Late Fall Fishing Frenzy at Lake of the Woods

As of November 16, 2024, the fishing scene at Lake of the Woods in Minnesota is quite active, despite the late fall season. ### Weather and Conditions The weather has been unseasonably warm, but water temperatures are dropping, currently in the low to mid-50s. This cooling trend has made the fish more active, especially the walleyes and saugers. Sunrise today is at around 7:30 AM, and sunset will be at about 4:30 PM. ### Fish Activity Walleye and sauger fishing remains excellent on the south shore of Lake of the Woods. Anglers are finding success in various depths, but the sweet spot is consistently around 20 to 27 feet of water. The fish are gathering over deep muddy and sand to mud transition areas, making sonar technology particularly useful for locating them. ### Catches Yesterday, anglers reported catching good numbers of walleyes and saugers. There were plenty of keepers and some bigger walleyes in the mix as well. The protected slot for walleyes, which must be immediately released, is between 19.5 and 28 inches, but anglers are allowed to possess one trophy walleye over 28 inches. ### Best Lures and Bait For the best results, use live or frozen emerald shiners while jigging. Gold jigs paired with glow white, glow red, chartreuse, orange, or pink are highly effective. Anchoring your boat and jigging from the side has been a successful tactic. ### Hot Spots One of the hot spots is the area extending from Pine Island to Long Point, where anglers have been successfully jigging with frozen emerald shiners. Another productive area is the deep mud flats in the mid-lake basin, where schools of walleyes and saugers are holding. Bars and smaller, isolated humps have also accounted for some of the best catches. Overall, it's a great time to be on the water at Lake of the Woods, with plenty of fish to be caught and beautiful fall scenery to enjoy[2][3][4]. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.