Rainy lake fishing 2022

[Muskies]

Good afternoon all.

After all the high water,  I was finally able to get out on the water yesterday.  Lost my dock so boat’s on the trailer this year. Fished from 9:30-11am. Took a bit of time to find where the walleyes but caught 6 between 15”-17 1/2”. Kept 4 for supper. Used jig and minnow. Most fish caught were spitting up 3” minnows. Lots of current everywhere with all gates still open at the dam. Water was 69 degrees. Pictures are of the first 3 fish caught. 

[KumKom]

 

Oh, not bad, is this the whole catch or something else caught:?

[Muskies]

Sorry, I only took pictures of the first 3 walleyes.

[fins_n'_feathers]

Hey Muskies, would you mind sharing what kind of structure and depth you found your fish? We haven’t been to the cabin in a week and a half so maybe things have changed but we have been struggling to find fish on the US side in the regular types of areas they should be this time of year. 

[bfisherman11]

I am here as well and interested too. I fished some bays and islands casting and trolling.  Nothing. 

 

Graphed som fish on a reef but no bites. Caught a few smallmouth on a worm/lindy rig.

Bill 

[Muskies]

Good evening everyone.

Don’t mine giving more info. I used my graph on the first piece of structure off mainland. There were fish scattered on top of the reef but not feeding. I worked my way towards the mainland side of structure and found active fish in 24 feet. The fish hit mostly on the drop. There were still a few mayflies around but the fish were feeding on 3” minnows ( that’s what they were spitting out) Use your electronics to locate fish. If they are not active, search some more. I noticed they closed all but three waste gates at the dam today(Wednesday)which means the water level is about 6”-8” above the top of the rule curve for this time of year. Good luck to all including fins n feathers and Bfisherman11

[bfisherman11]

Thanks, the wind won't be bad tomorrow so we are heading up your way. I was marking fishing on the US side at 22' but not biting. 

 

Caught a few small pike in the bays

[Mtnman]

Just found this thread. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for new post. We should arrive at I Falls on Sept 1st.  Thanks in advance for all info and pictures.

 

Cheers !!

[fins_n'_feathers]

Went out for a while after dinner tonight. Fished an island spot close to home. Tried  there last week and only found small fish. Had been using leeches and crawlers before but experimented with shiners tonight and the size of the fish went up considerably. Not sure if it was just a coincidence or the shiners made the difference. Kept a nice bunch of fish to eat, tossed a bunch of smalls back and a few slots. 22 feet of water seemed to be the sweet spot. Good luck everyone! 

[KarenSRoss]

Great fishing..

[smalljaw]

Sorry to hear you lost your dock.  My dock and sauna were  knocked off the foundation as well.  Will attempt to restore when the water goes down some more.  Thankfully the cabin did not sustain any damage.  Glad to see you back on the water.

[Muskies]

7 hours ago, smalljaw said:

Sorry to hear you lost your dock.  My dock and sauna were  knocked off the foundation as well.  Will attempt to restore when the water goes down some more.  Thankfully the cabin did not sustain any damage.  Glad to see you back on the water.

 

7 hours ago, smalljaw said:

Sorry to hear you lost your dock.  My dock and sauna were  knocked off the foundation as well.  Will attempt to restore when the water goes down some more.  Thankfully the cabin did not sustain any damage.  Glad to see you back on the water.

Thanks small jaw.

can’t mess with Mother Nature…lol

our place is safe. As for the dock, that’s life on the lake. Will start rebuilding this fall. Hope to have first crib in before it’s too cold. As for fishing, it was nice to be out. Went out on Friday morning for an hour. Checked another area. Caught 8 between 12” - 22”. Again kept 4 for surf and turf on Saturday. Pattern was the same as before.

[Muskies]

22 hours ago, fins_n'_feathers said:

Went out for a while after dinner tonight. Fished an island spot close to home. Tried  there last week and only found small fish. Had been using leeches and crawlers before but experimented with shiners tonight and the size of the fish went up considerably. Not sure if it was just a coincidence or the shiners made the difference. Kept a nice bunch of fish to eat, tossed a bunch of smalls back and a few slots. 22 feet of water seemed to be the sweet spot. Good luck everyone! 

Glad you had some success. Minnows seems to be bait choice. Your lucky to be able to get shiners. The only way I can get them on the Ontario side is to  seine them myself. Chubs are working well too…as you can see…

[Mtnman]

Top of the Day everyone,

The wife and I are scheduled to arrive next Thursday at Rainy River RV in Ranier, first time in 14 months. I hope everyone is recovering from the Biblical flood this year. Any words of wisdom to share on lake conditions and current fishing patterns?  So.... looking forward to being back on the water again !!! 

 

Cheers ! 

[Muskies]

Went out for three hours this morning. Caught 16 walleyes. Released a 24”, 23” and 20”. Kept 8 for supper all between 17”-14”. Also caught a 35” northern and a few 11” perch. Little or no wind. Water temp 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Everything caught on jig and minnow.

