As September Ends, Fall Officially Begins on Lake of the Woods

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. I hope that everyone had better weather than we did the past few days. I have said this a million times to others and now the past few days that’s the same thing that was delivered in my direction…”you should have been here yesterday”…haha. I hate to laugh at that because it is so true. I know that we can’t control the weather and the past few days I was the tourist on vacation hoping for the good weather and having to deal with sub-par conditions…it happens to us too. Well we did what we had to, wherever we were able to get out of the wind we fished and dealt with the conditions to the best of our ability and tried to stay positive and have as much fun as humanly possible…I am forever an optimist!

For my two days off I went back to my roots, back to where I learned how to fish with my Father and Grandfather…Rainy Lake. It was the first time I had been back to fish Rainy in over 17 years…that’s right 17 years! When you have Lake of the Woods in your back yard it’s tough to want to even go anywhere else. I was able to take two friends with me on this little excursion, Jake “of the Woods” Magness and Doug “The Surgeon” Hagen. I can truly say that we are very spoiled on Lake of the Woods and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In a two day period with very high winds and cold temperatures the fish got “lock jaw” and wouldn’t bite, well we did catch some fish, but we had to really work at it. We were marking a number of fish, but couldn’t get a majority of them to take the bait, and we threw everything at them but the kitchen sink…we jigged, trolled with spinners and pulled Rapalas…a cold front is nasty no matter where you fish. Despite the conditions, we had a blast and I can’t wait till our next excursion, I think the next one will be on Lake of the Woods though…that way I will have no excuse…haha.

Just a couple announcements…this weekend October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

Daily Fishing Report: Today will be sunny, high around 60F with winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Tonight we should have a few passing clouds, low 39F with winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow we should have sunshine and clouds mixed high 59F with winds ESE at 15 to 25 mph. Tomorrow night should be mostly cloudy skies, low 37F with winds E at 15 to 25 mph. Friday should be partly cloudy, highs in the mid 50s and lows in the upper 30s. Today’s fishing report will come from me and our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies), even with this cold front that we have had move in the past few days, and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into October. A few days ago I went to the Nine Footer and fished on the edges of the reef in 30-34 feet of water and got into them…I was using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and long lining Rapalas (Chartreuse/Silver/Red aka “the clown”) and having great success. I also went right to 28 feet of water right outside Lighthouse Gap and pulled Burnt Orange/Red Rapalas and hammered the Walleyes. I have also been fishing North Graceton Reef and all I have to say is…what a fishing honey hole…the fish are thick around the reef in 16 to 18 feet of water around the rocks. I was using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and trolling across the top of the reef. As I always say though, when fishing the rocks, be ready to donate some tackle…risk and reward! Again this morning there were more and more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also (about 20 total)…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! I have been talking to local fisherman that catch their own Shiners and they are out every night getting them…game on! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today 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

http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/

I Think Fall Might Be Right Around the Corner

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. Well I think the awesome weather we have been having has run its course and we are in store for some great northern Minnesota fall weather. I am going to take full advantage of this colder weather Monday and Tuesday and try to do some Musky fishing. So what this means is the Wigwam Fisherman will be back with the blog on Wednesday, hopefully with some nice pictures…wish me luck!

The fishing has still been top shelf…just yesterday I was able to go fishing with two guests and Jake “of the Woods” Magness for a few hours in the afternoon and we caught 12 fish and kept 6. A couple of the Walleyes were in the slot (22” & 23”) and had to be deposited right back into Lake of the Woods, a couple more were to small to keep, but the 6 that we kept were all from 17 ½” to 19”…nice fish. That wasn’t too bad for 3 hours in the afternoon if I might say so myself. We were fishing the Nine Footer about 12 miles north of Lighthouse Gap. We were using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and pulled some Rapalas (Chartreuse/Silver/Red aka “the clown”)…both were equally effective. We saw our best success at 30 to 32 feet of water. I had sent some of our guests out there also and they had great success…they were anchored and jigging in 34 feet of water, using crawlers as bait…what a fishery!

Just a couple announcements…October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

Daily Fishing Report: Today we will have sun and clouds mixed high 76F with winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight it will be cloudy with a few showers, low 51F with winds SW at 10 to 15 mph…there will be a 30% chance of rain. Tomorrow we should see rain showers along with windy conditions, high 58F with winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph…there will be a 50% chance of rain. Tomorrow night will be windy with rain showers, low 43F with winds NW at 20 to 30 mph…there will be a 60% chance of rain. Because I will be gone for a few days here is an extended forecast. Monday should be windy with showers, highs in the low 50s and lows in the low 30s. Tuesday should be mainly sunny, highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 30s. Wednesday we should have a mix of sun and clouds, highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 40s. Today’s fishing report will come from me and our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead). Tom, Billy and Kevin have been staying a tad bit closer these days…with the warm weather we’ve been having, the fish have been hanging out around the rocks and deep mud. They have had great success trolling with hammered gold and silver spinners with crawlers and also downrigging. When downrigging they have been using trusty Rapala baits (Chartreuse/Silver/Red have been the “golden ticket”) and when they are jigging they are using White/Gold, White/Purple and Orange/Gold jigs with frozen Shiners as bait. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies) and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into the middle of September. Yesterday I went to the Nine Footer and fished on the edges of the reef in 30-34 feet of water and got into them…I was using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and long lining Rapalas (Chartreuse/Silver/Red aka “the clown”) and having great success. Two days ago I went right to 28 feet of water right outside Lighthouse Gap and pulled Burnt Orange/Red Rapalas and hammered the Walleyes between 1 PM and 4 PM. I then went to North Graceton Reef from 5 PM to 7 PM and all I have to say is…what a fishing honey hole…the fish are thick around the reef in 16 to 18 feet of water around the rocks. I was using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and trolling across the top of the reef. As I always say though, when fishing the rocks, be ready to donate some tackle…risk and reward! Again this morning there were more and more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend and a great start to next week while I’m enjoying a few days of fishing up north chasing the elusive Musky! I will be back with all of you on Wednesday to fill you in on my exciting fishing excursion on Lake of the Woods.

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

Wigwam Fisherman aka Jean-Paul Tessier
Wigwam Resort

http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/

The Awesome Weather Continues on Lake of the Woods

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. I am loving the weather were having up here these days…I know that it won’t last forever, but it’s been a blessing to us and our entire community…keep it coming! I have been fielding a number of phone calls asking about the Shiner run into the river this week…for everyone that is waiting for the Shiners to run, the time has come…they are currently running! I have the inside scoop from some of the locals that net them and they are just starting to get thick. Yesterday when I was out on the lake I saw a number of Shiners jumping out of the water…they were like flying fish…I like to see that, because that just means they are active and moving…bring it on baby, bring it on!

Just a couple announcements…October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

Daily Fishing Report: Today will be very sunny, high 76F with winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear, low near 50F with winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow will be generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds, high 77F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow night we should see mostly cloudy skies, low 54F with winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Today’s fishing report will come from me and our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead). Tom, Billy and Kevin have been staying a tad bit closer these days…with the warm weather we’ve been having, the fish have been hanging out around the rocks and deep mud. They have had great success trolling with hammered gold and silver spinners with crawlers and also downrigging. When downrigging they have been using trusty Rapala baits (Purple/White/Silver have been the “golden ticket”) and when they are jigging they are using White/Gold, White/Purple and Orange/Gold jigs with frozen Shiners as bait. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies) and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into the middle of September. Yesterday I went right to 28 feet of water right outside Lighthouse Gap and pulled Burnt Orange/Red Rapalas and hammered the Walleyes between 1 PM and 4 PM. I then went to North Graceton Reef from 5 PM to 7 PM and all I have to say is…what a fishing honey hole…the fish are thick around the reef in 16 to 18 feet of water around the rocks. I was using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and trolling across the top of the reef. As I always say though, when fishing the rocks, be ready to donate some tackle…risk and reward! Again this morning there were more and more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

