rainy lake Rainy Lake Fishing Reports by Capt John

[Rick]

Thank you for the reports John. The fishing looks awesome.

[Gerkmaster]

Hey Captn, I'll be heading to the Canada side of Rainy for a week beginning this Saturday.  Just wondering if you could share some general strategies and locations for those beautiful smallies?

Thanks so much.  I just love seeing your posts!

P.S.  I'll be bringing my 12 year old son for the first time.  Can't wait for him to experience the promised land!

[CaptJohnWis]

Hey Captn, I'll be heading to the Canada side of Rainy for a week beginning this Saturday.  Just wondering if you could share some general strategies and locations for those beautiful smallies?

 

Stay in 10 FOW or less. ​I would try points in large protected bays. If you are lucky the top water bite will turn on. If conditions are calm, try a surface lure. I like prop baits but chuggers or Zara Spook types are also good choices. Jigs with plastic trailers are always my go to lures. But they can be hard to fish for inexperienced anglers. And expect lots of bite-offs from dink pike. Have your son throw a floating crank bait that dives about 4 feet. You will be fishing snaggy areas and that type lure will catch fish and not get snagged much.

The easiest thing to do is troll crankbaits like Shad Raps. I do not like to troll but I still do it when checking out a new area. I can cover ground quickly and keep my eyes on the sonar for interesting structure.

[CaptJohnWis]

Fishing poor for me yesterday. Fished 2:30-6:30. Storm chased me off. Only got 4 bass and 11 pike. One pike was 34" but rest dinks. Saw a big pike pike in shallow water but he wasn't interested. Perfect (I thought) top water conditions when I started. Calm, over cast and front moving in. But only action I got on a Zara Spook was scaring one fish about four feet off to the side of my lure. Zip on jigs, all fish caught on small X-Rap.

A few mayflies starting to hatch. Water temps had dropped to 57 so that didn't help the bite.

Staying home today.

[northernfishin]

John did you get a beautiful skeeter? Or was the last video just your friends boat?

I have everything to remote fish Canadian side of rainy this year. Any tips to where to go and to avoid? 

Thinking of going after eyes and bass this weekend if weather pans out.

[Gerkmaster]

 

Stay in 10 FOW or less. ​I would try points in large protected bays. If you are lucky the top water bite will turn on. If conditions are calm, try a surface lure. I like prop baits but chuggers or Zara Spook types are also good choices. Jigs with plastic trailers are always my go to lures. But they can be hard to fish for inexperienced anglers. And expect lots of bite-offs from dink pike. Have your son throw a floating crank bait that dives about 4 feet. You will be fishing snaggy areas and that type lure will catch fish and not get snagged much.

The easiest thing to do is troll crankbaits like Shad Raps. I do not like to troll but I still do it when checking out a new area. I can cover ground quickly and keep my eyes on the sonar for interesting structure.

Thanks Capt.  You are an amazing resource! We'll be sure to let you know how we do.

[bonesteel]

Heading up tomorrow and starting Saturday.  Wondering what the outlook is for this next week and if there are any hot tips out there.  What is the water level and temps like?  Where are the bass at in the spawning process?  Does it take longer for the spawn the farther you go North?  Any news on a possible dreaded mayfly hatch?  Thanks to all in advance.

[CaptJohnWis]

Started at 11:30 today. Main lake temp 58 and 62 in the bigger bay I was fishing.

36 fish total but only three bass! The pike and walleyes made up for it. Jigs and crankbaits on points.

 

Biggest:

bass 18-1/2"

pike 34", 37' & 39-1/2"

walleye 24" x 2, 26", 27", 28"

 

I got the 37" pike on UL 4lb line and NO leader. Good thing he didn't break me off cause next cast got the 28" walleye on same rig.

 

Camera ran out of juice so only a short video.

 

 

Edited June 5, 2015 by CaptJohnWis

[northernfishin]

Top waters where hot tonight! Our biggest bass was caught in less than 5'. Fun night!

[CaptJohnWis]

Fishing was excellent today. Very hazy all day. You could look directly at the sun, looked more like the moon! Fish were snapping. 76 total.

