The following are a collection of the short weather,
fishing and other news summaries from throughout the season.
September 28 - October 5
Crappies are still biting in both OB and Miles with Obabikon Lake producing
a little better in terms of size. See some of the nice crappies brought
it over the past week on the
September Fish Picture
Page
. Had someone go out to Hay Island this past weekend and they said
they didn't do well at all there. Walleyes have been a little tougher
to find, but some groups have done well and got some with decent size too.
A 44 inch muskie was caught and released on the weekend as well. The
weather was pretty good aside from a little bit of wind throught the week.
We haven't had a frost yet this fall and the forecast is saying it
should be pretty nice again this week. The leaves are slow to change
colours this year and are staying on the trees longer. Keep an eye
out for deer on the highways coming up here both during the day and at night.
There was have been a couple collisions and some near misses over the
last few days. There is also some bears around as they are looking
for acorns to fill up on before winter so watch where you step and be very
careful if you go out walking in the area.
I have posted some photos of the lodge being torn down as well as a few pictures
of what things look like now. Click to see the
Main Lodge Demolition
pics. The new building has been started and we'll keep you posted
with some progress pictures of that as well from time to time until we leave
for the year. Still a few chances left to come up for some fall fishing.
Call or email about availability.
September 21-28
The week past had the crappies biting good up in Miles (Sunday, Monday)
and then turning off there. Fish were still being graphed, but seemed
to be suspended and not real hungry. Obabikan turned out the better
fishing as the week went on (Tuesday, Wednesday) and continued through the
weekend. The wind blew from mid-week on and made it tough to fish the
areas common for wallyes (sand, shore) at this time of the year. Earlier
in the week (16th, 17th), people did well fishing 8-12 feet of water in the
weeds. This week looks to have cooler temps with highs in the low 50's,
but not much in the way of precipitation in the short term forecast. With
the water temperature cooling off, the crappie bite may start to pick up.
You might want to bring along some rubberized gloves to keep the hands
dry when you are constantly rehooking your rigs with minnows after you pull
in the crappies. Good rain gear and warm jackets (fleece, flannel) are
a good idea for what can be chilly rides out to the fishing hole in the fall.
September 14 - 21
The weather has been nothing short of wonderful so far this month with
higher than normal temps and less wind than one expects in the fall. The
crappies are starting to hit as anglers have done well in both Miles Bay
and Obakikon Lake during the past week. See the
September 2002 Fish Pictures Page
for proof. The forecast is for good weather most of the week with
some chance of showers by the latter part of the week. Walleys haven't
been as hot as crappies and still a little on the small side. Musky
fishing has been quiet as not many people are casting right now. One
angler did mention seeing a couple when throwing some baits for a few hours
one evening. A few dates have opened up in the last few days for later
on in the month is you want to get in on some of the fun. Call or email
ASAP to reserve a cabin.
September 7 - 14
Ok people, will someone please tell me why it is almost 95 degrees in
September?? Who can get any work done when you can see the heat waves
floating up in the air!! Otherwise, things are great up in Morson. It
is a little quieter around so you feel like you have the place to yourself
at times, but the weather is still good and the fishing is picking up again.
People have been telling us the walleyes are biting pretty good the
last few days and even a few crappies are being had up in Miles Bay. The
weather forecast is for above normal temps and chances of rain the next
few days, but we have avoided it the last day or two.
I guess I should also mention that the lodge is only a memory now. It
was reduced to a pile of rubble in 45 mins on Tuesday afternoon (3rd) and
hauled away on Wednesday and by Thursday afternoon, the hole was filled
in and levelled out. There is still a bit of work to do on the site,
but it sure makes a difference when you come around the corner and see the
whole bay. I'll be posting pictures of the demolition shortly so stay
tuned.
We also plan to launch a new homepage soon so I look forward to hearing
your feedback on it. It will give you a new main page, but this page
will always only be one click away.
