First MN fishing trip

[beanie]

Hi everyone! I'm fairly new to the art of fishing, I think that this is my third or fourth year, in fact. I've been doing and reading everything I can to become a better fisherman, and I must say that the people on these forums seem very knowledgable and helpful, so I decided to sign up. My best friend, his father and I are coming to RL from the 26th of May until the 2nd of June and I want to do anything that I can to make our trip a successful and memorable one so I plan on posting a lot of questions from now until then.

First and foremost, I would like to know if we picked a good time to come up for some 'eyes and smallies? For the past few years I've mainly fished for smallies and panfish. I have never gone specifically for walleye but have done a lot of reading on them and hope that I'm up to the challenge. Any and all information is greatly appreciated!

Thank You and Good Luck,

Beanie

[vister]

Welcome to the forum and fishing!! I myself am new to the forum, but have been fishing all 26 yrs of my life, or as long as dad started taking me!!! I first posted the subject on "spring smallies", to find out more on smallies on Rainy Lake. It sounds like your trip should be prime time for smallies. Just check out my post and you'll see what RL "locals" have to say. Sorry, a few of them were duking it out over some posts about fishing ethics from a previous post, but entailed some very useful info in the process. I too plan on going up there the same time, so will be posting more ?'s as well in the near future. As far as eyes, my last 3 years have been successful. Nothing over 26 inches, but many fish at no time in particular. Other forum members will be much more useful in helping ya hook that big one. Good luck!

[bassbuster1]

Welcome,you picked a good time to come up. The walleye's should still be shallow, 3-15 feet.You can catch them many ways,trolling ,casting cranks, jig & minnow,you shouldnt have to go out to far to find them .A GPS unit with a Rainy Lake map chip would help you a lot.The smallies should be biting too, they should still be in the shallows , rocky flats mixed with sand , would be a good place to start.I prefer to fish the Canada side for the smallies , the American side for the eye's. Good Luck

[Rainydaze]

Welcome to the Rainy Lake forum! Lots of good information on this forum, and at the very least this will steer you in the right direction. The end of May traditionally will have Walleyes on a fairly shallow water bite as they have not yet gathered on the midlake reefs. Many people feel fishing here in the July/August time is the best time for targeting Walleye simply because the structure they will inhabit will be a little more predictable, and they tend to gather up. Finding cuts creating some moving water is key early in the season. If you like to jig fish this is a great time to pitch jig and minnow combinations on some of the first shelves before deeper water. This will also produce some smallies and pike as well. Sometimes in your search of active fish trolling raps or spinner rigs will will help you pinpoint some fish. Watch electronics closely when trolling and your bound to learn what is holding fish during that particular week. Another effective technique this time of year will be casting husky jerks into wind blown shorelines, and or Bays! Don't be afraid to cover some water, and don't be afraid to fish shallow. FYI the water is low this year, so be careful if your exploring. Take it slow! If you hit some fish trolling toss out a marker, and try pitch some jigs or slip bobbers in the area and light em up! Tons of water and many tricks to turn em! Key here is good electronics, and do a little studying on your map as there is a lot of water! Good Luck! NOt a bad idea to hire a guide for a day to get you on the right path! I know as a kid I wish our family would have as it seemed most trips up north we didn't start catching fish consistently until we were about to head home. There is no substitute up here for time on the water!

[Rainydaze]

Ha! Hey Bassbuster!

We must have been posting at the same time! Well at least were on the same track! Good fishing Buddy!

[beanie]

Thanks guys for the reply's. I appreciate all the help that I can get. I'll keep checking in for advise and post any questions that I have closer to my trip (if they're not already answered). I'm real excited to go to rainy for my first big fishing trip!

Thanks guys and good luck

Beanie