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Posted

I was up in early August and it seemed normal for summer.  I went again this past weekend and it is very low at the Pelland ramp now.  I'm guessing it is down a couple feet.  There is a large boulder completely out of the water to the east about 100 yds. The ramp is nearly all the way out of the water.  This pic is looking west downriver towards the Littlefork.  The island is now a long peninsula at the confluence of the Littlefork and the Rainy.

Littlefork

 

This is looking down the ramp.

IMG_4197.thumb.JPG.eb5eaf73eb2885267a1739f1f8518efb.JPG

Beavers cut a big aspen down.  I caught a few small eyes and sauger, a couple of sturgeon and a bunch of suckers. I just used caution and travelled in 5-7 ft of water most of the way down to the Littelfork.

Posted

Wow, that is low.  I hope it recovers some before my October fall fishing trip.

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Posted

It has been very dry across the northern tier of the state.  It will take a lot of rain to bring the water levels up and that is not typical for this time of the year.  

  • 1 month later...
Posted

Does anyone know if the water has come up at all with the month of rain we've had? Would it be possible to get a 20 foot boat on a roller trailer in at pelland? 

Posted

Just got back from fishing up there....plenty of water. It's actually high right now. Check USGS online for current water levels.

Posted

How is fishing up there? I have heard that water is really red with all the rain  and they opened up some dam at international falls. Heading up there next Wednesday. I fish frontier and vidas. 

Posted

I also heard the water is really dirty. Seems like usually the closer to the falls the cleaner it is. 

Posted

If you find the fish they'll bite. Took us a half day to get on them, but once we figured it out it was fast and furious. Water is swift, so we fished a few small seams/eddies and worked tight to a steep shoreline break in 9ft-14ft. Most fish were 18-20" but did manage to find a few in the mid 20's. The water was tinted but pretty settled besides a few leaves swirling around. Water levels keep dropping which is good. Looks like rain/snow in the forecast again, so conditions could change.

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Posted

I will be heading to the river on friday! Can't wait! Were you using jig/shiner? I almost exclusively troll cranks in the river this time of year. I will post a report when I have something to post!

Posted

I am heading up tomorrow. I will post how we do. We just anchor and Jig usually. We fish frontier or vidas. Hopefully the bigger ones are making there way in there. 

Posted

We jigged frozen shiners... live ones were hard to come by since the run slowed down. Once we ran out of shiners we used fatheads...both worked for us. Good luck!

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted

Over 100 fish yesterday between 3 guys. biggest was 22.5. Only had frozen shiners. Got our limit by 1230 pm.  Today was slower... Biggest was 25. Fished out of vidas landing both days. Good quantity of keeper's. Big ones weren't as good. 

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Posted

Got back last night. Fished out of Birchdale Friday afternoon and Saturday with my dad. 70 on Friday and 73 Saturday. Trolling stick baits 90-100 feet back. Color didn't matter as long as it was clown! Largest fish was 29 inches with lots of 22-24 inch fish. Had a bald eagle take three dives at a fat 20 inch fish as it was being reeled in! Great couple of days at a great place!

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Posted

What's the strategy for trolling cranks on the river? Always wanted to try it. Do you troll up or down stream...what speed? Do you troll slower going up because of the current? I typically prefer jig and minnow if the bites hot, but wouldn't mind pulling a rap to cover more water if its slow. Just don't know the technique.

Posted

Always troll into the current or at an angle into the current. I usually run around 2.1 to 2.3 mph but this past weekend was faster at 2.4 to 2.8. I like to look for eddy places or slack water areas around islands or big rocks and troll through these forms of structure.When the crank approaches the current edge of the eddy get ready! Water temp above 45 I use shad baits, below 45 I switch to minnow profile and begin to upsize. Not very many people do this up there but it is very productive and fun. We tend to catch larger fish trolling than we do jigging.

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Posted

Great information! Thank you.

Posted

Thanks for the info! I'll have to try that sometime. It's always fun to change it up and try something new. How deep are you generally pulling? I'm sure it varies, but curious if you are generally deeper or more on the break, etc.

