Rainy River Melt 2020 - Open Predictions & Updates

[Tom Sawyer]

1 hour ago, Luzaich said:

Sounds like they may leave all landings closed for corona 

Meanwhile across the border...

[ANYFISH2]

I believe the discussion takes place tomorrow at 9:30 am.  I suspect we will know for sure tomorrow.   Although things change daily in the times we are living in now.  

I would love to go, and I am not at all concerned with the access or in being in the boat.  But fear transmission at bait shops and especially at lodging, alot of people coming and going, leaving the poor workers little time to disinfect rooms and surfaces.

This is such a terrible time in all aspects of life's.  

Wish you all continued health and God bless.

Edited March 24, 2020 by ANYFISH2

[Bigfatbert]

51 minutes ago, Tom Sawyer said:

Meanwhile across the border...

Day by day this pandemic (and by the way a pandemic is not a good thing brother TS ,)  is really ramping up and the confirmed cases are growing minute by minute , but the reality here is still worse than “a confirmed case scenario ” and the reality is TS that this virus is here in numbers that are a lot more than what’s reflected by the confirmed cases . Some people get that restrictions are needed and MUST be followed to lower the curve and they do a very good if not great job to do their part at helping to lower this curve , and to them I say a huge THANK YOU !!! Now comes the rest of the people who do a somewhat good job , and  the people who just do a mediocre job , and the people who do a poor job , and at the bottom of this list are people who do a darn poor or terrible job at doing their part to lower this curve , and to our society it’s this group of people that are going to end up either knowingly or unknowingly possibly infecting  many ,many , many people , and it’s this group of people who can potentially make this pandemic way worse , and they are downright scary , plain and simple . Can you personally say that your not concerned about these people who don’t do their part or minimize this pandemic, I doubt it .

    Ok onward I go to say that if the spring Rainy River season is not put on hold/canceled that many , many people will be traveling from all over Mn. and all over the Midwest to the rainy river’s numerous boat landings , and potentially making many stops for gas , into bait shops buying bait ,handling jigs on shelves ,entering grocery stores , making many transactions with cash or cards ,using restrooms at theses facilities , using satellite bathrooms at landings ,and really this list can go on . Now remember that we have the people that do a great job ,and we have the people that do terrible job at doing there part at lowering the curve , and it’s these people that do a somewhat good , mediocre , poor , or a darn poor or terrible job that make having this early rainy river season a potential germ fest,. and at this point of all our lives , and in the midst of a local and global pandemic a very, very stupid thing to have happen . And your promotion to have this season continue as normal , knowing the draw of literally thousands of people who do not all do their part to lower the curve as needed is what we don’t need to get this pandemic behind us. I  personally enjoy to fish as much as you do , and I was personally very much looking forward to this spring Rainy River fishing ,and enjoying a day or two in the boat jigging em up , but I want to live , and I want you to live , and I want my friends to live , my neighbors to live , I want strangers to live , so just remember brother that even just a handful of  the many thousands of people who would attend this event ,over a few weeks time can really mess this all up for you ,and I ,and everybody else . Promoting this event at this time is somewhat like promoting a ice fishing event on very thin ice , neither are a good idea brother , and I would hope  that you could see sir that promoting this is , in MHO is not a good thing to be doing . , I really do .and just remember it may become you that could get infected somehow , someway while attending , and then you potentially could pass it on .. again I remind you brother TS  a pandemic SHOULD be taken seriously by all , but just remember that not all do ..... peace out and goodnight !
PS :  this pandemic at this time is changing day by day , minute by minute, second by second for the worse , check out what the date is TS on the Wisconsin notice . I would say it’s old advice ,old news at this point to be promoting, hmmmmm !   Oh ya , just out of curiosity what’s your thoughts about going out on thin ice ?

[Tom Sawyer]

8 hours ago, Bigfatbert said:

 Oh ya , just out of curiosity what’s your thoughts about going out on thin ice ?

