Word coming in from the river tonight is their pushing boats over ice at Birchdale. Some anglers said they were able to fish about a block away from the landing this afternoon. I wish I could say the fishing was better today, maybe tomorrow. We're getting a little more steady rain this afternoon, which will help.

Franz Jevne landing was a popular place this morning. There were anglers heading both east and west. The 2nd picture is at Birchdale looking east. You can see one boat in the distance and there were a few more beyond. Seems these anglers launched at Franz Jevne and made their way through the rapids to the front of Birchdale that way. Still haven't heard of the fishing picking up just yet, but I'm thinking when anglers can finally get into the hot spots the walleye will be hungry! Water levels at the Forks have stabilized again and the level at Manitou has dropped. We have had very little rain but cooler temps.

The 1st picture is Franz Jevne looking east and the 2nd is west. Ice in the middle jammed at the rapids and ice on the bottom of the river along the shore is making things difficult for anglers. Some are taking their small boats east to open water from there, but no word on how they're doing yet. Some anglers took the Canadian route and launched at Emo with no problem and were able to do some "ok" fishing in that area. Birchdale remains to hold strong. When will it open? Even some of the most seasoned anglers I've chatted with have shrugged their shoulders. The river has never been quite this low and the cold weather with no snow this winter made the ice go deep, add into that little to no current. One week it's stuck the next it's opened for miles and then back to stuck. Very hard to predict when or what it will do. All I can promise is continue checking to see what she's done today. Big boats still at Pelland and International Falls, small boats at Mantiou Rapids and Franz Jevene. Fishing is still quiet, few here, a couple there.

We had a last minute opening in our 2 person cabin for anyone interested this up coming week. Just give us a call or email.

Weather is literally put a damper on us with periods of rain, nothing continuos, and cooler temps. Ice seems to be jamming up by Franz Jevne, stalling us again. Ramp conditions are as follows....Since Pelland is taking the big boats it very busy with little to no parking left. Manitou Rapids anglers with small boats that can be carried are launching there. When I just got to Franz Jevene anglers were launching small boats and following the shoreline east to the open water while others on the shoreline pondered doing the same. In the half hour I was there the boats that disappeared around the corner didn't come back so they must have got to the open water from Franz Jevne. As I left more anglers were putting in there small boats as well. Birchdale is holding strong (dang it). Still watching and still waiting.

We gained a few more miles again. Yesterday open water was at mile marker 163. Today I stood on the shore at mile marker 161 and took a picture facing west and there was open water as far as I could see. Then I can't see the river again from the road until marker 158 (Franz Jevne, sorry I think my last report I put it at 160) So somewhere between 160 and 158 it's open we're just waiting now for it to make the corner to Franz Jevne. Today the temp went back down to the 40's and we got some wind with it. Rain is again expected and it has drizzled a little today. If the river can keep it's pace the next couple days we should be able to see small boats launch at Franz Jevne and Birchdale this weekend, keep your fingers crossed! Big boats may still be jumping the gun but we'll keep watching. We get many questions about ramps getting plowed, but there isn't much left to plow and the shore ice appears to be letting go nicely on it's own. Even if they were going to plow anything we wouldn't be told anything about that. Water levels at the Forks and Mantiou continue to rise but not too quickly. Someone asked about driving on the Lake still, last I heard someone drove by a posted sign and sunk up that way recently so I'd have to say it's not recommended. I tried to post the high and low temperatures but it kept jumbling when I'd post so the easiest way to find that is to go to our "information" link to AccuWeather, at the bottom of that first page you can click past weather for 24hours and a month. You can also choose a month you'd like to see. Ice fisherman have been doing really well on the Lake and Pelland has been doing well, however yesterday they said it was slower. One angler did manage to pull a 29" out up there though, posted on the brag board. Hang in there everyone!

Last night the river opened to Manitou Rapids. Today when I got there it was well beyond! Top photo is facing west and bottom facing east. Open water reached to mile marker 163 and it's getting loose after that! Birchdale is at marker 158, Franz Jevne is 160! We're on the count down and the weekend is looking good for Birchdale!

