Lake of the Woods

Watching a Lake of the Woods sunrise from a shoreline near Warroad

Fish abound year-round

Nearly one third of this 951,337-acre northwoods lake that drains north to Hudson Bay lies within Minnesota, making it our largest lake. Lake of the Woods offers some of the best year-round fishing you can find. Fish the ice early December to late March. Dive right into fishing the Rainy River in spring and fall. Venture out to lake for the warm summer bite. You'll find walleye, northern pike, sturgeon, sauger, perch and more.

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Management

Lake of the Woods is managed according to the current Lake of the Woods management plan. This plan will guide fisheries management activities on Lake of the Woods from 2025-2035. The plan describes background and current conditions, set out specific goals and objectives, details management strategies and provides operational direction for management activities on Lake of the Woods.

Q & A
How does Minnesota DNR fisheries monitor the sustainability and quality of Lake of the Woods fish populations?

DNR fisheries uses a variety of biological performance indicators (BPIs) as population metrics to assess sustainability of Lake of the Woods walleye and sauger. These BPIs include population characteristics that describe growth, mortality and recruitment and are calculated annually.

Metrics data are gathered using fall gill netting and spring electrofishing efforts and are based on the best available science. This suite of metrics provides a robust picture of the status of walleye and sauger populations. DNR fisheries also tracks angler harvest and has harvest thresholds for walleye and sauger.

Fisheries quality is examined using metrics that directly measure things that anglers respond to such as changes in abundance or size structure. These metrics are examined independent of each other, are more sensitive to small changes in population status and do not necessarily affect the sustainability of the fishery.

For a much more detailed description of fisheries sustainability and quality indicators, please review the current Lake of the Woods management plan.

How does Minnesota DNR fisheries gather input from stakeholders to guide fisheries management on Lake of the Woods and how has the input resulted in changes to management?

Input from stakeholders was gathered using multiple methods to draft the current Lake of the Woods management plan. Anglers were contacted at boat ramps and engaged in a structured conversation to better understand angler perceptions, priorities and attitudes about Lake of the Woods fisheries management. During the planning process, a scoping survey was conducted to gather input on stakeholder priorities. Additionally, public comment was gathered online and at an open public meeting to collect feedback on the draft plan.

The Lake of the Woods fisheries input group helped to guide the planning process. This group is a citizen group comprised of individuals representing a variety of interests, including local anglers, statewide anglers, guides, resorts, local economic interests including tourism, social media and local governments. They also advise on fisheries issues during non-planning years.

How does Minnesota DNR coordinate with Ontario Ministry of Natural Resource and Forestry on fisheries management issues?

Minnesota and Ontario fisheries biologists coordinate frequently on Lake of the Woods and Rainy River fisheries management issues. Informal communication between biologists occurs on an as needed basis regarding joint projects such as the lake sturgeon telemetry project. Ontario and Minnesota fisheries biologists who manage border waters meet annually to share information about stock status, planned activities, regulatory changes and other special topics.

How does Minnesota DNR coordinate with Red Lake Nation?

Red Lake Nation is a member of the Lake of the Woods Fisheries Input Group. This membership provides an avenue for Red Lake Nation to receive regular updates on Lake of the Woods management activities, special projects and stock status. Coordination meetings are held annually. These meetings cover a variety of natural resource topics that can include Lake of the Woods fisheries management.

Can I harvest bait for personal use out of Lake of the Woods or the Rainy River?

Generally, no. Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River are both designated infested waters. Bait generally cannot be harvested from infested waters for personal use. The only exception to this rule is bullheads, goldeyes, mooneyes, freshwater drum and suckers can be harvested for personal use from infested streams and rivers if all the following are true:

  • The bait fish is taken from the same body of water where it was caught.
  • The bait fish is used in the same section of stream or river if the stream or river is divided by dams.
  • The bait fish is used while still on the waterbody.
  • The fish are legally harvested (size, daily, and procession limits apply).

There are also rules regarding harvest of bait for use as dead bait regardless of infested status of the waterbody depending on the species being harvested as bait. More information on harvesting bait from infested waters can be found on the invasive species law web page and the fishing with dead, frozen or preserved bait web page.

How has increasing winter fishing pressure affected Lake of the Woods walleye and sauger populations when people are staying overnight on the lake for longer periods of time. How is this sustainable for the fishery?

