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Home › Waters › Minnesota › Lake of the Woods
Lake · Northwest Angle · Minnesota

Lake of the Woods Fishing Guides

The walleye capital of Minnesota — a vast border lake with 65,000 miles of shoreline reach, a huge sauger population, world-class winter fishing, and a gauge at Warroad tracking lake stage.

A broad northern lake broken by wooded islands under open sky

Map of the Lake of the Woods

42 numbered points: 3 access points, 1 campsite, 3 bait & fly shops, 15 outfitters, 4 bridges, 10 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 1 regulation section limit, 2 USGS gauges, 2 points of interest. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Oct 23, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (3)
  • Campsite (1)
  • Bait, tackle & fly shop (3)
  • Outfitter / canoe rental (15)
  • Bridge crossing (4)
  • Park / conservation area (10)
  • Agency / conservation office (1)
  • Regulation section limit (1)
  • USGS gauge (2)
  • Point of interest (2)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

Open the printable map
All 42 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Border Bait
Wheelers Point, Four Mile Bay		Bait, tackle & fly shop48.83671, -94.70403Bait stop at the Rainy River mouth end of the lake.
2Sportsman's Sleepers
Wheelers Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.83239, -94.70510Sleeper fish house rental on the Four Mile Bay shore.
3Log Cabin Bait
Wheelers Point		Bait, tackle & fly shop48.83297, -94.70955
4T J Prop Shop Inc
Wheelers Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.83537, -94.70484Boat and prop repair at Wheelers Point.
5Lake of the Woods Marine
Wheelers Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.82982, -94.71175Boat dealer and service at the Rainy River mouth.
6Border View Lodge
Wheelers Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.83815, -94.69646Resort and guide service at the mouth of the Rainy River.
7Wigwam Resort
Wheelers Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.84095, -94.69873Resort and guide service on Four Mile Bay.
8Bayside Camp Ground
Four Mile Bay		Campsite48.84217, -94.70084
9Four Mile Bay Wildlife Management Area
Minnesota DNR, Four Mile Bay		Park / conservation area48.84373, -94.73440State wildlife management area on the bay west of the river mouth.
10County Highway 8
CR 8, Bostic Bay		Bridge crossing48.83014, -94.77787
11Bugsy's on Bostic
Bostic Bay		Outfitter / canoe rental48.83156, -94.77488Resort on Bostic Bay, south shore.
12Sweet's Fishing with Steve Sweet
Bostic Bay		Outfitter / canoe rental48.83181, -94.77843Guide service working the south shore and Big Traverse Bay.
13Morris Point
South shore		Park / conservation area48.85181, -94.76803
14Morris Point Lake View Lodge
Morris Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.85267, -94.78157Resort and guide service on the south shore.
15Zippel Bay State Park
State park, Zippel Bay		Park / conservation area48.86553, -94.87295The lake's state park, with the harbour and beach on Zippel Bay.
16Zippel Bay Resort
Zippel Bay		Outfitter / canoe rental48.85625, -94.88818Resort and guide service west of the state park.
17Prosper Wildlife Management Area
Minnesota DNR, south shore		Park / conservation area48.88922, -94.89276
18Long Point Resort
Long Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.96914, -94.95163Resort and guide service at Long Point.
19Larry Bernhoft Wildlife Management Area
Minnesota DNR, Long Point		Park / conservation area48.96939, -94.98887
20Rocky Point Wildlife Management Area
Minnesota DNR, Rocky Point		Park / conservation area48.96152, -95.03723
21Rocky Point
South-west shore		Park / conservation area48.96075, -95.06783
22Rock Harbor
Marina, Rocky Point		Access / boat ramp48.96033, -95.06834Sheltered harbour and launch at Rocky Point.
23Arnesen's Rocky Point Resort
Rocky Point		Outfitter / canoe rental48.96080, -95.06595Resort and guide service at Rocky Point.
24United States Customs and Border Protection
Warroad		Agency / conservation office48.89865, -95.31943CBP office in Warroad, the U.S. port of entry town on the south shore.
25State Avenue
MN 11, Warroad River		Bridge crossing48.90294, -95.32011Highway 11 crossing of the Warroad River above the lake.
26USGS 05140520 Lake of the Woods at Warroad
Primary level reference		USGS gauge48.90415, -95.31607Lake level gauge at Warroad on the south-west shore.
27Allison Park
Warroad		Park / conservation area48.90608, -95.31252
28Taylor Road
CR 74, Warroad River		Bridge crossing48.91265, -95.30735
29Rainbow Park
Warroad		Park / conservation area48.90741, -95.30031
30Lakeview Park
Warroad		Park / conservation area48.90768, -95.30236
31Warroad Estates Marina
North of Warroad		Access / boat ramp48.93790, -95.32644
32USGS 05140521 Lake of the Woods at Springsteel Island near Warroad
Second level gauge		USGS gauge48.94582, -95.30690Lake level gauge off Springsteel Island, mapped in OSM.
33Springsteel Resort & Marina
Springsteel Island		Access / boat ramp48.94601, -95.30647Marina and resort launch on the point north of Warroad.
34Young's Bay Resort
Angle Inlet, Northwest Angle		Outfitter / canoe rental49.34566, -94.97078Resort at Young's Bay, the Northwest Angle's harbour.
35Angle Outpost Resort
Northwest Angle		Outfitter / canoe rental49.34500, -95.00571
36Jake's Northwest Angle
Angle Inlet		Bait, tackle & fly shop49.34726, -95.06270Resort store and bait at Angle Inlet.
37Northwest Angle Resort
Angle Inlet		Outfitter / canoe rental49.35063, -95.08133
38Crow Creek Drive Northwest
CR 332, Angle Inlet		Bridge crossing49.35201, -95.08183
39Angle Inlet School
Angle Inlet		Point of interest49.35295, -95.08167The one-room school at Angle Inlet, the landmark of the Northwest Angle.
40Prothero's Post Resort
Angle Inlet		Outfitter / canoe rental49.35711, -95.08360
41Northern Most Point of the Continental United States
Northwest Angle, 49th parallel		Point of interest49.38316, -95.15339The northernmost point of the contiguous United States, on the Angle shore.
42Minnesota-Canada boundary waters - Lake of the Woods
Minnesota Rules 6266.0700, subp. 1, item R		Regulation section limit48.95000, -94.95000Lake of the Woods is a Minnesota-Canada boundary water. The rule covers the lake in Lake of the Woods and Roseau Counties and its listed tributaries. Check the current DNR boundary-water regulations before you fish.

