AWESOME AUTUMN

Autumn is close at hand at Lake of the Woods and is an awesome season.  Colors start to appear in the forest areas and the cool breezes arrive. Fishing is still the number one sport at Lake of the Woods, however, the avid sportsman keeps abreast on all the great hunting features of Lake of the Woods as well.

Harvest is also beautiful with wheat being harvested, sunflowers hanging their heads waiting for the machines to gather them in rye grass shipped off and soybeans and corn waiting also for the cool weather for their fruits to ripen.

Autumn also brings a harvest to seed potato harvest. Lake of the Woods County has been known for its great production of this crop. The county actually has a quarantine over any other potatoes being brought into the area that might affect its quality product.  Another interesting feature of the area is that we are the biggest producer of grass seed that is shipped all over the country for growing the beautiful turf on golf courses. One never knows all the wonderful attributes of an area until you explore all the resources.

As Autumn arrives, sportsmen from everywhere ready themselves for  other hunting experiences Waterfowl hunting. Waterfowl hunting kicks off in early September and remains open until late October. Hunters come to Lake of the Woods, the Rainy River, NW Angle and surrounding fields for some of the best waterfowl hunting in North America. If this is your first time, we recommend contacting one of our outfitters or resorts in getting a “lay of the land” and helping to ensure a successful and enjoyable hunt.  Hunters enjoy a nice variety of puddle ducks, divers, and Canada geese.

Autumn Grouse and Small game hunting. The hunting season for small game including three species of grouse, rabbits and squirrels.  Ruffed grouse are the most common of the three species and are all over the area.  They are prevalent, delicious to eat and live amongst the hundreds of thousands of acres of public hunting woods around the area.

Spruce grouse tend to frequent more of the pine forests and are a very dark meat.  Sharp Tailed Grouse tend to frequent more agriculture land and although , but in isolated pockets. Here’s a great video showing the opportunities in Lake of the Woods County! The ruffed grouse are the holy grail of the forest in Northern MN! A blast to hunt and boy are they prevalent! Get your shotguns ready and start practicing because trying to hit a ruffed grouse after a flush can be one of the most challenging but rewarding birds to hunt. And they taste pretty good too!

Autumn Bear hunting. Lake of the Woods area is known for it’s abundance of black bears. Many of our resorts/outfitters offer full service accommodations. MN hunters need to apply for a permit ahead of the hunt.  In Ontario, bear tags can be purchased over the counter.

Autumn Deer hunting. In MN, bow hunters can get a jump-start on the deer hunting season as early as mid-September. For those with firearms, the season begins the first part of November. Muzzleloaders have a brief window of opportunity at the end of November – but hurry, because the entire muzzleloader season is finished by mid-December.

Some deer hunters enjoy the thrill of staying at one of our NW Angle resorts and hunting the thousands of islands within the Ontario portion of Lake of the Woods.  Some trophy bucks are taken each year from islands both large and small in size.  Contact one of our NW Angle Resorts for more info.

Public Land open for hunting! If you’re looking for public hunting land, Lake of the Woods offers literally thousands of acres of state land, nearly all of which is open and available for hunting.  Some popular areas to begin are Beltrami Island State Forest, Red Lake Wildlife Management Area, Pine Island State Forest and Lake of the Woods State Forest are just a few places to begin.