NW Angle… The Perfect Spot to Target Lake of the Woods Muskies

Any muskie hunter knows that Lake of the Woods is one of the best muskie fisheries in the world. Anglers come for miles around to fish our trophy waters. Minnesota’s NW Angle of Lake of the Woods is the perfect location to target muskies. Many consider this area muskie nirvana with a variety of beautiful resorts located in the heart of muskie habitat, anglers are set up literally on the border of Minnesota and Ontario. The MN muskie season on Lake of the Woods opens the same day as the Ontario portion of Lake of the Woods muskie season, which is the third Saturday of June.

Lake of the Woods is a world class muskie fishery with over 65,000 miles of shoreline and 14,552 islands. Plenty of space that houses a strong population of “skies” with many of these fish reaching lengths over 50 inches.

Rules on Fishing Ontario Waters while Based in the Minnesota waters of the NW Angle.

Since COVID, the border closure and now the border reopening, there has been a lot of confusion on boating and fishing in Ontario waters when departing from the U.S. waters of the NW Angle.

In a nutshell, if you are boating into Ontario waters to fish and do not touch land, touch a dock, anchor or exchange goods or services, you do not have to call into Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) prior to boating into Canada. You can boat into Ontario waters, fish as long as you wish (understanding you cannot bring any bait, alive or dead, across the border, must have an Ontario fishing license and adhere to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources rules).

If you plan on touching shore in Ontario, you will have to fill out the ArriveCan App each day and call CBSA at the 888-CAN-PASS number for permission to enter Canada. Adults in your party will also have to be vaccinated and kids either vaccinated or producing a valid COVID test.

Learn from an experienced muskie guide.

Resorts up at the NW Angle amongst this muskie nirvana specialize in muskie guides. These muskie nuts keep a good handle on fish movement, lure preference, colors and areas muskies are prevalent. It is also a great way to save time really learning the nuances of becoming a better muskie angler. Often times there are patterns happening on the lake that can save you time and lead to more success in finding and getting muskies to eat. Check out a list of NW Angle Resorts who can set you up with some of the best guides in the business.

Many of the muskie guides are extremely passionate about muskies, so much so that after guiding all day long, they often pursue muskies in the evenings on their own. It is fun to talk to anglers with such passion as they will share trends and nuances others may not pick up on. Things like not having to throw the largest baits, in fact, in many cases, a smaller or mid sized bait might actually be more effective.

For those that just love the sport, here are some tips on safely practicing catch and release:

Careful handling makes catch-and-release work.

A big muskie is an old muskie. Females require 14 to 17 years to reach 30 pounds. Northern pike grow even more slowly. Once taken out of the water and hung on a wall or carved into fillets, a trophy is not soon replaced by another fish of its size. So, the key to creating trophy northern pike and muskie fishing is catch-and-release angling. Unfortunately, some fish are mortally injured by improper handling and cannot be successfully released.

All northern pike and muskie are difficult to handle because of their slippery hides, lack of good handles and sharp teeth. Big fish are particularly troublesome because of their great size and power.

The first step to successfully releasing fish is to use artificials rather than live bait. The second step is to keep the fish in the water if at all possible.

Caught on artificials and handled carefully, nearly all fish can be returned with no permanent injury. Here are some effective methods, courtesy of Muskie Canada, for handling large northern pike and muskie:

Hand release. Grip the fish over the back, right behind the gills (never by the eye sockets!) and hold it without squeezing it. With the other hand, use a pliers to remove the hooks, while leaving all but the head of the ;fish in the water. Sometimes hooks can be removed with the pliers only; the fish need never be touched.
Landing net. Hooks can be removed from some fish even as they remain in the net in the water. If that’s not possible, lift the fish aboard and remove the hooks while the fish is held behind the head and around the tail. To better restrain large fish, stretch a piece of cloth or plastic over the fish and pin it down as if it were in a straight jacket.
Stretcher. A stretcher is made of net or porous cloth about 2 to 3 feet wide stretched between two poles. As you draw the fish into the cradle and lift, the fold of the mesh supports and restrains the fish. This method requires two anglers.
Tailer. Developed by Atlantic salmon anglers, a tailer is a handle with a loop at one end that is slipped over the fish’s tail and tightened. The fish is thus securely held, though the head must be further restrained before the hooks are removed.

If you must lift a big fish from the water, support as much of its body as possible to avoid injuring its internal organs.

Never grip a fish by the eye sockets if you intend to release it. By doing so you abrade its eyes, injure the surrounding tissue and may cause blindness.

Muskie anglers are a very passionate breed, often fishing from dawn to dusk. They also have the deepest respect for muskies and overall do an excellent job of making sure these ultimate predators return to the water unharmed.

Best of luck to all muskie anglers this year. The muskies have been active this spring, just ask our walleye anglers!