August 25, 2026

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​The successful summer pattern rolls on at Lake of the Woods, with big numbers of fish stacked over the deep mud. Most anglers are pulling spinners and crawlers or trolling crankbaits, and both are producing with great success. 

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Big Traverse Bay (South Shore)

The deep mud on the south end remains the place to be. Big schools of walleyes are roaming the basin, and the same two presentations continue to shine: crawler harnesses pulled slowly behind a bottom bouncer, and crankbaits trolled to cover water and trigger active fish. Watch your electronics, get your presentation down to the fish, and the rest tends to take care of itself.

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Just how good is that deep-mud bite? Good enough that the AIM Pro Walleye Series held its Minnesota Championship here this past week, and the winning bag of five walleyes tipped the scales at 54.29 pounds — right around an 11-pound average per fish. Many of the tournament anglers were using forward-facing sonar to sharp-shoot individual walleyes out over the deep mud, and the huge weights that came to the scale tell you everything you need to know about the caliber of fish swimming out there right now.

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