rainy lake Rainy Lake Fishing Reports by Capt John

[Queticopaddler]

Hey CaptJohn, Glad to see you back on Rainy and the reports have begun already. My favorite thread.

I see your a hi-vis green line user...what brand, test is that and how do you like it?

My all time favorite was Berkley's XT Hi-vis green line that they used to make but at some point they discontinued it. I'm just about out of my large supply I had built up and looking for a replacement. The hi-vis green is my favorite for line watching. Approaching 50 and eyes aren't as sharp anymore

Hope you have another great year on Rainy...looking forward to reading your reports...My young son and I head up to the Quetico in June every year

Almost bought a piece of property on the North Arm over the winter even though I've never seen Rainy lake but I can tell that's where I want to retire too

Thanks in advance....Dave

[CaptJohnWis]

I like Stren gold and Cabelas sells a cheap one that I also use but can't remember name. It is one of their house brands and I think for salt water.

Give me a hollar if you ever get up here. You will really like Rainy but canoes not much of an option most days. Lots of smaller lakes in Canada that are a short drive by truck where you can still catch em paddling.

[CaptJohnWis]

Fished eight hours today with Dave. We got 30 bass and one pike.

North arm was 44 when we started and 46 when we quit. We found water as warm as 50 in one of the bigger side bays. Most bass were still deep but we did catch a couple off the bank in that warm bay. If weather holds they will be on the banks shortly.

[fishmeister_86]

Hi,

Last day of walleye season (April 15th) We fished the lake & the water temp was 38,

Went for a boat ride yesterday & found 48 in the same spot. Looking forward to chasing

some crappies around.

Sincerely,

Fishmeister

[CaptJohnWis]

Only had a few hours to fish today.

Marvin took so long to land this one, my video card ran out of space to couldn't record the finish.

To view the video, click the link:

[bitz]

Hey Dave, there are a few places on the north arm for sale (or at least last summer there was) seems a lot of them are overpriced for me. What part of the arm were you looking? My dad owned a cabin on the Little Canoe for a long time but sold it before I moved to MN. Rainy is my favorite lake and the north arm is the best part (my thoughts). Tons of water and usually not to many boats.

I would suggest making a trip when you can, it is awesome!

Bitz

[Queticopaddler]

Bitz, according to the listing it was in an area referred to as Manitou Sound...8 acres for 99K after being reduced from 119K. Came across it last summer and it finally sold about a month ago. Wife developed some medical issues so I put it on the back burner again. Like I said before I've never been to Rainy but I know if I ever pull the trigger on something like this it will probably be Rainy or the northern Canadian part of LOTW.

I'll make it to Rainy one day, for now as long as I'm still healthy enough to paddle, portage and fish Quetico we'll keep going there for now.

CaptJohn, thanks for the info, I'll probably be going with the Stren...my son was using that last year.

Dave

[bitz]

Nice fish! The Manitou sound is the north end of the north arm... bit of a boat ride from FF but very nice area. If I figure out how to do so, will mark up the earth view and post it for you.

Good luck this season. (and welcome to FMN)

Bitz

[CaptJohnWis]

Fished for four hours today and got 20 nice smallmouth. Temps in North Arm were only 42-45 degrees.

[CaptJohnWis]

http://youtu.be/I4NrUoN8kw8

Fished five hours today and got 25 bass. Biggest 4 lb. 3 oz.

Water temps 41-45 including the side bays. Supposed to get even colder tomorrow.

Click link to see today's video:

U-tube bass video

[Walleyeriz]

We have a group of 7 fishing Rainy Lake for the first time; we are staying at Island View Lodge June 2nd to June 9th. Due to the application process of the RABC permit we have to make a decision pretty quick in regards to fishing the Canada side.

I’m looking for some incite as to whether or not fishing north is necessary. I’ve heard the smallmouth action is better up there. We are going to fish walleye, northern and smallmouth as well as croppy.

Thanks in advance for advise.

[fishhound]

If you want to fish where Capt John does and where all these great pictures come from you're staying at the wrong resort. John fishes the north arm after going under the causeway. John can really catch fish. To go under the causeway you're further east than you need to be. We usually stay at Woody's Resort as it's closest to that area of the lake.

Canadian waters Vs. US waters is preference. Personally I like the Canadian side better, but many will say the fishing on the US side is just as good. If you fish Canada you need to learn how to use crawlers or plastics. You can't take live bait (minnows or leaches) to the Canadian side. At Island View you're a long way from the Canadian bait store.

You should still get your RABC. The majority of the lake is on the Canadian side so why not fish it? Lots of rules to deal with, but from Island View you can fish a lot of GREAT Canadian water to the NE. Once you figure out the lake and rules using the RABC is a breeze. Again, it's personal preference, but I LOVE the Canadian side. I've always done better on that side of the lake. But that's just me.

Not sure if you fished Rainy before, but don't be afraid to hire a guide for a day or two. Helps speed up the process of learning the lake. There are a lot of great guides to choose from, but I know Woody can guide on both sides of the border. Good luck

[CaptJohnWis]

Went yesterday. Middle of North Arm temps 48-49, big side bays 48-53 degrees. Fish have moved off deep humps and are hard to find. We fished many favorite spring spots but only picked up singles here and there. Biggest bass 4lb 8 oz but most were 15-17".

But what a nice day! And you couldn't find a prettier area to fish.

