Rainy Here I Come!!

[JiggingSpoon]

Hey All FMers,
I am heading to Rainy for the first time this weekend, i just looked at the pics on the resort website, those are some huge walleyes, i could only dream of hooking into one of them, and for the big sturgeon, i would love to catch one of those also, if anyone has any tips on catching those walleyes or sturgeon let me know, i have learned a bunch from the other posts, but i would love to have a few tips on catching a 50 inch sturgeon, i dont think anybody really fishes for them, but i think i might put some time in it, unless the walleyes bite that good, i am getting too high hopes, it seems too good to be true hearing of all these big eye's being caught, i am probably expecting too much, also i was wondering if anybody uses stinger hooks, i always use them on the mississippi down in this neck of the woods, and half the fish i catch are on the stinger, so a few answers would be great, Thanks, and maybe see ya this weekend,
JS

[fiskyknut]

You bet folks fish for Sturgeon intentionally, I'd say the numbers have multiplied 10 times in the past five years! I use to go onto 4mile bay and the lower river around my birthday in early may, and would see a handfull of boats at most, usually none. This would be the mid to late 90's and earlier. Now it seems there's like forty+ boats anchored out there each time I go once Walleye season ends! Heck why shoot for a measly 50 inch 30 pounder, they get way BIGGER than that! Try a ball of crawlers dowsed down with crayfish scent....or a crayfish. Stinger hooks are a good thing when them Wally's are just barely ticking your jig.

Enjoy your trip, hope you get a BIG one or two of each!

Regards....Fisky

[Guest]

JS,

See Walleyefey's post from 3/17 on this forum for tips.

Don't worry about not hooking a Sturgeon--they're prolific in the river and as long as your bait is right off the bottom you'll hook them frequently.

I don't like to waste 30-45 minutes fighting them when I can be playing big 'Eyes personally.

Lastly, I use stinger hooks on every jig--I'd say 80% of the fish I get to the boat are caught on the stinger hook.

I'm coming up April 4-6--can't sleep already...

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Chells

[JiggingSpoon]

Thanks for the reply, i can't wait til this weekend, i can;t sleep already, but thanks again, and i will post how i did,

JS

[Matt Johnson]

I got a 56 inch sturgeon last thursday on the Rainy. I caught it using a Ring-n-Grub, no live bait. It actually hit the grub as I was retrieving, very cool. Took a long time and a sore wrist to get the fish in though

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[Guest]

Treble hook stingers are illegal to use in MN with live bait, right??

So does everybody use single hook stingers then??

Anybody every use leeches in the spring or just minnows/worms. I'm a believer in the power of leeches. Just seems they don't stock them till mid may or later.