After an unseasonable warm spell throughout MN, Lake of the Woods Tourism is getting a lot of inquiries as you can imagine.  The #1 question, “How is the ice?”  It has been sloppy on top of the ice but thankfully, we had a good base of good ice underneath thus we are in good shape.  Current ice thickness is anywhere from 24″ – 30″ depending upon what part of the lake.  The snow on top has been greatly reduced and snowmobiles will have a hard time after the freeze up again as they tend to overheat without the snow.  Ice fishing continues and in most cases, it has been good.

If you notice throughout the entire year, we encourage folks to work through a resort as they know where the natural problem areas are each year, they monitor cracks and ice upheavals, they re-route ice roads if there is a problem area, etc.  Basically, resorts and outfitters who maintain roads and trails for their customers will drive roads early in the morning to make sure there are no changes or problem areas and keep an eye on things throughout the day.  It is safety first and they will determine what is allowed on their road.

In regards to predictions for March, only Mother Nature really knows for sure, but there are some long time guides who based on the fall fishing and how well the winter season has gone, think March will continue to be great for anglers.  Recently, I had the chance to speak with Robbie Johnson of Johnson’s Walleye Retreat located on Bostic Bay that leads to the Morris Point Gap.  Robbie, Jamie and his kids recently purchased Walleye Retreat which for them was a dream come true.  Robbie grew up in this area, has worked with numerous resorts, is a charter captain and has a passion for Lake of the Woods.  Check out his predictions and ideas on current fishing below.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bn1NQ8P28Sw” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>