Guides on the Lake of the Woods

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works

About the Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods is one of the great inland fisheries of North America, a border water shared by Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba, covering roughly a million acres with a shoreline broken into thousands of islands across the Northwest Angle. The Minnesota portion, reached from Warroad, Baudette and the Rainy River, is what most guided effort focuses on. The USGS gauge at Warroad reads lake stage, which on a lake this size is driven by wind setup and seasonal inflow rather than by any dam release schedule.

Walleye are the reason people come. The lake supports an enormous population across a wide range of sizes, and the fishery runs hard through all four seasons rather than concentrating in a few weeks. Sauger are abundant alongside them and often outnumber walleye in the deeper basin. Northern pike grow large in the weedy bays, smallmouth bass hold on the rock of the Angle islands, and muskellunge are present in genuine trophy sizes. Lake sturgeon in the Rainy River system are a distinct and carefully regulated fishery.

Winter is not an off-season here — it is arguably the main one. Ice roads and sleeper houses put anglers over deep-basin walleye and sauger from January into March, and the resort infrastructure around Baudette and Warroad is built around it. The spring Rainy River run brings walleye upstream in numbers before the lake opener, under its own set of regulations.

The scale of this lake is the practical challenge. Weather moves fast, the fetch is enormous, and a wind that would be an inconvenience elsewhere builds a serious sea here. Navigation across the Angle requires charts and attention, and crossing into Ontario waters carries licensing and border reporting requirements. Most first-time visitors are better served by a local guide or resort operation than by launching alone.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

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Pool right now

1,059.76ft NAVD88
  • 24 hours-0.03 ft → steady

Reading taken 42 min ago at USGS 05140520, LAKE OF THE WOODS AT WARROAD, MN. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Lake of the Woods.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Lake level alert

Tell me when the pool at Lake of the Woods ft (NAVD88)

Now: 1,059.76 ft pool elevation, read 6:30 am CST, Mon Nov 2, 2026 (USGS 05140520, LAKE OF THE WOODS AT WARROAD, MN).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Warroad city harbor and public ramp — the USGS gauge site, deep-water access to the south shore.
Baudette and Wheelers Point ramps — main access to the Rainy River mouth and the big traverse.
Zippel Bay state park — improved ramp and harbor on the Minnesota south shore.
Long Point public access — western south-shore ramp toward Buffalo Point.
Rocky Point access — protected launch west of Wheelers Point.
Northwest Angle resorts and ramps — island-country access via Manitoba road or by boat.
Rainy River landings at Birchdale and Franz Jevne — upstream access for the spring run.

Seasons

Spring: the Rainy River walleye run peaks from late March into April under separate regulations, then the lake opener in May puts fish shallow along the south shore.
Summer: strong walleye and sauger fishing over mud and rock in the main basin, with pike in the bays and smallmouth on the Angle islands through July and August.
Fall: outstanding. Cooling water concentrates big walleye and pike shallow through September and October, and muskellunge fishing peaks before freeze-up.
Winter: a full season. Ice roads and sleeper houses run from January into March over deep-basin walleye, sauger and burbot; travel only on established, monitored routes.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Lake of the Woods?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Burbot, Lake Sturgeon, Lake Whitefish, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Sauger, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch on the Lake of the Woods in Minnesota.

Are there fishing guides on the Lake of the Woods?

GuidedFloats lists 2 guides and outfitters on the Lake of the Woods. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Lake of the Woods?

Warroad city harbor and public ramp — the USGS gauge site, deep-water access to the south shore. Baudette and Wheelers Point ramps — main access to the Rainy River mouth and the big traverse. Zippel Bay state park — improved ramp and harbor on the Minnesota south shore. Long Point public access — western south-shore ramp toward Buffalo Point. Rocky Point access — protected launch west of Wheelers Point. Northwest Angle resorts and ramps — island-country access via Manitoba road or by boat. Rainy River landings at Birchdale and Franz Jevne — upstream access for the spring run.

When is the best time to fish the Lake of the Woods?

Spring: the Rainy River walleye run peaks from late March into April under separate regulations, then the lake opener in May puts fish shallow along the south shore. Summer: strong walleye and sauger fishing over mud and rock in the main basin, with pike in the bays and smallmouth on the Angle islands through July and August. Fall: outstanding. Cooling water concentrates big walleye and pike shallow through September and October, and muskellunge fishing peaks before freeze-up. Winter: a full season. Ice roads and sleeper houses run from January into March over deep-basin walleye, sauger and bu...

Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake of the Woods?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Minnesota agency site: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/index.html