Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Lake of the Woods Inspires Anglers Each and Every Day

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. I hope everyone has great plans for Memorial Day, no matter what it is. The rain pounded Lake of the Woods County yesterday with sheets of rain all day, but we bared the storm and are ready to get back in that boat. Last Sunday, May 23rd, my buddies Mike Myers (pictured below with a 30" Walleye) and Robert Riege were out in 30 feet of water on the US/Canadian border, setting hook after hook on the biggest Walleyes they’ve ever constantly caught. Mike informed me of 20 plus Walleyes over 23 inches…WOW! He told me it was the best day of fishing he’s ever had, and he’s a Lake of the Woods regular and Wigwam patron. I wish I could have been with you guys, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

Jody and I are now well on the way to finishing the deck, which means more fishing time…I like that. I’ll be out on the lake this Thursday and put the jigs, spinners and Rapalas to the test and let you know what to use when you get up here this weekend. We want you to have a great experience and everyone deserves to have some fun while visiting our backyard.

Announcements…4 Wheel Drive (Band) is back by popular demand to rock the Wigwam this Memorial Day Weekend! If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the May specials we will be offering on our website www.wigwamresortlow.com. We are running a Super Summer Special for the balance of the summer, until September 1st. Tom would like to celebrate his 12th year of ownership, and help more people experience Lake of the Woods, by offering $25.00 per person, per night lodging in our lodge every day (midweek & weekend). We would also like to offer $25.00 per person, per night lodging in our cabins, midweek only (Sunday night – Wednesday night) some restrictions will apply to minimum numbers of guest per cabin. Each lodging charge is subject to applicable federal, state and local sales tax. Applicable to new reservations only. I also wanted to tell you all about our Veterans and Armed Forces Special, which we have running 365 days a year. Wigwam Resort gives Veterans and our currently enlisted Armed Forces a 10% discount on any package plus whatever specials we are giving. We want to thank you all for your service…God Bless America!

If you’re looking for an affordable vacation this summer, at a first class fishing resort, you’ve just found it! For additional information, please call one of our knowledgeable staff members at (800) 448-9260, and start your journey to the “Walleye Capitol of the World”!

I stated this in the last blog, but it must be said again. Walleye season is here, and there should be no other place to go than Lake of the Woods and Baudette, MN, which is know by millions as the “Walleye Capitol of the World”! With a bountiful supply of Walleye (pictured is my buddy Mike Myers with a 30" Walleye), Sauger, Perch, Northern Pike, and Small Mouth Bass, Lake of the Woods is like a massive magnet pulling anglers in from thousands of miles around every single day. If you are one of the few that haven’t had the chance to experience our tremendous fishery, please give us a call and we’d love to show you around our backyard. We love to help people experience the feeling of hooking into there own trophy fish on Lake of the Woods. Every time I hear a new fishing tale, it gets me just as excited as the person telling it. I love Lake of the Woods and all of its tremendous beauty, come share that with us this summer!

Today’s “Quote of the Day”…”A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive. Having been alive, it won't be so hard in the end to lie down and rest.” - Pearl Bailey. With Memorial Day Weekend soon to be on us, this is a day of remembrance for all our veterans whom have fallen, while during battle, or at home from related causes years down the road. Each and every one of them goes out into the battle field with the knowledge that they might not return. This is a feeling that many us have never felt and never want to feel. The solider prepares themselves to the best of their abilities before battle, freely knowing they could face the ultimate price. Being the eldest son of fallen US Marine, whom served in the Vietnam War and survived the battles, but on February 9, 2006 fell to lung cancer attributed to Agent Orange. He lived with ambition and love for his blessings, all of his life, so when it was time to lay down to rest, he did so knowing he was blessed with a good life, and in my mind that’s what remembering Memorial Day is all about. The ability to live free, and live our lives in any way we do choose…I can’t imagine living my life any other way. Live with ambition and love for your blessings each and everyday and I bet your life improves from it. If mine has, so can yours…God Bless.

