Royal Dutchman's 2015 River Condition Reports

[RoyalDutchman]

March 9th, 2015:

We went and checked the river conditions today. We had a customer let us know that the river was open 2.5 miles west of the Little Fork River on his drive home last night. This was the best picture of the end of open water we could get because of the trees in the way. It is one mile east of the Big Fork River which makes it 26.9 miles east of Birchdale (Nelson Landing).

Picture was taken at 2:21 pm and the temperature according to the car was 46 degrees. Last year we started checking the river March 16, 2014 so we are 7 days earlier this year and almost in the same spot as last year (difference is about 3 miles further east this year than last year). It might be a few days til we check the river again as it is 100 miles round trip but we will make sure to have a report by Thursday evening.

[IceHawk]

Thanks appreciate the updates!

[RoyalDutchman]

We have a friend that travels from International Falls to Baudette and then back to International Falls a couple times a week. He said that he figures it opened up about a mile and half compared to yesterday when he saw us yesterday taking pictures. Just a reminder the plan is to go Thursday so hoping it opens up quite a bit with the warm weather we had today and the next few days. Stay tuned...

[RoyalDutchman]

March 12th, 2015:

I went and checked the river and found open water around 12:50pm. It is now 17.5 miles east of Birchdale Landing. It was 51 degrees and the sun is finally shinning. I stopped at a nice couple's house and they were kind enough to let me take pictures of the River. They have a beautiful view there. Since Monday when we check the river it has opened up 9.4 miles total. There are a lot o f brown/yellowish spots on the ice also between Frontier all the way to the open water. There is a 40% chance of rain tomorrow morning otherwise it looks like a gorgeous weekend and hopefully it will be open in no time.

Here is the picture I took showing the end of the open water it might be hard to tell in the picture but in person it was still frozen to the west of this spot:

Also I stopped at Franz Jevne to see what it looked like there isn't as much snow there as Monday and you can see the ice it is not open yet:

March 11th, 2015:

We did not check the River today but International Falls Covention and Visitors Bureau posted this and they said I could use it, "Koochiching County has cleared the Kuttes Landing access. This provides access to open water on Rainy River ten miles west of International Falls at Pelland Junction. Border Waters regulations allow for walleye fishing until April 14, 2015. This is a great opportunity for open water fishing, especially given the mild temperatures in the immediate forecast."

Picture taken by International Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 13th, 2015:

We were unable to go check the river today because we were working on the dock. It stayed in the high 30s today, we had some misting going on this afternoon, and it has been cloudy all day. One of our friend's that was heading that way for work said it was just over 13 miles east of Birchdale. We will be going to check tomorrow mid day so be sure to watch for our report.

[RoyalDutchman]

March 14th, 2015:

Last night our temperature reading was around 25 degrees and by early morning it was back in the low 30s. It has been sunny all day so far with the temperature around 46 degrees when we went to check the river at 1:20pm. This picture was about the only good one we could get as there are a bunch of trees in the way. So it was taken just a little bit to the east of the where it ended. The river is now 9.9 miles east of Birchdale Landing, 7.8 miles east of Franz Jevne and 34.4 miles from our place. Tomorrow they are talking a high of 59 degrees with it being cloudy early and partial sunshine expected later in the day.

Here is the picture of the open water from today just a little bit east of where it ended:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 15th, 2015:

The temperature was 63 degrees at 3:43 pm when we went to check the river. We stopped at Manitou Rapids and it had open water and it was going to the west as far as we could see. We did find a spot on the road where we could still see open water and stopped to take a picture. It is now 8.3 miles from Birchdale Landing and 6.2 miles from Franz Jevne. It is suppose to be around 37 degrees for a low tonight and stay in the mid 30s and low 40s all week. There is a chance of snow tomorrow morning.

Here is 8.3 miles east of Birchdale Landing:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 16th, 2015:

We went and checked the river about 1:00 pm today the temperature was 35 degrees so a lot cooler than yesterday but the sun is finally shinning as it was cloudy this morning. The wind is NNW at 15 to 25 mph today with the high getting 40 degrees and the low for tonight is 23 degrees. We saw open water 5.1 miles east of Birchdale (could see open water going to the west of the picture also) and in the picture it was hard to tell but we could see ice floating in the water on the Canadian side. We also went to 6.1 miles to see if we could see more open water which we did. So the river is now around 5 miles east of Birchdale.

Here is 5.1 miles east of Birchdale Landing:

6.1 miles east of Birchdale Landing:

Franz Jevne:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 17th, 2015:

Grant went and checked the river earlier this afternoon while I was at my part time job. The high for today is around 40 degrees and the low being around 22 degrees. I was amazed when I left for work that my windshield was frosted over and that the river still opened up as much as it did. You can now see open water from the Birchdale Landing Grant is thinking it was less than a mile. Franz Jevne is open with about 40 yards of shore ice.

Looking east at Birchdale you can see the water:

Looking straight out at Franz Jevne:

Looking to the west at Franz Jevne:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 18th, 2015:

Grant went and checked the river about 1:30pm today and sadly it did not get in front of the Birchdale Landing. It is still less than a mile from the landing and he said it moved a little bit closer but got wider. It is about 36 degrees at this time with the high reaching 46 degrees and a low of 28 tonight. Hoping tomorrow we will see open water in front of the Birchdale Landing. Boats are pushing off at Franz Jevne today.

Looking east at Birchdale:

Franz Jevne:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 19th, 2015:

We woke up to it snowing this morning and the river in front of our house was completely white again. It quit shortly before we went and checked the river at 12:45 pm and there was some open water in front of the Birchdale Landing. You could also see open water on the Canadian side straight out from the Birchdale Landing. It was about 37 degrees and the high is suppose to get 49 degrees with a low of 29 degrees tonight. There were 4 boat trailers at Franz Jevne when we stopped to check there. It looks like there is less shore ice here than there was yesterday.

We talked to one group last night that was fishing up by Pelland for the day and they caught 27 walleyes and the biggest being 24 inches. They also caught some sturgeon with one being 73 inches hoping they send a picture to share with everyone! Hoping the fishing is good!

Straight out in front of the Birchdale Landing:

Looking to the east at Birchdale Landing:

Franz Jevne:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 20th, 2015:

We headed east and got to Birchdale around 12:45pm this afternoon the temperature was 31 degrees. There were about 5 boat trailers that had pushed off from there and there was about three at Franz Jevne. There is open water about 2.5 miles west of the Birchdale Landing but we are thinking that it might be froze up still in between as we didn't see any boats in this part of the open water. The high for today is suppose to be 32 degrees with a low of 9 degrees tonight.

We talked to one of the groups that is staying with us this morning and they said fishing was slow for them yesterday. Doesn't sound like any big fish were caught. When we were at Birchdale checking the river conditions a group was just pulling their boat out of the water and said they caught their 2 walleye each but no big ones either. It is cooler on the river today as the temperature was only 31 degrees when we were there but with the wind felt a lot colder.

Looking straight at Birchdale Landing:

Looking to the east at Birchdale:

Looking to the west at Birchdale:

Open water 2.5 miles west of Birchdale Landing:

Franz Jevne still has some shore ice:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 21st, 2015:

Grant went and checked the river about 12:30pm and found open water 2.7 miles west of Birchdale. The temperature at the time was in high teens with the high for the day reaching 29 degrees and the low of 12 degrees for tonight. There is still shore ice at Birchdale Landing so boats are still pushing off and hopefully on Monday morning the county will be out there to clear it out. There was less shore ice today at Birchdale Landing.

Birchdale Landing:

2.7 miles west of Birchdale Landing at the wayside rest stop:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 22nd, 2015:

We went and checked the river and found open water 4.6 miles west of the Birchdale Landing around 2:00pm. The temperature was 32 degrees and the high for today is suppose to be 35 degrees and the low around 23 degrees tonight. Tomorrow is suppose to be a high of 41 degrees and looks like it is going to be cloudy. There is still some shore ice at the Birchdale Landing and hoping the county is out there tomorrow to break it lose. Also Franz Jevne still has some shore ice.

Our group of 5 did good again yesterday with the biggest being 23 inches. They were going to go out for a few hours this morning before heading back home. Hope to have some more fishing reports soon!

4.6 miles west of Birchdale Landing:

Birchdale Landing:

Franz Jevne:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 23rd, 2015:

I got word about 10:00 am that the Birchdale Landing is open to all boats. I got there about 11:00am to get pictures and check to see how close the river is to Frontier Landing. The Landing in Birchdale is open to all boats both ramps are open. Just to give you an idea we are about 17 days ahead of last year (April 8th, 2014 is when Birchdale was open for all boats). It was 34 degrees and cloudy when I was there and the high is suppose to be 41 degrees and cloudy today and a low of 30 degrees tonight. Tomorrow looks to be a gorgeous day as the high is suppose to reach 48 degrees and be mostly cloudy but chance of sun. I did go and check Franz Jevne and there is still shore ice there and looks the same as yesterday.

The river is open 1.8 miles east of Frontier Landing or 6.2 miles west of Birchdale there is some ice build up in between the spots of open water from about 2.5 miles east of Frontier to the 1.8 miles east of Frontier.

For open water to get to Frontier it needs to open up 1.8 miles, to get to Vidas it needs to open up 11.8 miles, and to get to us it needs to open up 18.3 miles.

Birchdale Landing:

This is taken 2.5 miles east of Frontier:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 24th, 2015:

I went and checked Frontier Landing about 1:15 pm and there is open water in front of the landing with quite a bit shore ice yet. The river is open just over a mile west of the Frontier Landing. There looks to be some ice build up to the east of the landing as that is the last place I saw any boats. The temperature was 38 degrees and on the way home the sun was coming out a little bit. The high is suppose to get to 46 degrees and a low of 33 degrees tonight. Tomorrow they are calling for a high of 36 degrees with an 80% chance of rain and snow in the morning then changing to snow in the afternoon. I guess winter just doesn't want to leave yet! Let's hope this weather misses us and that the fishing is better today!

We did talk to some groups last night that were out fishing for the day and they said the morning was the best and the afternoon was very slow. Sounds like shallower water was the best.

Frontier Landing looking straight out:

Frontier Landing looking to the east:

Frontier Landing looking to the west:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 26th, 2015:

This morning was a little cold with some snow flurries but cleared off to sunny skies for most of the day with the high reaching close to 26 degrees at our house. The low for tonight is 10 degrees so could make for a cold morning tomorrow. The high for tomorrow is 35 degrees with sun and some clouds. Grant found open water 4.3 miles west of Frontier around 4:00pm where the white church is on the Canadian side but couldn't find the end of it. He also checked at Vidas Landing and didn't see any water there yet. Frontier landing was opened up today for all boats by the County, we would like to thank them for their hard work and getting these landings open for everyone!

Frontier Landing is open to all boats:

The white church on the Canadian side is about 4.3 miles west of Frontier and has open water:

Look at those deer keep an eye out for them while traveling:

March 26th, 2015:

This morning was a little cold with some snow flurries but cleared off to sunny skies for most of the day with the high reaching close to 26 degrees at our house. The low for tonight is 10 degrees so could make for a cold morning tomorrow. The high for tomorrow is 35 degrees with sun and some clouds. Grant found open water 4.3 miles west of Frontier around 4:00pm where the white church is on the Canadian side but couldn't find the end of it. He also checked at Vidas Landing and didn't see any water there yet. Frontier landing was opened up today for all boats by the County, we would like to thank them for their hard work and getting these landings open for everyone!

Frontier Landing is open to all boats:

The white church on the Canadian side is about 4.3 miles west of Frontier and has open water:

Look at those deer keep an eye out for them while traveling:

[RoyalDutchman]

Sorry for missing a few posts I have been having trouble trying to update on here and the rainy river forum that it just freezes and takes forever.

March 27th, 2015:

This morning started out feeling cold but it did warm up to 33 degrees today making it feel a little bit better. The low for tonight is 18 degrees and tomorrow's high is 46 degrees and partly cloudy. Grant did find open water 3.3 miles east of Vidas Landing and is guessing it is open 2-3 miles east of Vidas Landing. Hopefully tomorrow there will be some open water in front of Vidas!

Grant talked to some people that said fishing was a little bit slow today but they were still catching fish. Most of the fish are mainly males and it should just keep getting better as the warm temperature warms up. A group that I talked to last night went out just after noon and were back here just after 6pm and caught 20 fish with the biggest walleye being 24 inches.

Picture just west Frontier Landing:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 28th, 2015:

Grant's dad went and checked the river earlier this afternoon and said that some boats had pushed off at Vidas Landing and there was an ice jam just to the east of Vidas Landing and he could see quite a few boats. It was wide open to the west of Vidas Landing and hopefully by the end of this coming week we will see open water in front of our place. Today the high was 44 degrees and very windy there is a 80% chance of rain later tonight with the low being 36 degrees. Also talked to a group that said they averaged 25-30 fish a day for the last 3 days with the biggest walleye just under 28 inches and a nice sturgeon was also caught.

[RoyalDutchman]

March 30th, 2015:

Yesterday morning was raining for a little bit and very windy but that didn't stop them from fishing. We were not able to check the river but was told that last night there was about 10 feet of shore ice left. The county did come and clear it out today so Vidas is now open to all boats! We can also see open water just to the east of the bend by our place. There are lots of open holes in front of the dock and I am guessing by this evening there will be open water in front of our place. The sun has been trying to shine most of the day and looks like the rain they were forecasting is going to miss us. Tomorrow the high is 48 degrees and Wednesday's high is 65 degrees!

Vidas Landing:

Looking just east of our place you can see boats now:

[RoyalDutchman]

March 31st, 2015:

Last night before dark there were a bunch of open spots on the river in front of our place and this morning when we looked out it was wide open and boats fishing already! The dock still has ice around it. Sounds like the water is open to the International Bridge as of this evening. Also the fishing was slower today than it had been the last few days but we did hear of some slot fish caught and some nice sturgeon. Today it reached about 50 degrees and tonight it is suppose to get to 36 degrees. I am excited for tomorrow with a high of 64 degrees it is going to feel like summer for a day and then get cooler again and windy on Thursday. Hoping the fishing gets better for everyone and that some big ones are caught.

Just after 8:00am this morning I took this picture off our porch with my cell phone:

Fishing Report

March 31st, 2015:

I talked to some groups earlier this morning when it was cloudy and a little chilly on the River and they said they weren’t catching fish and they didn’t see many people around them getting fish. Sounds like this afternoon was a little bit better but still not getting many for the day. A few slot fish we did hear about. Grant’s dad caught a 27 and 3/4 inch walleye and a guy fishing with him finally caught his first sturgeon so he was very excited! Hope that the fish bite tomorrow with the warmer weather and hopefully it will be sunny all day.

March 30th, 2015:

Some groups did good today and sounds like everyone had a lot of fun on the River. We have a young boy here who was so excited to get out there fishing and was hoping to catch a sturgeon and it sounds like he got a nice one at 58 inches and even a slot walleye too! I love seeing young kids so excited to go fishing! Heard of a few other slot fish but sounded like it was about a 15-20 fish day for most groups.

[RoyalDutchman]

On the Facebook page for Sportsman's Lodge, "Open water within 5 1/2 miles from the lodge now on the Rainy River at Wabanica Church!"

April 2nd, 2015:

We have received some fish pictures from earlier this week be sure to check them out in the Spring Fishing Pictures. Grant's dad was out fishing this morning for a few hours and caught a 27 inch walleye while waiting for some friends to get here. I talked to one guy that came in early around 2:00pm that was fishing by Vidas and said that it was really rough there and caught a few northerns so he was going to try closer by us. Another group that left today fished until about 1:15pm and they said they did the best just east of Vidas Landing today. This afternoon it was windy, sprinkling and snowing a little bit. Hope to have more reports this evening! Also we have been calls about the river being dirty from the groups I talked to it doesn't sounds like it was muddy/dirty where they were fishing.

April 1st, 2015:

Today was a beautiful day with the sun shinning it did make it into the 60s but it was a little windy throughout the day. Fishing was still pretty slow for most groups it sounds like the average was about 20-25 fish a boat with the biggest being around 25 inches that I heard of. The sturgeon are still biting a friend had on the biggest one of his life and fought it for an hour and half before it got tangled and they decided to cut the line since it was dark out. The weather is suppose to change so hoping that doesn't mess with the fish too much.

[RoyalDutchman]

April 6th, 2015:

The Wheeler's Point Access is open to all boats as of this afternoon. Sounds like the water is open past Wigwam Resort and we have heard reports of the fishing being better towards the west than heading east.

I talked to one group that came in after fishing for a few hours this afternoon and they headed just east of us and caught a 24 inch, 22 inch, and a 19 inch.

Another group fished just west of the International Bridge and figured they caught about 35 fish today with about 20 of them before 11:00am. Their biggest walleye so far is just under 27 inches hoping tomorrow they can get above that number.

A group of 2 guys caught just a few fish today but they didn't fish very long as they drove during the night and figured they would get a good night's sleep and then fish hard tomorrow. They stayed closer to town for the day and just checked out a few spots.

[RoyalDutchman]

April 8th, 2015:

We woke up to a nice white blanket covering the ground this morning. It did all melt this afternoon with the high getting in the 40s and hardly any wind today. Tomorrow is suppose to be a high of 54 degrees and partly cloudy with winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. The water temperature by our place was reading 38 degrees this afternoon hoping the weather warms up so that river will warm up and get those females in here more. As I write this our groups are still out fishing hope to have a report to post tonight or tomorrow morning.

April 7th, 2015:

Today was very windy for most of the day but everyone spent most of the day out there fishing. I talked to a few groups that said the water temperature was around 37 to 38 degrees in spots. They said fishing was a little slow with some walleyes in the mid 20s and some sturgeon were caught. I did talk to some groups that headed east of us and they were catching some slot fish so hope that's a sign they are moving in. One group ended up with some nice eaters that were in the 17-19 inch range. They are calling for snow 1-3 inches for tonight and then it is suppose to start warming up again.

[RoyalDutchman]

April 10th, 2015:

Today the sun was shinning most of the day but the wind did pick up for a little this afternoon making it feel a little cooler. I just talked to one group that had a very good day over by Vidas Landing with most of their fish were slot fish with the top 3 being a 27 inch, 29 inch, and a 30 inch that weighed about 11 pounds! Hope to have pictures soon and will post them as soon as I get them. We had quite a few boats in front of us today and saw a few catch some walleyes while we were outside for a little bit watching. Tomorrow is suppose to be a gorgeous day with a high of 66 degrees and lots of sunshine with winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.

April 9th, 2015:

Grant's dad and some friends were out fishing in the nice weather we finally had and they had their best day so far with about 40 fish for the 3 of them. They caught one walleye that weighed 10lbs and 11 oz and the biggest sturgeon was 20 pounds. Another group said they had a good day of fishing with quite a few slot fish and they were trying all over the river yesterday.

[RoyalDutchman]

April 12th, 2015:

Today was another nice day with some wind this afternoon but settling down towards evening. While cleaning rooms today every time Grant came back up by the office he would see a boat catch a fish. We spent the afternoon outside and watched quite a few people land some nice looking fish. We talked to a few different groups today and they all said they had a good day. One group of 2 caught 10 walleyes over 25 inches today and quite a few 18 inch small mouth bass. Sounds like most groups had the best fishing from the airport to about Vidas.

April 11th, 2015:

Today was a beautiful day and we wish we were on the river fishing with everyone. We watched people fishing in front of our place catch a few fish when the wind wasn't blowing crazy. Sounds like the fishing was better all over the river with quite a few in the high 20's being caught and even heard of a few 30 inch ones. One group told us they caught 7 walleyes over 27 inches.