Good afternoon, this is Artificial Lure with your Saturday, June 21, 2025, fishing report for Lake of the Woods, Minnesota.

We were greeted this morning with a sunrise at 5:14 AM and can expect sunset around 9:27 PM. The skies are partly cloudy with highs reaching the mid-70s and a steady west-northwest breeze around 10 to 12 mph—prime fishing weather for June! Water temps on the main lake continue to hover in the low 70s, creating optimal conditions for the bite to stay hot.

The jig and minnow bite is still solid all across the south shore, from Pine Island all the way up past Long Point. Anglers are anchoring up or using spot-lock in 12 to 24 feet on shoreline structure, underwater points, and especially the shallow reefs. Reports from both the South Shore and the Northwest Angle say schools of walleyes are roaming and feeding, with a nice mix of keepers and plenty of big girls that need to go back for another round. If you like a little more action, trolling crankbaits along shallow structure at 2–3 mph is producing, especially on rock and sand transitions. This week’s best colors on cranks and jigs have been gold, chartreuse, and pink, with a healthy dose of hammered nickels for those clear sky hours.

Along with strong walleye action, there’s a great mixed bag showing up. Jumbo perch, northern pike, and a few solid smallmouth bass are all in the mix, especially if you work shorelines and structure. Bass anglers are seeing results on finesse plastics and crankbaits, targeting points and scattered rubble. Remember, muskie season opens today in both Minnesota and Ontario Zone 5. The weed growth is filling in quickly, and early birds are scouting the bays and island saddles; big bucktails and topwaters should move fish as the sun gets higher.

Baitwise, you can’t go wrong with a lively shiner or fathead on a 1/4-ounce jig, but with water temps rising, crawlers on spinners are taking more fish each trip. For the deeper bite, especially east of Long Point and up toward Garden Island, drifting spinners or running lead core with crankbaits will find those schools holding in 30–36 feet.

A couple of hot spots you should check out:
- **The mud flats in front of Pine Island**—the structure transition is holding numbers of walleye and a few big perch.
- **Northwest Angle rock and sand transitions**—exceptional for both walleyes and smallmouths, especially around points and neckdown areas.

Sturgeon season is right around the corner, reopening July 1, so keep those heavy rods handy if you want to soak crawlers in the deep holes along the Rainy River—reports show the giants are already starting to move.

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