bullivant, Trappers Landing Lodge (218) 836-2500

Leech Lake, Oak Point Resort, Steam Boat Bay January 5, 2017

"We have spear houses and spearing has been relatively slow so far. There is around 15-16" of ice and we have been driving vehicles for a week or so. The snow and drifting are starting to make it hard to drive anywhere but our ice road. You can still make it but it is getting difficult. I do not see any slush under the snow on our bay but I also haven't ventured to any new areas either." - Oak Point Resort, Lee Nupson (218) 335-2993

Ice Fishing Report January 4, 2017 - Saving For A Blustery Day, A Solid Strategy I'm glad that I'm a saver and not a spender. If I wasn't, we could easily have fallen short of our goal on Tuesday. In fact, standing at the landing and watching the snow blowing across the surface, we almost decided to bag the trip and not fish at all. But you know how it goes, once you’ve driven a long way to get to the lake, it’s hard to give up without at least trying. With temperatures plummeting and the wind ripping across the ice, it was hardly time to experiment. Hole hopping across the flats, searching for fresh territory just wasn’t gonna work, the blowing snow would fill up our ice holes as fast as we could drill them. If we were going to succeed today, we would have to pick one spot and be prepared to sit there until the fish found us. Luckily, despite the temptation to re-visit a little Crappie hole that we found last week, we had taken a wise decision to let it rest, keep it in our back pocket, just in case. If we wouldn’t have “saved” that spot for an emergency, then we might have turned around and gone home. But it was our knowledge that we had a good chance of utilizing a predictable location that convinced us to go ahead and give it our best shot.

The spot, a small hole formed by a sharp turn in the deep breakline, lays adjacent to a large feeding flat.

The small school of fish had been left alone over the weekend, and thankfully, there were just enough active ones in the neighborhood to help us wrap up our special project.
The spot, a small hole formed by a sharp turn in the deep breakline, lays adjacent to a large feeding flat. While it’s not big enough to offer permanent housing for huge schools of fish, it does provide us with an ambush point. Coaxing a fish or two from each small pack pausing at the corner allowed us to gather enough fish to save the trip.
When you’re stuck in one spot, the goal is to catch every fish that looks at your bait. You don’t have the option of moving from hole to hole in search of the most aggressive fish.
That’s why we rotated several rods, each rigged with a different one of our favorite “confidence baits”. If any fish looked at one of our offerings, but didn’t strike, it was immediately offered an alternate.
Our rotation paid off, we rarely caught more than a couple of fish on any one lure, but we did catch something on every one of them. For me, the rotation consisted of a Tungsten Toad, a Quiver Spoon and the ever-reliable #4 Frostee Jig. The toad and Quiver Spoon were each tipped with wax worms; the Frostee was paired with a whole, live minnow.
Rods rigged with a Perch Talker, Ice Worm and Fat Boy complimented the opposite side of the fish house and all were used in rotation as needed.
Remember the story about the Goose that laid the golden eggs? The upshot of this report ought to be that it’s okay to KNOW about an asset without feeling like you NEED to consume it. You do not have to fish the same spot every day until it crashes; it’s okay to have a few emergency locations in your back pocket. It’s a conservative approach, but it’s served me well for a long time.
Of course, now I have to live by my own rules and let those fish rest again, so that’s what I’ll do. Today, I’ll be off and running looking for fresh territory and with a little luck, the weather will stabilize, allowing me to carve out a spot for a really encouraging report.