Posted
  • Up on Rainy I don't worry much about breaks and structure as far as depth is concerned. I am more interested in alterations in the current. Rocks and islands create eddy situations that hold the baitfish and that attracts the game fish. The typical depth at Birchdale is 8-13 feet. I use the Precision Trolling dive charts to determine amount of line to let out and what baits will achieve the needed depth. You can go out and grab a bait, throw it out and go or you can spend a little time and actually know you are putting your bait in the part of the water column to maximize your chance of getting bit. I love this stuff and could just keep typing but you would probably have your eyes glaze over in no time!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • SkunkedAgain
      If you fished with me more often, you'd never have to make this statement...   38" of ice - love it. I'm really going to have to dig around for my auger extension. I don't think that I've needed it in over a decade.   Too bad nobody has a locomotive chugging across the ice to do some logging, like the good old days.
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  Ice fishing remains strong across the south shore of Lake of the Woods out on Big Traverse Bay.  Resorts and outfitters on some parts of the lake have ice roads extending over 16 miles staying on nice schools of walleyes and saugers.  Many fish houses are over deep mud.  Some are on structure.  It is always fishing of course, but overall, February has been very productive for most anglers.   Extensions are being used on ice augers as the ice continues to thicken.  The thick ice this year will be good for the extended ice fishing season Lake of the Woods enjoys with fish houses out through March 31st, walleyes and saugers open through April 14th and a pike season that never closes. Most fishing activity is taking place in 26-32 feet of water.  Anglers are finding a healthy mix of walleyes and saugers, with a good number of jumbo perch in the mix this year.  Some big eelpout are also showing up.  Anglers are reporting plenty of fish for fresh fish frys and usually extra fish to bring home.   The one-two punch of a jigging line and deadstick is the way to go.  On the jigging line, jigging spoons with rattles tipped with a minnow head have been consistent.  Lipless crankbaits and jigging rap style lures also doing well.     Lures with a light have been working well in the stained water.  Please remember, in MN, lures with a light or water activated light can be used as long as the battery is mercury free and the hook is attached directly to the lure and not as a dropper line.     On the deadstick, a plain hook or a small jig with a live minnow 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom.    Some days, mornings are better, other days, it's the afternoons.  There is no distinct pattern, they could come through at any time. On the Rainy River...  The start of the day and end of the day have been best for those targeting walleyes on the river. A jig and minnow or a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is also producing some fish. Some big sturgeon being iced by ice anglers targeting them.  It is a catch-and-release sturgeon season currently.   Although ice conditions on the river are good, they can vary significantly due to the current, so anglers should always consult local resorts or outfitters for the most up-to-date safety information and fishing advice. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing has been strong in the islands area of Lake of the Woods. Resorts continue to move their fish houses around, staying on the best schools of walleyes.     Anglers are catching a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, and jumbo perch with an occasional pike or tullibee as well.     Big crappies are still being caught just over the border.  Fish houses are available, check with a NW Angle resort for info on crappie fishing.   Lake of the Woods enjoys an extended ice fishing season with fish houses on the ice through March 31st and walleye and sauger seasons open through April 14th. Perch, crappie, and pike seasons remain open year-round.    
    • leech~~
      Maybe you should put rattle wheels down, if your going to sleep for 6hrs! 🤭 😆
    • JerkinLips
      Monday was my worst day of winter fishing on Vermilion in the last 4 years.  Caught only one 14" walleye in nearly 8 hours of fishing.  Missed two other bites and was marking very few fish.  Maybe the fish were taking Monday off after a big weekend.   No more water came up on the ice under my house.  Think it was because I haven't banked snow around it for a couple of weeks so the bare ice around the house is getting very thick.  I measured 38" of ice under my house and the Ion barely made it through even with the extension installed.  Needless to say I banked around the house this time.  Another lesson I learned today is don't drill holes if ice is frozen on your blades.  I did that on one hole and it didn't center properly and drilled at an angle on the edge of the opening.  Hope I can correct the location and angle on my next trip up.   Not much change in the surface lake surface conditions.  The drifts may be a little higher and are definitely harder.  There are still a few bare ice spots on the lake.  Very little activity on the lake today.  There are about 3 dozen houses from McKinley Park out to Birch Island.  Another person pulled there house off today, and I am sure many more will pull theirs off this coming weekend.  Only 13 days left of walleye season.    
    • leech~~
      A good start for never picking up a bow!   IMG_1910.mp4
    • leech~~
      Um, #metoo   leech~~ Author 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders Posted January 26 My whole goal for the rest of this season.  Is to watch KC lose and Taylor cry!  🥳
    • smurfy
    • Wanderer
      Smurfy is happy.
    • Dash 1
      Great looking food. So far not much of a game and I thought the halftime show was worse I've seen. 
    • leech~~
      Oh is there a Superbowl game? 😋😋
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