This is Artificial Lure with your Lake of the Woods, Minnesota fishing report.
We’re locked into early-ice mode now, and it’s shaping up nicely. Outdoor News’ Lake of the Woods report from this past week says ice fishing along the south shore is off to an excellent start, with solid ice forming and more houses popping out every day. Minnesota’s statewide report from the 17th notes improving ice depths after some snow and slush, so travel is better but you still want to pick your paths and watch for drifted areas.
No true tides to worry about here, just a steady winter water level, so your “tide” is sunrise, sunset, and barometer. First light and last light are still the money windows. Around this time of year, plan on a late-morning sunrise and mid‑afternoon sunset, so that mid‑day lull is real; be set up ahead of prime time.
Weather-wise, we’re in classic hardwater conditions: teens to single digits for air temps with a northwesterly breeze, and wind chills pushing things colder when that wind kicks up across the basin. Local winter patterns have been a mix of high pressure bluebird days and quick clippers bringing clouds and light snow. On those bright, calm highs, expect a finicky bite and downsize your offerings. When a system slides through with a falling barometer, the walleyes and saugers have been feeding harder and riding higher off bottom.
According to recent Lake of the Woods reports, catch rates along the south shore have been very good, with plenty of eater walleyes in that 14–18 inch range, saugers filling the gaps, and enough larger fish mixed in to keep it interesting. Jumbo perch are showing up in the buckets often enough to make you pay attention, and there are scattered tullibees and an occasional pike roaming the mud. Most folks are reporting 15–30 fish days per angler when they stay mobile and fish the prime windows.
Best lure program right now is pretty standard LOW early‑ice. A **glow red or gold jigging spoon** tipped with a minnow head has been top dog. Rattle spoons, slender spoons, and smaller profile flutter spoons are all catching. Gold, glow red, glow pink, and glow chartreuse are the local staples. On deadsticks, a plain red or glow hook or a small jig with a live fathead or rainbow is putting a lot of saugers topside. Some guides are also running small glow jigging raps or other swimming baits during the peak walleye windows to pick off the more aggressive fish.
Best bait is still **shiners or fatheads**, with a frozen shiner head on the jigging rod and a live minnow on the set line. If the bite gets tough, switch to smaller fatheads or even a tail‑hooked minnow on a plain hook and lighten up your leader.
Depth-wise, most of the action is in **18–26 feet** just off the south shore, sliding a little deeper as the sun gets higher. Fish are often coming 2–4 feet off bottom, so keep that spoon working up in the column, and don’t be afraid to reel up to chase marks.
A couple of hot spots to circle on the map:
• Out of **Pine Island and Lighthouse Gap**, straight north off the south shore in 19–24 feet, has been a solid walleye–sauger mix, especially morning and evening.
• The **Long Point to Rocky Point** stretch has been kicking out nice eater walleyes over the mud flats, with some jumbo perch mixed in when you get away from the heavier traffic.
If you’re up near the Angle, the traditional wintering holes off Oak Island and around Johnson’s Passage have been quietly putting out some quality walleyes and saugers with less pressure, running similar spoon and deadstick programs.
Travel smart: stick to marked resort roads, watch for the slush pockets Outdoor News mentioned, and keep an eye on any pressure ridges that shift with wind and cold snaps.
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Dec 29 20252 m