Daily Fishing Report: Today we should have mainly sunny sky, high 73F with winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight we should have clear skies, low 47F with winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Thursday we should have sunshine, high 72F with winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Friday we should see a few clouds, highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 40s. Saturday we should have a mix of sun and clouds, highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 50s. Today’s fishing report will be provided by me, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos, and Kevin “Tall Tale“ Olmstead. Thirty 26 - 30’ on the US/Canadian border should be the place to start your day. With the heavy rain and winds we had a few days ago, the lake has been turned up a bit, but the bite is still good. Frozen Shiners and Chubs can be used with similar results. A “Walleye Chop” helps considerably, but with a light wind, we’ve still been having success. The best method has been anchoring and jigging, so if you plan on anchoring in the big lake, the best type of anchor to use is a spike anchor with at least 100’ of rope. 3/8 oz Jigs (Pink/Gold, Red/Black, and Chartreuse/Gold) with frozen shiners were the golden tickets this weekend. You can purchase your Jigs and Frozen Shiners from the same place that I get them from, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I hope to see you all up here, but if you can’t make it, keep checking out the fishing report…I’ll give you all the hard facts as soon as I find out where they’re hiding next. Good luck and Happy Fishing to all! Thanks for fishing with us and visiting with us at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.

My shout out today will go to will go to Jim “The Great Dane” Sorensen (Nina’s Father). Jim has been working very hard to make the exterior of the Wigwam very inviting and fresh with summer color, and he’s doing a fabulous job. As I walked out of the Lodge today, I turned and it just looked so beautiful. Thanks for all the hard work…we all appreciate it.

Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!

Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort
www.wigwamresortlow.com

Monday, May 17, 2010

2010 Walleye Opener on Lake of the Woods was a Hook Setting Event Enjoyed by Thousands

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. I wanted to start off by thanking everyone that paid us a visit for the 2010 Walleye opening weekend. There were plenty of fish caught, which was no surprise to this Lake of the Woods resident and fishing enthusiast. I believe from talking with each of our guests that everyone had a fabulous time this past weekend. The goal for most all of our guests this weekend was to catch fish and share their stories over their favorite beverage in the Cabana Bar, and by hearing all the stories, I think the goal became reality for most. For the 2010 Walleye Opener weekend we had more boats than I’ve ever personally seen on opening weekend on Lake of the Woods. The word is out about where to go if you’re looking for the best Walleye fishing in the World! Thanks to everyone that shared their experience, it motivates us to hear that everyone is having such a great time. It was a great start to what I hope is a fantastic summer of fishing on Lake of the Woods.

On a side note, Jody, her father (Wes), some of our friends, and I, have been working diligently on Jody’s deck, and the fruits of our labor are starting to make a beautiful picture. Last night was the first time in about a week and a half that Jody didn’t have to walk into the house on a cooler and that made her mighty happy. Thanks again to everyone, it means so much to have people in your life that care and want to help. God is really looking after us and we feel very fortunate.

I stated this in the last blog, but it must be said again. Walleye season is here, and there should be no other place to go than Lake of the Woods and Baudette, MN, which is know by millions as the “Walleye Capitol of the World”! With a bountiful supply of Walleye, Sauger, Perch, Northern Pike, and Small Mouth Bass, Lake of the Woods is like a massive magnet pulling anglers in from thousands of miles around every single day. If you are one of the few that haven’t had the chance to experience our tremendous fishery, please give us a call and we’d love to show you around our backyard. We love to help people experience the feeling of hooking into there own trophy fish on Lake of the Woods. Every time I hear a new fishing tale, it gets me just as excited as the person telling it. I love Lake of the Woods and all of its tremendous beauty, come share that with us this summer!

Today’s “Quote of the Day”…”Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin. How true it is…how true it is. I am constantly at war with my personal vices, as I’m sure every person is, and that’s what we have to remember, we’re all in this together. Each and every one of us is fighting something internally, which might be big or small, but something none the less. After reading this quote, it really jumped out of the water and into my boat…pardon the terrible pun there, but it’s the truth. We should all be at peace with our neighbors, even the testy ones…haha. We should also try to better ourselves each and every day. No one’s perfect, we ALL have room to improve on some aspect of our lives, even if we think there’s not. I’m not a philosopher by any stretch of the imagination, but this is something every person on earth can aspire to do, and that’s what makes it so great. Benjamin Franklin was an amazing individual and it seems ire to think something that was said over 200 hundred years ago still holds true today. I hope that this year finds you a better person than last…God Bless.

