Ely Minnesota Resort - Here's what you get at Northwind Lodge

Are you looking for more information about cool places to stay with nice cabins next to a lake in the woods?  How about a laid back resort setting on a jewel of a lake next to a creek with a waterfall? I'm pretty sure you'd appreciate nice clean cabins where you can cook your own dinner and take a hot shower.  Plus, with a quick walk down to the water you can get in your boat and head out on the lake for the evening.  Listen to the loons while you fish.  Watch the beaver swim by and see the eagles soaring overhead.  Smell the air.   It's ultra clean and you'll sleep like a log at night.

I grew up right here at Northwind Lodge and we still hear that all the time from our guests.  Complaints such as," I overslept.  I couldn't get out of bed.  I don't usually do this at home", and on and on.  Our guests are constantly oversleeping and don't want to get up because it was so comfortable under the covers with the fresh air and quietness.  Then, when they finally get up, they kick themselves for not getting up sooner because the day is beautiful and the deep blue water was calling them.  It has always been the conundrum - a Northwind Lodge "vacationer's guilt" - if you will.  I guess that's part of the great wilderness vacation experience at our resort NE of Ely and surrounded by the Boundary Waters.  Part of you wants to get up and go, the other part of you wants to enjoy the "sleeping-like-a-log" part.  You, like the thousands of guests before you in the last 70+ years of  Northwind Lodge operation, are going to have to figure out how to resolve this "problem" on your own.  We, in the family-operated resort business, have no solution for you.

If you'd like to see some of our resort's rental cabins inside, the following links ought to get you started in the right direction.  Just give em' a click and off you go!

Cabin 8

Cabin 7

Cabin 5

Cabin 2

I'll add more videos of our cabins as time permits.

Check out our Lodge Cabin Availability for this summer - Click Here

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Another Fall Day on Jasper Lake at Northwind Lodge

Now, that global warming has officially set in on northeastern Minnesota, we are dressing appropriately and still getting out on the water to nail some lunkers.  This is Connie Wegisin from Ohio with her northern she caught yesterday.  That was a particularly chunky monkey she brought into the boat.

The weeds in the lake this year are unlike anything I've ever seen before.  It's weird how some years we have no weeds and think the rusty crayfish have moved in and killed them all.  Other years we have normal weeds, and this year we have weeds up the wazoo.  And yet, my garden croaked and was a waste of  $28...  The brush this year is thicker than peasoup and the growing season was ridiculously short for everything.

As a result of the thick weeds in the lake, the Wegisins were casting topwater plugs because even the weedless are hard to do right now.  Red and white is hot and I think Connie was using a Spook or something similar - Tom couldn't remember the name.  Anyway, the haukies are pounding red and white and Connie caught one of these:

So, if you were staying at Northwind Lodge right now, not only would be enjoying cool weather, but you could be taking advantage of the serious northerns rising from the cover of cabbage weeds to attack easy targets twitching on top.  I don't want to rub it in.  Oh, what the heck; yes I do...

Nice northern pike, Connie!

They put it back in the lake, too!

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Fishing Report for Jasper Lake and the area

This season, June appears to have been the hottest month for fishing in Jasper and the area, overall.  Having Red Rock Wilderness Store here as part of Northwind Lodge affords us the ability to find out what is biting and where.  Plus, our Northwind Lodge guests caught the biggest fish and most species at the end of May and throughout June.  When the smallmouth were on the spawning beds this season (which is usually the third week in June for as long as I can remember), our guests were catching whoppers in smallmouth bass and the largemouth were doing pretty nicely, as well.

Once we entered July, our weather turned spectacular for the most part.  We had the occasional mega-downpour, but were very pleased with the nice temps and sunny days.  Only one day hit 90 degrees F and everyone was griping at the horrific discomfort and terrible sweatiness it caused - for one day.  I kept reminding the complainers that we had a normal winter last season which means actual temps dipping to -40 degrees F and six whole weeks of -23 to -25 degree F mornings.  It became apparent to me that many among us have really short memories with everything from politics to weather.  Once we made it past our 15 hour heat wave, summer fell lock-step into mid-seventies by day and mid-to-high forties by night.  That went on for days on end.  It was awful to be so comfortable.  I do think it caused some issues with fishing as while we humans like the climate-controlled temps of northern Minnesota (at least for this year and probably never again), the fish find it less enjoyable or at least un-motivating.  The barometric pressure remained high and infrequently moving for many of the days past.  Fishing is always best when atmospheric pressure is changing and preferably on the rise.  When it remains high all the time, while that is better than a fish depressing low, it is not as good as an inspirational rise.  With the more variable weather of June, fishing was more exciting and in that lies no surprise.  June generally brings about bigger fish and more activity in general. This June was no different.

