Report 8-20

[tearin' lips]

Went out this morning with my dad. We targeted crappies and found them in 24-27 feet of water. In three and a half hours we boated about 60 crappies, with the biggest being just shy of two pounds. Average ran 1 1/2 lbs. Northland slurpies are again working best for me. Chub colored tube and chub colored swim tail were working best, but the perch tube was a close second. Looking forward to chasing 'eyes tomorrow to switch it up a bit!

Good Luck Fishing Everyone!

[LoonASea]

Hey Bill ,,,those crappies are something to look forward to on our next visit ,,,were You in redgut again for those??,,Glad to hear you are "setting the hook" on those crappies

Randy

[tearin' lips]

Randy,

Yeah I was up in Redgut again, on my favorite little hole. They were really snappin this morning! It was a lot of fun. I don't get to fish with my dad often, but when I do it is a real treat. I am glad that he came along. He had a smile on his face that he couldn't wipe off for quite awhile! It's memories like these that make my day brighter!

Take Care Randy, We'll Talk to ya Later!!!

[Northlander]

Dang it Bill now your really torturing me! Walleyes and Crappies? You really know how to rub it in man!

I sure hope we can hook up in Sept some time and hit those Crappeyes.

Give me a holler when you hit the Twin Ports.

[walleyeking#8]

Made my first trip to Rainy this year and what an awesome experience, can't wait to go back......missed you tearin' lips....stopped in on sunday and again on wednesday at the bait shop and you weren't there....13th thru the 16th....stayed at the thunderbird...what a nice place.....fished the closer reefs on sunday night with decent success...crawlers mainly with some on leeches....monday headed east towards blueberry but didn't quite make it with the wind.....ended up fishing a few miles from the thunderbird....very slow on monday.....Tues. was awesome....a 40 minute boat ride that was well worth it.....boated between 40-50 eyes most of them 17"-26" managed both shorelunch and also our limits of 14-15" fish....like I mentioned earlier, can't wait to go back up there....

[wildernessbob2063]

T-Lips- Im impressed!! Im heading up to the cabin in swell this weekend with my dad and would love to get in on that action. Weve picked up a few strays in swell on occasion in the spring and Ive tried porters early season but with no luck. What is the general strategy when fishing crapies in redgut? Do you spot fish? Jig? Bobbers? What seems to be their pattern this time of year?

[David Groenendal]

Thanks for a great news report Tearin' Lips. I hope the fishing is the same in a couple weeks. I will be up on Redgut at my friend's house for a while. Were the crappie out in open water suspended or closer to structure. Some years back we had an incredible time fishing huge schools about 10 yards off of drop offs.

[tearin' lips]

Wilderness and Dave,

My general strategy is to find water near points/feeding areas. On the map I look mainly for points that range 24-30 feet. These points can range from island points to mainland points. The crappies can be holding tight, but more likely they will be at least 15 yards and as far as 30 yards away from the point. By taking the time to look at the map, you can eliminate a lot of water. I found that shear drop offs don't hold as many fish, if you can locate a brush pile, you've discovered a gold mine! Look to the south shore of porters, the narrows getting into porters, parry straits, etc. to get an idea of what to look for.

To find crappies in these areas, good electronics is critical. Basically I look for a concentration of suspended fish four foot off bottom to as much as six feet beneath the surface.

Once you found them, stay directly on top of the school, if you drift off of the edges, catching will slow, staying on top ensures that you stay in the action. I fish them with eighth ounce jigs. Northland slupies in the chub colored swim shad have been great. Along with the southern crappie pro tube in bad blood. If you want an eighth ounce gold or white jig tipped with a minnow is a very effective way of catching crappies too.

Hope this helps, I am up to answering any more questions that you guys have.

[wildernessbob2063]

Thanks for the info! When your fishing the tubes do you tip those with minnows or just rely on the tube and the presentation? Also, When's the best time of the day to fish them or does it depend on the weather?

Thanks again! Cant wait to get back up there.

[tearin' lips]

When I am fishing tubes I am not tipping it with minnows. I just like to rely on the color and the presentation of the tube, but color matters more that anything. I was using a orange slurpie at first and that didn't produce a third of the fish that the chub color did. Mornings and evenings are the better times to fish, but I have only fished mornings and it has been great.

Good Luck Fishing & Have Fun!!!

[David Groenendal]

Thnaks much for the info. I know exactly the spots you are talking about. I'll be up there Labor Day weekend with a friend and his father so maybe we'll run into you.

[eyeguy]

walleyeking#8...sounds great. We were up there over the same time period and had similar experiences (tough weekend, 4 foot rollers on Monday....really threw you around, etc.). Unfortunately, our Tues production was limited to a few 12 inchers on Olson's and a couple eaters just east of the Brule....not much on Blueberry. For future reference....what was your technique/bait of choice? We tried jigs, lindys, cranks, leaches/minnows, etc. 40 minutes would have been well worth it to get into the W's...

[ghost]

Wow, what a great thread - I've definitely got to swing by the One Stop on the way up!

I have a noob question - what's a tube? Seem to have everything else in my tackle box.

Also, thinking of getting a guide service for Day One, way too much lake for me to figure out in a couple days. Can you folks recommend a good one. Please PM me if the site doesn't allow that sort of thing...

Thanks - I need to look good in front of the kids!

[Northlander]

Woodies Fairly Reliable Guide Service and Scotts Rainy Lake Guide Service are 2 I know of. Others will pitch in with more Im sure.

[tearin' lips]

Thanks ghost! A tube is a plastic artificial usually with a hollow inside that is rigged up on a jig and either casted to fished vertically. They mainly come in small sizes for crappies, but large tubes such as Northlands slurpies work phenomenal for smallies and largies!

Take Care and Good Fishing!

[ghost]

Thanks Bill, we're up here, the boat is in, and we did hit the One Stop today, what a beautiful place this is! Going out with Woody's GS in the AM, way too much lake for me to figure out in a couple days. Got pretty darn windy this evening, that should get things going.

Thanks to all that contribute here, great site!

[Dhenry]

I was staying at Kettle Falls this weekend and fished the American portion of the lake on the eastern side. I was up with my wife and three children under six and it was our first trip to Rainy. Fished reefs in 25'35' of water with lindy rig and nightcrawlers and caught fish off and on all weekend. The fishing was better when the wind was blowing. Plenty of slot fish and bigger fish also. Also fished topwater for smallmouth early in the morning and right before dark and had some fun. Any smallmouth tips would be greatly appreciated. We are headed back up again this weekend and looking forward to more fun. Also, what do you guys feel is the best map chip for Rainy?

[Northlander]

Dhenry can you please e-mail me some info on your stay in Kettle Falls and how you liked it.