Hello Sportsfans…  And welcome to weekly gust here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.  Cool, clear, and calm.  That’s how we’re starting this Monday morning.

You ever had one of “those moments”…  The experience of seeing something happen, physically being a part of it, and then soon realizing that you very well may never see it occur again in the span of your lifetime.  Funny how “those moments” can happen when you’re fishing!

Yesterday morning, although not technically part of the occurrence, I did see proof of what turns out to be a tremendous story.  It’s definitely one of those BOOM moments.

Been there?  Seen it?  Done it?  Have you really?!

The two fellas that came ambling into the office that morning looked road-worn and tethered.  Checking out, they appeared a bit tired, possibly the after-shock of the night prior or maybe the remnants of a fun-packed weekend drawing to a close.  Either way they were looking for some fish to take home and they had a story to share.

I scoured the cooler and found a couple of bags of fish with their tags on them.  Back in the office I was countered with a peculiar look, and one of the gentlemen stated, “BIG FISH?”

Ok…  I’ll play the game.  And I wanted to hear their story!  Someone that morning was finally claiming the prizes in cold storage.  Earlier I had seen the TWO MONSTER WALLEYES in the freezer!  And obvious now, it was these two lucky winners who went “jack-pot” on L O Dub.

Their day prior began rather auspiciously, and their afternoon had ended with an exclamation.  Good fishing…  Lots of action…  Plenty for the pail…  And then BOOM!!  A twenty-nine incher!!  And then BOOM!!  (within thirty minutes / same shack)  A thirty-one incher!!

These my friends are “those moments”…  One’s that will forever live in fishing lore…  A new “best story” for our ice fishing season…  And that’s maybe part of why we keep going and keep fishing.

Hey, it’s been good.  Same program as last week.  Get in the Bombardier.  Ride an hour to the reefs.  Catch fish.  Have a blast!!

Come if you can…  And Set The Hook…

Hello Sportsfans.  And welcome to the weekly spin here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.

Baby it is cold outside…  Matter of fact the truck thermometer was reading -30 degrees this morning.  Thankfully the fishing has been warming up.

What’s the latest and greatest?  Well, we’re about five weeks into this winter season and we’re raising some eyebrows, along with some fish.  Walleyes, saugers, perch…

When the Carlson Group checked out last night they said: “This is the best fishing trip we’ve been on to LOW.”  Well, thanks gang, that’s the response we like to hear!  And also, it’s a huge kudos to Nick and our team on the lake for their efforts in the chase.

Relentless, relentless, relentless…  For some is just might be “fishing”, but for our guys it’s their livelihood.  And it’s one that is taken quite personally…  Good fishing, bad fishing, or anything in-between, it seems like our guides are always trying to be better.  And when you get a compliment, like the one from the Carlson Group, it means a great deal.  So thanks again, much appreciated!

We have moved north…  The entire fleet…  And if you haven’t already been facebooked, or tweeted, or twitted, or whatever it is that we all do in this day and age…  Then “yes”, our fishing is much improved.

Even though it’s early January we are already a long-long way from Pine Island and the Lighthouse Gap, traveling by Bombardier, fishing for the moment in what seems to be one of the few areas in the basin that is holding decent numbers of fish.  It’s interesting…  And intriguing at the same time.

Nick mentioned: “We might actually be in an area that we can hold-up, spread-out, and catch some fish for awhile.”  As opposed to the last five weeks (let’s just call it all of December) running hard and wearing the wood off the bottom of the skids.

How many times did our guides’ move (50) fish houses since the day we started the ice season?  A gazillion…

Why is the north-end of Big Traverse Bay holding good numbers of fish, as opposed to the south-shore?  Good question…

January is here and it’s going to be a boomer.  We are looking forward to having you join us.  Good times.

Set the hook!

Into the New Year we go sportsfans…  North-bound and hammer-down.  We’re not trolling across the ice, but the movement of our shacks is replicating the action of a skipping rock.

“Which way did we go?  Which way did we go?”  This seems to be a common theme of late, here in the office, as we try to keep up with the daily movements of our guide team.  They’ve been fishing a lot of clean ice out in the flats and the most recent surge has put us 8-9 miles off-shore in thirty-something feet of water.

This big push took place over the course of about one day when the guys moved 24 fish houses and popped open about 35 new huts.  Not a whole bunch of down-time when you’re making those sorts of strides.

Sauger city for the most part, has been the result, with your occasional walleye in the mix.  But really more of the same from what we’ve been seeing these first few weeks on the lake.  You are catching a few to eat, a few to take home, and more predictably having a whole bunch of fun in the process.  If there were a “laugh meter” in the lodge at night, we’re pretty sure it’s been red-lined on more than one occasion.  Good times…

What’s next?  Keep fishing.  In the rumor-mill last night there were whispers of “what’s happening on or near the reefs?”  Something we haven’t got a handle on yet.  With a strong emphasis on the word yet…

For you ice fishing historians you may recall that at least twice in the past twenty years we’ve found ourselves “fishing north” shortly after Christmas.  Just sayin’…
Set the hook…Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hello Sportsfans…  And welcome , as always, to the weekly ramblings as it pertains to Walleye / Sauger fishing on “L” “O” “Dub”.  Ice fishing…  Ice fishing…  Let’s all go ice fishing!

It was another banner week for early season angling activity.  Good ice conditions and many outdoor enthusiasts visiting, to come up and test the bite…  Yet it was the fish that left us wondering which way did they go?!  Not a whole bunch of highlights to reel in…

Right now our guides have the shacks spread far and wide in search of what appears to be culminating in a tough December bite.  The likes of which we have not seen in several years…  From the west end of Pine, calling it 16-18ft, and then stretched out all of six miles off-shore to the thirty-foot flats, we’ve been bouncing back and forth waiting for something to perk our interest for a more concentrated effort.

So far not so good…  At least not by December standards…  We are seeing enough fish being caught for a fresh evening meal.  Mostly saugers…  We are seeing enough fish being caught to take a few home to share with family and or friends.  A few walleyes in the mix…  But far and wide, across the board, it’s been a month of below normal Lake of the Woods fishing standards.

What’s next?  Good question.  And we have some thoughts…  One of which is putting a positive spin on the challenge and continuing the great chase!  Our guides are relentless in their pursuits, seek the utmost success for our guests, and will continue to search far and wide for the best bite that LOW has to offer.  And they’ll do it by moving shacks and fishing one eight-inch hole at a time.

That’s ice fishing my friends!

In closing…  Just a quick shout out to ALL who made December good times fun for Ballard’s Resort.  So many return guests during the early season…  We appreciate your patronage and look forward to having you join us each December!

Merry Christmas from your friends at Ballard’s Resort, and don’t forget to…Set the hook!