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2013 River Conditions for Spring Fishing!


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I see the landing in Pinewood is now being used , still ice along shore guys had to push in and out. No line up yet wink

Rob

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Anyone know how close vidas is to launching over ice? All the years up there I've never had to launch my 14' tin can over ice (15hp motor)... Can anyone comment on the difficulty of unloading and more importantly loading by myself with this set-up? Given the current state of frontier.

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It probably has about 5-6 miles to go to get to Vidas as of yesterday.

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WE HAD SOME ROOMS OPEN UP FOR SUNDAY NIGHT (APRIL 7TH), MONDAY NIGHT (8TH), TUESDAY NIGHT (9TH), AND THURSDAY NIGHT (11TH).
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Two of us fished yesterday. Caught 23 with one over ten pounds. Due to the low current the bite is slow compared to normal years up there in the spring. Waited thirty minutes to load, however everyone was very fast at the ramp. WT 35.5, water clarity 2.5 feet. Saw four guys in a 12 foot boat, and the man in the front had his legs dangling over the bow. Think they need to buy a Ranger.

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Here's another report. Talked to some friends (4) tonight that fished today. They said the morning bite was very slow and then thinks picked up in the afternoon. Had a good day with ninety fish total, ten over 26, 29.5 biggest. They were casting, we caught ours yesterday trolling cranks.

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Lostbay

Your loading and unloading is kind of up to you and your ability's, getting it off of the trailer is pretty easy, getting it back on is more work.

If you use a roller trailer it can be easy, but a fair amount of work. Most all of the guys at Birchdale and any of the landings are willing to help, or just help you out because that's the way most of the guys are. if you are all by yourself and no one else to help be prepared to do it all your self.

Like I said most guys are willing to help because it gets you out of the way so they can load or unload.

Once loaded or unloaded you are expected to get out of the way so others can get in or out.

Mark

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just got home from the river and unfortunately the bite today was horrible for me and for every other group that i talked to... 3 fish for me today and i talked to about ten other groups and the most i heard of anyone boating was seven fish... sorry for the bad report but tried about a dozen spots from birchdale to the ice by the church.... hopefully it will pick up

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fished the last couple days on the river. yesterday was ok. today was real slow. did not see many walleye caught today. lots of sturgeon but not many eyes. did hear of a few big females being caught but most of the fish being caught were smaller males or river fish. the ice was open to about a mile past the church. we got to birchdale at about 6:50am this morning and there were 20-30 boats there already. waited around 45min-1hr on each end .

we stayed at the dutchmans. nice folks and clean rooms. smile

this was at birchdale at around 7am.

photo3_zps4afe4e1e.jpg

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Fished from 1- 7 today. Water clarity was best I've seen at over 3 feet. Water temp 34.5. Fishing was very slow - only boated 4 eyes for four guys. Seen more sturgeon caught than walleye. Fishing picked up better after 4 pm. Our other group of 4 did better catching 16 fish - biggest 26". Males and river fish.

Taking out boat at birchdale took a long time - there were 30 rigs in front of us. Got truck at 7:05 pm and left boat landing at 8:40. Only one ramp open at birchdale. Bring sand, landing was very slick. Hopefully, county will open both ramps fully tomorrow. Quite a few people launching boats over ice at frontier. Keep fingers crossed- maybe that ramp will be opened soon. Good luck to all.

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Thanks for the updates/reports/pictures guys! I can't make it up there this year so it is fun to follow along on here......

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I was up yesterday and we had a very solid day. It was the best that I have ever seen for big fish (fished it for 15 years). We kept pretty busy for most of the day with the afternoon being a little slower. The ramp was busy until 9 pm lat night. Good luck

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Just got a text from a buddy up there. said he saw the backhoe drive by and looked like it was headed for Frontier. They are fishing about a mile up river of Frontier now. Let's hope it does some work today. would be nice to have another access available.