[leech~~]

Looks like a great day and ending!  What minnow did yea use and what batter are you using on your fish?  

[Mtnman]

Muskies, you've got my heart racing.  Can't wait to get there !!!!

 

[Muskies]

9 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Looks like a great day and ending!  What minnow did yea use and what batter are you using on your fish?  

good morning leech.

Thank you, any day on the water is a great day! 

We were using chubs.

I use “shore lunch” breading….buffalo was the flavour of the day….

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, Muskies said:

good morning leech.

Thank you, any day on the water is a great day! 

We were using chubs.

I use “shore lunch” breading….buffalo was the flavour of the day….

I guessed Shore lunch but it looked a bit darker-thus buffalo. 

I fish around the Brainerd area a lot and it's hard to find good minnows this time of year, unless you follow the bait truck to the bait store! 

Edited August 24, 2022 by leech~~

[gim]

3 hours ago, leech~~ said:

I fish around the Brainerd area a lot and it's hard to find good minnows this time of year

I could never quite understand how people even keep them alive in the heat of summer either.  Many years ago when I tried minnows in August, they were stone dead shortly after I started using them.  The temperature shock likely killed them.  I assume they're kept in minnow tanks which are 50 degrees and then you dunk them into a piss warm lake that's 75.  Always had much better luck with artificials in the summer time.

[Muskies]

18 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Looks like a great day and ending!  What minnow did yea use and what batter are you using on your fish?  

good morning leech.

Thank you, any day on the water is a great day! 

We were using chubs.

I use “shore lunch” breading….buffalo was the flavour of the day….

[Muskies]

I have kept my minnows in a Coleman cooler for years. Just make sure you lock the lid down before moving…lol

[leech~~]

2 hours ago, Muskies said:

I have kept my minnows in a Coleman cooler for years. Just make sure you lock the lid down before moving…lol

 

How about this.  For years I have used a Coleman cooler to keep minnows in.    

[ozzie]

haha getting pretty serious on the word play are ya leech?  Are you sure he wasn't keeping minnows in the cooler for years?  Good luck fishing this weekend!!  I might even try to dunk a minnow into the depths of the great White Fish Chain of lakes looking for the elusive walleye...

[leech~~]

10 minutes ago, ozzie said:

haha getting pretty serious on the word play are ya leech?  Are you sure he wasn't keeping minnows in the cooler for years?  Good luck fishing this weekend!!  I might even try to dunk a minnow into the depths of the great White Fish Chain of lakes looking for the elusive walleye...

 

Well, if he was I wanted one of them there magic coolers!  

[fins_n'_feathers]

Spent last week at the cabin and got quite a bit of fishing done and attended some of the festivities in town for the bass championship. Fishing was excellent with the exception of one day when it was windy and cold and even then it was pretty darn good. One thing we’ve been doing lately that’s really worked out well is looking for structure that’s not on the map chip. There’s quite a bit of it out there weather it be small points off of shore or small rock piles near shore in relatively shallow bays 15-18 feet deep. It’s crazy how if you can find some fish off the beaten path or think outside the box and do something different the size of fish goes up substantially. Really has me thinking about how bad those fish are getting picked over in some of the more popular community spots where it’s hard to get keepers. Minnows outperformed anything else by far. 

[Poutwhacker]

Heading up to camp on the east side of Rainy this Thursday. Wondering if anyone would give any updates on 'eyes. Not looking for your honey hole or coordinates, just wondering depths, presentation (live bait, jigs) and bait (minnows, leeches or worms)? I was up a month ago and the fish were spotty and I know it's close to transition time.

Thanks

'Pout

 

[fins_n'_feathers]

I made it on the lake for a while yesterday. Fishing was ok but not as good as it was the week before for me anyways. There were still fish in the same spots but not near as many of them. Maybe it was an off day but I’m thinking things are starting to slowly change to more of a fall pattern. I didn’t have any time to check many places, I’ll have to save that for the weekend. One thing I have been noticing the last few outings is there’s starting to be some crappies mixed in with the walleyes which is a nice bonus. Minnow and a lindy rig has been the ticket for me all year. Good luck on your trip and let us know how you do. 

[Muskies]

Good afternoon Poutwhacker.

The last time I was out most walleyes I caught were in 30 feet of water. Most were spitting out 3-4 minnows after being caught. I  was using a jig and chubs. As fins stated earlier, the fish are starting to be in a fall pattern. Enjoy your stay and good luck!

[relax]

Hi Everyone, me and a couple buddies are going up this Thur-Sun and renting a houseboat from Rainy Lake Houseboats. Not sure where exactly we're camping at, but it's our first time on Rainy. Just hoping to get some good tips, depth, lures, and anything to help us land some walleyes. We plan on going for pikes and smallies during the day as well. Thank you in advance!