I missed a turn headed north but there was a sweet looking main lake point. Thought I might get a big pike so threw a huge swim bait that we used in Texas for stripers. First cast 28" walleye! Nothing else on that point but sure glad I gave it a try. Went to my prime spot next and popped 14 nice walleyes and a bass, The next windy point yielded even more with a 27' walleye and two pike 36" & 38" being the biggest. Got the biggest pike on 4 lb line and no leader on Swimmin Ribster. Most of the walleyes on same lure. Used every color in my tackle box and all produced. Color rarely makes a difference in my experience.

 

In the morning most of the walleyes were 20+ inches. Late in day I land 25 in an hour and all were just eaters. I kept one and a big perch!

Got a few dandy bass on surface lures in a protected pocket and that really made my day.

[CaptJohnWis]

Fishing very slow yesterday morning. Went to my three best spots from Monday and got only four fish. Wind was about the same only stronger. I thought they would really be stacked on those windy points - but NO.

Found some in a new spot which is a shelf off an island in protected bay. Got a few trolling Kamakazee lure so stopped and cast and landed several more. Again mostly walleyes but better than nothing! Goint this afternoon with wife so maybe the videos (if any) will be better. I discovered it is really hard to hold the camera and reel in a bait caster at same time.

I wanted to try that main lake point where I got the 28" walleye a few days ago. But it was too windy in morning so I headed for a bay. On way home I tried several new spots with no luck. Was going to quit but thought I would try that point now that wind had gone down some. I got another hit on the giant swim bait but no hook-up. Decided to try Stange Point on way hone since it has been good to me in past but usually later in year. Boo-yah! Got into some nice walleyes on large swim bait (not the giant one). Great way to end an otherwise uneventful day. Where is Stange Point you ask? Well it and Big Fish Reef, Sorry John Reef, Whitefish Point, Bass Reef, and Sauna Bay is known by that name only to myself and a few close fishing buddies.

 

[CaptJohnWis]

Started at noon. Took wife along to be camerman. She didn't want to fish.

Started off with a decent bass and big walleye right away. Then two more fish in five hours! Said I will only try one more spot and we will be getting home early. 29 fish off last spot. All walleyes except for two nice bass. No pike all day -weird. Anyway the last 90 minutes was lots of fun. All in 7-10 FOW on Swimmin Ribster. Nothing big except first walleye.

 

[CaptJohnWis]

Fishing was slow this morning. I saw some other guys catching bass on shoreline but I wasn't doing much. Yesterday's honey hole a bust except for two walleyes.

Last hour was the best by far. Ten nice smallmouth on surface lure. Ended up with 40 fish. Biggest pike 34-1/2", walleye 25", bass 18".

Saw a bear cross Hwy 11 on way home. Where 332 goes south.

 

Edited June 13, 2015 by CaptJohnWis

[CaptJohnWis]

Fished with Father Ben today. His sermon this morning was about appreciating the wonders of nature that god has created. He said something like, "yes, I am telling you to go fishing." So we were practicing what he preached. Wanted to fish Rainy but was afraid to make a long boat ride with the storm moving in. Went to a small lake instead. Nothing big but LOTS of action. All released.

Most caught on Lunker City Swimmin Ribster. Got a good topwater bite from bass at quiting time.

 

[CaptJohnWis]

Sanctuary opener  poor for me. Five nice fish first stop then only four more till noon.  Real windy so quit early and spent afternoon fixing boat trailer. I installed six new lights two weeks ago  and already three of them broken. The tail lights wouldn't work but flashers would. Turned out to be a fuse in the truck blew when the rear trailer light broke and was flopping around. Now sonars are giving me grief. Keep turning off. I thought it was because I was hitting big waves and jarring connection to battery. But it started doing it when sitting still. I think I might have too many sonars on same wire and it is over heating. Might try running a new wire direct to one sonar from battery instead of going thru the power switch on dashboard - any suggestions?

Fished 13 hours yesterday and only 30 fish. Nothing big. Lots of short hits. Mayflies have been hatching but I haven't seen big gobs of them.