These were taken at Franz Jevne today. The ice is still right below the surface, in fact when I pulled up some anglers were checking it out too and weren't able to launch there yet but it won't be long. Days at most. The 1st picture is facing west and 2nd is facing east.

The first picture is from Frontier Landing, no snow. Birchdale will open before Frontier. The other 2 pictures were from Birchdale Landing. One looking down the ramp and the other looking east. Looks like the shore may break for us nice. Not really any snow to plow and you can see concrete right down to the shore. Pelland ramp just got plowed yesterday so big boats can get in there and at I-Falls .

I appologise for no pictures tonite because gail is down at school so it was up to me to do the river run for the update, and i forgot our camera. but this i can tell you, there is open water about 8 miles east of birchdale and all signs of breakup are there. it has been a slow breakup but with the lack of run off we may have the benefit of a longer window to fish. just my optomism. again sorry about no pictures but this was art's mistake not gail's. i should have a fishing update tonite when everyone gets back.

I just wanted to leave a quick note. The fog stuck around most of the day but lifted this evening. Anglers staying here said on their way back from Pelland the open water is reaching this side of Indus as of this evening. They were in agreement that with the condition of the ice right now we wouldn't be waiting if there were any sort of current. We almost hit 60 degrees today!

We are making progress! Open water is moving through Indus, I just couldn't get a good photo today to pinpoint, the fog was entirely too thick. As expected the Big and Little Fork water levels are beginning to rise again and Mantiou continues to rise. We got poured on this morning for a little while before it stopped. More is expected. Snow is nearly gone now so run off shouldn't be much of a problem if at all. We got the temps we just need the current now. It'll still be at least a couple days before we get to Birchdale and it'll definitely be small boats first. Angers fishing out of Pelland had this to report... one group out in front of the Big Fork had a couple northern and a couple walleyes yesterday. Another group headed to International Falls and report boating about 30 walleyes. Other anglers are up by the Lake where their catching good numbers but no big ones yet near the Gap.

We got info! The river is FINALLY showing some progress! Today the river opened right past mile marker 170 to 169 and is still going. This picture was taken about noon today and my mom called on her way home this evening to tell me it opened across now too! And not a moment too soon, the hundred of miles a day I was putting on all week showing no improvement apparently wasn't just getting to me, a very frustrated angler wrote to me and let me have it too. But after making my river run today that couldn't even get me down! I was so excited to see something NEW! The day was BEAUTIFUL and everything has been letting loose, even the Rapid River that has been so quite, and is normally roaring this time of year, is showing signs of life. Unfortunately the only open ramp is still Pelland (pushing over ice) but the next couple days it should change fast and we'll get one of the ramps open we want! Water levels at the Forks remain steady but tomorrows report will most likely be different. Manitou Rapids level is increasing fast now though. Mile marker 169 is just past Indus and with the holes at Indus and holes at Manitou Rapids and Franz Jevne already it shouldn't be long! Temps in the 50's are to continue this week and I'm so excited, even though I probably won't even get a chance to fish! I want to thank all of our guests for making the best of a difficult situation and having a good time ice fishing and to the guys heading up to Pelland. And a very special thanks to everyone with all the nice emails of support it made last week a little easier even though I couldn't report the info that is coming this week!

This is Pelland ramp as of today. There were guys fishing out of here, pushing over ice today. This remains the only ramp with open water at the moment, but not for long.

Facing east and west at Franz Jevne. The open water is holding at mile marker 171 (Birchdale being #156) The ice however is becoming weaker by the day with the warm weather, we just need some help from the current to move it out of the way. When I checked the river today there were geese back in the area. Anglers got out their lawn chairs and grills today and brought them out on the ice to do a little ice fishing. Their not in as of yet but I was out there earlier in the day and they were already hitting some walleye at about 3pm. One angler pulled a 28.5" walleye through the ice the other night and will be sending a picture to share with us.

There was little change from yesterday to today. Open water remains between mile marker 173 and 171. The Big Fork and Little Fork water levels are remaining stable today but the Manitou Rapids showed an increase. The entire river has lost most of it's snow now leaving just the ice. We need a push from a current that for the moment is not very strong. Hopefully between the warm temps and the expected rain Sunday and Monday it can increase the water level to push a little more. We'll still be checking everyday!

