Early Ice Fishing Heats Up on Lake of the Woods

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake of the Woods, Minnesota fishing report.

We’re solidly into early-ice now, and the big lake is fishing like it. According to Lake of the Woods Tourism’s December 23 report and OutdoorsFIRST, most resort roads on the south shore are open to light trucks, houses are out, and the bite is flat-out good from Pine Island over toward Morris Point and out in front of Zippel Bay. Ice thickness and road rules vary, so you still need to go through a resort and stay on the stakes.

Weather-wise, the National Weather Service for Lake of the Woods is calling for classic mid‑winter conditions: daytime highs in the teens to low 20s, single digits or below overnight, light northeast to east winds, and mostly cloudy skies with a chance of light snow. That stable chill is keeping the ice tightening and the fish comfortable. Up here near Baudette you’re looking at roughly an 8 a.m. sunrise and about a 4:20 p.m. sunset, so your best walleye windows are that first two hours after sunup and the last hour and a half of light.

According to the December 23 Lakeofthewoodsmn.com and OutdoorsFIRST reports, anglers are icing plenty of walleyes and saugers with bonus jumbo perch, eelpout, and the odd pike in 23 to 28 feet along the south shore. Same story up at the Northwest Angle: mixed bags of walleyes, saugers, perch, pike, and some very nice crappies on the Ontario side islands when you go through an Angle resort.

No real “tide” here, but fish are moving with light changes and minor pressure swings. Activity has been steady through the day, with the better size sliding in low light. Saugers are holding a little closer to bottom, while nicer walleyes are often riding a couple feet up, so watch that flasher and don’t be afraid to lift.

Best presentations are the classic Lake of the Woods one‑two punch. On your jigging rod, run a small to medium spoon or Rippin’ Rap tipped with a minnow head. Glow red, glow white, pink, gold, and firetiger are all producing in this stained water. On the deadstick, hang a plain red or glow hook or small ice jig 6 inches to 2 feet off bottom with a live shiner or fathead. Let that bobber do the work. Keep your jigging cadence subtle—pound bottom, lift slowly, then hold still when you mark a chaser.

For those chasing pike around shoreline breaks and inside turns, large dead baits or sucker minnows on quick‑strike rigs set just off bottom are turning fish, especially near cabbage edges that froze in clear.

A couple local hot spots to circle:
– The line off Pine Island out to about 25–27 feet has been a consistent producer for eater walleyes and saugers.
– Out of Long Point toward 12 Mile, set up on the 24–28 foot gravel transitions; that’s been a solid run‑and‑gun stretch with good action all day.

Up at the Northwest Angle, working the island saddles on the Minnesota side for walleyes and then hopping over to the Ontario islands with your resort for crappies has been a strong plan—look for basins in the mid‑20s to low‑30s.

As always, check with your resort each morning for current ice thickness, road changes, and where they’re seeing the freshest schools. They’re moving houses constantly to stay on those pods of fish.

Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss tomorrow’s report.

This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI