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Bring a bucket of water


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Don't have a clue how the DNR will be enforcing the "dump your bait bucket" rule this year but it is a good idea to bring a bucket of water with to put your bait in if they decide to. I hate to have a bucket of beautiful rainbows dieing in a dry bucket on the way home.

Last year about 1 in 4 were told to dump their water on the ramp and were not "technically" enforcing but who in their right mind tells a CO no? This year they may be writing tickets.

It's that or maybe a Zip-Lock with a little canning salt to save them till tomorrow.

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The spiny water flea is present in the Rainy River. Thats why they are telling you to dump the water. I'm suprised they don't tell you to dump the bait alltogether. I bring a 30 gal cooler with a 12v pump installed to circulate the water and leave it in the truck. With all those minnows you should have a big bucket anyway.

I fished last year out of Pelland and was told the same.

FYI... For first timers... Make sure your boat is up to par with all your licences, fire extinguisher, horn working and everything else because they check everything!

Don't take any extra fish over your limit if you are fishing multiple days. I had some friends try that and the DNR followed them to their resort to check their freezer. Ticket were handed out.

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So if i bring minnows in a 5 gallon pail and they stay in there the whole time, they're gonna make me dump em out when i get back to shore?? So your talkin have a 5 gallon pail of water so you can strain the minnows and throw em in your pail when you get back to the truck?

could get mighty expensive on bait if i gotta throw it all away every day!

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Last year we would fill our boat bait wells with well water at home and then keep the well water circulating and didn't have any troubles. We did get confronted by a CO and stated it was well water and he left it alone. Not sure if this year will be different.

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What type of minnows should a guy use? And where to get them? How many should a peson have each day? I have to go to work on the 7th, hopeing the ice will be off before that. So i can get in some fishing as I will be in cedar rapids ia for 6 weeks . probably miss opening weekend also.

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does anyone use plastics up there on the Rainy? Just wondering because guys love them down on the Mississippi river just seeming if anyone uses them?

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Depending on where you are coming from, you can stop in Ifalls. I don't remember the name of the place but its tucked behind the Holiday gas station if you come in on US 53. Decent sized scoop of minnows. I believe we use rainbows last year...I am going to try the Gulp plastics up there this year. Used them on Vermilion last summer and outfished regular minnows 2 to 1. Hopefully the same will be true up there!!!

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Usually the CO can tell if the water is clear well water or stained Rainy water. A second bucket of water would be some cheap insurance. Fill it up at our place before you head to the landing.

I like the big rainbows. Have caught nice fish on shiners but feel bigger bait is a real plus.

Know several guys who have done well on plastics and protiens but I lack the confidence to fish anything but live bait. I know live bait works and just can't waste the short time this thing runs trying other stuff.

Is it really worth an few extra bucks for bait to risk your whole trip?

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Doug, I agree with you for sure. I have fished trying artificial and didn't have the confidence in it either. I always have done better with live bait. We come up from the south on Hwy.72 and usually stop in Baudette for gas and then go to "Lucky" bait just west of the "T" on Hwy 11. I have fished in Ontario at Lac Seul, up in Chamberlin Narrows and probably caught 5 or 6 to 1 using live bait (Rainbows) over artificial bait.

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When I go I bring a lot of plastics. I have had very good luck on them. I "Piggy Back" power shiners or gulp shiners and it works real good. I do however make sure I have some big rainbows as well. When they are going they will hit just about anything.

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I go up there every year and our group seems to have equal results with plastic vs. live bait. In fact there are times when you can’t keep the 15-18 fish off and going to an 8” plastic really helps put the big girls in the boat. We have some guys in our group that fish only live bait and others that fish just plastics and I tell you what it seems that both catch just as many.

Drake, are you going up this year? If so shoot me an email and I can show you where the 30”ers hang out:-) [email protected]

I talked to Ben the other day and it sounds like we’ll be meeting up possibly next week?

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hey PieEyed- you willing to divulge and information to a first time rainy river fisherman? where do you work in alexandria?- i work at Aagard Group as a machinist.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I've been out numerous times where plastics outfished live bait. It's almost always a confidence thing. Most can't stay away from live bait because thier head keeps telling them they "Need Live Bait".