 

Oh brother,,,,,,

I take every precautionary measure possible, necessary not to endanger myself, or the need to endanger others (rescuers) because I have a plan, and strong will to survive. 

 

Meanwhile........

 

 

Crazy times, just crazy. Try to keep it together folks. 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Tom Sawyer

[Bigfatbert]

38 minutes ago, Tom Sawyer said:

 

Oh brother,,,,,,

I take every precautionary measure possible necessary not to endanger myself, or the need to endanger others (rescuers) because I have a plan, and will to survive. 

 

Meanwhile........

 

Hey there TS ,  yes it’s great to have a plan , especially if one is reckless enough to venture on thin ice and I’m glad that you do indeed have a plan ,  and I hope that you also have a plan B , and also glad to hear of your strong will to survive ,but sometimes plans fall thru (no pun intended) ...  ok you ran on the thin ice part of my very long above post , but I’m so very curious as to your thoughts on my last post , I really laid it out plain n simple , do you think it makes any sense at all ? Take care brother !

  

[IASteve]

We cancelled our trip for 4/5-10. The three of us are all self-employed and all of our jobs we had booked through June have been cancelled. We all work in video production. So it was a quintet threat between the virus, ice, ramps closing, lodges closing and no money coming in, it was an easy decision for us. Best of luck to everyone during these unusual times.

Edited March 24, 2020 by IASteve

[DonkeyHodey]

So to clarify social distancing while fishing:
1.)  I need to stay 6 feet away from Tom while we're fishing.

2.)  If he catches a nice one, I can still cast my bobber RIGHT next to his...

3.)  He can't come slug me for this because that would violate the 6 feet rule.

(He could, still, chuck a small rock at me...--If he takes the contagion guidelines seriously, he should wipe the rock down with purell prior to chucking it.)

 

I've also heard recommendations that fisherman should keep 1/4 oz egg-sinkers and a thick rubber band (2 fingers + one rubber band = homemade slingshot!) in the tackle box to "salute" fisherman (or jetskiers*) that might be violating etiquette--PING!!!!   

 

Hopefully we can all maintain our health (physically and mentally) and our sense of humor through this.

Blessings and safety to you all.

"We're all In this together."--Red Green.

 

(*jetskiers violate etiquette simply by existing; let those egg sinkers or extra split-shots fly!!!  Oh, and the floaters in the minnow bucket are fantastic to save for the passing jetskier!)

[eyeguy 54]

Isn’t silly town on the other site??  Lol

[Ivy]

I've been lucky enough to fish the Rainy River Spring season every year since 2001.  It is a trip I look forward to all year.  Each year a group of three of us leave the great state of Iowa and make the 11 hour drive to enjoy World Class Walleye fishing and friendship on the Rainy.   I decided a few days ago that it would be irresponsible for me to drive that far and risk contacting and delivering this viscous virus to this pristine landscape and the the wonderful people who make it their home.  I can't imagine the Health Care situation in this remote area has the infrastructure to handle a pandemic.  

If the ramps get shut down, it will most certainly hurt the local economy hard, but in my opinion the health of people that live in the area is way more important.   I feel bad for all businesses in the area and hope they can survive this loss of revenue.  I personally feel bad for businesses like Rainydaze Guiding, The Royal Dutchman Motel and the many other locals that post information on sites so people like me can make informed decisions on when to come up.  This is just my thoughts and actions and in no way am I dictating what anyone else should do.  Were all adults and can make our own decisions.   I hope everyone stays safe and healthy.   

[gimruis]

I think at least some of the accesses will remain open but its very likely that all of the lodging options will be cut off.  So you'll either have to sleep in your truck or drive home.

[gimruis]

Scrap that.  The county just decided to close all four access points along the Rainy River for the early spring catch and release walleye/sturgeon season.

[Doug87]

I’m glad they shut everything down. Let’s hope it works out for the better and we can all fish again during regular walleye season starting in May. 
 

stay healthy. 

[ANYFISH2]

Probably for the best.

