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| Babe with a nice walleye. |
February 2, May 3
During the post-glacial age, melting ice formed a massive body of water, even larger in size than lake Superior. As Lake Agassiz’s waters withdrew northward into Hudson Bay…Lake
Following the founding of Fort Charles on the lake, by explorer Pierre LaVerendrye…Lake of the Woods became a base camp for exploration and opening up the Northwest to Trade.
Soon after came the golden age of the Voyagers and Lake of the Woods became a major link in their trade route—a junction where furs and goods passed through en route to Lake Superior.
For many years the famous Hudson Bay and Northwest companies set up shop, but by the 1840’s, for all intensive purposes, the fur trade was over.
Settlers came in droves, transported by steamboats and were dropped off along the lake’s shores. Small towns such as Nestor Falls, Sioux Lookout and Rat Portage, later renamed Kenora, sprang up.
Huge stands of white pine lined the tributaries of Lake of the Woods at this time. And when the railway came, the lumber industry flourished.
Oh no doubt about it…in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s commercial fishing played a huge role in developing the local economy. Whitefish and sturgeon were the favorite choices of early fishermen and one by one, commercial fishing operations sprang up along notable points and bays at Lake of the Woods. But by the 1920’s, most were gone or on their way out.
Yeah…it sure was and still is quite a place. But setting the past aside, as a fisherman I’ve always considered myself lucky to live so close to Lake of the Woods–most of which lies in Ontario above the Minnesota border.
