River Bend Resort’s Lake of The Woods ice fishing report January 20, 2022. This week our icehouse fleet is located four miles out from Pine Island on 34 inches of ice sitting over 30 to 32 feet of water still over mud. Mixed bag catch continues daily with large numbers of fish being put on the ice. In addition, a new species has recently made an appearance in the catch – white fish. Moving to smaller jigs up high off the bottom has been landing the larger fish on the dead stick. Spoons and typical L.O.W. colored jigs are still producing great numbers. Increase the odds while fishing in a group by covering more of the water column instead of everyone fishing the same depths.
With nearly 3 feet of ice and the occasional pleasant surprise being caught with a mixed bag of fish species, Lake of The Woods ice fishing is in full swing. Anglers are reporting a very nice daily catch with many fish being put on the ice. The number of fish caught varies with the engagement of attention to detail. Where the lake is not yet finicky, the extreme rapidly changing daily weather patterns will create a slightly different bite pattern each day. This is happening not only day to day but also throughout the day – on any given day. We are seeing a fluctuation in temperatures that will range 40 to 50 degrees within a 24-hour period. Then toss in a front that brings with it -26º below zero, snow, and blowing winds and you have the recipe for changing bite patterns.
Lots of smaller fish continue to be caught. Getting past those smaller fish, many anglers are finding nice keeper eaters along with very nice slot fish (walleyes 19.5” – 28”). Trophy walleye over 28 inches continue to be landed daily. A mixed bag of fish is still being reported. Walleye, sauger, eelpout, pike, crappie, tullibee… and now white fish. Yes, that is correct. White fish, and very nice sized white fish to boot. They are showing up in typical walleye spots. This indicates a change in the bait fish patters on the lake.
River Bend Resort’s ice fleet has moved again this week. We are located approximately 4.5 miles out in front of Pine Island close to the Canadian border. We are on 34” of ice over 30 – 32 feet of water. Still in the mud.
Technique has remained the same with the double dose of a dead stick and a jigging rod set up. Most are still tipping a jigging spoon with either the head or tail of a minnow while rigging the dead stick with a plain hook and live minnow. Jigging right on the bottom while having the dead stick set 4 – 5 feet above that. Producing colors continue to be hammered gold, pink, orange, black, or glow. There has been one exception.
A few anglers have found that using a glow chartreuse demon eye – yes, a crappie jig – is landing the most fish the fastest. In addition to that, the houses that separate the lines in the water are also producing a better catch. Instead of having everyone fishing the same depths both on the jigging rod and the dead stick, have everybody keep a separation of 1 to 2 feet. This tactic is fantastically simple yet extremely effective for the most obvious reason … you are now fishing
a much larger area of the water column. Most all the larger trophy fish including walleye, eelpout, and white fish all have been suspended. Some as far up as 19 feet while fishing over 30+ feet of water.
Beginning January 9th River Bend Resort started offering a very generous mid-week sale. 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))~{