My shout out today will go to two gentlemen that I had the opportunity to take fishing yesterday, Paul and Daryl from Pequot Lakes, MN. We had some fun catching some nice looking Walleyes for the short while that we were out. In a 3 hour period, we were able to catch 5 Walleyes over 19” and put them in the box…what a fishery! I hope that you guys had a blast…I did! I know that you guys are fishing with Billy “The Sniper” Kloos today and I wanted to wish you the best of luck…not like you’re going to need it…Billy puts you on the fish each and every day. I thank you each for choosing the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods for your vacation this fall and we all look forward to seeing you guys back in the very near future…thanks again!

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

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

Will the Last Day of Early Goose Finally Bring us Fall on Lake of the Woods?

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. Today was the last day for early Goose season and the final group to take advantage of the Wigwam Resort’s great service was the Todd Bender Group from Excelsior, MN. They were able to get into the Geese this morning and left the Wigwam all smiles…proof in picture. I hope that all your expectations were exceeded while hunting and staying with us at the Wigwam Resort on beautiful Lake of the Woods…I hope to see you all back very shortly for Ice Fishing!


A SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to Tom Briggs (owner of the Wigwam) and Rick Amundson (Tom’s fishing partner and friend) for winning the MTT Championship this past Thursday and Friday on Lake of the Woods. The first place prize was a brand new Skeeter boat with a 150 Yamaha (MSRP $35,000.00) and plenty of hardware…NICE!!!!

As we slowly, slowly move into the next season here at the Wigwam Resort, the fishing has yet to sputter. We are still experiencing some of the best fishing in world here on Lake of the Woods and I don’t anticipate that to end for years to come. As we move further into fall the Walleyes move closer and closer to Four Mile Bay (right in front of the Wigwam Resort) and Rainy River to gorge themselves on shiners before they are covered with ice for 5 months…the fish are just putting on their winter gear, just like us. As of this morning I was able to see a total of 10-12 boats fishing out by the green marker in Four Mile Bay…I will try and gather some info on how they are doing and I just might try it tomorrow for myself…what the heck.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking Nikki Kloos (Wigwam Employee) and Noah Johnson (her boyfriend) fishing. We were able to catch a number of different species in the same place (North Graceton Reef)…Perch, Small Mouth Bass, Walleye and Sauger. The diversity of fish in Lake of the Woods is truly remarkable and it puts me in an “awe” state some times…what an unbelievable fishery! I just wanted to thank them for being such great fishing partners…I really enjoyed the time on the lake.

I can’t believe that we are already over half way done with September…we are still experiencing summer like conditions with highs in the 80’s and lows in the 50’s…am I still in Northern Minnesota? The farmers are enjoying it and I’m very happy that they are getting it…they need it. This past weekend was the opener of Grouse hunting season here in Northern Minnesota and we didn’t have our typical weather, but I’m sure it we be upon us before we know it. I can’t wait for our first frost so the leaves start to change and drop so my favorite hunting bird (Grouse) will be a little less elusive and I will be able to start having some Grouse in cream of mushroom soup (just the Mom used to cook it…yum, yum).

Just a couple announcements…October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

Daily Fishing Report: Today we will have a mix of clouds and sun, high 67F with winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear, low 42F with winds light and variable. Tomorrow should be mainly sunny sky, high 74F with winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow night should be clear, low 47F with winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Today’s fishing report will come from our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead). Tom, Billy and Kevin have been staying a tad bit closer these days…with the warm weather we’ve been having, the fish have been hanging out around the rocks and deep mud. They have had great success trolling with hammered gold and silver spinners with crawlers and also downrigging. When downrigging they have been using trusty Rapala baits (Purple/White/Silver have been the “golden ticket”) and when they are jigging they are using White/Gold, White/Purple and Orange/Gold jigs with frozen Shiners as bait. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies) and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into the middle of September. Yesterday I ended up going to North Graceton Reef again and all I have to say is…what a fishing spot. We were using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and drifting across the top of the reef. On the same reef we caught, Walleye, Sauger, Small Mouth Bass, and Perch…I love the diversity! Jake “of the Woods” Magness, Doug “The Surgeon” Hagen went out a few days ago and were fishing in 28 feet of water from Morris Point Gap all the way to Zipple Bay and having great success. Again this morning there were more and more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today 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
http://www.wigwamresortlow.com/

Are You Sure It’s Tournament Time? We Have Great Weather…What’s Up?

