Lake of the Woods – Late Ice Walleye & Perch

By James Holst 0

I spent this past weekend on Lake of the Woods (LOTW) with fellow IDA Pro Staffer Scott Steil. The plan was to target deeper gravel during the day for numbers of walleye and the gigantic perch that LOTW is famous for and then make a move shallow during the last couple hours of the day in search of larger walleye. The temps were warm, the breezes light… and the plan worked to perfection!

During the day Scott and I targeted depths of 25 – 27 feet working a gravel flat positioned in between two nearby reefs. The majority of the fishing pressure in the area was targeting the edges of those nearby reefs and seemed to work in our favor as the noise and commotion pushed those fish off the structure. We had the "typical" game plan in mind… punch dozens of holes scattered across the gravel flat we intended to fish and stay on the MOVE hopping from hole to hole.

It didn’t take long for us to connect with numbers of walleye and sauger in the 15" – 19" class making up the majority of the catch. Numbers of fish landed was excellent and the best bite took place from 10:30 AM – 3 PM. All told we landed over 20 legal walleyes and saugers during this bite window with one 24" walleye representing the largest fish landed during this mid-day bite.

Our presentation was simple… 1/8 oz. go-devil jigging spoons tipped with the head of a shiner minnow took all but a couple fish that fell to plain minnows on bobber rods.

The real reason we were in this area was in search of the monster perch that roam these expansive gravel flats late winter. 12" – 15" perch show up on a daily basis and both Scott and I were on a mission to see who could be the first to ice a 14" sumo-perch.

Scott was the first to get that job done with the perch shown in the last photo. Again that 1/8 oz. go-devil in perch was the ticket and resulted in the pair of us landing a nice batch of these monster perch in addition to the "accidental" walleyes and saugers.

Around 4 PM we packed things up and made the LONG run back towards the south shore to target a shallow rubble flat that has the reputation for holding large walleyes prior to moving up into the Rainy River to spawn. On this afternoon we would NOT be let down!

The final hour of the afternoon prior to sunset is the magic hour on this lake and the action started with a half dozen 18" – 20" walleyes, all caught on the same baits used earlier in the day, before the bigger fish showed up.

The big bites started with a 29" hog that did her best to seperate me from my jigging rod on the strike. These fish fought INCREDIBLY and the 4 feet of ice make getting these larger fish turned up into the bottom of the ice hole a real challenge.

Shortly after we landed and released the 29", literally before Scott could walk down 5 holes to start fishing again, I stick a 30" behemoth shown in the first photo! When these fish move through an area… they come through in waves and they pass through quickly. I was the lucky stiff of the evening as I happened to be over the right hole at the right time and it is certainly 10 minutes of fishing I’ll NEVER forget.

The great news that I have to offer about this trip is that we caught it ALL on tape and we’ll be airing this show next winter just before the ice season gets rolling.

The conditions on LOTW right now are good… once you get out on the lake. With the warm temps of late the ice near shore is deteriorating and there is slush and standing water on the ice to deal with. IF you can get out on the lake, the fishing should be spectacular. We lodged at WigWam this past weekend and the accomodations were very nice. Tom, the owner, was exceptionally helpful to us making sure that we used the best routes on and off the lake and even offered up some very helpful fishing advice that helped us narrow our search area on a lake that can be overwhelming at times for the first time angler and experienced LOTW angler alike.

If you’re looking for a last ice fix… LOTW is the best game in town. Give WigWam a call before you head up to reserve a room and get the latest word about conditions and the bite.

Steve DeZurik and I will be heading to the Rainy River next Sunday. Hopefully the river opens up and the tribs run low and clear!

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James Holst

James began his fishing career as a fulltime fishing guide, spending more than 250 days a year on the water, coaching clients how to catch walleyes on the Upper Mississippi River and Minnesota’s Lake Mille Lacs. In 2000, he launched Full Bio ›

0 Comments

  1. now those are some great fish! I wish we could see the show, but at the same time..bring on the open water shows!!
    You guys are doing awesome!

  7. I also want to thanks Tom at Wigwam. His road was in perfect shape on Saturday and smooth sailing all the way out. Adrians closed there road on Saturday because the bay was getting really bad but the road out of Wigwam was in great shape Thanks for everything Tom

  8. I’m not sure how Scott talked his buddy Tom into letting us use his new toy… but we got to hit the lake in STYLE.

    We ran all over the lake in a new Yamaha 660 Rhino. At the end of our trip we both agreed that this little unit is one incredible ice machine. It had GOBS of power… traction was incredible…. we just hammered over heaves, through deep snow and slush.

    Having the wind screen in front of you made the 26 mile run completely enjoyable and our gear was stored safely in the bed.

    Anyone else ever used one of these?

  9. I dont want to start a debate, but if you thought that Rhino was sweet, try out a Polaris Ranger. I have one, and of course, they are not legal to ride on the lakes in Iowa. I have a full cab with doors, and a heater. These things are mini trucks. They are awesome, but being illegal in Iowa for the ice, mine is for sale.

  12. Great report James and Scott!

    You two sure did a great job of putting big, beautiful fish on the ice this winter. Getting it on film is a huge bonus. Awesome fish guys!

    Congratulations to both of you!

    Boog

  13. “Being illegal in Iowa for the ice” I have never new that can you show me were they are illegal in the Iowa fish and game rules.Thanks for the info ?

  14. To operate an atv or utv on public grounds or state own lakes, it must be registered with and display the state registration tags. A UTV is not a registerable vehicle in the state of Iowa. Try to register it at your courthouse, and it wont work. They will not allow them to be registered as an atv because of a steering wheel, and side by side seating. I have been dealing with the IDNR and my local legislatures for about 3 months now, the bill is out there, but it failed last year. Im not sure why the state turns down a source of revenue, but it did last year. I can forward you the info I have on email about the registrations if youd like.

  16. James and Scott, Great fish! This time I’m not TOO jealous though w/ the way the Tamarack GTG worked out. It was a great weekend for all of us.

  18. Very nice fish!! Congrats!! I will set up the trip to go next year at the same time NOW so the that the wife knows a YEAR in advance. HA HA I TRICKED HER

  20. Hey James- Im glad to hear the trip was a success! The staff here at the Wigwam would have loved to chat with you more about, but things were busy. Sounds like there is a lot of nice feeback coming in from your report. Anyways, just thought I’d say nice catches and see ya soon.

  22. Quote:

    see ya soon.

    Yes you will… see you Sunday night. It sounds like the river should be ready to go come early next week. The crew and I will stop into the bar and say hello.

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