Announcements…The North Star Spring Walleye Classic will be next weekend, May 21 & 22. There are still spaces available to participate, please checkout the home page of our website for all the information/prizes…hope to see you all here! Memorial Day Weekend is starting to fill up and for good reason. After a fabulous 2010 Walleye opener, the reports are out and the fishing is off the hook. We should also have great weather, and 4 Wheel Drive (Band) is back by popular demand to rock the Wigwam! If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the May specials we will be offering on our website http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/. We are running a May Special that will give you a discount on packages purchased for July 2010. The specials will only last through the rest of May…you can’t beat them! I also wanted to tell you all about our Veterans and Armed Forces Special, which we have running 365 days a year. Wigwam Resort gives Veterans and our currently enlisted Armed Forces a 10% discount on any package plus whatever specials we are giving. We want to thank you all for your service…God Bless America!

Daily Fishing Report: Today we should have a mix of clouds and sun, high 76F with winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight we should have partly cloudy skies with a stray shower or thunderstorm is possible, low near 50F with winds light and variable. Tomorrow should be mainly sunny, high 78F with winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow night should be mostly clear, low 52F with winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Wednesday we should see a few clouds, highs in the upper 70s and lows in the low 50s. Thursday should be mainly sunny, highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Friday we should see a few clouds, highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Today’s fishing report will be provided by me, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos, and Kevin “Tall Tale“ Olmstead. It looks like the lake was the big winner this weekend. People did catch plenty fish in Four Mile Bay directly southwest of the green marker in the channel, but it wasn’t quite as good as the lake. Where we were having our best success was right outside Lighthouse Gap. We started fishing in 22 feet of water, but by the end of the days found ourselves fishing in 27-29 feet. The Walleyes started moving out because of heavy fishing concentration in the 22-24 foot range. We were anchored and jigging all weekend, but I did see some people drifting and still pulling in some fish. On Sunday we had a little less wind than on Saturday and it seemed to be that when the wind picked up we started to catch the Walleyes…there’s something to be said about a “Walleye Chop”. If you plan on anchoring on the big lake, the best type of anchor to use is a spike anchor with at least 100’ of rope. 3/8 oz Jigs (Pink/Gold, Red, and Chartreuse/Gold) with frozen shiners were the golden tickets this weekend. You can purchase your Jigs and Frozen Shiners from the same place that I get them from, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I hope to see you all up here, but if you can’t make it, keep checking out the fishing report…I’ll give you all the hard facts as soon as I find out where they’re hiding next. Good luck and Happy Fishing to all! Thanks for fishing with us and visiting with us at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.

My shout out today will go to all of our guests that visited us for the 2010 Walleye Opener on Lake of the Woods. I enjoyed all the pictures and fish tales that were shared in the Cabana Bar after each day of fishing. I hope that all your expectations were exceeded during your stay with us and that your vacation was exactly that, a vacation. Thanks again for being our guests and we look forward to seeing you all back again soon.

Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!

Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort
http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Only 2 More Days till the 2010 Walleye Opener on Lake of the Woods

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. This past week I have been working diligently to get ready for the Walleye Opener and build a deck. One has been going very quickly and the other is taking much longer than I anticipated, and I bet everyone can tell which is which…haha. As far as the Walleye Opener goes, things are coming together very nicely. This year’s weather forecast for the opener is outstanding, I wish I could get into a time machine and fast forward a few days…I have a terrible case of “Walleye Fever”. Last night I took out all my rods and tackle boxes and started to get them ready for Saturday. After I had completed all of my necessary tasks, I put my own little touch on some of my lures, with a little lure tape Jody had purchased for me while we were out in Montana. I can’t tell you how my “upgrades” will work, but rest assured, you will find out in due time, good or bad.

I stated this in the last blog, but it must be said again. With Walleye season right around the corner, there should be no other place to go than Lake of the Woods and Baudette, MN, which is know by millions as the “Walleye Capitol of the World”! With a bountiful supply of Walleye, Sauger, Perch, Northern Pike, and Small Mouth Bass, Lake of the Woods is like a massive magnet pulling anglers in from thousands of miles around every single day. If you are one of the few that haven’t had the chance to experience our tremendous fishery, please give us a call and we’d love to show you around our backyard. We love to help people experience the feeling of hooking into there own trophy fish on Lake of the Woods. Every time I hear a new fishing tale, it gets me just as excited as the person telling it. I love Lake of the Woods and all of its tremendous beauty, come share that with us this summer!

