2014 Rainy River Conditions by Royal Dutchman

[goose89]

I only stated that because of phone calls I had that were asking if it was open 5 miles east of Birchdale.

RD, that in no way was directed at you, or anyone in particular...If anyone, it was at the folks calling you with wrong info, or wanting you to verify what they read incorrectly on other sites. Not your bad...I appreciate your checking and honesty...Your honesty will pay off in the long haul!! People remember it...We get a little wound up this time of year, and sometimes we "read" what we want to read...."5 miles east of Birchdales "reads" much better than Franz Jev"...Thanks again for all you do!!

ps...that's a great update! We still might get in some Rainy time this year!

[agkimm]

Thanks for all of the insight here! The boys from Iowa are pretty curious as we have full open water here for a couple weeks now! Thanks again!!!

[RoyalDutchman]

Thank you guys! I know people get so excited when the River starts getting closer to Birchdale and it is fun to hear the stories about how they do it every year

April 7th, 2014:

We checked the river just before 4 PM and there is open water in front of Birchdale Landing! The temperature when we got there was 42 degrees and the sun is shining. On our weather station at home said it was in the low 50s today. You can see the end of the open water just to the west of Birchdale Landing. We talked to a guy from Birchdale that said Koochiching County is going try to bring a bigger hoe and break up the shore ice at Birchdale Landing tomorrow. There are people pushing small boats off the shore ice at Franz Jevne. We will go back tomorrow mid-morning or early afternoon and see if they were able to open the Landing at Birchdale. Also the back parking lot and some campsites were plowed out today.

Here is Birchdale Landing showing how much shore ice there is:

Looking to the East at Birchdale Landing:

This is looking to the West at Birchdale Landing showing where the water ends:

Franz Jevne showing that people are dragging small boats into the river:

[fishuhalik]

Outstanding report as always rd!! Thanks a bunch. I won't be making it this spring again but I love following the spring reports. Also, we love staying with you guys for our annual mid-July sturgeon trip. We're already making plans & hope to fill up a few more rooms this year

[NKLCOLT1911]

looks to be shaping up nicely!!

[RoyalDutchman]

April 8th, 2014:

Just got word from our cousin at about 11:20AM that small boats can get in at Birchdale Landing (pushing off the shore ice) and that the guy opening the access is hoping by the end of today it will be open for big boats! We will wait until later this evening to go check the river and the access so we can have pictures of what it looks like when they are done clearing it out. Thank you to the Koochiching County worker for clearing out the access!

We were able to check the River around 4 PM today after we had received word that the Birchdale Landing is open to all boats! The River is open about 3 miles west of Birchdale Landing and has about 5 miles til it is in front of Frontier Landing.

Birchdale Landing all cleared out and ready for all boats:

Looking to the east at Birchdale Landing:

Looking to the west at Birchdale Landing:

This is about the end of the open water which is by the wayside rest just west of Birchdale showing the geese enjoying the open water:

[agkimm]

So that 64 degree day yesterday (4/10/2014) do any good? i would expect a bunch more open water?? Thanks for all of the pics!

[RoyalDutchman]

Thank you so much!

April 10th, 2014:

Sorry we weren't able to get out and take pictures of the River yesterday we both were busy and didn't want to leave with all the check-ins. Grant was able to go just before noon and check it out. The temperature was in the mid 40s and it has been windy all day. The River is open just less than a mile west of Frontier and the ramp isn't open to big boats as of noon today. Thank you everyone and hope you have a great time fishing!

Ramp at Frontier:

The end of the River which is just less than a mile west of Frontier:

[RoyalDutchman]

April 11th, 2014:

The Frontier Landing is now open to all boats!! Grant checked the River about 1:45 PM and it is about 4 miles West of Frontier just in front of the White Church on the Canadian side. The sun is shinning this afternoon after being cloudy most of the day.

Last night some of the guests told us that fishing was slower today (April 10th) than on Wednesday. Still some nice ones caught with many in the mid 20s still. Also some groups reported catching some sturgeon while fishing for walleyes.

Frontier Landing open for all boats:

About 4 miles West of Frontier Landing near the White Church:

[RoyalDutchman]

April 14th, 2014:

Today is the last day of Walleye Fishing until the opener in May! We would like to thank everyone for the kind words and having fun even if fishing was slow most of the days. Now it's time to think about Sturgeon Fishing which is catch and release right now and the season is open April 24-May 7! We can now see open water from the front door! It is just starting to come around the bend.

Open water will be in front of our docks soon:

[Wensel]

RD

Thanks for all the info and work you put into this. What a short window for 2014 walleye!

I do have one question so when the season closes on the 14th that means at 12:01AM on the 14 correct?

Thanks again.

[NKLCOLT1911]

what is the status of the forks?

