Good morning to all!
Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. Today as I opened the door to walk outside I was met with a great gust of wind, which sent a chill down my spine. This is the first time that I can remember this summer that the temperature has really dropped to fall type temps. I believe the weathermen/women are predicting cool temps and gusty winds for the next few days, but then we should be heating up again into the mid 70’s as we head into the weekend. Even with the fluctuation in temps, the fishing has still been better than any other lake in our great state of Minnesota, or even, if I might be so bold, the United States.
Yesterday after church, Jody, I and Vancouver took the afternoon to do some more blueberry picking, and they are still out in full force. I can’t ever remember picking blueberries in early August, but you won’t here me complaining, I love the blueberries! I know I’m anticipating this a little bit, but I can’t wait for Jody to whip up some of her famous blueberry crisp, pancakes, pie, shakes, and more blueberry surprises than you can shake a stick at. I know that I’m very lucky and not everyone will get to experience what I get to experience. But you must know that there is plenty more to do up here “in God’s country” than just catch fish. If any of you ever want to know where the blueberries are, or anything, please don’t hesitate to ask, I love to help people out, regardless if it’s on the lake or not.
This past weekend I was able to get out there and do a little bit of fishing before the winds
started to pick up to the point where there at right now (very gusty), and the fishing was still top shelf. That’s right guys and gals, right where grandma keeps the peanut butter, that’s some old hockey terminology for all you none hockey fans out there. I was out with Vancouver lead coring with TDD-7 & 9’s around the edges of the North Bridges Reef and was picking up some big fish. The biggest was the 28-1/2” Walleye that I have pictured here. The colors of the Walleyes have just been beautiful this year; the way they just glisten in the sun is absolutely breath taking. As I have indicated on many different occasions, Lake of the Woods is so healthy this year. With the 3 fish fly hatches we’ve had and the speculation from the DNR, which stated that this last spawn was one of the best they’ve had in a decade. The Walleye populations will be on the rise and we don’t see any end to the fantastic fishing we’ve been having, really all year long. This should make every angler salivate at the mouth, and I’ll look forward to hearing from you about booking your next fishing adventure to Lake of the Woods, the Walleye Capitol of the World.
If you haven’t become a fan of the Wigwam Resort-low on Facebook, what are you waiting for? I’m posting on there daily and have found it a great way to communicate with everyone on a regular basis. I will be posting all of our weekly meal specials and drink specials on there also. Take advantage of Facebook and everything it allows you to do. We look forward to having you as our friends on Facebook. Also, we have just received a new stock of hats (seen pictured here). If you’d like to have the new Wigwam hat, and you don’t think you’ll be able to get back to see us soon, just give us a call and you can purchase the Wigwam hat over the phone (800) 448-9260. We will package and mail your order promptly.
Announcements…If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the August 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”!
Today’s “Quote of the Day”…”Of all parts of wisdom the practice is the best.” - John Tillotson. One of my favorite sayings is, practice makes perfect, and as a young adult I lived by that saying. I remember as a kid growing up in Int’l Falls, my parents didn’t have snowmobiles or ATVs, so in the winter we had the outdoor rinks, hockey sticks, and a couple ratty old hockey pucks, in the summer we had our fishing rods, that’s about it. I wanted to be a professional hockey player and a fishing guide, and practice is essential with both. Back in my hockey days, when we completed practice, I remember staying out on the ice for as long as I possibly could. We played 3 pass, pipes, juice boy, etc., I know that these examples won’t resonate with but a few of you, but it was practice, practice, and more practice. The short of the long is that I was able to become a much better hockey player, because of the fact that I practiced. The same goes with fishing, and everything else across the spectrum, practice makes perfect. Wisdom and knowledge all take actually doing the task to get better. I think it’s just common sense, the more you practice the better you’ll get, and the more comfortable you will feel in those situations. Each and every time I get the opportunity to hit the lake, I try new techniques, and then still practice the other techniques that I know, to make myself a better fisherman. I can only imagine this concept will hold constant with anything you do in life. Remember that practice makes perfect and “of all parts of wisdom the practice is the best”…God Bless.