 

[hydrashack]

Sometime with the new sonars/graphs you need a bigger battery or they shut off.

 

Just a suggestion, no promises on the fix.............

 

Thanks for the post as always.

[CaptJohnWis]

I called the local electronics guy and he told me how to read the voltage on my bigger Lowrance unit. I already have two batteries (in parallel) so was pretty sure it was not the battery. Once I got the unit to show voltage by adding it to overlay data, the problem was confirmed - too many sonars on same wire. I was only getting 10.5v and when I turn on the second unit it drops to 9.2v. Took all day but I ran a new heavy gauge wire direct to the bigger unit and bypassed the power switch on dash. Now I get 12.5v on the big unit with no change when I turn on other sonar. Everything seems to work OK now. I also added ratcheting straps to my batteries. Now they can not wiggle around when I hit big waves.

Just need to remember that turning off the main power switch will NOT turn off the big Lowrance. Have to do that directly on the unit.

Fixed a seat while I was at it and even vacuumed the inside! I am not one for keeping the boat looking purrrty. But do like everything to work.

[hydrashack]

Glad you got the issue resolved.   Keep it wet and thanks again for the posts and updates.

 

-Shack

[Lohmwil]

Glad you got the issue resolved.   Keep it wet and thanks again for the posts and updates.

 

-Shack

​Heading up to Rainy next Thursday can't wait.  Here's tip that works great if you end up with a dead battery.  I carry those portable battery chargers about the size of a small book with me.  A bit expensive, but whole lot better than missing out on some fishing.  

 

[Rick]

Glad you got the issue resolved.   Keep it wet and thanks again for the posts and updates.

 

-Shack

​If you appreciate a post or update please be sure to click the "like this" button.

[CaptJohnWis]

Lot of mayflies on the dock at 5:00 this morning. Got five decent fish at first stop but then things died. Only got 10 more by noon. Had packed up everything and was headed back to dock. Wind was over 20 MPH so I was taking it easy on way home. Was going by a spot I marked years ago and hadn't fished since. Wind was pounding into the small island. Decided to give ti a try before quiting and hoped the wind would go down in meantime.

Used a 5-inch swimbait with heavy head. Water was deep close to island and I anchored in 25 FOW. First cast decent pike and next cast 27-1/2" walleye. Proceeded to catch about 20 fish off this spot so day turned out better than I had hoped for. Tried several different plastic tails and all produced. Jig weights 1/2 - 1- 1/2 oz. Needed heavy head due to wind.

Never, never, never give up

[CaptJohnWis]

Fished five hours today and wished I could have stayed till dark. Ominous clouds to the southwest made me chicken out and head for the dock. Perfect topwater conditions when I started. overcast and calm. First cast of the day with a plunker yielded a scrappy 18-inch bass. Got a dozen more in the next hour before the sun came out.

Marked lots of walleyes in 20-25 FOW  but I think they were all eaters. Very fussy and I didn't get any over 20" from the deep water. One nice walleye at high noon, full sun in four FOW on Rapala. 25 fish total. One was a 16" sauger!

 

Edited June 25, 2015 by CaptJohnWis

[CaptJohnWis]

Started late yesterday and again got chased off by thunder clouds just when I was over a bunch of fussy walleyes. Did some experimenting at first. Heard some stories about guys doing well with techniques I hadn't tried. Super slow trolling cranks just didn't work - I hate trolling when I am by myself. Only one line in water and not much to do except steer the boat and watch electronics. Tried topwater a little bit but it was high noon and full sun so no hits.

Marked lots of fish that I assumed were small walleyes. For me, perch and small walleyes are the hardest fish to catch on artificial lures. I downsized to my smallest spoon and finally caught some. And surprise surprise a couple of them were 25-inchers. Guess I should have had some stinking minnows along since they were thick under the boat but hard to get to bite. All these fish were in 20-25 FOW alongside humps or off points in bays. Tried mid lake humps but marked nothing. Did see a few boats camped on mid-lake humps so I guess the walleyes are starting to show up there.

.