This was Birchdale today, also showing what the ramp looks like at this time. Open water is somewhere between mile marker 173 and 171, I don't have view of the river between these markers. Today the entire river looked similar to these pictures of Birchdale with the watery surface just above the ice. The warm weather is taking care of the little snow we did get this year. If your unsure of the mile markers I'm showing you can click onto "maps" on this site and you will see a map of the river showing where these places and markers are. Didn't see sun today but did have some drizzle. Water levels are steady for the moment. I went all the way to Pelland today to check out the ramp there and other than some shore ice anglers have been launching small boats there. I took a picture of the Little Fork River today, it's posted on the "brag board". In it you can see how low the water level is. With little run off this year and the low water level is, unless it increases a GREAT deal you may want to take it easy out there this year, shallow spots in normal years could be even shallower this year.

These photos are from Franz Jevne 2nd pic is looking east 1st is showing the ramp.

This was Manitou Rapids today.

I took this picture today at mile marker 174 looking west. The open water is making it's way around the corner now despite the cold temperatures. Other areas between this marker and Birchdale remained similar. Temperatures are on the rise now and 50's are coming, this can make a big difference rather quickly. A little rain wouldn't hurt to speed things up either. The water levels have went down a little today but I'm sure will be back on the rise quickly with the melting we will have this weekend. Anglers this weekend are planning on hitting the open water by Loman and we also have anglers ice fishing as well. Anglers ice fishing the river will be looking for the walleyes coming from the Lake and the warm weather will draw them. We did have an angler report that he did rather well at Zippel Bay last weekend ice fishing in 31 ft during the day and moving to 15ft in the evening.

There was little change today. Weather was in the 30's and the wind was pretty strong. We also got a little snow. Tomorrow will be much cooler but will rebound the next day and the end of the week looks great so far. The Little Fork and Big Fork are showing an increase in the water level today while the Manitou Rapids remain steady.

We still have anglers in front of the bay here ice fishing, their still out there so I'm not sure how they're doing. I know this morning they got a large perch and were looking for northern during the day until the evening bite.

The 1st photo is Birchdale showing it's first weak spot however there were people ice fishing at Birchdale as well. The second is Manitou Rapids and the last was a weak spot at Frontier Landing. The photos below show the river at mile marker 170 and 174 which looks like the open water from Loman is expanding further with weak spots along the way to Birchdale (Manitou, Indus and Franz Jevne) Things looks tighter from Birchdale to here yet. We need good sun and warm temps!

The 1st picture is mile marker 170 facing west and the 2nd is mile marker 174 facing east. This is on the west side of Loman.

Indus showed open water yesterday. The river remains open from Loman to the Falls, if it has moved west I won't be able to see until it gets in clear view of the road. Water levels at Manitou and the Fork rivers remained stable yesterday. I won't be sure how much snow we got till this evening, we only got about an inch to the south. Probably enough to make it even more sloppy!

I'll be heading back this evening, Art following tomorrow. Yesterday was tough and not much looking forward to today. We want to thank everyone so much for their caring and understanding. Even though our family got smaller this week we feel like it also just got much larger. Thanks to everyone and hopefully we'll be fishing VERY soon!

There was very little change from yesterday to today. Snow began to fall shortly after 2pm. River still is open from Loman to the Falls. New pictures will be posted in the morning. The river will also be checked tomorrow afternoon. Temp today were in the upper 20's.

Both these pics are from Manitou Rapids. Along the drive the snow cover is mainly turned to slush. Ice houses will be off for the season tomorrow and taking ours off at Clementson made for a little nervous maneuvering because the ice is becoming even unsafe there as well. Today was a beautiful sunny day with temps almost 30 degrees and that will continue. Tomorrow we will be checking clear to the Falls. Water level at Manitou Rapids and the Little Fork are on the rise while the level at the Big Fork is now lowering just a bit.

1st picture is Birchdale and the 2nd is Franz Jevne both facing east.

