Favorite Ice Fishing Getaway...

[HOF#13]

Hey guys (and gals),

Looking to plan a guys only getaway to Northern MN for a long weekend of ice fishing this coming January. Wanting a resort / guide situation where all we have to do is show up and go fishing. While we will certainly enjoy some cold barley and hops beverages, the emphasis will still be on catching fish.

Any recommendations you all could make would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

[Steelhead Chaser]

To me - Lake of the Woods can't be beat for the fishing. I would highly recommend Arnenen's if you are looking for a resort, but there are many more.

[Shane683]

+1 for Lake of the Woods. I would recommend Ballard's Resort.

[iffwalleyes]

Arnesen's at Lake of The Woods would be my choice.

[toughguy]

+3 LOW. Go earlier (December) if you can. It's the ice fishing capitol of the world.

[Finlander]

+4 on LOW! Pretty consistant for mutltiple speices of fish! Jumbo perch, walleye's, saugers, whitefish, giant pike! Been many of 200+ fish caught weekends there! The bombardier ride to the houses are and adventure in it's self!

[reinhard1]

nothing fancy, in january my wife and i are staying in one of the chalets at the hinkley grand casino and fishing grindstone for two days . good luck.

[NEUT6899]

Lake of the Woods for SURE!!!!!!!!! Been to many different resorts and have had a great time at every one of them but i would have to say Arnesens is my favorite! I cant wait for ice...

[leech~~]

Little Jim, where are you on this one? Ok, i'll say it. Snowbear trip on LOW. Pull out of the resort in warmth and fish all day inside never in the same spot. Well you may have to jump out for a min here and there if you have to many barley and hops beverages!

[muc33]

And the masses speak!! LOTW is hard to beat for a get away that gives you great opportunity to catch fish in a house you don't have to set up. The resorts there are still in business because they do whatever they can to keep their houses on fish.

For that respect, my second stop if you can't get LOTW out of your head is to Upper Red. Same story, go with a guide with expierience and they will be the ones who have year after year, taken care of their customers and are still around!

[silverbulletguy]

Lake of the Woods! ! !

[quijibo]

Lake of The Woods is guaranteed to hit the spot,ice fishing guiding is pretty much a trade up there and they are true craftsmen. I've never been to Red Lake, but my brother goes there every year. It's the only ice fishing he does.

If your looking to have a good time and great fishing then you'll want to check out the Eelpout Festival in Walker, Mn. You could hire a guide for a day or two before the Festival. Leech Lake is every bit as good a fishery as LOW. I wonder if they have any Eelpout guides?

AdamT

[2k1stang]

Just to throw out another option, I've never had any complaints about Fred's Beds. I don't know what the site's policy is on posting links to other sites, but if you Google Fred's Beds LOW it's the first thing that shows up.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Steve, I'm still around! Just a little busy. And yes depending on how many are in your group I would reccomend a fully guided SnoBear package from Sportsman's Lodge. You can either do a day trip or and Oak Island adventure. If that's too much I would definitly reccomend booking a weekend at Oak Island at least. The shacks are less than a mile from the lodge and awesome accomodations! Can't find a nicer getaway than the NW Angle area of Lake of the Woods!

[leech~~]

Steve, I'm still around! Just a little busy. And yes depending on how many are in your group I would reccomend a fully guided SnoBear package from Sportsman's Lodge. You can either do a day trip or and Oak Island adventure. If that's too much I would definitly reccomend booking a weekend at Oak Island at least. The shacks are less than a mile from the lodge and awesome accomodations! Can't find a nicer getaway than the NW Angle area of Lake of the Woods!

I knew you were hiding somewhere and would chim in!

[HOF#13]

Thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it. Looks like a LOW trip will be in order!

[basssmasher*]

All the LOTW talk and the 1st name that comes to my mind is Ballards Resort.. Top notch service and guides who will bend over backwards to help you if need be

[laportian]

My two cents. I would normally vote for Red but after an awful last ice season I'd say hit Lake of the Woods. I fish Red weekly and was skunked a time or two this year. I usually go to Lake of the Woods at least once a year and have always done well. Three years ago we headed up on one of those -20 high days and were able to limit out between 4 guys fishing out deep.