Today’s “Quote of the Day”…”Remember when life’s path is steep to keep your mind even.” - Horace. Jody forwarded me this quote yesterday, I think because of what I’m going through with the deck right now…haha. All sarcasm aside, each and everyday, life’s path throws us different and unique curveballs. To combat each unique obstacle correctly, we should keep an even/level mind. From my law school days, I know that each individual interprets things differently. The way I interpret this is, stay calm and collective under pressure and it will allow you to make the right decisions, no matter what pressure you’re under. During my younger years, I didn’t abide by this concept and it cost me dearly with each and every wrong decision I made. Now as a wiser and somewhat older man, I live by this concept and the decisions I make these days are usually the right ones. I hope this will help everyone who is facing steep challenges keep an even mind when making decisions, big or small…God Bless.

Announcements…The Walleye Opener is on May 15th. If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the May specials we will be offering on our website www.wigwamresortlow.com. We are running a May Special that will give you a discount on packages purchased for July 2010. The specials will only last through the rest of May…you can’t beat them! I also wanted to tell you all about our Veterans and Armed Forces Special, which we have running 365 days a year. Wigwam Resort gives Veterans and our currently enlisted Armed Forces a 10% discount on any package plus whatever specials we are giving. We want to thank you all for your service…God Bless America!

Daily Fishing Report: Today we should see rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon, high 49F with winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph…there will be a 80% chance of rain. Tonight we should see rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight, low near 40F with winds N at 5 to 10 mph…there will be a 70% chance of rain. Tomorrow we should see showers in the morning, and then partly cloudy in the afternoon, high 66F with winds NW at 5 to 10 mph…there will be a 40% chance of rain. Tomorrow night we should have partly cloudy skies, low 46F with winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Saturday (Walleye Opener) will be mostly sunny, highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Sunday there will be occasional showers possible, highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s. Monday we should have times of sun and clouds, highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Today’s fishing report will be provided by me and a few of our local fishermen. Our predictions for the opening weekend were pretty constant, which will be Four Mile Bay, Lighthouse Gap, Morris Gap, and all around Pine Island. The method of fishing you will want to be doing this opener is anchor and jigging. The best type of anchor to use on Lake of the Woods is a spike anchor with at least 100’ of rope. I will personally be fishing with 3/8 oz Jigs (Pink/Gold, White/Gold, and Chartreuse/Gold) and frozen shiners. You can purchase your Jigs and Frozen Shiners from the same place that I get them from, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I hope to see you all up here on the opener, but if you can’t make it, keep checking out the fishing report…I’ll give you all the hard facts as soon as I find out where they’re hiding. Good luck and Happy Fishing to all! Thanks for fishing with us and visiting with us at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.

My shout out today will go to all the Wigwam Staff that has been spring cleaning so diligently and getting everything ready for the opener. Each of you do a tremendous job and I wanted to publicly thank you for your service, hard work and fantastic attitudes. It makes it easy to love your job when you have great people surrounding you, and that’s the case at the Wigwam Resort. Thanks again for everything!

Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!

Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort
http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/

Friday, May 7, 2010

Here Comes the Rain to Lake of the Woods…YES!!!!

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. As the weather starts to produce rain in Northern Minnesota, we welcome it with open arms. Today I had the opportunity to take Vancouver (my rambunctious Golden Retriever) for a drive south of Baudette to “scope out” some potential deer hunting areas for this coming fall. What I saw was truly a blessed sight, green grass, trees flowering and budding and plenty of wildlife, from deer to bear and everything in between. As we were driving, I thought to myself, how lucky I was to be able to experience this each and every day…someone's really looking out for me.

Sturgeon fishermen and fisherwomen alike have still been frequenting the Rainy River, Four Mile Bay and Lake of the Woods; trying to get their pictures taken with those prehistoric dinosaurs…I love it! But as this portion of the Sturgeon season comes to a close today we will see the decrees in traffic for a week until the Walleye opener May 15, 2010…then it’s Walleye season…GAME ON!