[AKD405]

We just got home from a week on Rainy. We stayed on Red Gut Bay and fished Swell Bay some too. The Smallie fishing was fantastic, especially the top water action. We also did well on Northerns not intentionally but while targeting the Smallies. The most pleasant suprise was the Crappie, we were able to land 50 over the week on Rainy. Eater Walleyes were hard to come by as most of the time they were too big or too small but we didn't really target them specifically. The weather was outstanding (1 windy day) and the fishing for the most part was much the same. We are already missing the cool weather as the Oklahoma heat is about to set in!

[Lohmwil]

Hello,  Heading up to Rainy for the first time.  We have a houseboat rented with Rainy Lake Houseboats.  Please let me know if you have any fishing tips or suggestions on where to beach the houseboat.  THANKS.

[CaptJohnWis]

AKD405 - welcome aboard. Sounds like you had fun. When I was still writing articles for outdoor magazines, I took my son to Red Gut. The mosquitoes were awful at the camp we stayed at. That was over 20 years ago and I don't think I have had to use bug spray at Rainy ever since. Lots of dragonflies around now and they keep they other bugs eaten up. When I was there all those years ago it was in July and we also caught lots of crappie but mostly small ones suspended over 20-35 FOW.. How deep were you finding them? I rarely fish crappie but I know lots of the other swabs would like to know.

It seems the crappie fishing keeps improving every year on Rainy. Lots of big ones now. Just wish more them would show up in the North Arm. Something to chase when bass ain't biting.  If they were around I would catch a few while

bass fishing but in forty+ years I have only caught one in the main North Arm. Some of the bigger side bays like Northwest Bay have em but I have never been there in a boat, just ice fishing. Wonder why they avoid the North Arm?

Fished six hours Friday but only 25 fish. NO walleyes over 20" and just one nice bass. Topwater bite didn't happen. Still lots of mayflies hatching at night or early morning. Nearly everything on small silver spoon. Still marking lots of walleyes in 20 FOW but they remain fussy. I trolled a crankbait on a 3-way rig for a little while but no hits. 

[CaptJohnWis]

Fished that last few day with my friend Alan from Forest Lake, MN. Nothing special the first few day - about 90 fish mixed species. We did miss several really nice bass on surface lures and managed to alnd a couple. They were very fussy and a few times we could see bass come up an look at the lure bit not hit it.

 

Today we decided to try the river. Alan had never caught a sturgeon so we had hopes. After several hours and no sturgeon (but lots of sucker nibbles) we ran low on crawlers and went after some river bass. Had some action but no porkers. I had tried to mark some sturgeon but notta. Finally saw one jump so we gave the bugle noses one more try. Before I could even get my line in the water, Alan had one on. Turned out to be the biggest fish he ever caught. Half hour later he caught an even bigger one! I got one sucker - arrrgh.

 

Edited July 2, 2015 by CaptJohnWis

[AKD405]

CaptJohn - You nailed it on the mosquitoes. We had one evening where they flat ran us off the lake. They did seem much worse in Red Gut than the other place we have stayed. We didn't set out with the goal of catching Crappie but we stumbled upon them by accident. We caught all of ours on a hump between two points, the hump topped out at 13' but most of it was around 15'. The Crappie were a foot or two off bottom mixed in with the small Walleye. All good size, a few really good. The only time we could get them to bite however was in the late evening hours. Made for a nice way to end each day.

[AKD405]

Here are a few pics of our trip to Rainy last week.

 

A pretty one off a Rapala Skitter Pop.

 

My buddy with a good Crappie.

 

Some of the ones that made it back to camp with us.

 

My dad with a good one off of an X-Rap.

When they were not biting top water, I did well on Bass using Lunker City Swimmin Ribsters. Thanks to the advice of CaptJohn. My best color was the Watermelon. 

[okfisherman]

NICE ONES ADK405,  thankfully the oklahoma heat hasnt busted us to bad yet,  judgeing from the shirt you must be from around the davis, sulphur area?   welcome to the forum and keep an eye on capt. john,  his posts are the best.  I will be heading to the north arm last week of august.  What a sturgeon John!   just once i'd like to get one.