NW Angle

Ice road opens tomorrow.

Isn’t it cheaper to just drive through canada? I heard it was like $175 to use the road.

It’s going to cost $250 this year. The ice road avoids the Canadian hurdles of Covid test and online registration, etc. You can snowmobile across on your own, or pay the Bombardier taxi, or fly from Baudette Warroad or possibly St Paul. I don’t know the cost for those routes. We drove the ice road last year and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Pure adventure

Just got back from Angle yesterday. Fished Monday-wednesday. First time up there. (past Garden anyways) Was suprised how many people were up there ice fishing mid week. Fishing was so-so. Walleyes are schooled up. Either your on them or your not. Not much inbetween. Everyone we talked to said deep was the ticket, but we found are best fishing in 14-17 fow. Baits and colors did not matter. If you landed on them they were feeding.

How did you get there, Bill?

Jumping thru the hoops to drive the road by highway can be a royal pain, did it last October, hopefully by summer it will relax a bit, but not counting on it.

shefland wrote:

Jumping thru the hoops to drive the road by highway can be a royal pain, did it last October, hopefully by summer it will relax a bit, but not counting on it.

We went to canada in Sept. Getting there was not to much hassle. Need proof of vaccination, a recent covid test showing negative ( Within 72 Hrs I believe ) and fill out the travel Can application. Nothing worse than our government is requiring Canada residents to travel into the US.

Gregg Gunter wrote:

How did you get there, Bill?

We rode sleds up

Gregg, do you or anybody else have a contact phone number that would know the condition of the road? My sister wants to come up from the metro sometime but would want to talk to somebody a day before coming.

first the covid test, no guarantee you would get the results within 72 hours, we did, so getting there went well, returning? you have to call in from Youngs Landing on the phone, be put on hold for 2hrs playing elevator music, interrogated then could continue our travels, upon returning home several email messages saying we had violated canadas quarantine laws and were subject to arrest and $5000 a day fine. Took a few phone calls to straighten that mess up, or did we? will find out next time I cross the border. So canada is on hold for me for awhile, unless going by water.

There is a Facebook page at nwaiceroad. Points North Services is the outfit that is doing the plowing.

shefland wrote:

first the covid test, no guarantee you would get the results within 72 hours, we did, so getting there went well, returning? you have to call in from Youngs Landing on the phone, be put on hold for 2hrs playing elevator music, interrogated then could continue our travels, upon returning home several email messages saying we had violated canadas quarantine laws and were subject to arrest and $5000 a day fine. Took a few phone calls to straighten that mess up, or did we? will find out next time I cross the border. So canada is on hold for me for awhile, unless going by water.

When returning why did you need to call???? when we returned we drove up at the border crossing ( No wait all all. Pulled right up to the window. ) Only ? asked was how was the fishing and if we were bringing fish back ( Never do ) As far as the Emails saying you violated quarantine laws all I can say is WOW. Hope that issue was resolved and doesn’t cause you any problems in the future. My desire to get back into Canada was so great I just didn’t think the process was any big deal – Then again we did not have some of the issues that you did.

We stay at Sportsman Lodge on Oak Island, in Mn, but fish the Ontario waters, just a short ride. So when you leave you reenter Manitoba from a gravel road in the sticks, then go to Warroad or Rosea to cross back over again. You can only do this by phone. The big border crossings at Warroad, Roseau, or Rainy River you just pull up to the window

shefland wrote:

We stay at Sportsman Lodge on Oak Island, in Mn, but fish the Ontario waters, just a short ride. So when you leave you reenter Manitoba from a gravel road in the sticks, then go to Warroad or Rosea to cross back over again. You can only do this by phone. The big border crossings at Warroad, Roseau, or Rainy River you just pull up to the window

Oh. I did not even know you were allowed to cross a border other than at a authorized border crossing.

fishthumper wrote:

Oh. I did not even know you were allowed to cross a border other than at a authorized border crossing.

It is a border crossing there just arent any border agents there hence the reason for the phone call situation. Its a weird scenario because you have to go through canada to get back to MN.

its what they call a remote crossing, no matter how you get to the angle, boat, vehicle, snowmobile, plane, whatever if you fish canadian waters, its by phone for the crossing

shefland wrote:

its what they call a remote crossing, no matter how you get to the angle, boat, vehicle, snowmobile, plane, whatever if you fish canadian waters, its by phone for the crossing

Is this remote crossing specific to the NW Angle area or can you remotely cross anywhere along the border and just use the phone to report? Do you need to still use the travel can application when crossing at a remote crossing?

Doing some internet research on remote border crossings I found this info.

As part of border measures intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Canada temporarily suspended its Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) program as of May 12, 2020. This temporary suspension remains in effect as long as COVID-19 border restrictions are in place.

It also looks like you are only allowed to use a remote border crossing permit at several locations and only at the one listed on your permit. It also looked like the process for obtaining the permit requires more work than the current process of crossing at a official controlled crossing.

its a Pain in the —

Thumper, many people leave the launches in International Falls on the US side of Rainy and fish North Arm, the Canadian side of Rainy. All accessible by boat. You can do the same on Namakin, enter Canadian water from US water.

I’m unsure of how the currant regulations work for doing this or if you can even do it anymore.

I believe you can IF you do not touch canadian soil, anchor? or hook up with someone else? same at the angle

shefland wrote:

I believe you can IF you do not touch canadian soil, anchor? or hook up with someone else? same at the angle

We just booked NW Angle for September. Was told by the folks at Sportsman’s that we can fish Canadian waters with Ontario fishing license and did not need RABC. The rules shefland list exist. We have been able to do the same thing fishing the North Arm of Rainy for the last few years. Years ago we needed the RABC, but that has not been true for a while.

Dont forget the rules are different between ice and open water

I tried to get permission from the Wareoad border agents to allow me to cross the line with my sxs to stay at Buffalo Point resort. They told me it was illegal to cross into Canada and go into the resorts harbor on the north side. Told me I needed to take the Warroad land crossing and drive out to Buffalo point and not cross the border either way via the ice.