Winter fishing pressure has increased substantially but there has not been a measurable proportional increase in harvest or a negative trend in walleye or sauger abundance correlated with increased winter fishing pressure. This is likely due to a combination of resource partitioning, where the same number of walleyes are harvested by an increasing number of anglers resulting in a decrease in the number harvested by an individual angler, and compensatory mortality, where the harvest of some portion of the population results in increased survival of the remaining fish.

Increased overnight fishing pressure also does not result in a proportional increase in harvest. Overnight anglers tend to have much lower harvest rates than day trip anglers. Day trip anglers accounted for nearly 70% of walleye harvest in the winter of 2024-2025.

The spring catch and release season is very popular. What effect does this have on the sustainability of the Lake of the Woods walleye fishery?

There is little effect on the sustainability of the Lake of the Woods walleye population during the spring catch and release season. Harvest in Minnesota waters is nonexistent and hooking mortality is negligible due to the cold shallow water where angling occurs.

There is no relationship between spring fishing pressure and the relative number of walleyes produced each year as water temperatures increase to the point where walleye began to spawn in only about one in three years. Also, catch rate often drops substantially due to decreased water clarity associated with the increased flows caused by ice break up on the Little and Big Fork rivers in years where water temperatures reach 42°F during the fishing season.

Further restrictions such as requiring barbless hooks are ineffective or unnecessary at this time as there is no evidence that any mortality associated with this season has a negative effect on the walleye population.

Has the increase in lake sturgeon abundance due to successful recovery efforts resulted in any negative effects to the success of walleye spawning due to egg predation?

There has not been a proportional decrease in walleye year class strength or abundance that can be correlated to increased lake sturgeon abundance. This suggests that increased lake sturgeon abundance is not negatively affecting walleye and sauger populations.

Short-term lake sturgeon recovery objectives have been met. Lake sturgeon are currently managed to meet long-term recovery objectives while allowing for some limited harvest. The annual harvest threshold for lake sturgeon is currently 11,600 pounds. The current six-year average for harvest is 5,370 pounds.

The number of northern pike has seemed to increase in recent years. What affect does this increase have on the walleye and sauger fisheries?

The management goal for northern pike is to maintain a high-quality trophy fishery for northern pike while allowing for moderate harvest. The proportion of large northern pike has increased since the implementation of the 30- to 40-inch protected slot limit suggesting that it is helping to meet the species goal for northern pike.

There are no negative trends in walleye and sauger abundance that correspond to this increase although there is undoubtedly some predation on small walleye and sauger. During fall sampling in 2021-2024, no walleyes were found in the stomach contents of a subsample of northern pike larger than 30 inches. This finding is similar to other research on northern pike and muskellunge that found that walleye was not a primary diet item for northern pike.

It seems like all of the little walleye get harvested before they reach “eater size.” Why doesn’t DNR fisheries set a minimum length for walleye to let more fish grow larger?

The proportion of walleyes less than 12 inches long that are harvested has consistently decreased through time, especially in the winter. In the 1990s, the proportion of harvested walleyes less than 12 inches ranged from 15-30%. Since 2020, this proportion has remained under 10%.

When anglers harvest smaller walleyes, they are harvesting from a size class that is more abundant than larger size classes. This means there is less harvest pressure on the less abundant, larger size classes since the limit is the same regardless of whether an angler chooses to harvest 10-inch or 18-inch walleyes. Of note, the smaller walleyes have a lower mercury concentration, meaning that less mercury is ingested when smaller walleyes are consumed.

The protected slot for northern pike results in a lot of “spear and release” because it is so hard to tell if a fish is legal to spear or not. Why doesn’t DNR fisheries allow an “oops fish” for dark house spear anglers?

It is the responsibility of the angler to determine if a fish is legal to spear, much like determining if a deer is legal to take prior to harvesting it.

Northern pike are managed on Lake of the Woods as trophy fish with moderate harvest using a 30- to 40-inch protected slot limit. This regulation has been very successful in improving the size structure of the northern pike fishery.

Permitting an “oops fish,” most likely one taken in the protected slot, would undermine the intent of the protected slot limit by allowing substantially less protection for fish that will ultimately become trophy northern pike.

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