Sleeper Rental MN Next Winter

[Twelvegaugepump]

My father in law was diagnosed this past October with Glioblastoma (brain cancer). He is doing ok and I have high hope that he has a few years left with us. I would like to take him to somewhere in MN (we are in WI) this next winter for a few nights in a sleeper rental chasing walleyes. Any recommendations? I started poking around some of the LOTW sites but they are all staring to blend together. Do any of you have experience with some of these? I would like to give him a nice time. Hoping to keep it around $1k for the two of us if possible. Thanks in advance.

[Rick!]

My wife and I, along with another couple, rented an over night fish house from Zippel Bay resort on the coldest day of the year in February this past season. I believe it was $185/person. It was a 10 or 12 hole fish house with a main propane heater, a backup heater, a propane griddle and standard fold down bunks and an outhouse. Not luxurious but adequate and we also caught a meal's worth of walleye and sauger. The houses were not very far out on the lake compared to other resorts we have fished at in the past. Out of Baudette, the houses are pretty far out on the lake and a half hour bomber ride is novel the first time but not so much after that. Even so, Ballard's is a nice place and so is Sportsman's Lodge.

[stjoeguy]

This past winter I was on five different ice fishing trips. Two were to Upper Red Lake, two were to Lake of the Woods, and one was to Devils Lake.

Upper Red Lake was in December. The first trip was with Red Lake Remote. https://www.redlakeremote.com/red-la...e-ice-fishing/ Red Lake Remote is our favorite on Red Lake. It’s on the north side of the lake away from all the other houses (hence Remote). His houses are very well built. The bathroom is in a corner of the house but with an outside entrance. A vent from the house helps keep it warm. The owner, Jonny P. brings you out to the house in a tracked truck which is much more comfortable than a bombardier. Red Lake is very popular in December, especially on weekends, so now is a good time to book it.

The next Red Lake trip was with First City Guide Service, https://www.firstcityguide.com/equipment , headquartered in Bemidji, but had his Ice Castle houses on Red last December. I heard he moved them to Lake of the Woods after that. An Ice Castle type house is a very comfortable option. It even had a flushing toilet in the indoor bathroom.

The first January trip was with Lake of the Woods Sleepers https://www.lotwsleepers.com The houses are new and very well built. My only complaint was that the mattress was too thin. Knowing that I’d bring along a camping type foam pad to add to it and the house would be great. i believe we drove out to this house.

The last LOTW trip was with Dales on Lake of the Woods https://dalesonlakeofthewoods.com/rentals/ice-houses/ Dale brought us out to the house in his bombardier. This house had everything for cooking and eating and was the best equipped house I’ve been in. The only thing it lacked was rattle reels, which surprised us, but again, easily fixed by bringing your own to clamp on rattle reel if you know in advance. A feature we liked was that the beds folded down from the wall so nobody had to climb up to an upper bunk.

I’ve also been to Zippel Bay in the past. http://www.zippelbay.com/icefishing2.htm The sleepers are adequate but much more rustic. When we went we had a day house out deep and a sleeper house closer in. It’s fun to drive to the Igloo Bar out on the lake but the sleeper was so/so.

If the Canadian border is open by next ice season I’d definitely consider heading up to the Northwest Angle. The trip up there is an adventure in itself, crossing from Minnesota into Manitoba and then back into Minnesota again winding up in the northern most point in the continental US. We’ve really like fishing one day on the MN side and one day on the Ontario part of the lake. The first year we did it the crappie fishing was great in Ontario. The next year they weren’t promoting the Canada side but brought us anyhow. Crappie fishing was poor but the walleyes were better than on the US side. We used Sunset Lodge http://www.sunsetlodgeresort.com/winter.html but either Sportsman’s Oak Island Lodge or Flag Island Resort offered a day in Canada in the past also. You’d have to check with them about Canada.

On Devil’s Lake we’ve fished with Bry’s Guide Service https://www.brysguideservice.com/ice-fishing We’ve stayed at his accommodations, which is best, and in a VRBO house in town. He fishes from a SnoBear which is a unique experience and much more comfortable than a bombardier.

Sorry for the long response, but as you can see, I really enjoy these ice fishing trips. There are a lot of good choices. On Red Lake my advice would be to go early. On Lake of the Woods my experience has been that, other than on the Canadian side, the fishing is the same all over ( a lot of small saugers with the occasional better fish) so I’d pick the most comfortable house.

You may want to post this question again in the Ice Fishing section or even the General Discussion section. I check out all the new posts but I know a lot of guys just look at specific sections.

Good luck with your search and I wish the best for your father-in-law and hope he can make several fishing trips with you.

[stjoeguy]

I'm not sure if this is Walleye Central acceptable or not, we'll see if this post gets deleted, but another place to look is
https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/com...m/fishing/ice/