Daily Fishing Report: Today we are seeing a mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds, there will be a slight chance of a rain shower, high around 65F with winds WNW at 25 to 35 mph. Tonight should be partly cloudy skies, near record low temperatures, low 42F, with WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, diminishing to 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow we should have a mix of clouds and sun in the morning giving way to a few showers during the afternoon, high 71F with winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph…there will be a 30% chance of rain. Tomorrow night we should have showers early
becoming less numerous late, low around 50F with winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph…there will be a 40% chance of rain. Wednesday we should have a chance of showers, highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s. Thursday we should see a few clouds, highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Friday we should have a slight chance of a thunderstorm, highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Today’s fishing report will be provided by Billy “The Sniper” Kloos, Kevin "Tall Tale" Olmstead, Tom Briggs and I. This morning Tall Tale and the Sniper headed out into the rollers that were crashing down on this side of the lake, because of the very gusty winds we had this morning, and I might add are still experiencing. Tall Tale’s crew made it about 30 minutes before they headed on back to the Wigwam, the Snipers crew is still sticking with it out there; I hope they are whacking the Walleyes. Where you’re fishing right now will depend on the weather. If you can get out to the US/Canadian line and drift spinners in about 31-32 feet of water, you’ll be right where the best fishing on 
the lake has been taking place. We have been absolutely crushing the Walleyes in that area for the past week. If you can’t make it out to the line, then you may have to go out to 32 feet of water about straight out from Graceton Rd and directly east of Long Point. When we have a south, southwest and west wind the area straight out from Graceton Rd has been a little honey hole of sorts also. We are still using the hammered gold and pink/gold spinners with crawlers and leeches. You can purchase your Jigs, Frozen Shiners, Spinners, Crawlers, leeches, and Rapalas from the same place that I get mine, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I must state this again, in my 18 years of fishing Lake of the Woods; I’ve never seen the fishing this good on such a consistent basis. Don’t wait too long to make your plans to visit us, because you never know how long it will last…I hope forever! 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 out to Beau Seeger, a guest that we had stay with us last week. Beau sent me a great e-mail, which I’d like to share with everyone today.
“Hey JP,
Thanks a ton for the photo. The little guys were super impressed that the resort manager and guide who put them on the spot took their picture. The next day (Friday) we packed up to leave and decided to go out for a couple hours late morning to the spot we'd hammered fish the night before. Luckily we had time for one big hour and a half drift before the wind died down and
caught some nice fish. I sank into a "log" at the end of the drift and my 7 year old, Rhett, asked me if he could reel it in. I knew it was a pig right away because there was that big exaggerated left to right and back again of a walleye that is pushing 26" or more. I handed Rhett the rod and had him put his top hand higher than normal and watched. 10 - 15 minutes later we scooped up a fat 28” walleye and Rhett was shaking from excitement and arm exhaustion. One quick photo on my crappy camera phone (see attached), a lot of high five for the little guys, and then we pumped her for about three minutes before she took off back into the depths of the mud flats. All three boys were jacked that we got a big one and we could put her back so that we can come back and do it again someday. Both cousins got a 22" eye the day before, so they were happy too and one also lost what I guessed was a 25"+ Eye but we called a Sturgeon because he really wanted one of those prehistoric monsters.
Thanks a bunch for catering to our last minute decision to come up for a couple days on a bargain deal (I'll keep watching the blog). Thanks to everyone up there that we spoke with at the Wigwam who were so nice and accommodating.
Thanks again,
Beau Seeger”
This is exactly why men, women, and children come to Lake of the Woods, and the Wigwam Resort. I hope to see you guys back here again very soon, but regardless of that, this is why we do what we do, to make sure that people have a great time, and thank you guys for giving us the opportunity to have you and your family as our guests at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.
Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!
Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort
www.wigwamresortlow.com
Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. Today as I opened the door to walk outside I was met with a great gust of wind, which sent a chill down my spine. This is the first time that I can remember this summer that the temperature has really dropped to fall type temps. I believe the weathermen/women are predicting cool temps and gusty winds for the next few days, but then we should be heating up again into the mid 70’s as we head into the weekend. Even with the fluctuation in temps, the fishing has still been better than any other lake in our great state of Minnesota, or even, if I might be so bold, the United States.
Yesterday after church, Jody, I and Vancouver took the afternoon to do some more blueberry picking, and they are still out in full force. I can’t ever remember picking blueberries in early August, but you won’t here me complaining, I love the blueberries! I know I’m anticipating this a little bit, but I can’t wait for Jody to whip up some of her famous blueberry crisp, pancakes, pie, shakes, and more blueberry surprises than you can shake a stick at. I know that I’m very lucky and not everyone will get to experience what I get to experience. But you must know that there is plenty more to do up here “in God’s country” than just catch fish. If any of you ever want to know where the blueberries are, or anything, please don’t hesitate to ask, I love to help people out, regardless if it’s on the lake or not.
This past weekend I was able to get out there and do a little bit of fishing before the winds
started to pick up to the point where there at right now (very gusty), and the fishing was still top shelf. That’s right guys and gals, right where grandma keeps the peanut butter, that’s some old hockey terminology for all you none hockey fans out there. I was out with Vancouver lead coring with TDD-7 & 9’s around the edges of the North Bridges Reef and was picking up some big fish. The biggest was the 28-1/2” Walleye that I have pictured here. The colors of the Walleyes have just been beautiful this year; the way they just glisten in the sun is absolutely breath taking. As I have indicated on many different occasions, Lake of the Woods is so healthy this year. With the 3 fish fly hatches we’ve had and the speculation from the DNR, which stated that this last spawn was one of the best they’ve had in a decade. The Walleye populations will be on the rise and we don’t see any end to the fantastic fishing we’ve been having, really all year long. This should make every angler salivate at the mouth, and I’ll look forward to hearing from you about booking your next fishing adventure to Lake of the Woods, the Walleye Capitol of the World.If you haven’t become a fan of the Wigwam Resort-low on Facebook, what are you waiting for? I’m posting on there daily and have found it a great way to communicate with everyone on a regular basis. I will be posting all of our weekly meal specials and drink specials on there also. Take advantage of Facebook and everything it allows you to do. We look forward to having you as our friends on Facebook. Also, we have just received a new stock of hats (seen pictured here). If you’d like to have the new Wigwam hat, and you don’t think you’ll be able to get back to see us soon, just give us a call and you can purchase the Wigwam hat over the phone (800) 448-9260. We will package and mail your order promptly.
Announcements…If you’re looking for some great fishing and lodging deals, check out the August 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”!
Today’s “Quote of the Day”…”Of all parts of wisdom the practice is the best.” - John Tillotson. One of my favorite sayings is, practice makes perfect, and as a young adult I lived by that saying. I remember as a kid growing up in Int’l Falls, my parents didn’t have snowmobiles or ATVs, so in the winter we had the outdoor rinks, hockey sticks, and a couple ratty old hockey pucks, in the summer we had our fishing rods, that’s about it. I wanted to be a professional hockey player and a fishing guide, and practice is essential with both. Back in my hockey days, when we completed practice, I remember staying out on the ice for as long as I possibly could. We played 3 pass, pipes, juice boy, etc., I know that these examples won’t resonate with but a few of you, but it was practice, practice, and more practice. The short of the long is that I was able to become a much better hockey player, because of the fact that I practiced. The same goes with fishing, and everything else across the spectrum, practice makes perfect. Wisdom and knowledge all take actually doing the task to get better. I think it’s just common sense, the more you practice the better you’ll get, and the more comfortable you will feel in those situations. Each and every time I get the opportunity to hit the lake, I try new techniques, and then still practice the other techniques that I know, to make myself a better fisherman. I can only imagine this concept will hold constant with anything you do in life. Remember that practice makes perfect and “of all parts of wisdom the practice is the best”…God Bless.
