Arvid's Fishing Report

Fished late afternoon yesterday for 2 hours. Had 2 bites, caught 2 fish (both sturgeon, one 26″, the other 43″) Only 2 days left to put a tag on a sturgeon. I thought for a minute that I had one, but it was 2″ short. The short one was really pretty. It had a bronze side and back with a white belly.

I talked to Bill this morning and he fished the river by his place last night and this morning and didn’t have a bite. I’ve heard that that there is a bite in front of the Gap and that the fish have been staging out front for a couple weeks. There are shiners in the river so I hope the fish move in soon.

A pretty colored sturgeon 

My friend, Terry, fished Lake Bemidji on Saturday and caught a walleye with unusual markings. He said that fishing was difficult because of the wind, but they did catch enough for a meal and said that fishing on Bemidji has been tough all summer.

I heard over the weekend that there are some minnows in the river. On normal years, there is usually an early shiner run in late August or early September and then a late run sometime in late October. It’s the early run that usually brings the fish into the river and provides good Fall fishing. I heard that some fish were caught in the Wheelers Point area, so maybe some fish are moving in. Fall fishing the past couple of years hasn’t been very good, so maybe this is the year.

A walleye with unusual markings

Terry calls this his “Spotted Walleye”

Mark called and invited Jeff and I for a day of fishing. He keeps his boat in a slip at one of the resorts so there was no in or out with the boat. We left town at 9:00 and were fishing not long after 10:00. Bait fishing has been very slow on this end of the lake so downrigging was the method of choice. The water has not cooled off  much and the fish seemed to still be in their summertime pattern. We fished in 32′ to 35′ and found the fish to be scattered, but willing to bite. That was a little surprising after the storms that had rolled through the area over the last few days. Over the next four hours, we caught 8 walleyes and 10 saugers. The walleyes were nice; all in the 15″-18″ range. It was a nice day and fun to do that for a change. A meal of fresh fish is always good.

Mark with two nice walleyes

Jeff with a nice walleye

After spending most of the day at the senior center flipping pancakes, it was easy to accept Jeff’s invite to fish the river for a couple hours before dark. We went down by the airport and put in a couple lines rigged for sturgeon. It’s a pretty relaxed way to fish and enjoy the sunset. Jeff caught two small sturgeon and I caught a nice sauger. The sturgeon bite is picking up and should continue to improve over the next few weeks. Hopefully, that will be the same for walleyes.

It has been a wonderful year for the garden and for wild blueberries and mushrooms with plenty of all three to keep us busy. We really enjoy this time of the year, but are ready for it to wind down.

Jeff with a small sturgeon

Willard with Chanterelles

 Grandma Diane’s Flowers and in front of Grandpa’s weeds (tomatoes) 

August Sunset

Our Lake of the Woods Senior Boating program is alive and well. In our tenth year of operation, our mission is to provide free boating and fishing opportunities to seniors in Lake of the Woods and surrounding areas. Although most of the trips are two hour rides on the river, we do occasionally get a request to fish. On Wednesday, we took five residents from our Lakewood Care Center, along with a staff member and two volunteers for a short fishing trip. There have been some reports of a sturgeon and an occasional walleye being caught on the river. We are in a period of really warm weather, but with the pontoons full top, the side curtains rolled up and a light breeze, it made for a comfortable trip. After putting the pontoon in the water and getting all the guests fitted with life vests, we went down by the airport. In a little over an hour we caught two sturgeon and had a couple other bites, which were probably sucker or red horse. The sturgeon were small, but we all considered the trip a success.

Roy with his sturgeon

Gordy with his sturgeon

Lake of the Woods Senior Pontoon

Last Wednesday was the 19th annual Take a Kid Fishing Day. Youth from the area, ages 9-14, are treated to a day on the water. They are given a bag with treats and gifts and at the end of the day there is a cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, fish, etc. for the kids and their parents. The event is based out of Sportsman’s Lodge.

The senior pontoon is made available for the day. Bill and Whitey made the trip from town to Sportsman’s to pick up the six kids that were assigned to them. I met them at Sportsman’s and went along to provide a extra hand. Rain was forecast and did hold off until it was almost time to come in. Fishing was pretty slow for most boats. We made several drifts and anchored up in a couple different spots. Our boys caught one walleye and had a fish get off at the surface they thought was a small pike. Some boats matched our total. Some boats brought in four fish. A couple did a little better. It’s a wonderful event that continues to serve around 100 kids every year by a great group of volunteers.

Kajun with his walleye

Take a Kid Fishing Kids

The weather forecast was for storms throughout the weekend so Jeff and I thought that an evening of fishing before that happens was in order. For something different, we decided to go to Red Lake. The wind was off shore and breezy to start. There were a lot of boats around and most were fishing the break that went from two to six feet. There were a few fish being caught, but the bite was slower than reports we heard. We anchored for a short time and then drifted. We caught three nice walleyes in the 17″ range.  We didn’t catch any drum (sheephead) which was a bit of a surprise.  The highlight of the evening was the sunset. As the sun began to go down, the wind died and a small cloud bank showed up in the west. It was beautiful.

Jeff with a nice Red Lake Walleye

Sunset over Red Lake        

Uncle Noie and Janice were here for three days for a visit and some fishing. The weather cooperated for two out of the three days and we were happy with that. We fished in front of the Gap and along Pine. Bait fishing was a little slow. We tried drifting and anchored up in various depths using minnows and crawlers. We pulled some crankbaits and for all our efforts we ended up with six nice walleyes. Day two was much the same and we caught eleven walleyes and two saugers. We kept eight walleyes, released three small ones and a 24″ pike. We had a nice fish fry and sent a limit home with them. We had a good time and it’s always nice to have them come here.

Janice with a nice walleye

Uncle Noie with a walleye

Yesterday evening Diane attended a performance by the Celtic Woman Destiny Tour at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. I went along to help drive home after the show and was invited to fish for a couple of hours with Terry. He is an avid fisherman and knows Lake Bemidji as well as anyone. There is a big tournament this coming weekend and the reports from those pre-fishing  the tournament was that the walleye bite was pretty slow. We can vouch for that as we didn’t catch a walleye. In fact, the first four or five spots we tried; not even a perch and I accused him of holding out his favorite spot on me. He finally put us on a school of perch and like most guides would do, he put the back-end of the boat, where he was sitting, right on top of the fish. We both caught and released plenty and kept 9. They were not the big ones we were looking for, but good enough to satisfy us. It was a nice evening on the lake.

Terry with a Lake Bemidji Perch