Red only seems to be good till about the first of the year. L.O.W is usually pretty good throughout the winter. Rainy doesn’t have any resorts that do plowed roads.
UPRL freezes up around thanksgiving or sooner so it is hot up until christmas. never iced LOW but it is on my to do list!
I’ve never fished red but thinking about leaving my wheelhouse at a resort there this winter since it’s a little closer. Fished lotw many times
Red is too big of a shipshow for me, its an hr closer thus it has way more people that set up right on top of anyone and everyone, weekdays may be tolerable but not weekends and holidays.
If i were going to do Red it would be with Johnny P, he runs track vehicles on the uncrowded N shore.
I fish both usually 2 times a month in the winter. After x mas I wouldn’t even look at red. Great early sh!t show after words.
Lotw is always a SH!T SHOW. but the lake is so easy to escape people.
Best part of that lake is guys drive 5 hours to park 20 ft from a huge gathering. When 2 miles past that us no man’s land loaded with big fish.
I’m also biased with being so close to Steve. This year will be hard to go up and not have him there
As for rainy in mid winter is not a huge numbers thing. But there are some hogs. We always stay with Steve in baudette and set tip ups all night. Some big fish come out of there
For me, I take a trip or two up to LOW each winter, simply for the better opportunity at a trophy fish. Haven’t gotten one yet, but last year we got a 27.5” and a 28.5” topside.
I usually say Red. It’s hard to get excited about 12” sauger in 30’ of water. I know there’s more potential for a monster but they seem to be a lot fewer and farther between the last 5 or so years. On Red you might get fewer fish, but they are nice fish, 15-24”ers in 12’ of water. I know it’s rare but I did catch a 28.5” out of Red. Plus there are some really nice pike roaming the same waters, and someone always catches one of those giant crappies (that I can’t ever seem to get).
I say Red too at least till mid January. It’s easy to get away from people, it’s plenty big unless the snow/slush stop you. If you park in the jungle, then you’re right it’s a Sh__ Show.
They both have a time and place. Both are awesome resources. They’ll both get absolutely hammered this winter.
I love Upper Red, especially when the fish are within a half-mile of shore in early season and you can walk out to them. Fantastic fishing! Come Christmas when the trucks hit the ice, the fish get scattered in the deep flats and the lake is not as appealing to me and I drive right past it. That ATV-only period before the trucks come out can be the best fishing of the ice season, because you can get away from the crowds and find fish that haven’t seen a lure in months.
Lake of the Woods is fun for bigger groups of people or work gatherings when you can get a few day houses in a row and go back and stay at the resorts. Red doesn’t really have the resort options nor the day houses. LOW can also be really good in late-season after the other lakes shut down, but it may mean driving over an hour on a beat up ice road until you’re just a few miles away from Canada. That landed me a 30″ last April.
I still prefer Mille Lacs over either of these options, for what it’s worth. I hit ML weekly. URL I’ll hit twice and LOW probably 3-4 times this winter.
Does anyone know on average when the sleeper and day houses go out on LOW? Seems cool this fall, but not cold, just wondering when LOW typically is open to trucks running out to rentals? Thinking of running up before Xmas, but can also go in January. Issue is, have to put vacation time in 3 weeks in advance, so December could get sketchy for planning.
Thanks for any input provided
By the way, I did Red a couple years ago before Xmas, and it was sketchy, scary. That is why I ask about LOW. Ice cracks with separation almost stranded up out on the lake.
last year i was at arnesens on lotw december 20th. they were only driving small light vehicles out to there shacks then.
I was on LOTW last year the 13th-14th and we were on 11-12″ of ice. Resorts were running guys to day shacks in stripped down trackers. Those not through the resorts were running out with wheelers. There was no full size vehicle traffic whatsoever.
This year we are shooting for Red around the same timeframe. The choice this time was solely to try something different. Last year we iced ~25 fish a day per person on LOTW with 90% of them being 12-15″. Out of close to 200 fish in 2 days our big fish was 17″. I highly doubt we will have 100 fish days between 3-4 guys on Red, but we’re hoping to catch a few more quality fish and enjoy the rattle wheel bite at night.
2 completely different fishing.
LOTW starts at Dawn and ends at Dusk. (yeah you can catch a straggler)
Red is an all nighter.
I would say Red is more of a Lake I would take the family because you stay out on the ice all day and night for the bite.
LOTW is basically done at Dusk and most people head in to Drink and there are more Resort in a close range for the nightlife.
Me I prefer LOTW for the reason above.
Rainy Lake, not sure. Is there adequate access?
I believe there is only 1 resort open in the winter on Rainy (Thunderbird) and no road system like what is on LOTW or Upper Red (miles of roads maintained bny resorts) This in itself make Rainy more challenging in the winter as you are pretty much on your own so I think that is part of the reason there isnt as much talk of ice fishing there.
I have done it, but with a guide (Rainy Daze). I would say our fishing was comparable to what I have experienced on LOTW, it was a tough bite due to weather in both places, but I would guess on average there are more numbers of fish caught on LOTW
Red I will usually try and fish as much as possible, until they start letting out the wheelhouses. Fishing can still be good once the campers are out, but it’s so popular they cover up a lot of area’s and the traffic is just crazy. LOW is always a good option, but I have had some bad trips there too from just poor fishing on a bad front, to not even being able to get on the lake. But those are far outnumbered by great trips! Rainy I’ve never ice fished, as you need a reliable sled or a guide, and I don’t generally use either in MN. Also, from my summer experiences on Rainy, I feel like it’d be difficult to ice fish as I’ve never got on a spot on a spot there that we just catch fish all day, they seem to be more transient so you need to stay on the move. On Mille Lacs that can mean sliding up or down a break/flat, but on Rainy that could mean moving 1/4 mile or more.
I was on LOTW last year the 13th-14th and we were on 11-12″ of ice. Resorts were running guys to day shacks in stripped down trackers. Those not through the resorts were running out with wheelers. There was no full size vehicle traffic whatsoever.
This year we are shooting for Red around the same timeframe. The choice this time was solely to try something different. Last year we iced ~25 fish a day per person on LOTW with 90% of them being 12-15″. Out of close to 200 fish in 2 days our big fish was 17″. I highly doubt we will have 100 fish days between 3-4 guys on Red, but we’re hoping to catch a few more quality fish and enjoy the rattle wheel bite at night.
Yep, my trips to LOW were similar during late ice last year. Constant fish all day, but all dinks. It also sounded like we were some of the few people on fish, some guys we ran into weren’t catching anything.
The nice thing about LOW is the bonus whitefish for the smoker, the occasional nice pike in the spring, the pout at night.
It’s fun, especially if you’re bringing kids. But, a guy can only catch so many 13” Sauger before it gets boring.
If you have the wherewithal and knowledge to run around on a snowmobile and hunt down some big fish, that would be the way to go.
Yeah this year could be interesting. Red you can fish and stay out all night and usually get into some fish. LOW if you come in at dusk you might be drinking in the cabin all night as there may not be much night life at least til Jan.
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