Lake of the Woods — Forty-Four Degrees, Bring Extra Minnows, and a River Nobody's Fishing

There’s a moment every fall when the minnow bucket stops being a summer thing and becomes a hand-numbing thing. You reach in, grab a frozen emerald, and your fingers file a formal complaint with management. Up at Lake of the Woods, that moment has officially arrived.

The tourism office’s Nov. 3 weekly has the south shore down to about 44 degrees. A week ago it was sitting near 50 (our Oct. 27 card). That’s a big step toward winter, and the walleyes, according to tourism, don’t seem to mind.

The short version

• Water: roughly 44°F on the south shore and still sliding.
• Fish: walleyes and saugers schooled up and biting.
• Depth people are using most: 15 to 25 feet.
• Bait: pack a lot of it. Seriously.

Big Traverse, south shore

Tourism says walleyes and saugers are bunched up in solid schools in a bunch of different spots on the south side, with plenty of fish in the neighborhood overall. They take that as a good sign for winter, and honestly, so do I, even though my opinion and a dollar will get you about half a gas-station coffee.

How folks are fishing it:

• Boat control: most are anchored or spot-locked, then jigging straight down with a minnow.
• Minnow menu: emeralds (the frozen kind), fatheads, rainbows. All three are catching fish. No single winner this week, so a mixed bucket isn’t a bad idea.
• The bait warning: tourism says to bring plenty, because a lot of smaller fish are in with the keepers. Translation: you’ll re-bait more than you think. Plan your minnow budget like you’re feeding teenagers.
• Colors that worked: pink, plain gold, glow white, pink-and-gold, and chartreuse-and-orange. Rotate until one gets noisy.

Rainy River

Reports from the river are good, per tourism. More shiners have pushed in, and walleyes usually follow the shiners. Last week the shiner run was the headline. Our read, not theirs: still building.

What’s working there:

• Vertical jigging is the main approach.
• Some anglers are using forward-facing sonar to pick out individual fish.
• Others are pulling crankbaits behind the boat.

The funny part: not many people are out there. Tourism says that’s normal this close to the deer opener (Sat., Nov. 7), and they point out that deer week has a habit of coughing up some true giants. Their forecast for the week after opener has mornings in the 30s and afternoons in the 50s, so if you fill your tag early, they’re suggesting a boat ride. That’s their forecast, not ours. Check your own before you hitch up.

Sturgeon: only a handful of folks are fishing for them, but the word is good. Cold water and short days usually wake them up. There’s something nice about a fish that saves its best appetite for when everybody else has gone home.

No river depths were given this week. Don’t assume last week’s numbers still hold.

NW Angle

Short and sweet from tourism: walleye fishing at the Angle is very strong, and they like how it’s shaping up for ice season.

Muskies are active, and most anglers say they’re doing well. Some are casting points and neckdowns that have current. Others are pulling spinners and crankbaits behind the boat.

About the ice

Tourism says these schools should set up a good early-ice bite in December. They also say resort houses usually go out around Dec. 10, with Mother Nature getting the final vote. That’s a typical-year pattern, not a forecast for this year, and nobody should step on anything because of a date. If you’re thinking about a December trip, tourism says now’s when to lock in reservations.

Why it matters

Open water is winding down up there, and it sounds like the lake is ending the season with plenty of fish around. Cold hands, quiet river, full livewell, maybe. That’s a pretty good way to close out a year.

Fine print

This is a weekly summary from Lake of the Woods Tourism, not one boat’s trip log. It doesn’t give counts, sizes, specific spots, or Rainy River depths, and we didn’t add any. Tourism calls this week’s weather “unseasonably nice” for their area. Check the forecast for where you’re actually headed. Limits weren’t restated this week, so check the current regulations before you keep fish.

Sources

• Lake of the Woods Tourism, “Lake of the Woods MN Fishing Report..November 3, 2026”
• Lake of the Woods fishing regulations (Tourism)
• MN DNR fishing regulations
• MN DNR news (firearms deer opener Nov. 7)