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Rainy Lake Fishing Reports by Capt John


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Labor of love - on Labor Day.

Walleye fishing lousy but who cares about bottom feeders when the bronze bombers are snapping. Went with Mike and his "favorite" son-in-law.

Big walleyes have disappeared from the reefs but plenty of dinks and eaters. Water starting to cool down so hopefully the big fish will move up again.

Rainy2011-9-5.jpg

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John, this is an awesome thread! I'm green with envy looking at all these pictures, as just about every one of them would be a PB for me! As such, I have drafted the following letter:

Dear John,

If you are interested in someone to fish with you and take care of your bottom feeder problem please look me up, I'd be happy to take all those 27"+ walleyes out of that lake for you so that you would no longer need to worry about them and could thus focus on the smallies. You may be asking yourself, "why would anyone want to do such a thing?" and while that is a good question, I would be willing to take one for the team and drag in those annoying trophy walleyes for you. It is a tough, thankless job, but I believe I am up to the task.

Sincerely,

-Logan R.

Seriously though, awesome thread, you have convinced me to use soft plastics a heck of a lot more often.

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Logan,

Well I am looking for guys to share trips. But you will have to leave all those 27" bottom feeders in the lake. All we keep in my boat is one 16" eater per person. Everything else released.

I normally fish the Canadian side of the lake so you need a passport and a RABC to go in my boat.

20 degrees yesterday morning! Let the good fishing begin! Bass are starting to school up. I found two batches of bronze beauties yesterday. Below is the purrrtiest picture a bass angler can see while reeling in a big one. Ten more chasing her to the boat!

Rainy2011-9-15.jpg

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John,

I suppose I mispoke a little smile. I am pretty strictly catch and release also, sometimes I'll keep a few panfish to fry up, but that's rare as I don't fish for them all that often. I just meant that I'd be happy to catch those walleyes so you don't have to smile. Think of how much fun you'd have if someone else was taking care of those pesky bottom feeders! Although it looks like are having quite a bit of fun regardless smile.

Do you fish the same spots all the time? Or are you constantly finding new locations that hold fish? It seems like you have that lake figured out pretty well either way.

Keep catching the fish though, and keep posting pictures too, it gives us city dwellars something to drool over while on break at work. I've been to Canada quite a few times to fish and I'm stuck on 25" for my biggest walleye, and there you are catching 28" on accident!

Maybe I'll stop driving so far into Canada to fish, it looks like Rainy has plenty of big fish in it right across the border.

I was half joking with my 'letter' before, but if you seriously ever need a fishing partner for a weekend let me know and I'd drive up in a heartbeat. Well, it's a 6 hour drive, so it'd be closer to 30,000 heartbeats.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Happy Birthday John ! smile Those are some nice footballs you have there. I'm coming up in 10 days and I'm really looking forward to some fish like that.

Chet

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Bass fishing is great IF you can find a school! Took a six hours before I found a school today. Got seven or eight beauties in a hurry once I was on em. Then along comes these bottom feeders and my bass disappear. Guess they don't want to associate with bottom feeders. Got five walleyes in a row but nary another bass.

Kept an eater and a BIG perch. Gave em to two gals fishing off Bowman's dock when I quit.

Rainy2011-9-26.jpg

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Nice fish as always John! How are you working those soft plastics when the walleye are taking them?

Looks like you had a beautiful day up there though!

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I use the lightest jig head that conditions will permit. No wind, I use 1/16 oz in shallow water and 1/8 in deeper water. With wind I use as heavy as 1/4 but seldom heavier. I just let it sink until it hits bottom, then quickly twitch and reel it at same time about 3 feet.

Even with the best rod you will seldom feel a hit (too much slack). You MUST watch the line for ANY movement out of the ordinary. Always be in position to set the hook immediately. I try to keep my rod pointed at the lure. With all the curve in your line, you need a long sweep to get the hook set. Set it often! If you are getting snagged a lot, you are not watching close enough for when you hit bottom. Easier said than done when it is windy. I suggest you learn this method in shallower water with no wind. It is much easier to detect bottom and hits then. If you hook a fish and lose it, let the jig drop back down. Over half the time, I get a second hit after losing a fish.

I normally use 4lb line but go to 8 lb with 1/4 oz jigs. I use bright colored line to make it easier to see hits.

If you have no faith in this method, try a heavier jig head with a built in wiggle. Just let it sink to bottom and reel in slowly. You will feel hits (but not get as many)

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Awesome advice John, thanks a lot! I will give the old plastics a try. That must be a riot catching those smallies on 4 lb. test(it might even be fun catching those walleye too)!

Oh, and happy belated birthday.

