Category: article
Dec 24th, 2020 by Keith Worrall
Modified Dec 24th, 2020 at 2:06 PM
Fly In Ice Fishing to the NW Angle
The Northwest Angle. It is the northernmost point of the contiguous United States, it is where the 14,552 islands of Lake of the Woods begin, it has 12 resorts who cater to anglers and the area is full of walleyes. Ice fishing is awesome on this part of the lake, but with the the border being closed, travel to the Angle has been challenging at best. This winter, visitors looking to travel to the NW Angle have a few options and one of them includes a fly in service. That’s right, land right on the ice near your favorite NW Angle resort.
During a normal winter, guests who enjoy ice fishing up at the Angle would simply drive through Canada and then enter back into the U.S. up at the Angle. With the pandemic and border being shut since mid March, 2020, travel up has been limited to traveling across the lake.
Another typical way some travel to the Angle during the winter months is snowmobile. The two snowmobile clubs around Lake of the Woods do an excellent job of grooming and staking trails from the south end of Lake of the Woods all the way up to the NW Angle. One trails comes out of the Wheeler’s Point area. When the ice is thick enough on the Rainy River, guests could literally take the trail all the way from Baudette to the Angle. The other route takes guests along the western edge of Lake of the Woods from the Rocky Point, Long Point area or from Warroad north.
There is now another option, flying. Lake Country Air out of Duluth, MN is now offering Fly In Fishing trips to the NW Angle. Currently, travelers can fly out of a variety of MN locations including Duluth, Baudette, Warroad, International Falls or Thief River Falls. Round trip flights will land you on the ice up at the NW Angle where you can access your favorite resort.
Lake Country Air offers both sight seeing tours and a charter service. The airplane used to fly into the Angle, interestingly enough, is no stranger to the Angle. “20 years ago had this plane up to Lake of the Woods,” explains Jesse Starkson, one of the owners. “They used to fly regularly to the Angle from Warroad. The flight service was very popular to many.”
The current plane being used is a Beaver and can transport 4-6 people based on weight.
This fly in service can fly anglers up to the NW Angle landing on the ice on specially prepared landing strips. This makes it possible for guests to access or get picked up by their favorite NW Angle resort.
The fly in service will also operate in the open water months. By May, the company will have a larger plane available called a Caravan which has longer range and can transport more than 10 people.
NW Angle resorts offer some of the best full service ice fishing in North America. Heated fish houses are moved often to keep you on the fish. Anglers will catch walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, eelpout, pike, and tulibees. Once in a while, crappies, a muskie or a sturgeon will even make an appearance.
Angle resorts offer both great cooking facilities in their cabins or a number of them have a great bar and restaurant as part of their offerings. You might be way up north, but don’t for a minute think you will be sacrificing good meals. The menu offerings in these parts are plentiful and the food is delicious.
When you are staying at the Angle, whether you cook it yourself or let the resort cook it, fresh walleye with all of the trimmings is a tradition that is hard to beat.fish fry lake of the woods
Ice fishing the NW Angle is something special. With this year adding many challenges to our lives, please know that special place to allow relaxation, peace and calming is accessible, just maybe in ways we are not used to.
Access info about Lake of the Woods
Resorts, outfitters and ice fishing options on Lake of the Woods
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