Lake of the Woods
Ice on the big lake took a beating during the weekend warmup, Lake of the Woods Tourism reported Monday in its weekly update. Satellite imagery Thursday showed most of Big Traverse Bay remained ice-covered, but Four-Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River is open, and Lake of the Woods Tourism reports large cracks have developed on the lake, with thin and soft ice near shore. Ice is thicker farther from shore, but anglers venturing out should use extreme caution. Ice roads are closed, and travel is at your own risk, Lake of the Woods Tourism said. Anglers are targeting big pike in prespawn areas and shallow bays, with live suckers, smelt and hot dogs all working. Minnows of all kinds must be authorized through licensed bait dealers so leave the grocery store smelt at home or risk getting a ticket.
Farther north, Frank Walsh of Bay Store Camp on Oak Island shared photos Thursday of large stretches of open water up at the Northwest Angle near Oak and Flag islands, some of which had ice only a day earlier.
Rainy River
The Rainy River now is open all the way into Four-Mile Bay of Lake of the Woods, and all of the main access points, including the Wheeler's Point landing north of Baudette, Minn., are ice-free and accessible to boats of all sizes. Sturgeon fishing is in full swing. Reports in and near Four-Mile Bay have been favorable, but anglers fishing upriver near Clementson and Birchdale, Minn., reported slow fishing over the weekend.
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Devils Lake
Ice conditions are deteriorating with the warmer weather. Satellite imagery Thursday still showed most of the basin covered with ice, but the color of the ice was noticeably darker than it had been earlier in the week-a sign the ice is weakening.
With fishing season open year-round in North Dakota, the focus now shifts to open water, and anglers reportedly have been fishing ditches and coulees that flow into the lake and other parts of the basin. Northern pike dominate the catch, but a few more walleyes should be showing up as water temperatures rise.
Bemidji area
The hot topic among many anglers is whether there will be ice on the lakes when the walleye season opens May 12, Paul Nelson of Bemidji Area Lakes Guide Service reports. Some of the first area lakes that will be ice-free, he said, include Upper Red Lake, Lake Irving, Blackduck, Cutfoot Sioux, Andrusia and Kitchi. Rivers and streams also will be ice-free for anglers targeting walleyes on the opener. Bemidji and Cass could be ice-free by opener, but they only will have been open a day or two, Nelson predicts. Temperatures have been favorable to melting the ice, with highs from the 50s to low 70s reported in recent days.
N.D. light goose update
Light geese continued to make their way through North Dakota this past weekend, driven by warm temperatures that pushed the birds into Canada, the Game and Fish Department reported Monday in its latest spring light goose update. Light geese will continue to move through the state over the next few days, the report said, but the peak of the migration likely has occurred.
-- Herald staff reports
