If it’s fishing that your coming for your in for a great experience. Nestor Falls offers a variety of fishing from a variety of lakes. The most popular and well known lake is Lake of the Woods. Known for it’s many islands and amazing fishing, many trophy fish have been caught on this lake throughout the years. There’s an abundance of Walleyes, Crappies, Perch, Northern, Muskie, and Bass both large and smallmouth. Further down on the lake you can also try your luck at a Trout.
We have knowledgeable guides who know all the best fishing spots to give you the best experience possible. Not only are the guides great fishermen with great stories to tell, they put on an amazing shorelunch that will have you talking about for years to come. Guided trips should be booked if possible when booking your vacation as there is planning involved for each group depending on their preference of fish being guided for.
Walleye fishing is one of the most popular fishing experiences on Lake of the Woods. Most fish caught are between 13 to 30 inches with the trophy fish being above and beyond these numbers . The record fish is 22.25 pounds at 36.5 inches in length. These fish are typically gold-colored with a dark green or blue tinted back and white belly. Using live bait is the tried-and-true way to catch these fish. Get in the game and come up for a week and try your luck at a record. Season opens 3rd Saturday in May to December 31st.
Muskie fishing has become very popular in this area. In the Nestor Falls area, the water is naturally stained and relatively shallow. Thirty five feet is classified as deep and you will come across plenty of muskie attracting weeds. It is not uncommon to catch multiple muskie in a day. The old saying goes “if you can’t catch a muskie on Lake of the Woods then you are doing something wrong”. For muskie fishing, most people like casting with topwater lures, double-bladed in-line spinners or soft plastic swimbaites. It is all up to the angler and the area of the lake that you are fishing. Once you catch your first muskie, you’ll be hooked. Opener is normally the 3rd week in June and then closes December 15th.
Crappie is a great pan fish and a favorite caught by all the locals. It seems that the spring and late summer are the best for catching them with the spring being in the shallow bays and in the late summer, the crappies begin schooling up found in the deeper bays 25 feet or deeper. Crappies are found all year round here on Lake of the Woods so don’t exclude the rest of the year besides spring and late summer. Ice fishing for crappies is also a great past time. They normally hang in the cane beds and thick weed beds and like worms or minnows as they are kind of finicky eaters. A great tip for catching crappies is the eyes are on top of its head so a short length of line between float and bait will keep the lure in the fishes strike zone. The best lures to use crappie fishing are normally deep-diving crankbaits, micro jigs on slip float set ups and small spoons that can be vertically jigged. Once you catch your first crappie, make sure to mark it with a bouy. If you have never tasted a crappie, you really have been missing out. Season is open year round.
Lake Trout fishing is at your fingertips here in Nestor Falls. In the spring trout are high in the water column and can be easily spooked so long leads help trick these fish. We use white and silver minnowbaits and spoons to fool the fish into thinking they are the baitfish. In the summer they go down deep and are caught close to the bottom with a big spoon or crankbait. Trout fishing is one of Terry’s favorite and has guided many individuals over the years that now come back every year to enjoy the pinky flesh trout has to offer in the local lakes. Ice fishing for Trout is also a fan favorite around here by the locals. Try your gamble as trout season opens on January 1st. What a way to celebrate New Year’s Day. Season is from January 1st to September 30th.
Northern Pike can be caught all year long on Lake of the Woods and here in Nestor Falls. Pike are very stubborn fighters and have a full set of sharp teeth. They can get bigger than 40 inches in length and weigh more than 20 pounds. This is not the normal of the catch, but you can catch 2-5 pound northern all day long. When you get the big one on, you will definitely have yourself a fight. Northern like to prey in the shallower waters with grounds being of mud or sand. During the spawning times, they normally hang out near streams and back bays. The fileting is a little tricky but the meat is delicious. Some people will boil this fish and then serve with hot butter and call it poor man’s lobster. Come try it.
Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass is plentiful on Lake of the Woods. Bass normally hang out in 10-20 feet of water and like the rocky areas around reefs with muddy bottoms. The bass spawn in the spring in shallow waters and closer to the shoreline. Once the water warms up, the bass will hang out around the rock piles where they can ambush their food. This is the time to use the leeches and the crankbaits to catch that perfect fish. As the summer passes and fall sets it, the bass also like to move and get closer to the vegetation in parts of the lake. Bass are great fighters so they are loved by all the avid bass fishermen. Season is open year round.
Yellow Perch have a striped body and range is size from 8-10 inches which are great eating. Perch is a firm fish so liked by many. In the spring when the water is about 50 degrees, perch are found in the shallows around 3 foot of water and close to shore. They like to hang around down trees or docks. As the water gets warmer the fish like to go out a bit deeper around the 5 foot mark. You will find fish out in deeper water but there is normally structure where they are hanging around. Perch can be caught year round.