Labour Day Weekend
Despite some strong winds, Labour Day weekend was pretty decent weather
wise as the rains fell overnight, which left the days mostly sunny. Muskie
fishing was fantastic for our guests over the weekend. The Laird
Party from WI caught and released 3 fish over 50 inches, with the biggest
being 52" (the largest of the year so far.) There were 5 boats fishing
muskies and close to 20 were caught for the weekend. The people hunting
for walleyes reported catching a lot of smaller sized ones, but they weren't
going hungry so there wasn't any complaining. It was really tough
to get out and fish if you had a smaller boat on Friday and Saturday.
August 10 - 31
Things slowed down a little bit for the last few weeks of August. Both
in terms of the fishing and the amount of people in the area in general.
Everyone that fished had enough to eat and some muskies were caught
through the end of August. The weekend of Aug 25th and 26th was highlighted
by the Morson Bass Classic. Just under 50 boats entered and the winning
weight was around 28 pounds of bass over two days. Don't let anyone
ever tell you that here aren't any small or large mouth bass in the Lake
of the Woods. The weather was highlighted by a very heavy wind on Aug
17th that had many parties staying the night before going out on the lake.
The wind also blew down many more trees around the area and knocked
the power out most of the daylight hours of the 17th.
August 3 - 10
The weather gave us a lot of wind again during the week, but most people
were able to get out and pick up plenty of fish to fry up during their stay.
Muskie fishing was pretty good in the evenings just before dark.
Most of the follows and hits were on surface baits as the sun went
down. Temps were comfortable save for one afternoon it got close to
90 again. We have sure noticed the end of summer slow down as far
as lake traffic is concerned. People that are up here during the next
couple of weeks will almost have the entire lake to themselves.
Some anglers have been getting walleyes off the edges of weed beds in
about 12 feet of water so far this week (Aug 10-17.) We have the
go ahead to have the broken down lodge torn down and hauled away so that
should be done in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for some demolition
pictures and updates soon. We are very busy around the third
week of September, but we do have openings for fall fishing and duck hunting
from now until near the end of October. Call or email to check specific
dates.
On a personal note, my record breaking streak of working 115 consecutive
days has come to and end as of Aug 15th. The bosses have decided that
I either earned a few days off or have been so miserable to live with that
they had no choice. HAHAHA Well, whichever it may be, I am
looking forward to relaxing for a few days before the stretch drive into
fall. We have a few smaller projects planned for the fall and will
let you know what we are up to when they get going.
Thank you to everyone for a great summer, despite the challenges the
weather brought us. We'll see you fall fisherman in a few weeks and
everyone else next summer. Take care, everyone.
July 27 - August 3
The word of the week was wind or should I say
WIND!!
It was First Wisconsin
musky week and the guys had rough rides
just about all week. Conditions were pretty good Sat, Sunday and
Monday and the group (6 boats, 12 guys) managed to boat 8 muskies
over 35 inches (the biggest being 50.5") and a 38 inch northern. The
wind really started to blow on Tuesday and didn't quit for the rest of the
week. Most days it was over 15 and up to 25 or 30 knots, but everyone
tried to get out at least part of the day. As hard as they worked, only
4 more fish over 32 inches were caught (they also went down to 4 boats and
8 guys the last three days.) It was by far the windiest week of the
entire season to date. Everyone seemed to think it was just the wind
that made it difficult to fish the areas they wanted to, but the high water
also made it harder to find weed beds in the usual spots. We are hoping
to get a couple of pictures of the bigger fish they caught during the week
and will post them if we do.
Walleyes were still able to be
found despite the tough weather conditions. If you could get
out past the big water and into Miles Bay and areas where an island
gave you shelter, you were able to pick up more than enough walleyes to eat
and fill your limit to take home.
Walleyes have been biting pretty good this week so far and the forecast
is fairly decent. Chance of some showers, but very comfortable temps.
Muskie action was great over the weekend (3rd and 4th) as far as
moving big fish, but they weren't in the mood to bite. A couple guys
who fished Saturday and then Sunday morning reported seeing many fish over
50 inches, but didn't have a chance to set the hook on them. Keep casting
and jigging everyone.
July 20-27
The weather cooled off a little bit this week and everyone was glad
it did. The fishing also cooled off a little bit, but going from fantastic
to good isn't all bad. Everyone caught fish and the muskies were moving
a lot. Numerous fish were seen and quite a few were boated. It rained
a little bit, which helped green the grass up and take off the fire ban.