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October is here! Boat landing deserted when I arrived, weather perfect, Packers 4-0. and big gals coming out to play. Everything caught on 4" flukes, 4lb line, no leader 1/8 oz jig head.

Rainy2011-10-03b.jpg

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Awesome Report!

I'm coming up on Wednesday and leaving on Sunday with two buddies and let me tell you we are pumped!

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Cap'n John,

I fish Namakan frequently. I have had trouble locting the fish the last 10 days.Much like rainy , I assume. Can you please point me in the right direction. I'll be back out Thurs-Sunday. It appears as though turnover has occurred. What to do for bottom feeders? Please help. Son is coming from school Fri night for the weekend to fish with me (My birthday) Is the kettle falls portage still operating?

Spotfish

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Wow, how big was that pike? It looks huge, but it could be suffering from "held close to the camera syndrome" smile.

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I do not know about the portage. I never venture that way.

Points with deep water close have been best for me lately. Humps not so hot. I have not been marking much but still catching fish. If it is a good looking point I give it at least 20 casts before leaving. Lots of bait suspended over 35 feet of water today.

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Its fun reading your posts and seeing the smiles on your face in the fish pictures! You look like your having a blast John! Good for you champ! Keep ribbing us about them darn bottom feeders grin

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Fish this past weekend was OK but nothing special for October. Went with Tsunami Paul on Saturday and with Mike and Mark on Sunday. Quit early Saturday due to heavy wind in our favorite spots. I thought we would kill em Sunday as wind had gone down. But no glory holes, had to work hard to land 54. Lots of bass and some decent bottom feeders. Nearly all on soft plastic.

Rainy2011-10-08.jpg

Rainy2011-10-09.jpg

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For ultra light I use a custom rod by Wes Peterson 6' and a Bass Pro house brand Micro-lite 5'-3". For my heavy spinning rods I use what I consider to be the finest rods I have ever used. 25 year old Shimano SPEEDMASTER in heavy action. Not to be confused with the much heavier and less sensitive Beastmaster (part fiberglass) rods.

The Speedmaster looks heavy due to its thick butt section. It is very light. When casting, you are holding the blank, not cork, foam or some other commonly used grip material. Since I use heavy action, there is little bend at the tip when I set the hook so I get better hook sets. It loads up just fine once a fish is on. They quit making these rods long ago but you do see one on some online auctions from time to time. They always bring high prices so others must like them as much as I do.

I also use baitcaster rods for bigger cranks and spoons or trolling. I like 7' flipping sticks by G. Loomis and Fenwick. Med-hvy action. I have a bunch of other rods but I seldom use them anymore.

I have switched over to Okuma reels. They are cheap compared the last Shimano Stradic reels I bought. All the paint is falling off the Okumas I use a lot. But I ain't into purrrty, I just want them to work. Nice smooth action and decent drag (I back reel anyway on big fish). I need to have a garage sale next year and get rid of a bunch of this stuff I no longer use.

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Got 18 nice ones at my first stop this morning. Things slowed down after that. My fav spots BIG waves so hard to detect hits. Snow, sleet and rain are OK but I do hate that wind.

Rainy2011-10-18.jpg

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I have been using the three smallest sizes Okuma. Cheaper models like Hardstone and Epixor. Might try a higher end Okuma next time.

Fishing remains good. Yesterday morning was a bust even though it was snowing and blowing like Tuesday. Got into em good last few hour but mostly bottom feeders. Some big ones and several dinks (especially bass).

Today fish bit good all day. Best was when the sun came out and the wind died. Got my biggest bass and biggest walleye back to back when that happened. Average size much better today. Most waleyes 20-25", lot of nice bass.

Rainy2011-10-19.jpg

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Hi John,

Very nice fish, I'm glad for you.

I noticed that sometimes you use a small leader and sometimes you don't. What determines when you use one and when not to use one?

Thanks

Chet

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When I first get to a spot I usually throw something with a leader. If there are pike around they usually are the first ones to bite. After I'm there awhile, I usually go with no leader. I make my own leaders and rig the jigs direct to the wire (no snap).

Fishing slow today. Only 21 in eight hours so quit early. Home BEFORE dark!

Rainy2011-10-21.jpg

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Thanks John for the info on the leaders. Looks like you're going strong up there. Stay warm and have a nice winter.

Chet

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Fishing continues to be good. Haven't hit the mother load of big bass but water has been staying just above 50 so hope they school up once it gits below that. Typical day 20-40 fish mostly nice size bass and walleye with a few pike thrown in. Most on jig & plastic tails, with a few on spoons used as search lure.

Rainy2011-10-24.jpg

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But we still got 58 fish. Had to stay close to home until 2:00 p.m. when fog lifted. Nothing huge landed but got several nice bass and walleyes.

Rainy2011-10-29.jpg

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