Has anyone ever stayed at Sportsman Lodge or either of their other properties? We are looking for a 3 or 4 night trip, either in a sleeper house or in their cabins with daily transport to fish house. Never been up there so we want to catch some fish and get away away from life for a few days.

edit** sorry, thought it was on the rainy river.

anyway, booked 3 nights lodging and 2 days fishing, in mid-January.
dug out the rods, gotta get new line and apparently some glow in the dark lures!

Can't go wrong with Ballard's or Sportsman's.

Only had one experience with Sportsman's last February 2020 just before Covid became a problem. When you go there, don't expect luxury, 5 star quality. This is basically a fishing lodge, not a spa.

The food in the dining room and / or bar was surprisingly good.
You won't go away hungry. Portions were generous.

Accommodations were plain but clean and comfortable.
Hired help worked hard to make trip worth while.

Would be happy to go back, would recommend to friends.
Enjoyed the hot tub after fishing.
Caught small to medium fish, a few bigger, no trophies.

Only possible downside was some of those 350 engines installed in old, old Bombardier Snow Cats tend to overheat, making your trip to / from the lake slow and takes away from valuable fishing time.

seems your talkin LOTW, and not Rainy. Posts seem to think the same with language involved. Sportsmens' is well run, both for your $$ and return. If the fish are biting. They put up a nice show and all, but a person can do cheaper, and catch just the same/ or more amount of fish from some of the lesser name resorts.
Do NOT do a SLEEPER. Unless you like catching an ocnl eelpout at dark times, sleepers are usually dead at night on LOTW. If said "sleeper" is on the spot for the Dusk/Dawn bite, which is not the ordinary for LOTW, but if so, Do it. Otherwise- skip the Sleeper.

WhiteWolf: "seems your talkin LOTW, and not Rainy. Posts seem to think the same with language involved. Sportsmens' is well run, both for your $$ and return. If the fish are biting. They put up a nice show and all, but a person can do cheaper, and catch just the same/ or more amount of fish from some of the lesser name resorts.
Do NOT do a SLEEPER. Unless you like catching an ocnl eelpout at dark times, sleepers are usually dead at night on LOTW. If said "sleeper" is on the spot for the Dusk/Dawn bite, which is not the ordinary for LOTW, but if so, Do it. Otherwise- skip the Sleeper. "

Yep. Don't get a sleeper. Stay in a comfy cabin.

Thanks for the heads up. My mistake.

Will immediately re-enroll myself in 3rd grade reading comprehension, you betcha'.

;-)

Don't forget to try just a plain hook and minnow. Many times that has been the biggest producer. Jig them in, and they hit the plain minnow.

Sportsman’s is on the Rainy River.... Just before it dumps into four mile bay.

Just got back from Ballard's Dec. 27-30. Fishing was slow and inconsistent, mainly just small Sauger. Only real success we had was jigging with a Glo-shot.
Good luck, LOTW is always a fun time even if the fish aren't biting like crazy!

Heading up in two days. Weather forecast is for 30s and no snow til Thursday. Doesn’t seem like good temps for the fish to bite. Should we try something other than the tackle and bait recommended already? Can’t change dates. :)

I think they're gonna bite like crazy. Consistent weather for a couple days usually gets 'em going. Good luck.

Bite had been very very very slow. For a little over 100 guests out fishing yesterday they cleaned about 220 fish.

Minnow and a yellow hook has worked well for me. But we are trying all sorts of stuff.