WOW! I don’t know where to start! I have to remember to keep focused on the FISHING and not the outstanding service of the folks at Wigwam Resort…so if I get off track, please help me out!
After reading cdemeyes in the LOTW form and taking a gander at his pics…it was just a couple calls and we were on our way to the famous Lake of the Woods and Wigwam Resort.
Monday, our first day there we felt the Wigwam hospitality with 3 generations of Fiskewolds. Chad, Roy and Les from the northern metro area.
Pictured here is Chad Fiskewold with some of their day’s catch.
The favorite wife and I weren’t planning on keeping any fish…until we were offered some of these tasty morsels cooked up by the folks at Wigwam! Thanks Fiskewolds! They were great!
I asked Les why he came to Wigwam every year since 1938. “Peaceful, friendly, they treat us very well here…and the fishing. We’ve always had great fishing here”. Well, Favorite Wife and I were going to get first hand experience at both.
Tuesday morning found us having breakfast in the dining area, then down to the launch at 8 a.m. Captian Bill was our guide for the day. After a short boat ride Cpt Bill explain how the down riggers worked and how to keep the hooks out of our skin. We were trolling at 3 miles per hours and if a person kept the rod tip to high…out came the rap and they would zip by an ear or two.
We shared the launch with Dave and Roxanne Wendt from the Chicagoland area. These two were just married last Saturday. What a honeymoon! This was Dave’s first time walleye fishing and he did very good. He got cut a few times but Cpt Billy jumped in to show him the best way to hold and eye. None of us have fished using downriggers before, so it was nice that Cpt Billy explained how they worked. We could see the cannon balls on the Lawarnce X110 from anywhere in the boat and we paid more attention when the colored fish arches became more plentiful.
I could show you picture after picture of eyes coming off the hook or being reeled in…the bite was everything that Cathy said it was going to be. Many doubles and one triple that was skillfully netted…:whistle: As I said earlier, FW and I weren’t going to keep any fish….but after tasting the breading that Wigwam uses I changed my mind. Cpt Billy wanted to take a limit home too, so we ended up with 5 limits of walleye and sauger and were on our way back by a few minutes past two.
When the last fish was caught, FW said “nap time” and that sounded good to me. When we docked, a young lady asked how many we wanted for supper and what time we wanted to eat. The then cleaned all twenty walleyes and ten saugers…while Favorite Wife napped and I “nipped”. Six pm came around and we all have fresh walleye for dinner…it was the best!
Speaking of the best. Wigwam is a fisherman’s paradise that is kept a secret! I’ve stayed at many resorts in my life but this one is ranked THE BEST in my book and the Favorite Wife agrees! We are making plans with the rela-tics to spend a week up there next year and of course I’ll be there for the ’07 Sturgeon Excursion.
The cabins are very homey, with a nice young lady stopping by each day to check the garbage and clean linen. I never heard the word “NO” while I was up there. If you’ve been going to a resort like I have for the last 10 years and walk away asking yourself…”why do I come back??” It’s time to make a move!
LOTW’s is less than two hours north of Winni and very close to Red Lake! If I would have known how close this was to my “old” fishing area when Dad was alive, we would have been traveling the extra distance a very long time ago…not only for the hospitality…but the FISH! There was a guy from FL that said he’s been flow around the world and fish many places…he’s never caught a limit of anything until he came to Wigwam. Did I mention there were 5 fish that went to the taxidermist last week??
Anyone else have a dad that told them that walleyes don’t bite in July and August??
The Favorite Wife said…”I have never caught so many walleyes in one outing in my life”.
The bite IS hot!
Nice report Brian!
It sure is easy to fall in love with that environment there. It just doesn’t get any better than LOTW!!!!
Also,
You got to love the great service the WIGWAM gives ya! They have quite the reputation up there for their quality!
FW’s largest of the day…a chunky 22 incher. 19.5 inches to 28 inches go back to the lake with a kiss…well, I guess it was just me kissing them.
Thanks for holding the fish Dave, while I snapped the picture. FW will hold an alligator…but not a walleye…
Our cabin….
On the way back in….heavy with the days catch!
Brian,
. Sounds like a great trip, congrats. I’m headin back up in a week 
and i cant wait.
hey it is cdemeyes, how far out did you guys go into the lake?? I usually go out of arnsens rocky point and just curious how far they ran !! I told ya you wouldn’t be dissapointed
Newly wed Roxanne Wendt with a chunky one!
Above is David and DINNER!
Now you’re the lucky dog cdemeyes!
I’m not sure how far…but it wasn’t very far…as near as I can tell.
Stop in and say HI! to Cathy at Wigwam…you might be staying there from now on!
Gotta run…but I’ll be back later…
This was really a trip to remember!
Nice report Brian,
WigWam and LOTW certainly look great
I can’t help but see a caption over your smiling face and that fish
dave
Nope…tried it! (Joke)
only you would come up with that
dave
Glad you and your wife had a great time Brian. Thanks for the report!
Brian, glad to hear you and yours had a good time. Looks like it is a great place to stay and the fishing is good. Might just have to add this to my list of places to go.
Thanks for the report and pics
Eric
What an awesome looking trip. The pics are great, the report even better
Maybe after a planned Cat trip I have
….I might have to take my better half on a fishing trip. 
Wigwam Resort looks very much like a place she would enjoy
Bret
Nice post again Brian. Can you bring some of those fish leftovers home for a sandwich with Mayo at Evert’s!!
Left overs????
Now that there is FUNNY!
Hey Roy! Welcome to IDA!
You guys were great…and I haven’t stopped giving the FW a hard time about
hooking up with Les in the bar while I was napping!
I’m covering a vacation for a fella that runs Evert’s Resort close to Redwing until the end of the week…so I didn’t forget to send you your photo’s…but I won’t get them to you until I get home..next Friday. I have to admit your son’s pic with the fried fish was pretty good…still makes me hungry!
Did you know they’ll even fry your fish for breakfast!?
Thanks again for starting out the best resort stay we’ve ever had.
Ps don’t be a stranger now…the first post is the hardest!
I dropped of some rods at Everts for Briank that I picked up at HOF and Brian couldn’t stop talking about how great a time they had at Wigwam and they were looking VERY forward to next years return vacation trip there. It has become their new yearly vacation place. Everything was excellent there he said. Thanks for sharing the report, info and pics Brian.
Thanks, Bill