Lake of the Woods Midsummer Fishing Conditions and Hot Spots

Lake of the Woods greeted anglers today with classic midsummer conditions—water temps are hovering around 73°F, ideal for both bass and walleye action, as recently reported by Lake Monster. The day stayed mostly sunny after morning clouds with highs topping out in the low 70s, just about perfect for a long sit in the boat. Waves ran a gentle 1 to 2 feet, so boaters had easy access to remote reefs and rocky points. A light south wind in the early hours swung northwest at about 10 to 20 mph through the day, according to the National Weather Service. A few scattered showers and chances of thunder rolled through last night, but by midday, the bite was on.

Sunrise hit at 5:18 a.m., with sunset coming at 9:16 p.m.—plenty of daylight for chasing limits and trophies alike.

The walleye limit discussion is on everyone’s minds—Minnesota DNR is gathering public input on a proposed statewide drop from six to four fish, but as of today, the current regs are still in effect. Resorts around Lake of the Woods report no slowdowns; if anything, the walleye bite is as steady as ever, with plenty of eater-size fish and the occasional 28-inch trophy making headlines, as highlighted by a recent YouTube report showing anglers landing true giants—Lake of the Woods still earning its “Walleye Capital” reputation.

Recent days have seen good numbers of walleye in 15–28 feet, especially around Garden Island and Knight Island. Jigs tipped with frozen shiners or leeches have been productive, but with the water warming, many are switching to spinners with crawlers or pulling crankbaits for bigger, more aggressive fish. Classic gold, chartreuse, and orange blades are the local favorites. Don’t be afraid to troll deeper mud flats near Zippel Bay or Fourmile Bay as the sun gets high.

Smallmouth have been fired up around rocky shorelines and isolated reefs, especially early and late in the day. The top lures right now are Ned rigs in green pumpkin, compact jigs, and drop-shot setups with natural-colored plastics. According to tips from Major League Fishing, focusing on boulders and subtle structure in 12–22 feet of water is key—if you get a couple quick bites, let the spot rest and come back later to find more aggressive fish. A steadily retrieved swimbait in shad or perch pattern has also put a few big bass in the net.

Northern pike are lurking in cabbage beds and creek mouths. Spoons, large spinnerbaits, or white paddletails are drawing explosive strikes. Several fish over 36 inches were boated near the mouth of the Rainy River and near the Northwest Angle this week.

Hot spots today included the reefs off Garden Island and Knight Island for walleye, and the boulder fields off Oak Island for bass. The wind shifts have been concentrating bait and pushing fish to classic summertime haunts.

With the current warm water, don’t forget to keep fish cool and get them back quick—or onto ice if you’re keeping a few for the fryer. The summer crowds are out, but the fish are biting for those who put in the time and adapt to the shifting patterns.

Thanks for tuning in to your local Lake of the Woods fishing report with me, Artificial Lure! Be sure to subscribe for more real-time updates and angling tips. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lake of the Woods greeted anglers today with classic Midsummer conditions.
Water temperatures are hovering around seventy three degrees fahrenheit, ideal
for both bass and walleye action, as recently reported by
Lake Monster. The day state mostly sunny after morning clouds,
with highs topping out in the low seventies, just about
perfect for a long sit in the boat. Waves ran

(00:20):
a gentle one to two feet, so boaters had easy
access to remote reefs and rocky points. A light south
wind in the early hours swung northwest at about ten
to twenty miles per hour through the day, according to
the National Weather Service. A few scattered showers and chances
of funder rolled through last night, but by midday the
bite was on. Sunrise hit at five eighteen am, with

(00:41):
sunset coming at nine sixteen pm, plenty of daylight for
chasing limits and trophies alike. The walleye limit discussion is
on everyone's minds. Minnesota DNR is gathering public input on
a proposed statewide drop from six to four fish, but
as of today, the current regulations are still in effect.
Resorts around Lake of the Woods report no slow downs,

(01:02):
if anything. The walleye bite is as steady as ever,
with plenty of either sized fish and the occasional twenty
eight inch trophy making headlines, as highlighted by a recent
YouTube report showing anglers landing true giants. Lake of the
Woods still earning its walleye capital reputation. Recent days have
seen good numbers of walleye in fifteen to twenty eight feet,
especially around Garden Island and Night Island. Jigs tipped with

(01:25):
frozen shiners or leeches have been productive, but with the
water warming, many are switching to spinners with crawlers or
pulling crankbaits for bigger, more aggressive fish. Classic gold chartruse
and orange blades are the local favorites. Don't be afraid
to troll deeper mudflats near Zipple Bay or Four Mile Bay.
As the sun gets high. Small mouth have been fired

(01:45):
up around rocky shorelines and isolated reefs, especially early and
late in the day. The top lores right now are
ned rigs and green pumpkin compact jigs and dropshots set
ups with natural colored plastics. According to tips from Major
League Fishing, focusing on boulders and subtle structure in twelve
to twenty two feet of water is key. If you

(02:06):
get a couple quick bites, let the spot rest and
come back later to find more aggressive fish. A steadily
retrieved swim bait in shad or perch pattern has also
put a few big bass in the net. Northern pike
are lurking in cabbage beds and creek mouths. Spoons, large
spinner baits or white paddle tails are drawing explosive strikes.

(02:29):
Several fish over thirty six inches were boded near the
mouth of the Rainy River and near the Northwest Angle
this week. Hot spots today included the reefs off Garden
Island and Knight Island for walleye and the boulder fields
off Oak Island for bass. The wind shifts have been
concentrating bait and pushing fish to classic summertime haunts. With

(02:50):
the current warm water, don't forget to keep fish cool
and get them back quick or onto ice if you're
keeping a few for the fryer. The summer crowds are out,
but the fish are biting for those who put in
the time and adapt to the shifting patterns. Thanks for
tuning in to your local Lake of the Woods fishing
report with me artificial Lore. Be sure to subscribe for

(03:12):
more real time updates and angling tips. This has been
a quiet please production. For more check out Quiet Please
dot Ai