Plastics work very well.....

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I've always used live bait up on the Rainy. At the same time, I've always got my eyes on the other boats around me, and what's going on. The past couple of years, I have noticed more and more guys using plastics. I think we're starting to see more and more guys coming up from the Metro area and south, where the norm is to pitch ringworms on the Mississippi.

Last year, I noticed a group of three guys, and they were all pitching plastic, and they were doing very well. We were both fishing the same area the next day...same thing. When I met them at the landing that night, they told me that had caught well over a hundred fish, and numerous big ones. Sounded like they did even a little better than us...although we had only two guys and one was a beginner.

The next day in the afternoon, our minnow supply started getting skinny, so I forced myself to try some plastics the past few hours. We did well, and actually caught two of the biggest fish of our trip in the last few minutes of the trip.

I'm with Doug...jig and minnows definitely gives me more confidence, BUT, I'm finding myself fishing plastics more and more. Have been getting some nice fish already this season down on the Mississippi on plastics. I plan on going to the Rainy better supplied this year.

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Smallie Hunter, are you coming with? I thing we're headed up next Sunday night. From what I here the fishing is picking up.

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What kind of plastics do you guys typically use? I am planning on going up this weekend for the first time and I am wondering what I should add to my plastic supply.

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Me I'm a bait guy. Very rare for plastics to out do the real stuff on this river in my book. About the only time I've ever seen the plastics shine consistently over bait is when the water is clouded up, a bit more murky than normal, not the full on springtime choclate shake gush that shuts em off but moderately cloudy water from rain and such. Whether it's spring or fall this type of condition is when I will drop the plastics.

I probably get more fish numberswise on Shiners, the big girls do like them Rainbows alot, as well as a coupla other minnow types that are hard to get ahold of during Spring season.

fiskyknut

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I love plastics specially gulp and the new gulp alive. I have used the minnow grups in the spring on all kinds of bodies of water and done exellent with them. In the summer I even use the leeches and worms on lindy rigs. cheaper than live bait and last longer specially the alive.

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Fiskynut, I was just like you a few years back. A good rainbow on a half oz jig is hard to beat. That still remains true, but when you have guys that come into your boat and out fish you on plastics, it makes you a believer. I think my buddy and I had about the same number of fish but he had 10 more picture fish in a few hours, so I finally switched up and boy did I start crankin the big ones. I still love live bait but plastics are must have after that and they've proven themselves time and time again since then.

As for what type? My belief is that the river is full of large bait fish this time of year so the larger baits work best. As for color, shape and size that can vary from day to day. I'd use anything you have. I've had my butt kicked by an 8" long green lizard that they use for bass. My buddy was the only one in that stretch of river who caught picture fish after picture fish in a row. The following day the bite was strictly minnows. I can't explain it but I always make sure I have plenty of both when I hit the Rainey. Good Luck.

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PieEyed.....I dunno, I doubt you were "just like me" a few years ago as you do not know me from Adam! Did you know my biggest Walleye ever was caught on a jig and Twistertail grub back in late October of 1992? I do indeed like them, I carry and do use them from time to time, and I also enjoy some success's on occasion using plastic bodies of one type or another eh!

Folks just don't seem to outfish me on plastics PieEyed, bait either for that matter, LOL! I've been here all my life, a mere near 46 years is all though. My opinions are based on what I have seen thru my expieriences of river jiggin' up here during both spring and fall. This goes back long before the birth of the internet, and also long before the exponetial boom in the number of tourists from afar who now come up here in major droves to fish this river each spring.

One of the cool things about fishing....Lots of ways to get er done eh. I remember using Twistertails during the mid/late 70's here on the Rainy, and like you mentioned PieEyed, "they've proven themselves time and time again since then", and they've been "must haves" since then as well. Golly the past 8-10 years I have added all kinds of funky plastics to the jiggin bag alongside those old school and oh so deadly at times twistertails. Iffin you knew just what was in my jig bag you would know that my plastics are always along for the jiggin trips, and yes I have in the past and will so again in the future catch plenty of fish on them, when, in my opinion the time is right to break them out.

fiskyknut

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
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