lake of the woods

[Richard]

Will be fishing Lake of the Woods for smallies this summer.We have never fished Canada,and was wondering what kind of id is needed to cross border. Also. would someone recommend a quality spinning outfitand line weight. thanks guys.

[Arkie eye jerker]

This can answer all your questions on ID. As far as smallies go, I don't know anything about them, Always fished for walleye when I went to LOTW.

http://travel.state.gov/tips_canada.html

[RoyC]

You need an original birth certificate and a government photo ID (driver's license) or a passport. If you are taking a child, but both parents are not present, you need a notarized note from the absent parent giving permission.

But the most thing to remember is to not bring anything illegal: too much liquor, firearms (especially handguns), etc. Sometimes they will search everything, and the penalties are significant.

[TONY ON ICE]

RICHARD.
I just got back from Lake of the woods a few weeks ago and I was prepared for the border crossing with all the correct documents as were the four other truckloads of guys and gear in our group that were following us.
I was totally suprised when all they asked us is where we were going, how long would we be there and if we had any firearms or alcohol in the vehicle.
They said have a nice trip and away we went.
We told the gaurd that the 4 vehicles behind us were in our group heading to lake of the Woods also and they just got the same questions.
I doubt this happens much these days and all I would still make sure you have all your documents as described in the posts here, organized and ready to hand over to the gaurds.

Coming back into Minnesota at Rainy River, we were asked to pull over and one old guy looked into the vehicles half heartedly and asked to ook inside the enclosed trailer that was carrying the ATV and shelters. No problems there and he let us go.
The only thng we had to do was fill out a form saying we had fish from Canada in our possession because we were going to fish Red lake that evening and it was to protect us from being charged with over the limit if we caught fish in Minnessota.
Really a pretty pleasant situation on both sides although I would like to see a more thourough search.
Can't complain, the trip was great.
You'll love Lake of the woods !

[TomD]

Roy is right. You will probably not need what he described, but if you get picked randomly by the computers for a detail search, you will. Also, you will need rabies certificates for whatever dogs you take along (we take our two black labs each summer).

We have never run into a problem, but we always take the stuff that Roy describes just in case.

Interestingly enough, the one time we did get searched was coming BACK into the U.S. when the computer kicked out the requirement for a random detailed search. Our customs people were nice and apologetic ... and about 30 minutes later we were on our way.

[Eyeokie]

Richard, My daughter and I vacationed in the Northwest Angle area two years ago this coming June and had a fantastic trip. The first half of June is great for smallies. We fished mostly in Ontario waters in the Monument Bay area. If you are there during this time, look for chunk rock banks and you will find the fish. We caught most of ours on spinnerbaits and cranks such as #7 shad raps. Also picked up enough really nice eyes to keep things interesting.

Good luck and have a great trip.