[Muskies]

Walleyeriz,

I have fished both sides of the of the Rainy and have great days on both. If given a choice I would have to choose the Ontario side just because 70% of Rainy is on the Canadian side. For the time you will be visiting, you will have more success fishing East of Brule Narrows. Maybe Cormorant or Moose bay's to start out with. If you have never been up that direction(it's very rocky) I would look for a guide to take you out. This way you can get a lot of good information on what is working. From Island View Resort it is about a 25 mile run east. If your rig is not 17ft or bigger I would suggest staying near the resort and fish Black Bay. It's only a short ride from the lodge and fishing there should be decent for Waleyes,Northers and Crappies but again be careful for there are many hidden rocks.

Hope you enjoy your stay and good luck!

[watersguy]

Rainy Lake is an awesome fishery. I grew up on Rainy, my family had a cabin on Hopkins Bay which is on the Canadian side. 30 years ago the Northeast arm was really devoid of Walleye due to gill netting. With no walleyes to compete the northern population exploded, 4 pound northerns nearly every cast all day was the rule. At some point they must of consumed the forage (perch) in the weed beds and the northern population began to decline. As the northern population declined, the smallmouth population exploded. This area Hopkins north to Big Canoe River turned into a Smallmouth paradise. I could be at the cabin for weeks and never see another boat, had it all to myself. When the word got out and Fort Frances started the tourney everything changed, it was bitter sweet. It is still an amazing Smallmouth fishery and superior to the American side. If fishing Walleyes I think the US side is better (more consitent) If Northern and Smallmouth, definetly Canadian. One thing about Rainy, it can be spectacular yet you can get in trouble in a big hurry. Captain John is right, you need the right boat, kicker, eemergency gear you are always one rock away from a stay on an island for a night. Also a marine band radio is essential. Good luck be safe plan ahead.

[CaptJohnWis]

Fished five hours before rain chased me in. Very slow. Nothing of size except bottom feeders and slimers. Good fish of any size wouldn't bite. Temps pretty much 49 no matter where I went.

[CaptJohnWis]

Water was 49 when we started today but warmed to 55 by quitin time. Had to work hard but managed a decent catch of good fish plus some bottom feeders and a few small pike.

Best lure was some $25 Japanese jerk bait Brad was throwing on shallow rock. I got all mine on Fin-S-Fish or other fluke types.

Full sun and no wind all day. Bass are starting to head for the shallows as are the bottom feeders.

[GrizzlyAdams]

How long do you think the fish will be in shallow?

We will be up on memorial weekend for our annual trip to Woody's. Hoping they will still be in the bays at that time as we like to troll shallower running cranks. We have usually done very will with two years ago being one of the best trips of my life. We caught so many fish it was a blast. Even had some personal bests brought in the boat. Can't wait to get up there!

[CaptJohnWis]

Well I am sure they will still be shallow the end of May. You should have fun trolling the shoreline.

Fishing was slow yesterday. Got six beauties quick but then things slowed way down. Water temps 51 main lake and 55-57 in bays.

[CaptJohnWis]

Fishing a little slow yesterday. Got about a dozen bass and some bottom feeders in five hours. One of the bottom feeders even put up a good fight (not the toothy ones). Everything was next to shore.

[waterspaniel]

Is that a Whitefish?

[Moskeeter]

Capt,

What kind of water temps you seeing this week?

[CaptJohnWis]

Yes, whitefish caught casting shoreline for bass.

Temps were high 50s everywhere Tuesday.

[waterspaniel]

I didn't know there were whitefish up there! I've never seen one caught. Mighty fine eating!

[fishmeister_86]

Hi Ws,

Rainy Lake is loaded with Whitefish, we still have 1 man in I. Falls that is allowed to net them...his quota is 15,000 lbs. His netting operation is done in about 100 foot of water.

Sincerely,

Fishmeister

[waterspaniel]

Thanks for the info--I always enjoy learning new things about Rainy Lake!! We used to see commercial nets ( not sure if they were pond nets)set in Ash Bay--maybe that was the target species.

[bitz]

we just returned from NW and North Arm. Water temps started out about 58 in main lake water and around 60 in bays (both areas) By Friday, about 62 in NW area. Smallies on Friday were pounding the shallow shore lines. We caught and released about 15 in about 500 yds near Turkey Island. ONe thing I noticed... the smallies were had for lunch had eggs and the ones we put back in seemed very full of eggs (big bellys) So assume the spawn has not happened yet on the NW end anyway.

Caught a lot of 16-18 in smallies last week. One thing we noticed was not a lot of small fish... almost all of them over 14 in and only one under 12.

Found a lot fo 23+ eyes while smallies casting... and hundreds of northern. A few over 30 but most around 24 inches.

Bitz

[CaptJohnWis]

Eat a tasty bottom feeder, save a bass. It would be very unusual to find a female bass on Rainy with eggs that is under 14 inches. This time of year, all bass over 13.8 inches must be released last time I checked the regs. Since most anglers release all bass, most are not even aware of this regulation.

Thursday fishing was very tough for me. But yesterday we had good luck boating about 25 walleyes and 25 bass with a few pike. I did keep one eater bottom feeder which I will be enjoying tonight for supper. Everything we caught was in shallow water. Crankbaits and soft plastics did the trick.

Click on link to view YouTube video

[fishmeister_86]

Hey Bitz,

How did those bronze carp taste anyway...I knew you was going to catch some heat over eating some of those...now that right there...thats some funny stuff...shooot um lizbeth!!! The swamp people luv it!!!

Sincerely,

Fishmeister

[Mooseart]

YUM!