Lake of the Woods (US)
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Lake of the Woods (US) Fishing Reports
Stay up to date with the latest fishing reports from Lake of the Woods (US). Reports are submitted by local anglers, fishing guides, and our team of fishing experts.
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Adam HarveyBronze AmbassadorSpecies
WalleyeTechniqueIce Fishing JigsSeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureLedgesWe went out of Zipple Bay. Sat in 31 ft of water on a ledge next to a hump. Crappie and fat head minnows hooked vertical. Ended with 121 fish over 4 days.
- SpeciesWalleyeTechniqueSoft Body Swimbaits (Small/Medium)SeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureRiver Channels
Rainy River was a blast for 2 day trip. Trolling swimbaits upstream, and pitching plastics to shoreline breaks with jigs worked best. Natural colors worked best for us as we had mostly cloudy conditions. 3/8oz jigs worked better the first day with there being more wind. 1/4oz worked better the second day. Bigger fish definitely preferred a long pause on the bottom with a higher, longer pendulum swing.
BobBronze AmbassadorSpecies
Northern PikeTechniqueInline SpinnersSeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureReeds
Austin WilliamsBronze AmbassadorSpeciesWalleyeTechniqueVertical Jigging Mid Depth (10-19')SeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureRiver ChannelsFishing on the rainy river was a little slow with the cold water temps, but we were able to put some nice walleyes in the boat along with a bonus sturgeon. We focused on the edge of the channel breaks pitching our jigs into shallow water and popping it off the edge. We would do a slow controlled drift with the trolling motor. Plastics performed better than live bait. Pink and orange were the best colors for us. 1/2 oz or 3/8 oz jigs worked best to keep the bait in the strike zone.
SpeciesWalleyeTechniqueVertical Jigging Mid Depth (10-19')SeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureRiver ChannelsFishing the Rainy River. Ice had skimmed over the river and it took a while to clear up but we were able to hop around and try a few different styles of fishing. With the cold water and falling water some of the fish we caught were in deeper pockets from 12-18ft adjacent to shallow flats on the edge of current seams, We spot locked and vertically jigged 1/2oz jigs with plastics, rainbows, small suckers and frozen shiners along with hair jigs. We fished shallower flats upstream from deeper holes with the 1/4 to 3/8oz jigs again and hair jigs in the 8-12ft range. Using spotlock vertical jigging, pitching jigs to the side or slightly cornering back downstream let the jig roll and hop in the current until it straightens out behind the boat downstream. Most bites would happen right away as our lines straightened out or on the fall jigging. 1/2oz also worked for more aggressive snapping. Dragging jigs upstream at 0.3 mph on shallower flats in 8-12ft worked well too. 1/4-1/2oz jigs pitched back behind the boat and jigged just enough to touch bottom when dropping the rod tip back a couple feet was key. Jigs with plastics like the rage simmer and keitech fat swing or BfishN moxie or pulseR worked the best. Pulling shallow diving minnow crank baits upstream at 1mph to 1.5mph on 3 way rigs with 2 or 3oz weights 12-16" down on lighter mono with 5-6ft leaders of 12lb flourocarbon back to the lure worked well for bigger fish
Species
SturgeonTechniqueLive Bait RigsSeasonSpring (Pre-Spawn)StructureRiver ChannelsFished the Rainy River from Birchdale to Frontier. Fish the upstream part of a deeper hole or the edges of the bottom side of the holes. 14-18ft was best. Heavy rods, reels and line are better for everything. Easier to fish the large weights, easier to reel in these big fish and easier on the fish. Flat no roll weight in 3-4oz keeps the bait in place. Put that above a heavy swivel and tie on a piece of the same kind of line or other heavy line, 6-12" below the swivel with the circle hook on a snell knot. Glob on a few or more crawlers and maybe a frozen shiner or 2 and get it to the bottom. With a circle hook you don't set the hook, just reel slowly until you feel some pressure and give a little pressure back. You can also skip the swivel and add a large bead above the hook. Some people even will add a small spinner or rattle when it's extremely muddy.
- SpeciesNorthern PikeTechniqueBladed JigsSeasonSpring (Spawn)StructurePoints
Pike fishing is open year round on Lake Of The Woods. Once the bays ice out on the south end of the lake, pike congregate in the bays and creeks to spawn. Last year (2022) I caught 2 trophy pike over 40 inches. This year (2023) I caught one trophy 40 inch pike, a 39 inch pike and several in the mid to upper 30's. A white half ounce Z-Man Chatterbait with a white paddle tail has produced every year for me. Bring a large net...you're going to need it! :)
