Lake of the Woods Fishing Report 6-30-10

Yesterday I had the opportunity of fishing with a long time Lake of the Woods angler, Mr. John Heckelsmiller of Ceder Rapids, IA. Tuesday’s are typically my day off, so John invited me to go fishing with him on the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods. Needless to say there was no hesitation in my answer and I welcomed it with open arms. John and I fished the entire day pulling Rapalas and casting, we were in search of Musky, Small Mouth Bass and Walleyes, and we found them all! This excursion was strictly catch and release, and as we caught, we couldn’t believe how healthy and plump all the fish looked, especially the Walleyes. The day started off a little slow, but John put us on the fish and a majority of them came from pulling our Rapalas along the shore lines over the rocks in 8 to 15 feet of water. I do want to warn people out there, if you’re not an experienced fisherman this may get a little frustrating because of snags, but just like practice, the more you do it, the better you will become, and I’m sure you’ll learn to love it just as much as I have! As I was bouncing off the rocks and my lure hooked into a fish, it was as if I was a little kid again fishing for the first time…it was so awesome! The Canadian side of Lake of the Woods reminded me so much of my up bringing on Rainy Lake, it was as if I was thrown back in time. The endless islands and wildlife kept me constantly energized throughout the day…what an awesome feeling. The excitement of hooking into my first Musky and seeing it was so exhilarating, I now know why people get hooked on Musky for life! I am now and forevermore a Musky fisherman! I just wanted to give John a shout out and a HUGE “Thank You”…I can’t wait till next time!

The fishing this summer on fabulous Lake of the Woods has been, pardon the pun, OFF THE HOOK, and Walleye head shakers seem to have no end in site. This weekend I had the pleasure of fishing with a few different guests; most of them were first timers to Lake of the Woods and the Wigwam Resort. Before the end of their trips, they were already planning their next excursion to Lake of the Woods and putting together the invite list. My question to you is; who are you going to invite for your next trip to Lake of the Woods? I look forward to seeing each of you again and your new guests .

If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the June Specials we will be offering on our website www.wigwamresortlow.com. We are running a Super Summer Special for the balance of the summer, until September 1st. Tom would like to celebrate his 12th year of ownership, and help more people experience Lake of the Woods, by offering $25.00 per person, per night lodging in our lodge every day (midweek & weekend). We would also like to offer $25.00 per person, per night lodging in our cabins, midweek only (Sunday night – Wednesday night) some restrictions will apply to minimum numbers of guest per cabin. Each lodging charge is subject to applicable federal, state and local sales tax. Applicable to new reservations only. I also wanted to tell you all about our Veterans and Armed Forces Special, which we have running 365 days a year. Wigwam Resort gives Veterans and our currently enlisted Armed Forces a 10% discount on any package plus whatever specials we are giving. We want to thank you all for your service…God Bless America!

Today will be mostly sunny, high 72F winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight will be partly to mostly cloudy, low 61F with winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow we should see partly cloudy skies with gusty winds, is will be warm, high 86F with winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Tomorrow night should be partly cloudy, low 68F with winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Friday there should be a slight chance of a thunderstorm, highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Saturday we should see scattered thunderstorms, highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Sunday should be partly cloudy with a stray thunderstorm, highs in the mid 70s and lows in the upper 50s. Today’s fishing report will be provided by myself, Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos, and Kevin “Tall Tale“ Olmstead. The fish are still in the same depths just maybe a tad bit west. For example, picture Morris Point and head straight north to 32 – 34 feet and that’s where you’ll find the fish. The boats are out there, so you don’t have to worry about exact areas, just hunker in and fish away. This past weekend I was catching fish each and everyway possible (jigging, drifting or trolling). Once again, I have never caught so many big fish at one time in my life…Lake of the Woods baby, Lake of the Woods. Frozen Shiners, Leaches, and Crawlers can be used with similar results out there right now…it just depends on what method of fishing to the bait being used. If you want to troll, or drift and pull spinners, use hammered gold, which is a Lake of the Woods sure thing. As far as the bait goes while pulling spinners you can use minnows “preferably live”, leaches, or my favorite, crawlers. When we have a good “Walleye Chop” out there, it’s still best to anchor and jig. If you plan on anchoring in the big lake, the best type of anchor to use is a spike anchor with at least 100’ of rope. 3/8 oz Jigs (Pink/Gold, Silver & Chartreuse/Green) with frozen shiners were the golden tickets this weekend and week. We also did some long lining this weekend with awesome success when the wind died down and there was no Walleye Chop. When fishing in deep water (30’ – 34’) I travel about 2.5-2.75 MPH and let out about 125-150 feet of line with TD-11 Rapalas and Reef Runners. Purple and White was the magic color while pulling plugs yesterday in Canada. This is one of my favorite ways to fish for “Big Walleye” on Lake of the Woods. Be sure to be hanging on, because when they hit you better be ready for a good fight. You can purchase your Jigs, Frozen Shiners, and Rapalas from the same place that I get mine, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I hope to see you all up here, but if you can’t make it, keep checking out the fishing report…I’ll give you all the hard facts as soon as I find out where they’re hiding next. Good luck and Happy Fishing to all! Thanks for fishing with us and visiting with us at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.

Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!

Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier