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2020 Rainy Lake Fishing Reports & Conditions


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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Where in TX John? My folks winter in Port Mansfield near South Padre. Plan on spending some time there end of March myself doing some fishing.

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I will be spending the winter in Austin. Would like to hook up with somebody for a little southern fishing. Give me a call or email if interested. Same number & email in Texas.

John A. Kolbeck

1631 10th Ave. W

International Falls, MN 56649

(218) 464-7887

[email protected]

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  • 1 month later...

Many big walleyes (26+) coming out of Sand Bay. Check out the story in Dec 18 Int'l Falls Daily Journal Outdoors page (www.ifallsdailyjournal.com). Jigging Raps, Glow Jigs and even tip-ups are all working well for these bruisers. Some are suspended up high. We have great bite right now!

Woody

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Woody I was lucky enough to get chosen to come up Jain 1-3 with the FM crew and I cant wait. Save me a 33" walleye will ya? wink Oh and some 16" crappies too.

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We had two different groups that came on our "Bring your own gear" lodging special this weekend. What was really neat is how they worked together to produce some big fish. Many were caught in the 20's with the biggest being 29". Congrats to Kevin Jayson from Coon Rapids. Rainy is a big lake and when people work together great things can happen. People are driving out to Birch Point. We have great ice and a great winter ahead of us.

Sincerely,

Woody

Kevin Jayson's 29 incher! Caught 12/20/2009

Kevin.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Woody, these reports are killin me!!!!

Along with Northlander I'm one of the HSO staff that will be there this weekend. Save us some of those big walleyes and crappies!!!!!

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i am just home from RAINY LAKE MINNESOTA and WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT. we went to WOODYS with the intention of using our own gear and shacks...after a 520 mile drive, we arrived on sunday afternoon and after checking in and unloading our gear into our gorgeous cabin we headed to the lake. we stopped at the OUTDOORSMANS HEADQUARTERS in INTERNATIONAL FALLS MINNESOTA and got our bait and liceneses. we then headed to SAND BAY, where we wanted to fish our first afternoon. it was -20 degrees with no wind, we found a couple spots away from the perm shacks and drilled enough holes about 150 feet apart for 2 portables in 27 feet of water. after the first hole i knew we were in for a long weekend unless we adapted. the heavy snow on the ice caused water to erupt out of our holes for approximently 4-5 minutes. thus flooding our area instently. well we set up and fished anyway. between the 4 of us we caught numerous perch and a few small walleyes. everything almost immediately froze to the ice. i kept 1 real nice jumbo perch, no one else kept a fish. after packing up we had some supper and as a group we decided to rent a perm shack from WOODY. WOODY took care of us and put us in a 10 hole shack, an actually very warm and comfy perm ice house, in 31 feet of water within 300 feet of the international border with CANADA. on monday (-40 degrees, a 99 yr old record for low temp was broken) we headed out for our first day in WOODYS HOUSE. we kept 7 walleyes (14-16 inches) and 2 perch. the big 2 fish of the day were a 4lb eel pout and a 28 inch northern pike that i caught. my AUSTIN RODS preformed beyond expectations,. if you dont fish with an AUSTIN rod, get one, you wont be disappointed. we caught roughly 25 small walleyes that we released. after supper at the cabin we played some good old euchre, drank a bunch of beers and got a good nights sleep. day 2 also broke a state record for low temp, a balmy yet comfy -34. well i will never ever forget that day. my old fishing buddy, who is like a father to me, GARY FULMER caught not 1, but 2, 28 inch walleyes. this by far made the trip memorable. absolutely awesome fish. another friend with me, JASON CAUDILLO, caught a 22 inch walleye that was released due to the slot limit. my son JAKE (my favorite fishing partner) and i caught numerous "eater" walleyes. day 2 yeilded approximently 30 fish caught, with most released. most fish were caught on small jigging spoons and minnows or partial minnows. we had a really great trip, adapted to the cold and made some awesome memories. check out the pictures at www.fairlyreliable.com. if you are looking for a place to get away and have a great time on the ice i highly suggest WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT. i have been there 2 times now and WOODY and his beautiful wife LEEANNE go out of there way to make sure you enjoy your time there and have fun. an awesome resort on an awesome fishery (i personally caught 6 species of fish in 2 1/2 days fishing...perch, walleye, sauger, northern pike, tulipee, and eel pout). just down the street 1/2 block from WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT, is GRANDMAS PANTRY, an awesome place for breakfast before heading onto the ice. with out a doubt i can say "I WILL RETURN TO WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT!!!" and i look great in my new WOODYS GEAR!!

Matt "friendly" Friend

LOBYBAITS Pro Staff

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Sounds like Woody treated you well. I was with Woody when we ran out on the lake to your house. We left Monday morning.

Boy, it was a little cool Ha.

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wondered who was with woody, ya should of popped in and said hello. always nice to put a name with a face... i get to minnesota every year for an ice trip so will try to hook up with you another time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

i am just home from RAINY LAKE MINNESOTA and WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT. we went to WOODYS with the intention of using our own gear and shacks...after a 520 mile drive, we arrived on sunday afternoon and after checking in and unloading our gear into our gorgeous cabin we headed to the lake. we stopped at the OUTDOORSMANS HEADQUARTERS in INTERNATIONAL FALLS MINNESOTA and got our bait and liceneses. we then headed to SAND BAY, where we wanted to fish our first afternoon. it was -20 degrees with no wind, we found a couple spots away from the perm shacks and drilled enough holes about 150 feet apart for 2 portables in 27 feet of water. after the first hole i knew we were in for a long weekend unless we adapted. the heavy snow on the ice caused water to erupt out of our holes for approximently 4-5 minutes. thus flooding our area instently. well we set up and fished anyway. between the 4 of us we caught numerous perch and a few small walleyes. everything almost immediately froze to the ice. i kept 1 real nice jumbo perch, no one else kept a fish. after packing up we had some supper and as a group we decided to rent a perm shack from WOODY. WOODY took care of us and put us in a 10 hole shack, an actually very warm and comfy perm ice house, in 31 feet of water within 300 feet of the international border with CANADA. on monday (-40 degrees, a 99 yr old record for low temp was broken) we headed out for our first day in WOODYS HOUSE. we kept 7 walleyes (14-16 inches) and 2 perch. the big 2 fish of the day were a 4lb eel pout and a 28 inch northern pike that i caught. my AUSTIN RODS preformed beyond expectations,. if you dont fish with an AUSTIN rod, get one, you wont be disappointed. we caught roughly 25 small walleyes that we released. after supper at the cabin we played some good old euchre, drank a bunch of beers and got a good nights sleep. day 2 also broke a state record for low temp, a balmy yet comfy -34. well i will never ever forget that day. my old fishing buddy, who is like a father to me, GARY FULMER caught not 1, but 2, 28 inch walleyes. this by far made the trip memorable. absolutely awesome fish. another friend with me, JASON CAUDILLO, caught a 22 inch walleye that was released due to the slot limit. my son JAKE (my favorite fishing partner) and i caught numerous "eater" walleyes. day 2 yeilded approximently 30 fish caught, with most released. most fish were caught on small jigging spoons and minnows or partial minnows. we had a really great trip, adapted to the cold and made some awesome memories. check out the pictures at www.fairlyreliable.com. if you are looking for a place to get away and have a great time on the ice i highly suggest WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT. i have been there 2 times now and WOODY and his beautiful wife LEEANNE go out of there way to make sure you enjoy your time there and have fun. an awesome resort on an awesome fishery (i personally caught 6 species of fish in 2 1/2 days fishing...perch, walleye, sauger, northern pike, tulipee, and eel pout). just down the street 1/2 block from WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT, is GRANDMAS PANTRY, an awesome place for breakfast before heading onto the ice. with out a doubt i can say "I WILL RETURN TO WOODYS RAINY LAKE RESORT!!!" and i look great in my new WOODYS GEAR!!

Matt "friendly" Friend

LOBYBAITS Pro Staff

Please use paragraphs hurts the ol eyes
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Hi Freindly- It was great having your crew up here. Quality people and a great time, thats what its all about! LeeAnne says hi.

Thanks again,

Woody

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Woody has a great place and the service is also wonderful.

Everyone should have the chance to spend some time with Woody on Rainy Lake.

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Hi G.A.,

Rainy has been slow, somedays you can go out & do ok, my last 3 trips I have caught 1 walleye each trip, a 26", 16" & a 16.75", so nice walleyes...just not many., I did hear a report where some guys had sledded east of bushyhead and did well on big walleyes. What is nice about living up here, is if the fish aren't going one place, there are endless fishing spots & lakes. Lately I have been hitting a spot with massive size crappies (2 + lb.) are common.,we also have had some walleyes mixed in with the walleyes, only difference is, the walleyes are on the bottom., Lake trout are hitting too. Now tommorow fishing might be fantastic on Rainy, how do you know??? You try it. Honestly everytime I go out fishing, I plan on doing well. It doesn't mean I always do well, but using past fishing trips & using the knowledge I have learned will help to try & make it a great trip.

Sincerely,

Fishmeister

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Thanks fishmeister. Yep that's why its called "fishing". My girlfriend and I will be back up at Woody's on the 10th of February to give it another try. Hopefully it's not -40 again like over new years when we sledded out to untouched territory. We will be bringing the portable but don't have a snow machine so I will have to get Woody out on a scout mission for us to find some good area. I assume the crappies are on the canadian side that you are catching or are they on a different lake? We would love to do some fishin with ya again if you have time. I will post a little closer to when we leave. We will definately stop in at your hardee's and have a fresh burger. We will be fishin for 4 days and can't wait to get back up there. Good luck and hope to talk to you soon.

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I hope fishing wont be to slow, I will be up this weekend for my first time ever, and hope to get on a good bite. I will post how we did when I get back.

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hey 4 I heard the big pike are starting to go at Rainy Lake city,there are roads plowed, look for the deeper water in the area.Good luck

BB1

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you should be hitting it about right...the bite is just starting to turn on for me...not hot and heavy but a little bit more stable..

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Thanks for the tip, and the encouragement of the bite improving. I am pretty pumped for this trip, it is my first of the ice season, and I cant wait.

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  • 1 month later...

Headed up wknd of March 13-14. First time on Rainy and staying at the Falls. Have only heard good things about them. Just wondering what kind of tackle I should be bringing? I got the standard buckshots, chubbys, lindy darters, jiggn rap, swedish pimps. Also will be the last ice fishing trip of the season for my group, so I hope to make it memorable! Any info is appreciated! Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have got the bug to get back on Rainy. Hoping to time my return to ice out.

Went fishing down in the bayous last week with a buddy from Wisconsin.

Daughter gittin married down here in Austin in two weeks then I plan to head north. Lafitte,%20LA.jpg

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Nice Reds there and a heck of a Sheepshead, I was in Marco Island, FL at the end of March and got into some dandy Snook up to 32". What a fight those saltwater fish put up compared to the freshwater fish we catch around here.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Fishing much slower today. Boat control a major problem. First fish of the day was a 37" pike 15-1/2 lb that inhaled my X-Rap. A super fatty so probably full of eggs. Only got 4 more bass after that. Water in low 40s everywhere I checked.

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Fished 8a.m. - 6 p.m. 74 fish. All bass except two small pike. No bass over 4 lb but lots over 3. Most on jig and plastic. There was another boat at the landing. I even saw one boat on the lake that was fishing! Starting to git too crowded.

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Sand Bay surface temps jumped 10 degrees today!. It was 53 there and over 60 in some of the back bays. A beautiful day with no wind and full sun. Fishing was slow for me - 11 bass and one pike in five hours. I caught the same bass that I lost yesterday when line broke and got my marabou jig back. He bit on (you guessed it) another marabou jig.

Pike were in the shallows but I couldn't get my boat back in there. Only about 6 inches of water over the weeds. If the lake was normal height, I could have had some fun but it is two feet low and that made all the difference in this spot. Blew a fuse on my trolling motor trying to plow through all that mess. But I could see em rolling and chasing in that shallow water and had to give it a try.

Bugs are out. Saw a dragonfly and some mosquitoes yesterday! More likely to see a snowman in mid-April up here than a dragonfly. Cabbage is already growing. It is 2-3 feet high in about 7-9 feet of water.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • The title was changed to September Walleye Fishing - Rainy Lake, MN

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    • 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.  
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