Early winter anglers across much of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan faced uncertain ice conditions on lakes that in most years offer stable bottoms and are even ice-friendly right after the New Year.
It was a different story last winter at Lake of the Woods in Minnesota, where snow-plowed roads, heated coolers and two well-stocked ice taverns welcomed anglers from near and far.
There are also many species of fish available in vast quantities and sizes, from miniature to “oh, what a surprise!”
This past January, a group of outdoor journalists gathered just north of Baudette, on Minnesota’s northernmost lake, for a multi-day gathering of ice fishing, networking, and socializing hosted by the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Journalists (AGLOW).
Our group included Steve Griffin of Midland, Michigan; Bret and Dan Amundson of Minnesota and Brady Laudon; Carrie Zylka, Jonathan Small of Wisconsin, and this author; Dena Vick of Houston, Texas; Lacy Jo Jumper of Benton, Arkansas; and Sid Dobrin of Gainesville, Florida.
River Bend Resort, one of dozens of resorts along the American coastline of Rainy River and Lake of the Woods, was our base. Paul and Brandi Johnson run River Bend in the Northwoods tradition of family resorts. That tradition is quickly fading as more and more miniature resorts are taken over by distant corporate owners. Bucking that trend, the Johnsons greet guests personally, treat them well and assign them guides who can safely get them on and off the ice.
We targeted walleye, but we also welcomed the chance to catch perch, crappies, northerns or burbot. There is no minimum size limit for walleye or sauger, but fish between 19 1⁄2 and 28 inches must be released. The catch limit is six per person, including one over 28 inches.
We had no problem driving on the ice during our trip. A subtle start to January gave way to more typical weather behind schedule in the month, and several nights of sub-zero temperatures encased the Grand Traverse Bay under two feet of ice. Both days the air temperature was 27 degrees below zero when we hit the ice at dawn.
“We tell our guests they’re going to be comfortable here,” said Paul Johnson. “You’re going to go from a heated cabin to a heated car to a heated ice room.”
Johnson was telling the truth, provided we remembered to start the cars before breakfast.
A network of cleared roads provides access to fishing spots. Ice houses are grouped into miniature villages reached by side roads, and propane tanks on skis are scattered here and there to keep the ice house heaters charged.
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Each morning at sunrise we set off to caravan about eight miles away, following our guide Alex Peterson. Most of us wore the warmest clothes we had. Peterson wore jeans, a delicate hoodie and a baseball cap.
On our first day, Jon and I shared a lodge with Vick and Jumper. Our lodge, set more than 30 feet above the water, had two long benches and two folding chairs. A wall heater kept the frosty hot, and 16 drilled holes awaited our rods.
Since this was a ready-to-go trip, with gear provided by sponsors and bait from the lodge, we took only two locators, leaving the rest to our hosts. Vick gave each of us a Smith’s Mr. Crappie bag filled with bait, filleting knives, jaw spreaders, two rod/reel combos, and other gear.
Minnesota allows two lines per ice angler. We each rigged one rod with a Mustad LiveTarget rattle and the other with a straightforward jig. We finished our baits with fathead minnows. Emerald shiners are a natural food here, but they are tough to come by in the winter. Peterson outfitted each icehouse with a five-gallon fish bucket, a garbage bag and a miniature bucket of fatheads.
Peterson set up a Garmin LiveScope to supplement our locators. He told us to set one line as a dead stick, a foot or two off the bottom, and slowly jig a second bait and watch for fish to come up to check it out.
“If you see a single mark hanging high off the bottom, quickly pull up to it,” he said. “Those are big walleyes feeding on food.”
Our individual flashers marked the bottom, baits, and approaching fish. LiveScope revealed the relative size of approaching fish and tracked their movement from one end of the shack to the other. Jon called it “video game fishing.”
Shortly after Peterson went out to check on the rest of our group, Jon caught his first fish of the day, a 12-inch sauger. We caught about a dozen saugers and walleyes throughout the day. Five of them we considered substantial enough to fillet.
The next day, Jon and I joined Griffin, Dobrin, and AGLOW executive director Mark Smith in a icy room located in a different location at about the same depth.
The action was sporadic, but the fish were averaging slightly larger than the previous day. Most of our fish were on LiveTarget lures, but Griffin surprised us with a cisco (or tullibee, in Minnesota parlance) on a dead stick.
We came north for different reasons. Dobrin, who chairs the University of Florida English Department and the American Sportfishing Association’s Advocacy Committee, has fished from Florida to Alaska and written several books on fishing, but he’s never been ice fishing. Griffin is updating his 1985 book, The methods and magic of ice fishing.
“We wouldn’t photograph walleyes that size at home,” Griffin told us. “But Saginaw Bay hasn’t frozen over yet.”
Jon and I had ice-fished regularly since he was a boy, but this was his first road trip on a frozen lake since 1987, when we had parked Roger LaPenter’s truck on the bottom of Lake Superior. Jon had insisted on driving because the passenger window in my Explorer wouldn’t open.
We ended our second day with a visit to the Igloo Bar, a structure shaped like its namesake located about two miles from the Zippel Bay Resort. Here, anglers can relax with a drink and snacks and continue fishing, thanks to holes drilled next to each seat in the area.
Why would anyone travel so far to fish?
“You’ll catch a ton of walleye,” Peterson said. “And you have a better chance of catching a 30-inch fish here than anywhere else in the state.”
We didn’t see a 30-inch walleye, but we did tag a few substantial fish on Peterson’s LiveScope. We may have to schedule a repeat visit this winter to see if we can get one to bite.
LOW ice is hardening, fishing is underway
Ice fishing has resumed this winter in most areas of Lake of the Woods, with resorts and fishing operators checking ice conditions, cutting ice, stretching trails and performing other maintenance on their fishing spots.
Many resorts and fishing trips have set up ice houses and are fishing. Others who have not yet started fishing will check the ice in a few days and assess the area where they are fishing.
To say Lake of the Woods is a substantial lake is an understatement. It covers 950,400 acres of water in Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota, 307,000 of which are in the U.S. It has 25,000 miles of shoreline. Ice conditions can vary from area to area, so it’s vital to work with local residents.
Lake of the Woods veterans suggest following weight restrictions on ice roads to avoid ice cracking and drawing water to the surface, which can ponderous progress on a good ice road for everyone. Keep speeds below 15 mph. When driving on ice, a wave forms in front of the vehicle under the ice. This wave, at any time of year but especially during early ice, can break up the ice.
Stay on designated trails.
Fishing resorts and tour operators start marking trails early in the year, knowing where springs, cracks, and rises are. Don’t stay overnight—when the lake is colored, the best ice fishing is during the day. Getting off the lake at a reasonable time can assist avoid problems that can occur when walking through the ice when no one is around. It’s also a good idea to keep your cell phone charged in case your vehicle gets stuck or won’t start. Carry a battery pack with a remote control to charge your phone on the ice.
This year, Minnesota has a up-to-date law that prohibits anglers from leaving trash on or under the ice. Trash must be stored in a fish house, vehicle, or container.
Ice fishing has begun on Lake of the Woods. Fishing reports are good so far. Resorts are doing a good job of holding onto the fish.