 

I hope for the best for the business community, as this has starting to look like a difficult year.

 

Thank you to all of you up there that graciously deal with us springers each year.  We will be back, when possible.

[Bigfatbert]

6 hours ago, gimruis said:

Scrap that.  The county just decided to close all four access points along the Rainy River for the early spring catch and release walleye/sturgeon season.

Smart move !  I’m glad we have some wise people looking out for the better of us all . What ya say now all you naysayers that thought that a massive ,sudden influx of people from all over the Midwest was a good thing to have happen smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic...     oh how ignorant, and un informed some people are about this all , and a big  thank you to all that showed some wisdom towards this issue and did the right thing to shut landings ..

[Kettle]

8 minutes ago, Bigfatbert said:

Smart move !  I’m glad we have some wise people looking out for the better of us all . What ya say now all you naysayers that thought that a massive ,sudden influx of people from all over the Midwest was a good thing to have happen smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic...     oh how ignorant, and un informed some people are about this all , and a big  thank you to all that showed some wisdom towards this issue and did the right thing to shut landings ..

BigFatAlbert: are you an infectious disease doctor or an epidemiologist?

[Bigfatbert]

14 hours ago, Kettle said:

BigFatAlbert: are you an infectious disease doctor or an epidemiologist?

No I am not either of them , but I play one on this forum !! Sorry there Kettlecorn , I just couldn’t resist !  I have never given medical advice , but I have been giving common sense advice .   I would hope that your doing your part to protect yourself and also your doing your part to protect me and all others ,and if you indeed are I personally thank you and praise you for doing your part to slow the curve and get this horrible nightmare beyond us all . The suffering , the deaths , the fears of so many , the sacrifices made by all needs to end , and the economic recovery needs to happen sooner than later as our country cannot withstand a prolonged shutdown , and the REALITY is the only way we can achieve this is to All do our part . but unfortunately not ALL are indeed doing their part and that is only helping the virus spread and slowing the process to get this all behind us ..  All I have been doing with my posts is to try and spread the word to accomplish a speedy outcome we All need . .  Going to work if you still work , getting  groceries , some Dr visits , Pharmacy visits , and only totally essential outings are needed to be done by all at sometime during this pandemic , also gathering some fresh air and exercise in a way that you can practice social distancing are also essential . Now with that being said , I say to all , the next time you are doing any of these essential outings and are doing your part to get our goals met , take a good look around you , what your going to see is one of two things , your going to see others that are doing their part , and your going to see others that are not , and the ones that are not are dangerous to our recovery , plain and simple . Again I’m jus trying to spread the word to prevent the spreading of this virus , so you , myself and all others can indeed get this all behind us .that all !!  I see nobody as dumb by no means , but I do see ignorance  , uninformed , carelessness . 

Edited March 25, 2020 by Bigfatbert
Because I want to

[IceHawk]

I've fished it for years and its been a mainstay and highlight for our group every spring. The rainy has always been a crapshoot. Life will go on with the closing of accesses. Some years we have drove up on a 3 day trip only to leave after the 1st day. Muddy water overnight after the forks broke loose and debri shifted in the river have made us have poor fishing. Forceing us to eat our lodging expenses gas etc. The way I see it it's a privilege to be able to fish it. Yes its public water but missing a season isn't going to kill us is it. It's still fishing but it will be there next year. Its our responsibility to all try and do our parts to try and get things straightened out. Health and safety and getting our country back in order right now should be our main concerns. If we don't get this virus on track the economy will Tank worse and more jobs will be lost everyday. No jobs and there is no money hence no economy. Money makes this world function. With the lack of cases up there so far I personally don't put blame on the locals not wanting people up there. They aren't setup medically structurally to handle a spread in there areas. Lets all just relax and do our parts. Next year we will get up there. Until then go for a walk in the woods and listen to the birds and nature and de stress its good for you. 

Edited March 25, 2020 by IceHawk

[Luzaich]

Just made a new post for 2021.. Won’t be long!