On the South Shore…  An excellent MN Fishing Opener on the south shore of Lake of the Woods.  Some hot walleye action with most anglers finding walleyes and saugers.  Walleyes were found in many locations across the south shore in anywhere from 15 – 31 feet of water.  Kind of a big spread, but not every fish is targeting the same forage.  Good success from east to west.

The go to method was a jig and a minnow over the side of the boat while anchored up or spot locked.  With the stained waters, brighter colors are normally best.  Gold, orange, chartreuse, pink and glow white, or a combination of these colors, normally works out well.

If you are fishing with others, it is helpful to start with different colors and even different minnows.  Some anglers stick with frozen emerald shiners, others might put on a lively fathead or rainbow.  Work together to get the walleyes dialed in.

Naturally, some big pike caught this weekend.  Some by anglers targeting pike, others by unsuspecting walleye anglers.

The walleye and sauger limit on LOW is a combined limit of walleyes and saugers of 6, with up to 4 being walleyes.  The protected slot is 19.5″ – 28.0″, those fish must be released.  Anglers can keep one walleye over 28 inches per day.  

On the Rainy River…  Great walleye reports on the Rainy River.  Plenty of nice fish are still in the river, both big fish, slots and eaters.   

Just like the lake, most anglers went with a jig and minnow vertically jigging.  Good reports from Four Mile Bay in addition to various stretches up river.

Sturgeon fishing continues through May 15th and the spring season has been excellent.  The sturgeon season will re-open again July 1st.  From July 1 through September 30, anglers can harvest one sturgeon 45-50 inches or over 75 inches if they have a sturgeon tag.  One sturgeon per angler per calendar year.  Summer on the river is a beautiful time to soak nightcrawlers!

Up at the Northwest Angle…  Great reports for the fishing opener from the Angle.  As expected, walleyes were found on shoreline structure such as points, weed edges and neckdown areas.  

With the many islands in this part of the lake, there is a ton of structure and so many spots to fish.  This time of the year, it is hard to beat a jig and a minnow which was the go to for most anglers 

Multispecies action is common up at the Angle with jumbo perch, pike, and smallmouth bass in the mix for walleye anglers.

For those who enjoy smallmouth bass fishing, May and June can be lights out amongst the islands.  As walleyes get most of the attention, smallmouth get missed but are in big numbers.

The muskie opener in MN and Ontario Zone 5 is June 21st for both areas.

Lake of the Woods is full of walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, pike, smallmouth bass, muskies and sturgeon.  Come on up and get in on the action!  For fishing reports, resort info, fishing guides and trip ideas, visit LakeoftheWoodsMN.com.