[side_laker]

What landings would people recommend to go out of for sturgeon. Planning on making a day trip on April 25th. Usually go out of one close to baudette but would be willing to try one by the falls or anywhere In between

[WWW]

Try birchdale. Fish right out in front. Pick a spot just about anywhere.

[fishuhalik]

It all depends on if the Big & Little Fork Rivers break loose by then, & if they do, what the water looks like. If the river is ripping and really dirty, most guys will put in right next to where the river dumps in to the lake & fish the river channel out in the bay. Keep in mind though, those fish are still in the river and can be caught! If the river is semi-clear and not too much debris/flow, just pick a deep spot in the river. When I say deep, it's relative to the area. If the surrounding water is 15' & you find a 20' hole, try it. If the water is 25' & you find a 30' hole, try it. And don't fish a spot for more than 45 mins without getting a bite. Keep moving, 50 yards or so at a time. You'll get into em. Don't be afraid to try contour breaks too, they can be hot at times. I think thats why I love the river so much. There's always community holes, but if you wanna get away from the crowds there's always plenty of other spots those fish are holding! Good luck!!

[vman11]

I know this isn't personal feedback on river conditions, but you can use this link to see what the rivers are doing from a rise/fall standpoint.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=fgf

Looks like both the Big and Little Fork rivers are falling, while the Rainy at Manitou Rapids is still slightly rising.

Hopefully the all-day rain gushers stay away for a while.

[JacobG]

I just returned yesterday from rainy. Here are the current conditions as of 4 pm yesterday. The river on Monday night iced over with the 4 degree temps and was not accessible, re-freeze. We waited all day in hopes that the river of ice would go away we drove down as far as Birchdale 2 times with no signs of letting up. solid river of ice basically shore to shore. However I was able to fish on Monday and the conditions weather wise, were brutal. there were white caps coming down the river. As far as the river and fishing, we caught only 2 sturgeon and another boat had 3. That was fishing all day til sundown. The current was up a little, not bad and the river was muddy, but not the worse ive seen. Im heading back up tomorrow to fish another 3-4 days. 4 oz of lead was enough to keep us on bottom.

[side_laker]

Thanks for the tips. Hope to get at least a few.

[DTro]

Anyone know if the LF has opened up yet? I see the the level is dropping steadily. Is it cleaning out already?

[MAdDuckiceroads]

Any updates on the ice pack?

[side_laker]

I have some left over cyscos from northern fishing this winter would it be worth bringing them up for sturgeon or better to just use crawlers.

[fishuhalik]

Just use crawlers & live fatheads. I've tried using tullies & didn't have much luck

[RoyalDutchman]

Hello Everyone!! I am so sorry I haven't been on here updating as well as I normally do. We have been busy and were gone this weekend I kept the facebook page updated the best I could from my phone but it is so hard to update information on this site on my phone. Here are the past updates.

Yes the big and little fork have broke open as of today. We had some friends check it for us as we did not have time to drive up there.

April 22nd, 2014:

Just got word about 3:30 PM that both the big fork and little fork are open.... There is not much debris coming past our house as of 3:45 PM. Grant checked the river just before dark and didn't see any debris coming down the river. The water looked a little cloudy/dirty.

April 21st, 2014:

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We were able to spend time with Alyse's family for the weekend. We did get word that the river is open past Wheelers Point it opened up quick in a few days. A group that was fishing today mentioned the river was a little dirty but not bad at all.

April 18th, 2014:

When we woke up this morning almost all the shore ice was gone and you were able to get to the docks with a boat.

April 16th, 2014:

Late afternoon the river open up in front of our house!! There is still shore ice and the dock isn't quite open yet but it is open at least!

April 14th, 2014:

Today is the last day of Walleye Fishing until the opener in May! We would like to thank everyone for the kind words and having fun even if fishing was slow most of the days. Now it's time to think about Sturgeon Fishing which is catch and release right now and the season is open April 24-May 7! We can now see open water from the front door! It is just starting to come around the bend.

[RoyalDutchman]

Also, I hope to have a sturgeon report tomorrow morning as the group got in late tonight and I never got a chance to talk to them.

To Answer the question about Walleye Season closing you and can fish all day April 14th, on the 15th you can not. Sorry I didn't get back to you faster.

Here's to everyone having a great Sturgeon Season and we hope you catch some monsters!

[RoyalDutchman]

I never saw any huge ice chunks or logs coming down the river at all today

Talked to a few different groups today and sounds like the sturgeon are biting!! One group said they caught about 15 sturgeon for the last 2 1/2 days with the biggest one being 73 inches and right before that he landed a 59 inch one! Another group that fished most of today caught 8 total and had a blast! Can't wait to get pictures of that 73 inch to share with everyone he figures it was well over a 100 lbs!

[Big Country]

Pictures please! BC