How to Catch Your New Personal Best Walleye

As someone that spends a lot of time running around the Upper Midwest and Canada in an attempt to stay on big fish bites I’ve come to realize that the timing of the bites is one of the most critical components to consistently putting big fish in the boat. After all, if you fish the right body of water with the right presentation but at the wrong time… you’re highly unlikely to encounter those net-bending walleye we all covet.

Of all the trips I’ve done over the last 10 years there’s one bite that really stick out as being highly predictable when the conditions align and capable of producing fish over 10 lbs. If you get the timing right, this bite is about as close is it gets to being a guarantee as one is likely to ever encounter. On the other hand, just like all big fish bites, if your timing is off by a few days or the conditions are off the mark, your quest for a new “personal best” walleye can turn into a exercise in futility.

Rainy River

Location: Border Waters – MN-SW Ontario

River Length: 85 miles

When: Late March – 12:00pm on April 14th (season close)

The Rainy River pre-spawn walleye bite is the best bite I’ve fished and has produced more fish over 28″ than all other bodies of water combined. The Rainy River walleye population is augmented by huge numbers of fish pushing upstream from Lake of the Woods to spawn and when the conditions are right… there’s no place on earth I’d rather be fishing walleye the second week of April.

Timing

Of course fishing would be too easy if getting in on a great bite on the Rainy River was as simple as showing up early April with expectations that the fish will be there waiting for you. Timing the bite on the Rainy comes down to arriving when the Rainy offers a “fish-favorable” combination of water temperature and water clarity. What I like to see is rising water temps in the upper-30’s to low-40’s and “good” water clarity with anything over 6″ of visibility meeting that standard. Trust me when I say that few rivers get muddier with worse visibility when run-off brings large quantities of sediment and debris into the river. And when the Rainy is muddy the fishing can be good if the sun is shining and the winds light… but the catching is nearly non-existent.

Typically ice out on the river occurs some time from late March to the 1st week of April. This obviously varies depending on temperature, ice thickness and current levels.

The main source of dirty water that pours into the Rainy River comes from a pair of tributaries named the Big and Little Fork Rivers. Once the Forks “break loose” the river becomes a muddy mess full of debris, turning the River into a fishing dead zone. The best years there is minimal snow pack which can signal the ideal start to the spring run on the Rainy. Combine a limited snow pack with a slow melt and limited rain during the first couple weeks of April and you have a perfect recipe for getting on an epic bite. The spring of 2010 was the prime example of this ideal combination coming together to produce an epic bite. The exact opposite occurred during the spring of 2014, as a heavy snowpack combined with rapid melting made the bite window frustratingly short for those that made the pilgrimage to the Rainy.

The best advice I have for timing the bite is BE FLEXIBLE with the timing of your trip and VIGILANT with regards to tracking the latest conditions. Believe it or not, there’s a number of FREE information sources online that are incredibly reliable that share daily updates from the Rainy River that make timing this bite quite easy. All you need to do is invest a few minutes a day to keeping up with the latest updates on ice conditions, water temps and clarity and you’ll be miles ahead of the angler that simply looks at their calendar months in advance of the spring run and picks dates! In-Depth Outdoors is a great resource for getting information about the river. Daily reports of fishing and ice out updates are posted frequently. Another great resource is Clementson Resort, as they also constantly update information about ever changing conditions. If you can only make one trip to the Rainy and you want to hit it on the head with “smart bomb” accuracy, daily monitoring of key information sources is the best way to ensure you won’t hear those six words ever angler dreads…. “you should have been here yesterday!”

When the reports start talking about water temps in the upper 30’s with good water clarity get in the truck and leave immediately! Don’t speed. There’s no need to take the median around slow traffic. But do be ready to hit the water by daybreak that following day if you want to get in on one of the best walleye bites found anywhere on the continent!

