Remember going golfing in the summer and beverage cart comes around to satisfy your thirst? Well, ice fishing on Lake of the Woods also has the availability of beverages offered ON the ice to quench your thirst either before, after or during your ice fishing experience.

Have you ever heard of the Angry Walleye Ice Bar?  The novelty of a bar out on Lake of the Woods is something that gets the attention of many.  Having a resort and ice road leads to the availability everyone looks for. Owners of these facilities asked themselves, “why don’t we have a bar on the ice for our ice road?” The Angry Walleye Bar is located about a half mile off of the south shore on Lake of the Woods! https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=698553141624920

The Angry Walleye is a 16×29 foot bar with electric lights and big screen TV Beverages at the bar includes most choices of toddies a person could desire, six flavors of barley pop and of course, pop and water as well.  It also features  homemade pizzas, a hit on a cold night inside a festive bar out on the ice of Lake of the Woods. At night that thing lit up like a Christmas Tree so you can’t miss it.

The bar is big enough it had to be pulled out by a large groomer with tracks.  Although the bar is capable of ice fishing, to start out, they don’t have any ice fishing taking place in the bar.  Folks don’t seem to mind.  There’s a good rush of ice anglers who have been out fishing for the day and want to swing in before they drive off the ice for a drink and some fresh homemade pizza.

The Angry Walleye is open Monday – Friday from 2pm – 10pm.  On weekends, the bar is open Noon – 10pm. The Angry Walleye is located just off shore in the Bostic Bay area, which is about three miles west of the Rainy River and Wheeler’s Point area.  As a reference,  the Igloo Bar and Angry Walleye are about five miles apart on the ice as the crow flies.

Ferguson mentioned the big screen TV is certainly a hit.  They broadcast everything from different sporting events to the outdoors, and sometimes even some good music videos depending upon what is on and what kind of crowd is in the bar.

Having a bar on the ice is certainly a novelty and allows guests one more way to enjoy this unique ice fishing mecca up at Lake of the Woods.  It is almost like a celebration of ice fishing.  Imagine the conversations taking place after fishing all day.  How did you guys do fishing, where ya from or any big ones are certainly all pertinent conversation starters in the Angry Walleye or any tavern around the lake. Owners had to get a number of permits, have it inspected, etc, but now it is open and folks are really enjoying beverages on the ice.

Another destination to enjoy a beverage is The Igloo Bar, a destination to add to your ice fishing itinerary. Winter is a happy and busy time up at Lake of the Woods.  The area is buzzing with activity.  In these parts, winter is celebrated and welcomed.  Ice fishing is an absolute culture in Northern Minnesota.  Anglers from all ability levels and all walks of life come up to partake in some of the best ice fishing in the world at Lake of the Woods.

With that being said, some like to go hardcore fishing and others fish but also enjoy some of the other fun experiences the Lake of the Woods area  has to offer.  For instance, there are a variety of resorts in the area all with their own culture.  Many have bars and restaurants and all have their specialties.

One bar, in particular, has earned quite a reputation.  You see, this bar looks like an igloo.  It is located not on mainland but out on frozen Lake of the Woods.  It is loaded with big screen TV’s, electric lights, running water, a bar, limited hot food menu, and heated porta-potties that look like little igloos. It’s unlike anything else on the lake. This year the bar is located in its usual position out on the lake on Zippel Bay Reef.

Decked out with satellite TV, propane heat, running hot water and hoodie-clad bartenders, the arc-roofed bar also serves soup, sandwiches and pizza. The bottled beer, shots and mixed drinks flow for six nights a week until the ice softens in late March. That’s when tractors haul it back to shore in two pieces.

Couples have been married there and snowmobilers drive miles to use the heated outhouses. And for a few dollars an hour, you can lift up a section of the tavern’s insulated floor and jig for walleyes from your bar stool.

“If you are looking for something different, this is different.”  “It gets a little crazy in here when someone catches a big one,” offered the owner of the Igloo and then beverage flow all around to celebrate.

The Igloo is licensed as a mobile food court, fish house and caterer, the Igloo requires electricity (supplied by a gas generator) to heat food and pressurize hot and cold water. All waste water gets hauled to shore in holding tanks and poured into the resort’s own disposal system. Each morning and evening workers haul out huge generators on wheels that send power to the big Igloo and also the heated lavatories

The owners had many hoops to jump with the MN DNR because this was never done before. It has passed the tests and has proven to be a “hot spot” for anglers to frequent during their trip to Lake of the Woods since 2017.

There is an ice road well marked, plowed and maintained coming from Zippel Bay Resort if you are coming via truck or car.  If by snowmobile, a “spur” of the trail goes right to the bar from the Zippel Bay State Park trail as well as the trail on the lake.

The Igloo Bar just moved out onto the lake this past week and already  numbers of anglers and just visitors to the area are asking about the bar. What a great idea! What a great addition to the many great facilities around Lake of the Woods.

For more information on ice fishing contact our website at: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/ice-fishing

And for lodging see: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/lodging