Daily Fishing Report: Today we are seeing a mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds, there will be a slight chance of a rain shower, high around 65F with winds WNW at 25 to 35 mph. Tonight should be partly cloudy skies, near record low temperatures, low 42F, with WNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, diminishing to 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow we should have a mix of clouds and sun in the morning giving way to a few showers during the afternoon, high 71F with winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph…there will be a 30% chance of rain. Tomorrow night we should have showers early
becoming less numerous late, low around 50F with winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph…there will be a 40% chance of rain. Wednesday we should have a chance of showers, highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s. Thursday we should see a few clouds, highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Friday we should have a slight chance of a thunderstorm, highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Today’s fishing report will be provided by Billy “The Sniper” Kloos, Kevin "Tall Tale" Olmstead, Tom Briggs and I. This morning Tall Tale and the Sniper headed out into the rollers that were crashing down on this side of the lake, because of the very gusty winds we had this morning, and I might add are still experiencing. Tall Tale’s crew made it about 30 minutes before they headed on back to the Wigwam, the Snipers crew is still sticking with it out there; I hope they are whacking the Walleyes. Where you’re fishing right now will depend on the weather. If you can get out to the US/Canadian line and drift spinners in about 31-32 feet of water, you’ll be right where the best fishing on 
the lake has been taking place. We have been absolutely crushing the Walleyes in that area for the past week. If you can’t make it out to the line, then you may have to go out to 32 feet of water about straight out from Graceton Rd and directly east of Long Point. When we have a south, southwest and west wind the area straight out from Graceton Rd has been a little honey hole of sorts also. We are still using the hammered gold and pink/gold spinners with crawlers and leeches. You can purchase your Jigs, Frozen Shiners, Spinners, Crawlers, leeches, and Rapalas from the same place that I get mine, Log Cabin Bait, which is about ¾ of a mile south of the Wigwam on 172. I must state this again, in my 18 years of fishing Lake of the Woods; I’ve never seen the fishing this good on such a consistent basis. Don’t wait too long to make your plans to visit us, because you never know how long it will last…I hope forever! 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 out to Beau Seeger, a guest that we had stay with us last week. Beau sent me a great e-mail, which I’d like to share with everyone today.
“Hey JP,
Thanks a ton for the photo. The little guys were super impressed that the resort manager and guide who put them on the spot took their picture. The next day (Friday) we packed up to leave and decided to go out for a couple hours late morning to the spot we'd hammered fish the night before. Luckily we had time for one big hour and a half drift before the wind died down and
caught some nice fish. I sank into a "log" at the end of the drift and my 7 year old, Rhett, asked me if he could reel it in. I knew it was a pig right away because there was that big exaggerated left to right and back again of a walleye that is pushing 26" or more. I handed Rhett the rod and had him put his top hand higher than normal and watched. 10 - 15 minutes later we scooped up a fat 28” walleye and Rhett was shaking from excitement and arm exhaustion. One quick photo on my crappy camera phone (see attached), a lot of high five for the little guys, and then we pumped her for about three minutes before she took off back into the depths of the mud flats. All three boys were jacked that we got a big one and we could put her back so that we can come back and do it again someday. Both cousins got a 22" eye the day before, so they were happy too and one also lost what I guessed was a 25"+ Eye but we called a Sturgeon because he really wanted one of those prehistoric monsters.Thanks a bunch for catering to our last minute decision to come up for a couple days on a bargain deal (I'll keep watching the blog). Thanks to everyone up there that we spoke with at the Wigwam who were so nice and accommodating.
Thanks again,
Beau Seeger”
This is exactly why men, women, and children come to Lake of the Woods, and the Wigwam Resort. I hope to see you guys back here again very soon, but regardless of that, this is why we do what we do, to make sure that people have a great time, and thank you guys for giving us the opportunity to have you and your family as our guests at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods.
Happy Fishing to all, and to all a good day!
Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort
www.wigwamresortlow.com
