I just GOOGLE Lake of the Woods fishing report. Next one for the angle is due December 19th. Looks like the mild weather has made everything 10-14 days late this year

Hi Ken. I assume you are fishing out of The Veterans on the Lake Resort which is on the southwestern corner of the lake. If it were me in mid-September I'd pull crankbaits for walleyes. If that wasn't producing anything during the low light hours I'd use a jig with a leech or a spinner with a night crawlers and try to keep my presentation on the edge of the weeds or over the tops of the weeds if using a spinner. As you are aware the weather in northern Minnesota has cooled off this week in a big way which should trigger the fish. Possible overnight freeze in some parts of northern Minnesota. parts of Fall Lake are in the BWCA which may limit where you can fish. Best of luck to you fishing and thank you for your service to our country.

Welcome to the site Leslie. I'm glad to see another local person on the site. I live in New Ulm and am familiar with the chain of lakes but have never fished there except once on Hall Lake. I'm primarily interested in information about walleye fishing on local lakes including the Fairmont and Windom areas. Any feedback or suggestions are appreciated.

At the risk of ticking some people off I'd always drive 1 1/2 hours straight north of Red Lake and fish Lake of the Woods instead. I've ice fished both later in the year and I found L.O.W. to be a much more sure bet. L.O.W. has more liberal limits, more variety of fish with sauger in particular being in the the walleye bite, more restaurant/bar/lodging choices available, bigger walleyes in general although both have slot limits in effect, etc. Several years ago after Red Lake had walleye fishing suspended it was great for really large crappies but that has gone down hill due to fishing pressure. Good luck fishing wherever you decide to go!

Lots of lakes with little fishing pressure in SW Minnesota. Try the MNDNR Lakefinder site and sort by county. I assume you've been on Clear Lake at Waseca. Lots of small lakes that have walleyes stocked annually in the area around Cleveland and west. My personal opinion is that Madison Lake is the best lake in the area for ice fishing as it holds all species of fish