Opener | Top Minnesota Fishing Resort
Welcome to Northern Lights Resort & Outfitting
Relax, Recharge & Enjoy!
Welcome new and returning guests this year at Northern Lights Resort & Outfitting. This is a big year for us here as we celebrate 10 years of operation! We have met so many amazing guests we call friends and we look forward to continuing our friendship and providing you with the best Minnesota fishing experience. As many know, the Minnesota Fishing Opener is quite a tradition in Minnesota…it’s a big deal. It's been celebrated annually since 1948, when the first Governor's Fishing Opener was conducted at Wahkon on Mille Lacs Lake. With ice sometimes only going out a week before opener, it’s always a “nail-biter” as whether your going to fishing open water or ice-fishing! We only mean that “tounge-in-cheeck” of course!
Fishing Opener 2023
Less than one week away! Dock fishing and shoreline fishing should be fantastic once the ice melts as is often the case with a late ice out! We are eagerly waiting for Kab to be ice free and it's cutting it close! With the wind picking up on Wednesday (9/10) we are hoping to avoid dock damage for us and neighbors. The power of the ice is amazing and daunting. Thankful that here at Northern Lights Resort & Outfitting we generally have a protected harbor plus floater-docks perched and protected on shore ready to go once open water is a reality!
Our seasonal team rolled in the last week of April from warmer climates. Everyone is eagerly looking forward to guests stringing with a brisk spring in our step as we wrap up the process of getting boats and equipment ready and opening cabins” all sparkling clean and ready for our guests to arrive. Anyone who has stayed with us before will see some familiar faces as well as a few new ones!
Largest Outfitter in Voyageurs National Park water based park.
Fishing Opener is a time to finally get the boat out of storage, feel the first 70 degree sunny day while fishing, and have great time with friends and family. What would opener be without a good fish fry too!
Here at Northern Lights Resort & Outfitting, it’s our job to provide you with the best opportunity to catch your trophy fish all the while enjoying it luxury. That is why we have the nicest fleets out there to rent from. We supply our line of boat rentals with the like of Alumacraft, Lund, and Crestliner boats. For those looking to simply relax and have the grandkids toss a line over the side, we have a variety of pontoon boats for you to enjoy as well.
We sell premium marina gas, live bait, ice, firewood, clothing, and gifts at Kabetogama’s Original Trading Post located within our lakeside Lodge and Aurora room. Stop-in by boat or car while touring the area to enjoy ice cream, snacks and refreshments.
We have a great team heading into the season. And yes, the ice cream, and great sunsets await you at our Lakeside Kabetogama Trading post! We can’t wait to have the youth from State Point paddle over for treats and swarm our beach; campers find us too as we are centrally located on Kabetogama for easy access to fill up boats with premium gas, grab ice for your coolers or cocktails, and live bait for fishing and of course firewood too (or snacks and sweet treats or hoodies or local made souvenirs too)! As many of you know the Aurora room of our Trading Post Lodge was flooded last year and we are happy to report the new floors and walls are looking great and we are moving back into the front desk by opener. Live Bait availability will also be good for opener too! We plan to have chubs, rainbows, shiners. FISHING TIP- A jig and minnow will definitely be a top choice to Lure in a fresh fish fry! Dock fishing should be excellent too, so get your gear ready, and plan on a lot of tight lines! We have a few openings if you want a spontaneous fishing trip “up north” on Lake Kabetogama. Many of our guests, friends and family have reached out with concern and curiosity about the current spring water levels and for good reason after the high levels last year. After last years flood, the water levels are looking good in comparison, as we anxiously await the arrival of friends to return (and make new ones)! The water is actually a little low, but we are okay with that, and been able to launch boats onsite this week here at NLRO! It makes it so much easier and efficient than shuttling down to the public launch. LOCAL TIP- One real concern is with the late ice thaw comes the concern of unmarked rocks and the navigational buoys (red/green routes) are delayed. The National Park service will get them out as soon as possible. Please be cautious if you are our early spring guests this coming up this week. A shadow has been cast across our Kabetogama community this week with the loss of a fellow business owner and dear neighbor. Paul Kiner, of Voyageurs Marine, passed away in the night recently and is to never be forgotten. Paul often had a twinkle in his eye, quick to smile or chuckle with us, and a story to share (or sage advice) when we dropped our boats off for repair. He had a big heart for our community and served in many ways. He never turned people away when help was needed. I’ll never forget the day our new Alumacraft Voyageur boat horn was going bonkers just after sunset, guests were floating cling to the dock due to the ruckus, and Captain Steve was traveling. (Plus, our team and guests were stumped to silence it! It was like it was possessed)! A quick message from Paul coached us to disconnect the battery, and we all could get some sleep! Our hearts go out to Jill and family and if you would like to join our support with a fundraiser to aid them during these difficult times find the info here (link to go fund me ). On a lighter note, our little slice of heaven on earth is thawing quickly and coming alive with color and wildlife! Reflections of blue sky waters and sunsets have emerged this week as the “lake puddles” widen and grow amongst the thawing ice. Wildlife is amazing to watch this time of year as the spring foliage is just starting to bud and fill in. Loons have finally arrived this week and we’ve had trumpeter Swan’s in our bay the last few days too. It’s quite the chorus at dawn, the birds all seem so happy!
Our Voyageurs Bald Eagles are fishing our Echo Bay like clock work. Bald eagles are well into their nesting season too! The rest of the area is alive with many different species of waterfowl with mating-mallards waddling up Northern Lights road and these beautiful “black and white” grebes sunning on their favorite rocks between fishing for dinner.
Soon, soon the deer too will wander with their fawns at dusk on our grounds. They are shy, but also often bold! Every year we’ve had them birth on our grounds and hope to see them keep the tradition. The year we had a wolf pups den less than a 1/2 block from each other on our acreage was daunting, but the two fawns have made it through several seasons now!
Well we had ambitious plans to get our webcam /dockcam back operational by iceout, but have been foiled again by Starlink security features not allowing it to stream! Stay tuned for Paul Bunyon internet hookup for a secondary high speed option to help us all enjoy seeing Lake Kab live every day from our own home! In the meantime, here are a few snapshots from out and about the resort as we prepare for guests to return.
Northern Lights Resort & Outfitting on the shores of Lake Kabetogama in the heart of Voyageurs National Park. Come relax, recharge and enjoy the best of lake life!
Mother’s Day is upcoming and we want to take a moment and say Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and grandmothers out there! We hope your day is full of love and joy!
Walleye fishing on Lake Kabetogama
Well all things Minnesotan, we mine as well send you off with an Sven and Ole joke!
Ole and Sven grabbed their poles and headed out to do some ice fishing. As they were augering a hole in the ice they heard a loud voice from above say, "There are no fish under the ice." Ole and Sven moved about 25 feet over and started to make another hole. The voice said a little stronger, "There are no fish under the ice." They both looked around and then looked up. Ole said in a humble voice, "Are you God?" The voice spoke back, "No ya idiots! I'm the ice rink attendant."
It looks like it will hit 70 degrees this week and the list is long. It’s time to get back to work!
Safe travels and we'll see you up at the lake soon! -Tracy
Your hosts,
Steve & Tracy Lindstrom, Owners
The NLRO team