River Bend Resort Lake of The Woods Fishing Report February 10, 2022. Lake of The Woods ice fishing packages are available for any size group to fit any budget.
Photo Caption: Tara Stanisich shows off a monster walleye she caught while on a recent girl fishing weekend here at River Bend Resort. Tara reports that she was fishing in 32 feet of water using a gold and orange jigging spoon that her kids picked out for her. Tara stated “I let it hit bottom, gave it a couple cranks, and it bit right away. It did not put up much of a fight and came up through the ice easily with the help of my lovely assistant, Lindsey Pylkka. She made sure we weren’t losing this one! Because it’s all fun and games until someone loses a walleye”. Shout out to their ‘guide” Oba!
We have finally hit the second half of our ice season. The great news is the fishing is still phenomenal. Sure, there have been a day here or there where the bite slowed a little, but if you follow your electronics and listen to your guides, you will continue to catch fish in good numbers, nice quality, and size.
What is Being Caught
Fishing over the past week has continued to be steady and very good. Mixed bag catch continues to abound to the delight of our guests. Anglers are reporting walleye, sauger, jumbo perch, eelpout, tullibee, with the occasional sturgeon and even some crappie in the mix. There continues to be a lot of sorting. Meaning many smaller fish are being caught. Great news for the future of the fishery but can be aggravating to the angler. However you want to look at it, good numbers of fish are being caught throughout the spectrum including slot fish (19.5” – 28”) and several trip topper trophy walleyes.
Where to Fish
River Bend Resort’s fleet is perched 7.5 miles offshore in front of Pine Island. Resting on 36” – 42” inches of ice, we are fishing 29 – 33 feet of water. The action is staying strong all over the water column within those depths. Normally you must get through the smaller fish to reach the larger fish on the bottom. This year we are experiencing just the opposite. The much larger fish are cruising over the top of the schools. Sometimes as high as 19 feet. The lesson here is to trust your electronics and watch those marks. Most all fleets fishing Lake of The Woods are in these areas and water depths. If using two ice rods, keep one from on the bottom to about 6” off the bottom. Fish your other rod higher in the water column and allow your electronics to determine that for you based on where you are seeing them cruising.
How to Fish
The tried and true “1-2 punch” continues to be the starting approach to each day out on the ice. That is one fishing rod set up with a rattle jig of various colors (jigging rod) tipped with a live minnow or a piece of a live minnow, and the second fishing rod set up with just a plane (red) hook and full live minnow (dead stick). And it’s called a “dead stick” because you leave it alone – no touchy – let the minnow do what it does, and Mother Nature will determine your karma. And as of recently Mother Nature has given lots of anglers very good karma on the dead stick. This technique continues to be the ticket to landing more fish daily.
Jigging/Dead Sticking
Here’s another tip regarding the use of two lines. Let’s face it, we are using two lines because Minnesota allows us to. And we naturally have a better chance especially when we can give the fish two kinds of presentation. When or if you are fishing in a larger group like 5 to 6 anglers in the same icehouse, use only line each. Alternate who is using the dead stick and who is jigging. The more lines you have down in such a concentrated area the more fish you will scare away. Less is more in this situation. And of course, be sure to switch up who uses what presentation to share the wealth and fun of the day.
Lure Choice
Speaking of lure choice and color. The color of lure you should be using, all the go-to colors remain active and catching fish. Gold, hammered gold, green, orange and anything that glows.
When the fish get tight lipped and stop biting, downsize the presentation. In fact, currently the lure that is putting more fish on the ice is a number 8 glow with red stripe panfish bait.
It is the Demon™ “The Original” lure. This lure first made the scene up here towards the middle part of January and has continued to produce the most catches daily. It is a custom paint order made by Custom Jigs & Spins, Inc. and we have been told that if you would like to order it – just click their name above and give them a call.
In addition to the Demon™ “The Original”, we have been receiving new reports that the Dirty Bomb Spoon – blinking red is landing 50 fish a day. Both lures are fished the same way, tipped with a minnow or part (head or tail) of a minnow. Guide Choice: Either one… but on the deadstick. And higher up in the water column. Fish in 28 – 30 feet of water at 20 – 19 feet.
At The Resort
River Bend Resort is offering a very generous mid-week sale on our Lake of The Woods Ice Fishing Packages. When you book a mid-week ice package (Sunday – Thursday) at either the Walleye Inn or River Bend Resort, you will receive 10% off fishing only packages and 15% off all-inclusive packages. Book your ice fishing trip now! Don’t wait! River Bend Resort can set you up easily with just one call to our booking agents. We offer a variety of ice fishing packages that will suit any level of ice fishing experience and will fit any budget. You can find our offerings as well as pricing by clicking this link. In addition, we do offer online booking for those who wish to do so. Please keep in mind that if you should experience any difficulty with our online system, we are a simple phone call away from getting you set up and fishing with us on beautiful Lake of The Woods.
Until next week … Keep a Tight Line! Bugs & Fishes ≤º))~{
