Various Media Experience Late Ice Walleyes on Lake of the Woods
With media outlets throughout the Midwest reporting on early ice outs on lakes, it might seem strange to some that Lake of the Woods still has 36 inches of ice to ice fish. That combined with an especially accommodating resort in Arnesen’s Rocky Point, a group of great anglers and a big school of walleyes, there was some magic that took place this past week on Lake of the Woods. Clam Outdoors, Vexilar and Lake of the Woods Tourism teamed up at Arnesen’s Rocky Point to test their luck on some late ice walleyes.
The ice guides at Arnesen’s had a good handle on the walleyes and shuttled the group out to our fishing area, which was the edge of a reef where it transitions into mud.
In addition to walleyes, saugers, eelpout, jumbo perch, tulibees and a pike were iced. Fishing was excellent. The most productive lure was the Lee
ch Flutter Spoon by Clam in gold with a myriad of complimentary colors that accompany the gold spoon. The flutter spoon was tipped with a minnow head, minnow tail or a live minnow in some cases. Some fish came on dead sticks, but overall the jigging lines were superior.
It was interesting as an ice angler to have the opportunity to not only see but use a very expanded line of clothing, fish houses, rod and reel combos and lures from Clam. As I own a flip over collapsible fish house, I have never had the chance to fish out of a pop up shelter. Very impressed on how light they we
re and the roominess inside. It was good to see how to screw in an ice anchor, set up and take down this style of fish house. Once I did it once, it was a breeze.
I also had the chance to use Clam rod and reels designed for ice fishing that I was also impressed with.
Electronics were vital in icing so many fish. Between suspended fish, finicky fish that would have to be coerced to bite, and having the ability to see if fish were responding positively to a certain lure or color were crucial in our success.
Hall of Fame angler Tom Zenanko of Vexilar was on hand to share his knowledge about Vexilars with anglers. I have to say, even though I have used a Vexilar for years, he taught me how to better use my FLX 28. Some tips I picked up that perhaps you didn’t know…
-Always turn the Vexilar on in the normal mode. Allow it to set up and shift to other settings from there.
-There are a myriad of color settings based on if a person is color blind or simply personal preference.
-When using multiple units in a fish house, only one person needs to adjust for interference. This should clear up everyone’s unit.
-When using a Vexilar in open water, anglers should use the FL 18 as it is the only unit to have bottom lock.
As I came to understand, much of this info is available on the Vexilar website.
Monday, I had the privilege of fishing with Hall of Fame angler “Tackle” Terry Tuma and Rob Drieslein of Outdoor News. Not only can these guys catch fish, they were great company. It never ceases to amaze me the great people in the fishing industry. It is easy to understand the level of success these two have achieved in a hurry.
Tuesday and Wednesday we had a total of 16 people on the ice fishing, creating media, high res images, videos and many stories sharing the opportunities that exist in March on Lake of the Woods.
As the 
Rainy River is open and boats are floating over big schools of walleyes, ice fishing is in full swing on the western end of the lake. It is March. This is Lake of the Woods. And the fish are biting!
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Outdoor writer Paul Smith from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was right in the middle of it all and very eloquently had the chance to share his observations with readers. Please click here to read the article, “Solid Ice, Bountiful Catches on Lake of the Woods”.
Click here to return to the Lake of the Woods Tourism website.
Click here to view Lake of the Woods lodging options.