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. Today was the first day of the MTT (Minnesota Tournament Trail) Fishing Championship and as the boats zipped across the water at blistering speeds all I saw was a calm flag on a flag pole and zero clouds…this is very unusual for a tournament on Lake of the Woods…at least for me. Usually when the word “Tournament” comes up it gets cold and nasty, but the boys from MTT are getting the royal treatment from Lake of the Woods this weekend for their finale, and they're loving every minute of it. I just want to wish all the competitors the best of luck while they chase for the championship and thank you to a majority of them for staying with us at the Wigwam Resort during their stay.

Just a couple announcements…September 17th & 18th will be the MTT (Minnesota Tournament Trail) Fishing Championship, which will be held on Lake of the Woods, and a large majority of the participants will be staying with us at the Wigwam Resort…Poor Boys band will be playing both Friday and Saturday night (18th & 19th) for the entertainment. October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

Daily Fishing Report: Today should be mainly sunny, high 76F with winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight we should see clear skies, low 52F with winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Saturday we should have an abundant amount of sunshine, highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 50s. Sunday we should have times of sun and clouds, highs in the upper 70s and lows in the low 50s. Today’s fishing report will come from our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead). Tom, Billy, Kevin have stopped heading north and started to fish the big water again about 4 to 6 miles outside Lighthouse Gap, Morris Point Gap, and Zipple Bay in about 30 to 32 feet of water. They have been anchoring and jigging, and also downrigging, if jigging becomes too tough. When downrigging they have been using trusty Rapala baits (Perch color, White and Purple have been the “golden ticket”) and when they are jigging they are using White/Gold, White/Purple and Orange/Gold jigs with frozen Shiners as bait. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies) and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into the middle of September. A few days ago Billy took out a group in the afternoon after Goose Hunting in the morning and it took them a little longer to catch their limits, a whole 3 hours…they downrigged all three hours, and our guests came in all smiles! Yesterday I had the chance to get out there again and started fishing by long lining some Rapalas, but that wasn’t the ticket…there was so much fog, I think it disrupted the bite. We ended up going to North Graceton Reef and by the time we got over there the fog had lifted and we started to catch fish. I was using hammered gold spinners with crawlers and drifting across the top of the reef. On the same reef we caught, Walleye, Sauger, Small Mouth Bass, Rock Bass and Perch…I love the diversity! I hope to get back out there on Saturday to see what it will produce, but first I’m going to go and pick up a few more of those Rapalas from my buddies over at Log Cabin (a bait/convenience/gas store about a half mile from the Wigwam). Jake “of the Woods” Magness, Doug “The Surgeon” Hagen and Val Safro, went out a few days ago and were fishing in 31 feet of water, anchoring and jigging out in front of Zipple Bay and had some great success…the big fish of the day for them was a nice 25” Walleye caught by Jake “of the Woods” Magness. There have been more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

My shout out today will go to Mr. Truman Olson of Fargo, ND. I had the opportunity of taking Truman fishing on Wednesday of this week and I had blast. Truman is a retired NDSU employee…The home of the Bison, and is enjoying his time on the lakes these days. I think the best part of my job is that I get to meet so many great people and interact with them one on one to learn more about them and their families…I really enjoy it. Truman was able to tell me about his family (wife, daughters, grandkids, etc.) and from that I truly got a great picture of the man I was wetting a line with. Truman is a great man that has been able to travel the world through work, and enjoy all that life has thrown his way with family and friends…I envy you. On a fishing front, we were able to go out and get on them, not from the very beginning, but after a while. We fished my little honey hole, North Graceton Reef, and in one afternoon we were able to catch Walleye, Sauger, Small Mouth Bass, Rock Bass and Perch…what a fishery! I wanted to thank Truman personally for letting me take you fishing and I hope that all your expectations were exceeded while staying with us at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods! We all look forward to your return this fall…thanks again!

