Lake of the Woods 'excellent' for ice fishing

Lake of the Woods

Ice fishing is in full swing and remains excellent, Lake of the Woods Tourism reports in its weekly update. The best action has been in 20 feet to 25 feet of water, where glow red or pink rattle spoons tipped with a minnow head or tail have been the best for the jigging line. Use a plain hook or an ice jig with a live minnow for the set line.

Farther west, Arnesen's Rocky Point Resort reports good fishing the past few days, with rental houses set along the reefs 3 to 4 miles from shore as well as adjacent mud flats in depths ranging from 26 feet to 31 feet of water.

Ice is 14 to 15 inches thick on Four-Mile Bay and 12 to 15 inches thick on the lake north of Pine Island, with similar thickness reported in the Rocky Point area. Some resorts are allowing trucks without wheel houses, others not quite yet, Lake of the Woods Tourism said. With the recent fluctuating temperatures, it's a day-by-day decision for each resort so anglers should check with resorts in the area they plan to fish for the most current ice road conditions.

A number of big fish also have been reported in the past week, including a 33½ inch, 14-pound walleye caught by Trevor Nielsen of Fordville, N.D., while fishing in a Sportsman's Lodge rental house. A sturgeon said to be more than 60 inches long was posted on Lake of the Woods Tourism's Facebook page.

Up at the Northwest Angle, walleye reports are excellent, Lake of the Woods Tourism reports. Ice is 10 inches to 15 inches thick. The ice road from Young's Bay to resorts is open, as is the snowmobile trail from the south shore to the Northwest Angle. Resorts are fishing in 20 feet to 24 feet of water, and anglers are catching a good mix of walleyes and saugers.

Devils Lake

Ice thickness varies from 10 inches to 18 inches throughout the Devils Lake Basin, Tanner Cherney of Devils Lake Tourism said Thursday. Northern basin lakes such as Lake Alice and Lake Irvine have the thickest ice with about 18 inches, Cherney said. Minnewaukan Flats and the west end of Devils Lake have 16 inches, while Six-Mile and Creel bays have between 10 and 12 inches, Cherney said.

The recent storm is creating some short-term access challenges, and there's a good 12-plus inches of snow on the ice.

"We hope to have the access points (boat ramps) opened up by (Friday) evening for the weekend," Cherney said. "It is probably best to have a snowmobile or some sort of tracked vehicle right now to get around as there are some serious drifts on the lake."

As for the fishing, anglers are catching walleyes at first light as well as those last few hours before sundown, Cherney said. Best action is in 8 feet to 12 feet of water, and finding good structure also is crucial, Cherney said. Perch are still a little shallower, Cherney said, with best reports coming from the 20-foot range.

Upper Red Lake

Walleye fishing is improving, West Wind Resort in Waskish, Minn., reports. As of Thursday, the resort was opening its plowed access road to trucks and wheel houses of all sizes. As for the fishing, many anglers are landing their four-fish walleye limits, but others are coming up short, the resort reports. Jigging bright-colored rattle spoons tipped with shiners or fatheads is working well in conjunction with a set line in the second hole.

Area skiing report

• Buena Vista Ski Area near Bemidji: 10- to 20-inch base, packed powder, 4 inches of new snow, making snow. Open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Monday for skiing and snowboarding. Call the ski area at (218) 243-2231 for tubing info or check out the website at bvskiarea.com.

• Grand Forks Greenway: The recent snow and mild temperatures have made for great ski conditions on the Greenway trails, the Greenway of Greater Grand Forks reported on its Facebook page. Get out and enjoy the trails.

• Turtle River State Park near Arvilla, N.D.: Trails are open and in excellent condition with 7 inches of new snow in the past week and a total snow depth of 20 inches. Trails were groomed Wednesday and are scheduled to be groomed again this coming Wednesday.

• Grahams Island State Park near Devils Lake: The trail is open and in excellent condition with 14 inches of snow in the past week and a total snow depth of 24 inches. Trails were groomed Wednesday and were scheduled for grooming again Thursday.

• Icelandic State Park near Cavalier, N.D.: Trails are open and in excellent condition with 14 inches of snow in the past seven days and a total snow depth of 17 inches. Trails were scheduled to be groomed Thursday.

• LaSalle Lake State Recreation Area near Solway, Minn.: Ski trails will not be groomed, but people can ski or snowshoe anywhere in the recreation area except on trails groomed for snowmobiling; local snow depth 10 inches.

• Lake Bemidji State Park: Ski trails are in very good condition with a 3-inch base and 10 miles groomed; local snow depth 10 inches.

• Lake Bronson State Park, Minn.: Ski trails are not being groomed this year, but there are user-made tracks on many of the trails. Local snow depth 13 inches.

• Old Mill State Park, Minn.: Ski trails won't be groomed this winter but are open for skiing, snowshoeing and hiking; local snow depth 13 inches.

• Zippel Bay State Park, Minn.: Ski trails are groomed and in very good condition with a 4-inch base; local snow depth 12 inches.

Snowmobile trails

• Hayes Lake State Park, Minn.: Trails have yet to be groomed or inspected and are listed in poor condition; local snow depth 9 inches.

• LaSalle Lake State Recreation Area near Solway, Minn.: Trail is groomed and in good condition with a 3-inch base; local snow depth 10 inches.

• Lake Bemidji State Park: Trails are in good condition with a 4-inch base and 3 miles groomed; local snow depth 7 inches.

• Lake Bronson State Park, Minn.: Trails are in good condition with an 8-inch base; local snow depth 13 inches.

• Old Mill State Park, Minn.: The snowmobile trail through the park is open and in fair condition but is not being groomed so riders should use caution. Seven-inch base; local snow depth 13 inches.

• Zippel Bay State Park, Minn.: The snowmobile trail isn't groomed but is listed in fair condition with a 4-inch base; local snow depth 12 inches.

• North Dakota: Trail updates weren't available Thursday afternoon on the Snowmobile North Dakota website, but trails were closed as of the last report Dec. 23.