Warm temps kept melting the snow off the river today. Many spots are looking more watery with the ice under the surface making a very unstable appearance. I drove clear to International Falls today. Loman does have open water with only shoreice left on the sides of the river clear to the Falls.
River updates will continue on the website however it may be hard to reach us over the phone the next couple of days. Art's father unexpectedly pasted away at the age of 65 this week and it's been hard for us and the kids, but thanks to a very helpful brother of mine we're still able to get updates that I'll be posting daily from where I am. I apoligize for any inconviences.

Indus and Manitou Rapids today.

We hit 50 degrees today and it was beautiful! The 1st picture is Franz Jevne and the other is Birchdale landing. The boys and I hiked through the snow at Manitou Rapids, which wasn't that deep, to get a photo there too. (shown below) With the little snow cover it's not taking much to melt off the top of the ice and leave slush. Most of the ice houses at Birchdale were gone when we got there today. Tomorrow is expected to be in the 40's and 30 the rest of the week. The USGS graph is showing a slight increase in water level at Manitou Rapids and the Little Fork with a slightly higher increase at the Big Fork.

1st picture is Indus today and 2nd picture is of Manitou Rapids.

The 1st picture is from the Birchdale landing in Nelson Park and the 2nd is from Franz Jevne showing another peek of open water. Indus shows even more weak spots, take a look at the photos after these! The weaker places are starting to show here and there as you follow the river. Check out the comment under Joe's picture, someone was fishing by the Falls Saturday and reports open water to Loman! Thanks for the info! Tomorrow we may have rain showers to give us a hand. Water level remains very low so there's room to swell this year. The ice houses come off this week so I'm going fishing!

We found 2 large open spots at Indus today. This is one of the spots that took two pictures to show. The other spot is just about as large!

Oops! I forgot Joe's pic from the other night! I got it now Joe! Nice walleye! Adam has one shown on the Brag Board from last night as well.

Today was gorgeous! I'm hoping when I take a run up the river for pics tomorrow I can show something promising! More and more trips will follow!

Today a group of neighbors were able to pull some walleye in the middle of the day and also a couple sturgeon! I haven't seen them for awhile. Northern were hot for some anglers staying here today and they got some walleye during the evening bite as well.

26.5" tonight for me! Nick and I went out and did pretty good. Caught a few and missed a few. 4 poles, 3 different colors on each and they all hit again tonight and one Nick just filleted had a jig a completely different color come out of that one. They were biting hard again.

Warm weather is coming!! This weekend is expected to be nice so I'll be making a trip up the river to scope things out and get photos!

The Theis boys had a good day with walleye and northern. Shown here with a limit of northern and a 26.5" walleye.

The weather was cool today but beautiful, the warm up is expected to start tomorrow and I can't wait for the ice and snow to start melting. Ice thickness is at about 29" and snow depth about 8" right now.

River Updates Coming Soon

We want to let everyone know that we will be doing river updates, as done in the past, as soon as we see something we'll be checking everyday at that point. Up until now we've been content with just being above zero, course now we want more!!! 30's are expected this weekend, so if it starts to warm up we might see some changes. Right now there's no open spots yet or signs of it breaking, but that can change fast!

My 8 year old niece Shelby showed us all up tonight with this 25.5 inch walleye! You go girl!

There were five of us out tonight and again everyone had a different color jig and again they all hit. Shallow depth as usual. Ryan was having trouble with the "CPR" concept tonight, he was more of a "CR" man tonight, catch and release. They kept slipping through his fingers and back down the hole before the photo! Up river the neighbors were also doing well. Art disappears on the snowmobile as much as possible to enjoy the snow while it lasts.

Now we're talkin! Ryan and I went out tonight to try our luck and didn't do bad at all. The only hard thing about the 2 walleye possession limit tonight was getting one small enough! This was one of mine at 24" and Ryan's 20.5". Alot more fun than before the wild weather. We dodged the bullet with the last system getting very little snow, in fact the boys figured they were the only ones in the state that didn't get a snow day! There's still some great ice fishing to be had up here for any of you wanting get some in. They say the backside of the season is great on the river because the females are moving up the river!

Tonight we each had 2 lines with 3 different colors and they all hit. White/pink, gold/pink glow and white/yellow/orange mix. We were in 14ft depth and the bite was hard again.