Fishing Report August 2025

August 30, 2025

During the last week of August I took a crew of four up to Voyagers National Park along the MN-Canada border for a fishing adventure.  The walleye and northern pike fishing was simply outstanding and the smallmouth fishing was good.  We enjoyed spectacular scenery of pines, rocks, lakes, and wildlife while catching huge fish under near perfect weather conditions.  If you have never been up to the Minnesota border lakes, I strongly suggest you put it on your bucket list, it is truly a special place and my favorite place on the planet.

August 15, 2025

Surface water temperatures on Woman Lake hit 75 degrees right around the Fourth of July week, and they have remained there since.  The gradual cool down cannot come too soon for me, as the walleye bite remains very inconsistant and some days non-existent.  July and August usually do not have the active bite we see in the spring and fall, but in my opinion, this summer fishing is tougher than most. The walleyes have been a challenge to find and when we do find them, they do not want to bite.  We had a very healthy spring hatch of baitfish (perch, etc.) this year, so they lake is abundant with food, in addition to a bumper crop of crayfish and bug hatches.  I suspect this abundance is a signifcant factor in the weak walleye bite, but our inconsistent fishing weather is likely partially to blame as well.  When the water cools down and the baitfish population gets diminished, the walleye bite will improve.  Mid to late September has historically delivered a hot walleye bite on Woman Lake, but I am hoping we don't have to wait that long for the bite to return.  In the meantime, try fishing for crappies on the edges or on top of large cabbage weedbeds in the evenings.  Bluegills and sunfish are also aggressive in the larger weedbeds.