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

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

A Glorious Northern Minnesota “Indian Summer” is Upon Us on Lake of the Woods

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. Well these past few days have been a breath of fresh air for us at the Wigwam Resort on beautiful Lake of the Woods. We have seen more warm days put together in this stretch than we did all summer. I am trying to take it all in stride…I would love to get out and fish a little bit more, but we find ourselves making sure that others are having the time of their lives…I can handle that. So come join me, Tom and the rest of the Wigwam staff while we experience our northern Minnesota “Indian Summer” here on Lake of the Woods…this doesn’t happen every year…join us and experience all the excitement here at the Wigwam Resort!

This past week has brought us a very diverse crowd from all different geographical locations across the United States and Canada, and they all had one thing in common…THEY LOVE TO FISH!!!! I’m right there with you on that one, guys and gals…guilty as charged. My love of fishing has brought me to my paradise on Lake of the Woods and I hope that your love of fishing will bring you to your own place of paradise, no matter where it is. But by the chance you might want to checkout my paradise; the Wigwam Resort would welcome each and every one of you with open arms. You must see it for yourself…each and everyday brings us something new and one step closer to figuring out where the “BIG FISH” are at. I personally invite you to check out my paradise, Lake of the Woods, THE BEST FRESHWATER FISHERY IN THE WORLD!

Just a couple announcements…September 18th & 19th will be the MTT (Minnesota Tournament Trail) Fishing Championship, which will be held on Lake of the Woods, and a large majority of the participants will be staying with us at the Wigwam Resort…Poor Boys band will be playing both Friday and Saturday night for the entertainment. October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

Daily Fishing Report: Today we will have lots of sunshine, high 78F with winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight will be mostly clear, low near 55F with winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow we should see partly cloudy skies with a stray afternoon thunderstorm possible, high 78F with winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow night we should see a few stray thunderstorm through the evening with some clouds early, giving way to generally clear conditions overnight, low near 55F with winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Today’s fishing report will come from our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead), our guests and me and will be no different from my last report…the fish are still there! Tom, Billy, Kevin have stopped heading north and started to fish the big water again about 4 to 6 miles outside Lighthouse Gap, Morris Point Gap, and Zipple Bay in about 30 to 32 feet of water. They have been anchoring and jigging, and also downrigging, if jigging becomes too tough. When downrigging they have been using trusty Rapala baits (Perch color, White and Purple have been the “golden ticket”) and when they are jigging they are using White/Gold, White/Purple and Orange/Gold jigs with frozen Shiners as bait. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies) and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into the middle of September. Two days ago Billy took out a group in the afternoon after Goose Hunting in the morning and it took them a little longer to catch their limits, a whole 3 hours…they downrigged all three hours, and our guests came in all smiles! Today I had the chance to get out there in the afternoon and I was able to bring a couple guests with me and we were pulling Rapalas and getting on the fish. The Chartreuse Perch Colored Rapala was the big winner today. I think that 14 of the 20 fish that we caught in a 3 hour period were on that Rapala…we had a blast! I’m going to go and pick up a few more of those Rapalas from my buddies over at Log Cabin (a bait/convenience/gas store about a half mile from the Wigwam). We were using lead core line, fire line and 12 pound mono…where we had our best success was out in 23 to 26 feet of water about a mile and a half outside Lighthouse Gap using the long lining method. A couple days ago I tried the rocks by Graceton Reef and was marking a ton of fish, but couldn’t get them to bite; using either method…maybe next time they will be hungry for my lure. Jake “of the Woods” Magness, Doug “The Surgeon” Hagen and Val Safro, went out a couple days ago and were fishing in 31 feet of water, anchoring and jigging out in front of Zipple Bay and had some great success…the big fish of the day for them was a nice 25” Walleye caught by Jake “of the Woods” Magness. There have been more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