It is still pretty dry so the MNR is asking everyone to be especially
careful with open fires. The lake actually went down a few inches over
the week and we are expecting it to do the same this week. The water
level at Rainy Lake is getting down to where it should be, allowing a
couple of the gates to be closed in Fort Frances. There are some showers
in the forecast this week with temps predicted in the high 70's and low
80's. Sounds like a good week for fishing and relaxing on Lake of the
Woods.
July 13-20
The topic of the week has certainly been the heat! We've been
right around 100 most of the week when you factor in the humidty. It
is starting to at least cool off a bit overnight now, which helps a lot
for sleeping comfortably. Believe me, for the weather to overshadow talk
of the fabulous walleye fishing is really something. Many of our
guests have commented that this has been the best walleye fishing they
have had in all the years they have been fishing LOW. We have also seen
some very big smallmouth bass come in this week. Someone even caught a
32 inch muskie while fishing for walleyes with 4 lb fireline. The lake
level has held its own the last week or so which is good news. Any amount
of rain in the next few weeks could send it rising in a hurry again though.
Our floating docks seem to be the talk of the town since we have som many
places for people to park and plug battery chargers in to, even with the
high water. There is a total fire ban on as a result of the dry weather
so don't plan to have shorelunch for the next little while. The fishing
should stay good as the walleyes will continue to be on the reefs. A lot
of muskies were seen this week, but of course, the anglers would have
like to have boated more. The fish of 1000 casts can try the patience of
even the most fanatical anglers.
July 6 - July 13
The walleyes have really been biting out on the reefs.
We have seen and heard of a couple 28 inchers as well as some 27's
and 25's being caught. We will have a couple of pictures posted
soon. The weather has been great as we have avoided most of the
rain falling around the area, and it has not been too hot to handle.
There are some very high temps forecasted for the coming weekend, so
we'll have to try and keep cool. The lake level is still coming
up. We are a little higher than last year and bracing for more.
Our floating docks have been great so people have no problem docking their
boats. We also raised the regular gas pump to keep it high and dry
for the time being.
June 2002
We were kind of busy with the storm and flooding. See
Storm 2002 Photos
for why I didn't have much time for updates in June.
We want to thank everyone who offered their help and kind wishes
after the storm. We appreciate it so very much. Our guests
again were so great in dealing with the power and phone outages in the
area and being understanding. We were able to keep the water and
sewer functioning with generators to try and minimize the inconvenience.
A huge thank you to those that helped us out when we need it. The
Gill Family, Bill Widman, Gary Boe and Jim Twedt went above and beyond the
call to make sure everything that needed to be done, got done. Also
thank you to Jerri and Dennis at Pier North for making us feel welcome to
use their boat ramp until we were able to get our back into working order.
We can't express out much it means to us.
May 25 - June 1
The week was pretty fair in terms of both fishing and weather.
We were told that a lot of vey big walleyes were caught way out west
and one group reported the best week of fishing in terms of size they
have ever had and they have been coming up a long time. There was a little
bit of thunder and lightning during midweek, but only rained a little
bit. Just enough to green up the grass and make it really start growing.
The forecast for the rest of this week is pretty decent with temps around
70 and not much of a chance of rain. Experienced groups are catching
fish while the less experienced ones are struggling a bit. Be patient
everyone, LOW is a huge body of water and sometimes you really have to
work for your reward. Those fresh tasting walleyes sure make it worth
it though.
Memorial Weekend
It was another great Memorial Weekend at Lake of the Woods.
The fish didn't bite as good as they normally do and it was a little
windy, but that didn't stop everyone from having a great time. We
were bursting at the seams with people and the new docks held up very
well. There was a little rain shower on Saturday, but it didn't last
long. Reports from Memorial Day itself were that the fish started
to hit a little better, especially the northerns in Obakikon Lake.
Opening Weekend
Walleye opener came and went with fairly chilly weather.
The fishing got off to a slow start, but has since picked up.
Some walleyes and northern have been coming in since Sunday. We
made it to 70 degrees and are expecting a little rain later in the week.
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