Lake of the Woods 12-15 & 16 2006 walleye report

I look forward to every trip I make to Lake of the Woods. Sunday I got back after fishing with Marty and Andre. This was the third year in a row we have gone up during this same time frame, and this was the best fishing we have had for numbers. We started Friday fishing in 20’. There was 13.5” of ice where we were fishing over Pine Island. We concentrated on the eastern edge getting away from the big fish house communities. Almost as soon as we got lines down we were catching fish. We were marking fish 1’ to 2’ off of the bottom. The early biters were mainly walleyes in the 17”-19” range. About half the fish early came on gold or green/glow spoons and the rest hit glow jigs under bobbers. We caught fish consistently until about 10 and then it slowed. We each had our 4 fish limit of walleyes by then as well as couple saugers, so we decided to stick it out and see how it went. By switching lures often we managed to pick off a fish here and there through the middle part of the day. They would come in tight to the bottom. Having a good flasher with a zoom feature really helped. Given our past experiences we expected a good night bite, but it never materialized for us. Others that were fishing shallower did get a few more fish late. By the end of the day we had 12 walleyes and 6 saugers. The largest fish was caught by yours truly at 19.25”.

Saturday we got an earlier start and were on the ice ready to go. It didn’t take long and we were on fish again. The fish came fast and furious for the first 2 hours. At one time all six lines were on the ice from catching fish. The size was again mostly 17”-19” on the walleyes. Marty also caught one of the biggest ice saugers I have seen in recent years. It doesn’t measure up to most river saugers, but coming in just shy of 18”, it was a nice fish. By 9:30 were had our limit of walleyes and were again looking for saugers. We ended up with 12 walleyes and 8 saugers. We thought Andre had one for the wall on Saturday, but it ended up being a nice pike, which was rather odd out in no mans land. We did not get any eelpout or perch, but Marty did catch 1 tulibee. Attached are a couple pictures of Marty and Andre with their fish.

This was my first ice fishing trip using the new Fireline Crystal. I had a jig and bobber rod each set up with 4lb test and used them exclusively each day. I caught just as many, if not more, fish then the other guys using mono or fluorocarbon. I look forward to doing the same test on a clear body of water like Mille Lacs.

The ice was in great shape, except for a few heaves that were clearly marked and bridged. Ice over the island was 12” or better anywhere we looked. There was very little snow so sleds with studs or atvs with chains were the best way to get around. I didn’t see any vehicles on the ice yet, other than the resorts pulling people out with the Suzukis and Geos. The water is very clear this year, which bodes well for a great 2007 ice season. I can’t wait to get back up in January! Good fishing!