My shout out today will go to a person very dear to me, my brother. Since the passing of my “biggest supporter” (my father), the people that I have to call and talk to on a motivational level are few and far between these days, but there has been one person that has stepped up and taken that role with open arms, my brother Ryan. I just wanted to thank you for listening to my ideas (good and bad), taking the time to talk when it might not be the best time for you, listening to my problems and always offering positive solutions, and most importantly, lifting me up when I am down with your witty humor. I wanted to personally thank you publicly for all your support…you are my blood…you are my family, and without you, I would not be where I’m at today…thank you.

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

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

The Sportsman’s Package (Goose Hunting & Fishing) at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods

Good morning to all!

Welcome to another edition of the Wigwam Fisherman’s Blog. I would like to start off by saying, I love this “Indian Summer” we’re having right now in northern Minnesota…it feels like early August should have felt like this year. Even though it should be Fall right now…I think we’ll be able to make it through this tough time…haha. I know that the local farmers are hoping for a couple more weeks of this weather, so I will go right along with them on this one.

The Sportsman’s Package consists of, Goose hunting in the morning and fishing in the afternoon. Lake of the Woods produces more than just fish…the Geese are starting there annual migration south and flying right over Lake of the Woods. The Wigwam Resort has the ability to hunt a number of great farming properties in the local area, which produce Geese year after year. In my last edition of the Wigwam Blog I spoke briefly about my first ever Goose hunt that went off without a hitch. We were able to get on the Geese from the break of dawn and were done firing by 8:05 am…once again, it was an awesome experience. If you are a Goose hunter…the Wigwam Resort is the place to contact. Along with the Goose hunting, we also take our guests fishing in the afternoon on Lake of the Woods…the best freshwater fishery in the world. Our guests have been experiencing some of the best fishing of their lives right now; the proof is in the pictures. With our northern Minnesota hospitality, awesome guides, and everything an outdoor enthusiast could ever dream of…the Wigwam Resort and Lake of the Woods is the place to be this year and every year…don’t miss out on all the action.

Just a couple announcements…September 18th & 19th will be the MTT (Minnesota Tournament Trail) Fishing Championship, which will be held on Lake of the Woods, and a large majority of the participants will be staying with us at the Wigwam Resort…Poor Boys band will be playing both Friday and Saturday night for the entertainment. October 2nd & 3rd will be the Fall North Star Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament…Poor Boys will again be blessing us with their presence on those respected Friday and Saturday nights. Finally, starting this coming Sunday (9/13/09), for every Vikings game this season, we will have a “Kill the Keg” special, specials on our bar dining menu, and prizes to give away. This will make for some pretty crazy Sunday afternoon/nights and Monday nights…LETS GO VIKINGS!!!!

I will bring this up every day until we are there, but just a reminder to all of you that want to stay with us this winter during ice fishing season…we are starting to fill up. If you want your places reserved at the Wigwam Resort, book now, or forever hold your peace. We are looking forward to a record breaking ice fishing season, for the amount of fish that will be caught on Lake of the Woods, don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember, every night during the winter is like a Saturday night. Be apart of all the excitement, only at the World Famous Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!


