If you love ice fishing, especially for walleyes, Joe Henry recommends a trip to the Northwest Angle for a trip of lifetime.

Lake of the Woods is a very popular ice fishing destination, for many reasons. It boasts a strong and sustainable population of walleyes and saugers, has ice earlier and later than most lakes in the U.S., and has an infrastructure of resorts which enable ice fishing to be easy and enjoyable for anglers of many different abilities and interest levels. Within this one body of water, there are a variety of areas that are absolute havens to walleyes. One of these havens is the Northwest Angle.

The Northwest Angle is positioned just north of the big basin called Big Traverse Bay where most ice fishing on Lake of the Woods takes place. When you look at a map of Minnesota, it is the tip, or as some call it, the “chimney” of Minnesota that sticks up into Canada.

It is the northernmost point in the contiguous U.S., farther north than Washington or Maine. It is where the 14,552 islands of the lake begin. In that same note, it is also where the Canadian shield begins providing this part of the lake with a lot of structure in the form of islands, underwater points, reefs and mud flats.

Rather than the large expanse of ice as far as the eye can see, like on the south end of Lake of the Woods, this area is full of islands. About half of the resorts in this area are located on the mainland of the Angle, a community called Angle Inlet, Minnesota. The other half of the Northwest Angle resorts are on islands. All of these resorts are located in Minnesota, and one thing is for sure—they know ice fishing.

The majority of ice anglers who ice fish Lake of the Woods access the lake through the variety of resorts and outfitters across the south shore. It is convenient, you can drive right to the resort and there are miles and miles of ice to spread out across, with some incredibly good areas to fish.

When you ice fish the Angle, you are getting away from the norm a bit. Whether it’s the adventure, the change of scenery, abundance of walleyes or more solitude, the Northwest Angle is one heck of an ice fishing destination.

There are numerous ways to travel to the Northwest Angle. If you drive, you will need a few documents to enter Canada. If you take the lake up by snowmobile or by using the couple of transport services available, you will be staying in Minnesota and can avoid customs and the requirements to enter Canada.

Drive to the Angle

The most common way to travel to the Angle is to drive. It is super convenient to have everything packed in your vehicle and literally drive to the front door of your resort cabin. The resorts at Angle Inlet are on land. If you are staying at an island resort, the island ice road allows you to drive to any of the island resorts on Flag and Oak Islands.

If you drive, you will need the proper credentials to enter Canada. That’s right, you actually drive through Canada about 40 miles and enter back into the U.S. up at the Angle. Credentials mean a bit more in today’s world than they did a couple of years ago, due to COVID. Here is what you will currently need to drive through Canada:

1. Passport, passport card, enhance driver’s license or government-issued ID along with a birth certificate
2. Proof of COVID vaccination
3. A PCR or Molecular COVID test showing a negative result that is less than 72 hours old. There is talk of this requirement being lessened, and time will tell. Check with Lake of the Woods Tourism or a Northwest Angle resort prior to travel for up-to-date guidelines.

Some anglers are getting the COVID tests taken care of back in their home communities where resources are more accessible. The other option is getting a rapid test (for a fee) in the border communities of Baudette and Warroad. Most travelers will submit their receipt for the test to their insurance company for reimbursement.

If the COVID antigen tests are eventually allowed, they can be purchased for less than $20 and take 15 minutes or less for results.

For those who aren’t vaccinated or simply don’t want to deal with customs requirements, there are a few other ways to travel to the Angle:

Snowmobile

We are fortunate to have two very good snowmobile clubs on Lake of the Woods: On the south end, the Lake of the Woods Drifters and up at the Angle, the Northwest Angle Edge Riders. These two clubs maintain hundreds of miles of groomed and staked trails, not only on land but across the lake. A nice trail system is set up from the south end of the lake, across the lake up to Northwest Angle resorts.

Lake of the Woods Passenger Service offers heated, round-trip ice transportation from the Wheeler’s Point area on the south shore to your favorite Northwest Angle resort. Whether it is a Bombardier or 4 x 4 vehicle specially equipped with tracks, it is an experience, traveling across the mass expanse of this frozen environment with white as far as the eye can see.

And there’s no crossing the border, as it stays within Minnesota the entire trip, so no passport is required.

Lake Country Air

Catch a ride with a flying service! Experiencing the terrain and lake via air is not only breathtaking, but efficient. The trip across lasts less than 15 minutes until you land on an ice runway.

Ice fishing the Angle

Most ice anglers are after walleyes, no doubt. Chances are, you will catch a nice mix of fish while targeting walleyes such as saugers, perch, eelpout, northern pike and crappies.

The Northwest Angle is special, to say the least. With the many ways to travel up to it, the Northwest Angle is available to everyone. The Angle is a very special place. Once you visit, there is a good chance you will be back!

You’ll find more suggestions for excellent ice fishing destinations in the winter issues of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.