From the south shore, in front of Pine Island, best reports from anglers headed out 15 miles or more.  Good fishing this week.  Combo of walleyes and saugers.  Others headed up to structure such as Knight and Bridges or Garden Island and catching as well.  Snowmobile trail north of Knight Island re-staked and groomed due to ice upheavals.  From Morris Point area to Zippel Bay, decent bite in 20 – 28′.  Morning / evening bite in 15 – 18′.  Long Point and Arnesen’s still producing with reefs and mud adjacent to reefs most consistent.
On the Rainy River, frozen shiners in 16′ with orange or chartreuse is still the go to.  Please work through outfitters and bait shops and know where you are going on ice.
Up at the NW Angle good fishing continues on the edge of structure in 20 – 30′.  Gold and glow colors effective.  Jig one line, dead stick second line.  A mixed bag, with more walleyes than saugers.  Some jumbo perch, pike and eelpout mixed in.  Big crappies still going on Canadian side.

From the south shore, in front of Pine Island, best reports from anglers headed out 15 miles or more to clearer water.  Combo of walleyes and saugers.  Others headed up to structure such as Knight and Bridges or Garden Island and catching as well.  From Morris Point area to Zippel Bay, decent bite in a bit shallower, 17 – 28′.  Morning / evening bite in 15 – 18′.  Long Point and Arnesen’s still producing with reefs most consistent. On the Rainy River, frozen shiners in 16′ with orange or chartreuse has been the go to.  Please work through outfitters and bait shops and know where you are going on ice. Up at the NW Angle, overall, good fishing continues on the edge of structure in 25 – 28′.  Gold and glow red still consistent.  A mixed bag, with more walleyes than saugers.  Some jumbo perch, pike and eelpout mixed in.  Big crappies still going on Canadian side through NW Angle resort guide services.

Combo of walleyes and saugers coming in off of the south shore.  Clearer waters have allowed some anglers to catch in 21-24 feet in the mud off Pine Island and Morris Point. Others are making the venture to deep water 30+ feet 25 miles past Pine near Garden Island and Knight and Bridges Islands. Some finding fish in shallow 13-15 feet low light. Hot colors have been pink, gold, chartreuse, or plain hook 4-6″ off bottom. A nice mix of perch and eel pout have been showing up in limits. Pike anglers doing well 8-10 feet using red, orange, or gold.
On the Rainy River, anglers catching limits 14-17 feet. Glass eyes, pink, hammered gold the hot colors. From the river to the lake, the ice depth averages 22 inches with at least 8 inches of snow coverage in most areas good for snowmobiles.

Up at the NW Angle, 27-29 feet on the south side of Oak Island has been filling limits of walleye, sauger, and perch over the sand. Quality trophy walleye shallower 18-22 over the rocks. Gold and pink the best. Lots of crappie action in Ontario waters 32-34 feet. Light bite so coaxing off bottom best using red gulp on hot pink tungsten jigs. Don’t be afraid to hole hop.

Fishing has been as hot as its ever been on the west side of the lake this year!  Limits of fish have been caught in a matter of hours at times.  Early ice has been phenomenal around 5 mile reef, out in front of the Warroad Estates, and South tip of Buffalo Point.  An early cold snap combined with favorable wind conditions gave fishermen an early start to this winter’s fishing frenzy.  The ice in muskeg bay did not suffer the big winds that ice on the east side of the lake did during freeze up making it much easier to get around “off the beaten path” to follow the fish.  Fishing has been best in 24-28 Feet of water near rock reefs and tight inside contour lines.  Gold, a Lake of the Woods staple has proven its worth over and over again.  It helps to have electronics to cue you into fish that have been suspended off the bottom.  its been common to spot fish 3 to 4 feet off the bottom.  They have been aggressive when presented with the lure.  Without a flasher you would never know they were there!
The best thing about fishing the west side of the lake is not having to drive 10-15 miles on an ice road to get to prime fishing spots!  With 3 great access points within minutes of town you can pick up your bait, lures, and munchies at one of the many bait shops in Warroad and have your lines in the water in the amount of time it takes to say “FISH ON”!