As for recent activity, there have been quite a few customers coming into Red Rock (our store and the Northwind Lodge office) asking for very specific lures to catch northern pike.  We have thousands of lures in the store here and whenever we don't have the exact color/design/brand in stock, we get a lot of varied remarks of great disappointment.  "Well, one would think that with 25,000 lures in stock, you'd for certain have MY color/brand/model!"  When I ask what they are using that specific color to catch, they invariably say "northern pike".  At that point, great restraint must be put forth on my presentation that five different customers have been in today all asking for a really different specific lure "for northerns".  That in itself should really easily indicate that the northerns are biting and they are biting EVERYTHING.  Northern pike are like that.  They can really be biting and they pretty much are biting from a reaction to the lure. How do I know that?  I've personally watched LOTS of northern pike under the ice with underwater cameras.  It also doesn't hurt that I fished hard for many years as a guide.  For more current data, Rapala came out with their Scatter Rap which is a whole line of lures that wobble when pulled through the water, but then suddenly shoots off in an erratic motion.  That erratic, occasional veering off-course makes fish take notice.  That notice can result in a reaction strike.  Northerns are reactive fish.   Yes, there are occasional times when they do hit one color over another, but more often than not, they will hit all the lures in your tackle box and sometimes even a six inch yellow, plastic, braided rope with a treble hook attached.  Fishing northern pike is the easiest of all the fish and they are very aggressive.  That is why the limit for them is three.  The trick is finding the big ones.  There is a reason that big fish are big - they are not stupid.

Now, does that mean that northerns will hit every lure you throw out of the boat?  No.  Sometimes, they are simply not in the mood.  The point that I am trying to make is that if you don't find your exact, trusty, confidence lure for northern pike, don't worry about it.  We have about 100 others that will do quite well and on some days nothing works.  Incidentally, the exact same thing can be said for worm harnesses and spinner rigs for walleye fishing.  Colorado or Indiana blade - it's not going to matter that much.  Spin, flash, bite.    For July and August, slap on a  fluorescent orange, chartreuse, or copper colored blade, hook on a worm, and throw it over the side.  Troll around the cabbage weed bed edges and be on the bottom.  Other colors will work as well. They are really more interested in the worm.  

As of late, northerns and bass have been slamming top water lures like Zara Spooks, Chug Bugs, various poppers and  Jig-N-Pigs which are pretty weedless and fun to use.  The best fishing in Jasper appeared to be from 5 AM to 8 AM when the pressure seemed to increase every day for the past ten days.  That was for the Kowalyshens in Cabin 7.  Jim Rhoads and son Dan, and  grandson Abraham did well during a wide range of daytime hours.  Terry Rose, caught fish at all day times but noted that the fishing was a bit slower overall this season.  I'm still holding the spectacular weather to be responsible for slow fish activity.    What was inexplicable was that the bluegills disappeared for the past two weeks.  Normally, this time of year, they are jumping in the boat.   We'll have to see what the rest of August and September brings.  

Lake trout have been hitting big jigs at 90 feet in Snowbank Lake.  Catching lakers at this time of year requires a special skill set.  Rainbow trout in Tofte Lake (next door to us) has been producing some nice rainbows from trolling with Salmo Hornets in Rainbow Dace pattern which is exactly like the minnows that are in Tofte.  To use these little beauties, you simply troll them behind the boat about 150 to 200 feet....and the rainbows are tasty!

We'll see what this week brings.  I'm hoping to sneak a little time on the water as well.  For the bulk of the summer, I spent my time talking about fishing in the store for 12 hours per day, seven days a week since the first week of June which was my last trip to date.  

The ax is becoming dull.  I need to go sharpen it.

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Talkin' Fishin' with Northwind Lodge Guests

Yes, I know....talkin' fishin' with the Normans is like shootin' fish in a barrel.  These people are "fish magnets", but the really useful part is that after they've been on the water, I know that I have an accurate fishing report about the status of the lake.  After they hit the water and report back, you know there are a ton of fish out there.  This as opposed to more of our "non-fish-magnet" guests who might, on occasion,  declare various lakes in our area to be completely devoid of fish. After listening to Jake, his dad Bob, and mom Mary Sue, I doubt that you will get the sense that there are no fish in the waters on which they venture out.

Big sky and blue water are calling you for adventure!  Answer the call and come up!  Take a daytrip on the water and come back to your cabin at night!  There are not a lot of places where you can do this with very few to no people around!  However, you can here!

Northwind Lodge Website

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On the Bridge at Northwind Lodge

Many of our guests have been coming to Northwind Lodge for a long time.  I've known the Normans since 1985 or so and we always look forward to their coming up from Grafton IL (way down there on the river) for a stay with us.   They are some of our best fishermen by far and always seem to have a good time despite the weather or worldly woes.  Their son Jake is a biologist working for the state of Texas in the fisheries department and runs around working with fish in his professional time and in his free time as well.  Their other son Jesse (not in the vid) is a newly married engineer at a nuclear power plant and couldn't make it up this season with his wife and new son.   Next year, Jess and family...

One of coolest parts of owning a Minnesota resort is getting to know our guests.  At some point, we commonly get to know four generations of a particular family in the "Ma & Pa" resort business and it is really something special that not a lot of people get to experience.  My wife and I are very fortunate.

This is a quick video of standing on the lower foot bridge that crosses Jasper Creek.  Many fun stories like this will be told for generations to grandchildren and as a resort owner, it's nice to be a part of this!

Come on up and see what it's like in the woods and away from that concrete jungle!   At night, there are no street lights, it can be pitch black and we can have bears.  Sounds terrifying?  It really isn't.  Just don't feed or pet the bear and you'll be fine.  Leave the beavers alone, too.

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