Lake of the Woods, Mille Lac, Devils?

[diertae]

I am planning a last week of march trip to one of these lakes: LOW, Mille Lac, or Devils. Anyone been to any or all of them? Price is a consideration but not as important as the quality of the fishing, shacks, ice, nearby bars, etc. Any and all input will be greatly appreciated.

[ICEMAN73]

I'm going on a personal ice fishing tour for the last two weeks in Feb to these very lakes.  I've been to Mille Lacs and did not do so well two years ago during a perch and eelpout tourney (super fun).  I'll let you know if I have any luck and where and what

[sholbroo76]

I fished lake of the woods two years back when I was still living in Minn.  It was summer time/boat fishing, we limited out on walleye in two hours every day, there is a marina on one of the points but i don't recall what it is called they do a lot of guided fishing there.  we stayed at a friends cabin near the bar fished for two hours, drank the rest of the day, repeat.  My friend also had a bunch of GPS wayponts that an oldtimer gave him for the lake that added to our success.  I also caught the biggest perch I have ever seen there. I recomend that Lake to anyone.

[Buckshot86]

I was raised on Lake of The Woods. Did alot of fishing on Red Lake, Lake of the Woods, Rainy River, Winnibegosh, and the lakes chains around Alexandria. If you want numbers of Walleye and ling, go to LoW. I have never stayed at a lodge but here are a couple of the big ones. Up in that country, ling are considered trash fish. If the spawn is on, you can collect the ones people throw out the ice by the truck loads. Lake of the Woods has has had a record year so far with unusual clear water. From what I understand, once the super cold weather hit, the fishing slowed down which is typical. I would research information from all over the web and would start with Ice Shanty Minnesota page. Devil's Lake is doing well too and its closer. If your interested in Crappie, Red Lake would be your go to destination. The two lakes are fairly close to each other so if you have the time, fish multiple lakes. Walleye fishing there is coming back strong too ever since the state shut down all the indian netting. Have never fished Mill Lacs, cant stand the cities, but for being so close to major population areas, its has a great reputation too. I would really love to try fly fishing smallmouth on Mill Lacs. Not many people do it, but the few that I have seen did well.
http://www.springsteelresort.net/
http://www.sportsmanslodges.com/

[JayHelfrich]

I recommend Devils Lake as it is only the one of the lakes mentioned I have personally fished.  Great fishing, close to many towns and a Casino, and good limits on fish to take home too.

Jay

[nic]

dont get me wrong im an 'eye guy..but ling are some good eats!! thanx for the great info buckshot! like to hit all of them!!

[Eye.Deprived]

I grew up in minnesota never fished mille lacs but me and my family have fished devils lake a lot incredible fishing and no slot limit we always fished lake of the woods later for pike like in march april in shallow bays they are in there eatin all the freezout fish that is what gives them that deep belly but anyway if you are choosing devils lake will give you a very good shot going in unguided and its only 17 bucks for 5 day nr license

[Lindy Rig]

I have fished all three; I would skip Mille Lacs.  Pretty crowded, less of a quality experience.  Devil's Lake is good and closer to MT, but LOTW is always worth the drive. 

[sra61]

We were up at Lake of the Woods two weeks ago. We fished with Izzy's Fishing: http://www.patchmotel.com/icefish.html
We were up there when it turned cold. It was -14 while we were there. I caught the heck out of the walleye, probably 50 in the three days we were there. We caught a few nice sauger, some big perch, and I caught three nice ling, we also caught one 15 lb. pike. The thing about LOW is the limit is only 4 walleye and the possession limit is the daily limit so that's 4 walleye for the trip, and they have a slot limit from 19.5" to 28" goes back. I'm sure that's why the fishing is so danged good. We fished the same house the first two days and moved to a different house the third day. I had great fishing in both houses. The price is really reasonable at the place we went $285 for three days and nights. That's without meals. We did the meals, but next time I'd skip that expense. We plan to go back next year. Here's the link for the thread with some pics from our trip: http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=210638.0

[diertae]

Thanks guys, lots of good info, Im thinking devils lake because of the proximity, can ride amtrak(drunktrain), cheaper lodging, higher limits, and close bars. From all the replies you would think im givin out a sixpack for every reply posted!

[nic]

did 'eye hear free six packs!!?

[Robbi]

If I woulda known..........I woulda made something up and posted it..........LOL

[diertae]

Ill give a sixpack to the first guy that explains to me why i cant catch pike out of Toston Dam, a provable explanation, not a theory!

[nic]

make it a 24 and well talk...kiddn never fished td..i like 0-9' of water for my pike tipups??

[ICEMAN73]

Thanks all!!!   Good info from good people!!!

[Borgy83]

I would definitely try devils lake. I was born and raised fishing on that lake and really missing it right now! I have spent countless hours ice fishing both devils lake and LOTW, but I have to go with devils lake at that time of year. Its the only place Ive been where you can catch an 8lb walleye, 3lb 18" perch and a 10lb+ pike in the same day. The fish there are so fat on fresh water shrimp you really have to see to believe. There are a ton of spots to fish which can be difficult, but there are some more consistent quieter spots that I would be willing to share with you, plus there are plenty of fishing report sites as well. You can also have four lines in the water rather than two, so bring all of your tip-ups!

LOTW I feel has better consistency but a smaller average size. I have definitely caught many limits of sauger, walleye and perch out of the same two holes. I have also had days of catching 100's of 6-10" fish too, but if you go to LOTW you WILL catch fish. We used to take our "last ice" trip to LOTW, but ended up at devils lake the last few years just because we caught so many big fish. Either way you go, DONT FORGET YOUR AUGER EXTENSION!!!

Let me know if you have any questions...I would be happy to help!

[Jberg440]

I'd agree with the other guys too, either Devils Lake or LOTW, like mentioned before LOTW and Red lake are pretty close and both are great lakes. Haven't fished Red for a while but I keep getting pics of all the walleyes my buddies keep catching out there and it continues to grow my hatred for pu$$y bug eating fish (trout). I've fished Mille Lacs a lot growing up it just isn't what it used to be, especially this time of year. Now early ice is a different story.