The next thing you’ll need to know is how to track the movements of the fish on the Rainy as they progress through the spawn. The first few days to a week after ice out, you’re often targeting resident river fish, and as the ice retreats downstream (2-5 miles/day) closer to 4 mile bay near Lake of the Woods, you’ll want to follow that retreating ice pack towards the lake. This will put you in contact with fresh resident fish that have seen minimal pressure while they were protected by the sheet of ice overhead until the migrating hoards of lake fish arrive.

During these first few days of the open water season on Rainy I’ve found the best areas to hit are adjacent to deep holes as resident fish, as well as early-arriving fish from the lake, use these deeper holes as hold-over areas during the day. By keying in on these deeper holes, often found in turns in the river, I’ve found it much easier to break down Rainy into smaller, easily-fishable stretches, versus trying to attack the full-length of the river as a whole. You know what they say about eating an elephant, right? You take small bites. The same goes with picking apart an 85 mile long river. My plan of attack has always been to key in on a couple deep holes in a stretch of river that has recently become fishable as the ice retreated toward the lake and pick those areas apart versus trying to power-fish my way through too much water. Fishing too quickly will almost always work against you as fishing slowly and deliberately is the key to the fish catching game early in the season on Rainy as the water will still be very cold!

As the water temps continue to rise into the low-40’s and current levels begin to increase an ever-increasing number of fish will start to make their journey into the Rainy River from Lake of the Woods. Once the lake-run fish start to appear in numbers you’ll want to stop following the retreating ice pack and start to follow the movements of the large schools of lake-run walleye upstream. How can you tell if the fish in your hands in a lake-run or resident fish? It’s actually pretty easy. A resident fish will have a more traditional walleye coloration while the lake-run fish will be very pale or “washed-out” in comparison. As soon as you start to see your catch to be dominated by the more pale lake-run fish there’s two things you need to know. 1) the fishing is about to get really, really good. 2) the fish will be making daily movements upstream on their way to their spawning grounds. Fish will often still be relating nearby to the deeper holes in the river but now that the current has increased more an ever-increasing number of fish will start to relate to the edges or periphery of the deepest water available.

Presentation

Luckily, this isn’t rocket science!  In my boat the basic presentation of a jig and soft-plastic is the name of the game as I’ve found this combination to be the top-producer of big fish I’ve been able to find but the truth is you can use just about any presentation you want and you’ll be able to put fish in the boat. If you like to go the old school route and fish with a jig and a minnow, have at it. You’ll catch your share. The same goes for guys that like to troll. If slow-trolling a 3-way and stickbait into the current is your thing you’ll have no issues catching fish. But if you come my boat on the Rainy chances are every angler in the boat is going to be fishing a brightly-colored 1/4 – 3/8 Oz. jig with a 3″-5″ soft-bait on the end of the line. Now not all plastics are created equal, as finding one with a thin profile and active tail will up your odds. The best colors are orange, chartreuse, purple, and oystershell. The best rod set up is a 6’8″ medium extra fast, couple with a 1500 series reel loaded with 4-6 lb Sufix 832 performance braid.

Fishing a jig and plastic on the Rainy is very simple and straightforward as long as you keep one thing in mind and that’s to let the river’s current provide the movement to the soft-bait’s tail while you hover the bait inches above the bottom.” Don’t pump, twitch or jerk the jig… just hold it above bottom, whether you’re fishing vertically or casting, and let the undulation of the tail of the soft-bait do the work for you. And you’ll know when you’re doing it right as the walleye on the Rainy will just about pull the rod from your hands when they hit the bait!

For those contemplating a trip to the Rainy River Spring of 2015 here’s what I’m seeing when I look into my crystal ball. I think there’s an excellent chance we’ll have good to great conditions on the Rainy this spring. The area around Lake of the Woods and Rainy River have limited snowpack so far this season and we’re looking at a significant warming trend early in March that should start to melt off the snow the area does have. Barring a strong Mid-March storm that would drop a heavy load of water-leaden snow, I think we’re looking at nearly ideal conditions leading into late March when the ice will start to come off the Rainy River. With a little luck and the absence of a freak storm… I look to see some of you on the Rainy this spring!