Plastics for Rainy river october trip

[styx]

Hi guys,
we have our second annual trip to fish the rainy later in october. We had a blast last year jigging with shiners. I want to try some plastics this year and I am looking for some specific suggestion. Would anyone want to suggest a few types / colors.. that they had had success with. Thanks

[Matt Johnson]

I've had great success on the Rainy River with Ring-n-Grubs. White Firetails were the most productive, but the Charteuse's were good too. They give off a large profile and really have "appeal" in the stained water.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[CrappieJohn]

As Matt has offered, the Ring-n-Grubs are good producers for many who fish Rainy. On the same line though, try some 3" Power Bait twisters and 3" minnows, both the in Walleye (red label) formula. Exude twisters are another good choice. Another Catch-n tackle product if you are finding fish in a neutral mood is the Monster doo. These are a "do nothing" bait. Hang'em on a jig large enough that it will stay straight beneath the boat as you drift. Keep it off the bottom a foot or two. Hold onto the rod! When fishing the doo's, I tend to do better using the more natural colors on a black or purple head.

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[Paul Waldowski]

Styx,

Last year in October we had our best luck with Ring-N Grubs and jigs.
More info can be seen on the Ring-N Grubs at Catch-N Tackle

For Walleyes we caught all of ours on Super-Do Plastics and jigs. You can also find these at the link that's provided. On our trip last year plastics outfished a jig and minnow about 8 to 1

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[BDR]

I also have had great luck with the Ring-N grubs. I also really like to put them on a Rattle jig. They can be found at JR's Tackle

[This message has been edited by BDR (edited 09-15-2004).]

[Rick]

The Super Do's at Catch-N tackle were dynamite on the Rainy River October walleyes.

The walleyes feed on a small lamprey native to the Rainy River and the Super Do's mimic them nicely.

We also fished the Ring-N Grubs and the Ring-N Tubes. Those worked great on the smallies. You can see Paul, Dennis and I on the upper left front page holding some October Rainy river smallies at:
http://clementsonresort.com

Dennis and I caught 16 nice walleyes to someone else's 2 walleyes in a short outing. Guess who used the live bait and it wasn't Dennis or I

You can see the Super Do's and Ring-N's at:
http://Catchn.com

(hint: Crawdad,Pumpkin, Beetle juice in the do's and black shad, june bug, and white firetail Ring-N's)

Another hint: I didn't use livebait the entire trip and someone else was hard pressed to use plastic - very hard pressed -Guess who finally switched)

[Dennis Steele]

styx,
When will you be on the river in October?
Rick,Paul and myself will be up mid October and will be staying at Clementsons.Its a good place to stay because we can get to the lake or fish a good section of river with a short drive.
Maybee we will bump into you.Look for three guys with tangled lines in a River Pro.

As for the plastics....Ya what those guys said.
The Super Do's work great when the fish are looking for a subtle action.They also are a little more streamlined and will get to the bottom in faster current.
My favorite however is the Ring-n-Grub.They are my go to bait for river eye everywhere.The rings give off vibrations as well as give the bait a larger profile for its weight,allowing it to drop a little slower.Looks like a meaty easy meal to a walleye.Yum Yum!

[This message has been edited by Dennis Steele (edited 09-16-2004).]

[Matt Johnson]

Catch-N's Do's are a 5-inch plastic, which are bigger than your typical 4-inch ones. The 5 inchers are larger, longer and wider both in the body and the tail. They can also be trimmed to any length too. A very versatile tool to have.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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Metro Area Ice Fishing and more...

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[Dan Wood]

We used plastics almost exclusivly on our last trip to that area and they accounted for some of the best fish. Ring'N grubs as mentioned are excellent as are the Super Do's. The chartreuse sparkle 5" Super Do was a hot one for us. Don't forget about the Ring'N tubes - those accounted for a lot of fish for us when conditions were tougher - slow action and soft texture make this a great alternative to live bait when the bite is tough..
http://www.catch-n.com/plastics.html

Another one that we had great luck with was the King Grub by T.J.'s Tackle. We picked up some real nice eyes and pike with that larger profile grub loaded with salt. The chartreuse glitter was hot for us.

http://www.tjtackle.com/KingGrub.htm

[Rick]

There are a lot of differant types of plastics that will work. Plastic profile, action, and texture is the key. Color can be helpful as well.

We just happen to know 1st hand what definitely works in the Rainy River, Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.

This is a great time of year to try plastics. Personally I won't bring any bait going after walleyes, smallies, other bass, and crappies.

Odds are very good plastics will out-produce live bait consistently this time of year and forward.

[Rick]

The colors I gave you are good ones, might want to add something with chartreuse in it too.

Look for rocky underwater humps for smallies (nice smallies too). Toss the jigs and plastic and bounce/hop them, drag or swim them depending on what the fish tell you.

Same holds true for walleyes except they will stack up in current breaks or neck down areas close to channels. If there is a shallow shelf nearby to neck down the deeper water even more, so much the better.

We will be there before you. I'm really looking forward to this trip.

[Dennis Steele]

I like to work the Super Do's in kind of a dead stick method.I thread them on a jig in the lightest wieght I can get away and still feel the bottom.Then just hold about three inches off the bottom and drop it to the bottom every now and again to keep contact.I might shake the rod tip from time to time to see if it will trigger a strike.If you start getting bit on a shake,drink 3 energy drinks and you'll out fish everyone in the boat!
I also pitch them.Toss them cross current and up just past a current edge and let it sink until you feel bottom.Then just lift your rod tip and let the current sweep it downstream while slowly dropping your rod tip and keeping your line taught.Keep repeating.You typically get hit when your dropping the rod tip and its being swept downstream.
The RIng-n-Grubs I also use the same techniques for pitching in a little slower current.For verticle jigging,I prefer to use a lift and drop.Sometimes,depending on what the fish want you can snap jig them also.When fish are hitting snapped jigs,you don't have to worry too much about keeping your line tight.Since the Ring-n-Grubs are soft the fish usually hang on untill your next snap.Just be ready for that fish to be there.I bet I look pretty funny sometimes as it looks like I am trying to touch the sky with my rod tip when I find that I have been hit.
You might also want to try using rattles for a little extra attraction..I beleive the extra sound from the rattles can make a difference.I used to use the little worm rattle that bass fisherman use.But I foundJR's Tackle/makes a rattle jig that is a little easier to use.It has a brass rattle that is a little louder than the glass worm rattles which is attached to the shank of the hook.It probably wont work too well on the Supre Do's but it works very well on the Ring-n-grubs.

[styx]

thanks for the help guys. I just ordered a bunch of what was suggested. I am going to give it a try. Sure beats having frozen fingers from baiting the hook all the time.

thanks again

[styx]

We'll be there the weekend of the 22nd-24th. I plan to stock up on the plastics you guys suggested. If it were you which colors/sizes would you bring. I don't own any yet and want to give it a good try without busting the budget.

Also any tips on how to work these?