With Walleye season right around the corner, there should be no other place to go than Lake of the Woods and Baudette, MN, which is know by millions as the “Walleye Capitol of the World”! With a bountiful supply of Walleye, Sauger, Perch, Northern Pike, and Small Mouth Bass, Lake of the Woods is like a massive magnet pulling anglers in from thousands of miles around every single day. If you are one of the few that haven’t had the chance to experience our tremendous fishery, please give us a call and we’d love to show you around our backyard. We love to help people experience the feeling of hooking into there own trophy fish on Lake of the Woods. Every time I hear a new fishing tale, it gets me just as excited as the person telling it. I love Lake of the Woods and all of its tremendous beauty, come share that with us this summer!

Today’s “Quote of the Day”…”There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” - Colin Powell. Today’s quote has meaning, just as each and ever other quote of the day does, but this is so too the point, it is sometimes overlooked. I’ve been there, hoping and wishing that I’ll get lucky and success will fall into my lap, but the fact of the matter still stands, as Colin Powell stated, “There are no secretes to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” I wanted to say that again, because it is right there for us all, preparation plus hard work, plus learning from failure equals success. Success can be whatever we make it, it could be success at learning math, it could be success at work, and it could be success on the lake (my personal favorite). I will be the first to tell you that I don’t know everything about fishing, but I try and learn new things each and every day I’m out on the water. The fact of the matter is I fail more than I succeed, but I try and learn from my failures, not repeating them again. I work hard each and everyday to become the best possible person and fisherman that I can be. I know that’s a little cliché, but whatever success is awaiting you, it can be obtained by heeding Colin Powell’s quote, “preparation, hard work and learning from failure”. Go out and be successful at whatever you choose. I hope this inspires you to shoot for success in all aspects of your life…God Bless.

Announcements…The Walleye Opener is on May 15th. If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the May specials we will be offering on our website www.wigwamresortlow.com. We are running a May Special that will give you a discount on packages purchased for July 2010. The specials will only last through the rest of May…you can’t beat them! I also wanted to tell you all about our Veterans and Armed Forces Special, which we have running 365 days a year. Wigwam Resort gives Veterans and our currently enlisted Armed Forces a 10% discount on any package plus whatever specials we are giving. We want to thank you all for your service…God Bless America!

Daily Fishing Report: Tonight we should have showers early, then cloudy overnight; low near 30F with winds N at 10 to 20 mph…there will be a 40% chance of rain. Tomorrow should be partly cloudy skies, high 53F with winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow night should be clear, low near 30F with winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Sunday should be generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds, high near 60F with winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Monday should be mostly sunny, highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 30s. Tuesday we should have more clouds than sun, highs in the upper 50s and lows in the low 40s. Today is the last day to keep a Sturgeon until July 1, 2010, and at that time the season to keep a Sturgeon will last till September 1, 2010. Things will be a little quiet till May 15, 2010 when the flood gates open for Walleye season. With the warmer weather we had in April, the Walleyes haven’t really congregating in the Rainy River as they had in years past. Where there hiding out this year could be Four Mile Bay, Lighthouse Gap, Morris Gap, and all around Pine Island, that’s my bet, and also where you’ll find me fishing on opener. The method of fishing you will want to be doing this opener is anchor and jigging. The best type of anchor to use on Lake of the Woods is a spike anchor with at least 100’ of rope. I will be fishing with 3/8 oz Jigs (Pink/Gold, White/Gold, and Chartreuse/Gold) and frozen shiners. You can purchase your Jigs and Frozen Shiners from the same place that I get them from, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I hope to see you all up here on the opener, but if you can’t make it, keep checking out the fishing report…I’ll give you all the hard facts as soon as I find out where they’re hiding. Good luck and Happy Fishing to all! Thanks for fishing with us and visiting with us at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.

My shout out today will go to all the Wigwam Staff that has been spring cleaning so diligently and getting everything ready for the opener. Each of you do a tremendous job and I wanted to publicly thank you for your service, hard work and fantastic attitudes. It makes it easy to love your job when you have great people surrounding you, and that’s the case at the Wigwam Resort. Thanks again for everything!

Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!

Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort
http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/