Lake of The Woods Update 3-17-04

The ice-fishing scene has been full of ups and downs for us during the past couple of weeks. We just returned from a trip to Lake of the Woods where we had hoped to get in on some of the great late winter Walleye fishing. We were disappointed by the weather and ice conditions that greeted us, but thanks to the great road plowing the folks operating out of Wheelers Point had been doing this winter, there were still places to fish and luckily we caught enough fish on Saturday for a respectable fish fry. But Sunday morning the “ship hit the sand” when we were treated to high winds and blizzard conditions that forced us to cancel the rest of our fishing trip.
The freezing and thawing cycle up there has made a mess of the ice and it was necessary to stay within a couple miles of Pine Island. Many of the anglers, who were attempting to drive out more than a few miles, were finding slush holes and pockets of water. Lots of folks reported getting stuck and there were very few reports of really good fishing.
I did talk to some people who had above average fishing because they were able to find decent schools of fish, including some really nice size fish by staying in about 20 feet of water. They were able to travel freely with snowmobiles and if you really want to make the most of your trip up there right now, it would be best to bring snowmobiles or four wheelers. There’s still plenty of good, solid ice and for those who can stay off the roads, there’s at least a couple of weeks of good fishing still to come.