Lake of the Woods Early May Fishing Report: Pike, Sturgeon, and Walleye Heating Up

Good morning from Lake of the Woods, this is Artificial Lure with your local fishing report for Wednesday, May 7, 2025. It is a classic early May morning up here on the big water. We are seeing calm conditions with cool mornings warming up nicely by midday. The sun rose at 5:44 AM and it will set this evening at 8:37 PM, giving us plenty of daylight to chase fish across the bays and river mouths. There is no tidal influence since we are a freshwater lake, but lake levels are steady and spring runoff has the ditches and creeks flowing well. Ice cover is just about gone now, with the main lake opening up more each day. The spring melt has really kicked fish activity into high gear, especially in the shallows. Right now, it is prime time for targeting big northern pike staging for the spawn. The hot bite is happening in the shallow, warming bays, especially along the south shore. Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay, and Zippel Bay are seeing steady action and are your best bets for a trophy this week. Anglers are getting into pike by dead-sticking frozen smelt or large sucker minnows under a bobber, but casting flashy spoons or trolling shallow-running crankbaits is also working well. Bring a big net—multiple fish over 40 inches have been caught and released just this past weekend. Sturgeon are making a good showing on the Rainy River, with many being caught on nightcrawlers and large gob of worms fished right on the bottom. Most anglers are reporting several bites per outing, and there have been some true river giants landed in the past few days. Walleye and sauger are still off limits until the season opens on May 10, but we are seeing a very strong population in the system. Expect the post-spawn bite to fire up in just a few days, with the big females moving out deeper and plenty of eater-size fish piling into river mouths and over shallow flats. Best bait right now for pike is dead bait under a bobber, but don’t hesitate to throw silver or chartreuse spoons, or slow-troll a shallow crank. For sturgeon, stick to nightcrawlers and fish deep holes along the Rainy. If you are looking for some hot spots, check out Four Mile Bay and Zippel Bay for pike, and the section of the Rainy River near Wheeler’s Point for sturgeon. The action will only improve as the water continues to warm. That’s the latest from Lake of the Woods. Be safe on the water, respect the slot limits, and tight lines to all. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.