Daily Fishing Report: Today we will have periods of rain with a few thunderstorms likely, high 71F with winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph…there will be a 70% chance of rain…rainfall will near a quarter of an inch. Tonight will be cloudy with a few showers, low 54F with winds light and variable…there will be a 30% chance of rain. Tomorrow should be partly cloudy, high 74F with winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow night we should see a few clouds from time to time, low 53F with winds light and variable. Today’s fishing report will come from our guides (Tom Briggs, Billy “The Sniper” Kloos and Kevin Olmstead), our guests and me. Tom, Billy, Kevin have stopped heading north and started to fish the big water again about 4 to 6 miles outside Lighthouse Gap, Morris Point Gap, and Zipple Bay in about 30 to 32 feet of water. They have been anchoring and jigging, and also downrigging, if jigging becomes too tough. When downrigging they have been using trusty Rapala baits (Perch color, White and Purple have been the “golden ticket”) and when they are jigging they are using White/Gold, White/Purple and Orange/Gold jigs with frozen Shiners as bait. The fishing has still been “top shelf” (for all my hockey buddies) and we don’t anticipate that to slow in the least bit as we move into the middle of September. Yesterday Billy took out a group in the afternoon after Goose Hunting in the morning and it took them a little longer to catch their limits, a whole 3 hours…they downrigged all three hours, and our guests came in all smiles! Yesterday I had the chance to get out there in the afternoon and I started off jigging with a White/Gold 3/8 oz jig and caught a few small ones, but no monsters. I then switched to using a long line method with my 12 lb. mono line with a 20’ diving Rapala and got into some bigger fish. Where I had my best success was out in 23 to 26 feet of water about a mile and a half outside Lighthouse Gap using the long lining method. The biggest fish I caught in about an hour was a 26” Walleye. I also tried the rocks by Graceton Reef and was marking a ton of fish, but couldn’t get them to bite; using either method…maybe next time they will be hungry for my lure. Jake “of the Woods” Magness, Doug “The Surgeon” Hagen and Val Safro, went out yesterday morning and were fishing in 31 feet of water, anchoring and jigging out in front of Zipple Bay and had some great success…the big fish of the day for them was a nice 25” Walleye caught by Jake “of the Woods” Magness. There have been more boats fishing right out in front of the Wigwam Resort also…what this means is that the Shiners have started their annual run into the Rainy River…we all know what that means…BIG WALLEYES ARE ON THE WAY! The Shiner run will last till the middle of November, so if you don’t want to travel far and you want to catch some big fish, book today at the Wigwam Resort and experience some of the “BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD”! All this great fishing will take place right in front of the World Famous Wigwam Resort, in Four Mile Bay and at the mouth of the Rainy River! Don’t miss out on this great fishing that we’re having on Lake of the Woods…come visit us today at the Wigwam Resort on Lake of the Woods!

My shout out today will go to a couple of guys that I had the opportunity to talk with while they stayed with us at the Wigwam Resort over the Labor Day holiday weekend…Tony and Ernie Zuberbuehler. I wanted to thank both of you for giving us the opportunity to have you as our guests and for the great e-mail that you sent thanking us. It is I that must thank you though…so thank you! I would like to share with everyone their e-mail…I think this says it all about what strides we have taken at the Wigwam Resort to cater to our guests and make sure that everyone gets the opportunity who stays with us to experience our northern Minnesota hospitality…so here we go!

Good Afternoon Jean-Paul,

Just a quick note to thank you for contributing to our Walleye search last weekend. You gave us just enough information to narrow our efforts to what proved to be a bulls-eye! See below and attached. I'm happy to report all were handled with great care and successfully released back into LOTW. WIN! WIN! WIN!

The scale in my boat is old and has a low battery so we only took measurements. I'm starting to wonder if the 32" fish would've made 13#'s (my minimum to consider keeping a trophy). To be clear = NO regrets. So, thanks again for chatting over breakfast. My brother and I had a grand weekend. Ernie & Tony, Lake Of The Woods, Full Moon Period, Sunny, Beautiful, 80's & 5-15 mph South winds, Trolling 32-34 feet, 7 walleyes accounted for:

1 each = 27"
2 each = 28"
1 each = 30"
2 each = 31"
1 each = 32"

It seems there was one more 28/29 but these were the fish that we managed to write down. See you in a few weeks...

Tight lines my friend,

Tony Zuberbuehler

Thank you both for the great e-mail…I can’t wait to share this with all my co-workers…this is the best kind of marketing we could ever get…thanks again!

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

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