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We just talked to some guys that came from Frontier and they said it was open to big boats so my husband just left to go take pictures! Will know more soon but I do believe these guys. Should have pictures within an hour and a half. Grant just called a little bit ago and Frontier is open to big boats! Just waiting for him to get back with the pictures

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Are there places to eat on the river that is accessible right now? I haven't been up there with this much ice left, and I'm wondering if we have to pack our food for the day on the boat, or if we can tie up somewhere and grab some food on the river.

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If you see a big guy in a blue lund yelling JOHNSONVILLE! I better hear someone yell BRATS!. Well they won't be JOHNSONVILLE but they will be venison brats on a propane grill. Nothing better than venison brats grilling in the front of the boat.

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We just talked to some guys that came from Frontier and they said it was open to big boats so my husband just left to go take pictures! Will know more soon but I do believe these guys. Should have pictures within an hour and a half. Grant just called a little bit ago and Frontier is open to big boats! Just waiting for him to get back with the pictures

cool

That will help speed things up. Thanks for the info Dutchman.

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April 5th, 2013:

As of this afternoon Frontier is now open to big boats also. From the road Grant figures the River is wide open 3 miles East of Vidas Landing but wasn't able to find where it ended. There were some guys out ice fishing in front of Vidas. We talked to a few groups already today and one said that morning was really good while another group didn't catch many for the few hours they were out there.

Frontier Landing:

full-40547-31798-april5th(1).jpg

Vidas Landing isn't open yet:

full-40547-31799-april5th(3).jpg

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I heard a report from a source that was just there is to instead of vertical jig th trick was to cast and jig away from the boat out produced better than anything else. Good luck all wish I was there!!

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Be very careful using the Frontier landing. The ramp drops sharply due to the low water. We saw a guy jerk his trailer axle 16" backwards on the frame because he was off the concrete and got hung up. People had a very hard time loading boats today. We had a slow day and we talked to several others and nobody caught more than a handful of fish.

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Be very careful using the Frontier landing. The ramp drops sharply due to the low water. We saw a guy jerk his trailer axle 16" backwards on the frame because he was off the concrete and got hung up. People had a very hard time loading boats today. We had a slow day and we talked to several others and nobody caught more than a handful of fish.

I personally talked to 2 different boats on the river today. Between the 5 guys on those 2 boats, 8 walleye were caught total, all day. Sounded like there were very few nets out.

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Be very careful using the Frontier landing. The ramp drops sharply due to the low water. We saw a guy jerk his trailer axle 16" backwards on the frame because he was off the concrete and got hung up. People had a very hard time loading boats today. We had a slow day and we talked to several others and nobody caught more than a handful of fish.

That's me loading in that pic at Frontier. The trailer tires fell off the ramp. Slow and steady haha. The bite was so poor for us we pulled the plug and came home.

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Had that experience there in the fall one time. I would say with my bunk im going to birchdale and running to the ice. I think that the traffic will be better still with frontier open. As far as the fishing you never know when that 30" will be and where i live you can't catch walleye right now so bring on the brutal i like to be miserable anyways!

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I was fishing tuesday weds and thursday..been going up there for a dozen years definately the toughest fishing conditions ever..I agree with getting the bait away from the boat either casting or long lineing..white jigs worked well for us..hindsite we had lots of short bites ..might be the time to use stinger hooks...we managed a little over a 100 walleyes for 3 guys in 3 days..

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Put in at frontier sat at 9:30 am no wait fished till 5. 2 of us boated 30+ 2 25" biggest heard of a few 30". Most where caught pitching up current and hopping down using 1/4 jigs and big rainbows tryed plastics rainbows where better. No lake fish yet. Waited a hour to load. Not bad but not why Im here. Water temp 38. Hope the big fish make a push in the next 3 days. Takeing our time today plan to fish till dark.

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I'm coming up there for the first time (Spring run) this weekend. Bringing a few friends along as well. We are staying at the Royal Dutchman. You guys have any secrets to catching those 100+ lb. sturgeon? We've gotten a 60" down in the St. Louis River but I'm coming up here to go for those River Monsters.

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any word on if the open water is pushed past ClementsonAccessOnRainyRiver yet?

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
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    • Rick G
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    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
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    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
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