Rainy River/Lake of the Woods mixed questions!

[PakAttack86]

If this is the wrong place for this post I apologize ahead of time. My buddy and I are amateur fishing enthusiasts and this will be our first time to the Lake of the Woods area. We plan on staying in mid-September for around 5 days. My first question is is there anywhere we could pull over to sleep in our truck for one night? Like a Walmart or Target or grocery store? We plan on staying in Baudette for the duration of the trip and we have a place booked, but our first night we won't be arriving until 2 or 3am so we figured we'd just rough it in the car that night.

For fishing we plan on hitting both Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River, but at this time of year is there any reason to fish one more heavily? We're boating both LotW and Rainy once and then we're going to mix in some shore fishing. Any advice on good shore fishing spots? We ideally are targeting walleye, and would love to hit either a big muskie or sturgeon but any action is good action we're just looking to have fun. Temperature looks to be around mid 60's for the days we'll be going. Thanks for the advice!

[Ballyhoo]

Baudette is small, no Walmarts or Targets. There is a city park on the east side of town, Timbermill Park. I am not sure if you pay or not but you can always pay in the morning before you leave.

As far as shore fishing, you might not have a lot of luck. Not many people do it. There are people who fish off their docks but there are not many public docks out on the river to do that from. If you are bringing a boat I would suggest using that the entire time. You should be able to find some walleye and sturgeon but not much for muskie on the south end of the lake or in the river.

[PakAttack86]

The muskie bite isn't good on the US side huh? That kind of sucks, but that really would have just been the icing on the cake for us anyway. Is the sturgeon bite decent? It would be just as fun to bring in one of those monsters!

[Sea Hage]

If you head west toward International Falls there are some public boat launch and parks along the Rainy River, You can shore fish in those areas and might even hook up with a sturgeon.

[Balsl6]

There is a state park in Waskish that you could stay at real cheap or stay in the parking lot. it is 40miles south of Baudette. They also have camper cabins very reasonable there that would be nice for the night, and shower houses to freshen up so it would make the day feel a little better.

Shore fishing is limited but there are a few places at the public ramps east of Baudette that you could do it, a boat would be way more productive though. If you have a boat with it might be a good idea to try up river with a boat as well.

If the wind is calm you should have some great fishing out on the lake for walleyes. There will be fish in the river as well but probably have to work harder for them. Stop at the bait shops or ask around where you are staying and they will help you out. Maybe even hire a guide for the day or try and get a launch, it will be money well spent. Sometimes they do not have a full boat and you can get in on with another group and make it cheaper for all. All the resorts will help you out if you ask.

Good luck!

[Sea Hage]

Oh Oh !! I had the map upside down, Yes, Go east toward the Falls. LOL..

[bturck]

I have used Baudette Motelin Baudette and checkedin on a late arrival. I gave them freditcard " and they gave me the room " and left a key in the outside office mail box fir us. Even left one morning before theywere open called them later and checked outby phone/. Royal Dutchman is another good place, they are east when you come to the 71 intersection. They are on the river

[WalleyeVision]

I see you are coming up mid September, so you might already be up here. If not, I would agree with the comments on shore fishing. The only place you might have a little luck would be on the Rainy River. The sturgeon are running pretty strong right now, so if that is what you are looking for I would suggest fishing up the Rainy River. The shiners have started moving up the river as well and the walleyes will soon follow them, in a few weeks they will make it the preferred location for walleyes, but for now out on the big lake is the better option.

Have fun! Once you've enjoyed the vast options that Lake of the Woods offers maybe you'll make it an annual trip.