2019 Rainy River Reports

lindyrig79 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
I will be back up Thursday.cant wait

Ice or boat?

Dragging the boat up this time. Did the ice thing a week ago or 2

Timmy wrote:

I have never followed the gage height graph. I see it peaked on 3/31 and is slowly lowering now. What is that telling us? What would the graph be showing to indicate when it is breaking up?

I’d be surprised if it broke up at the same level every year. In 2017 it broke up at about 10’ and rose very sharply thereafter but that year there was never a break in the snow melt. In 2017 the little fork peaked at about 19’ for about a day and dropped very quickly thereafter. The past 5 days have been mainly below freezing so essentially the melt has stopped causing the river to crest momentarily.

In 2017, when the little fork reached about 8’ the water muddied and the bite stopped. That was 2017, this is 2019 so anyone can draw their own conclusions.

Eventually they will blow, if you want to know when, get out your clementson crystal ball.

Any one else going to be up this weekend. I’m taking my son 8 yrs old to join the circus and get him on a rainy river bite. Show him why we dont walleye fish at home much

Hi I’m a Canadian angler and if everything goes to plan, I will be on the river next week. I heard that the rules on the American side changed on March 1st making the river catch and release only. Is this correct? Judging by the reports of long lineups at the ramp, it doesn’t sound like the new rules have dampened anyone’s enthusiasm to get out on the water.

The rules on the Canadian side haven’t changed. We can still keep 2 fish under 18″.

Have fun!

A few of us are heading up on Sunday for the week.

Sam Menard wrote:

I heard that the rules on the American side changed on March 1st making the river catch and release only. Is this correct?

Yes, catch and release only for the early season. Also, MN licensed anglers cannot keep any walleye under a Canadian license.

Thats is close but not completely right. You can keep 2 fish with a Canadian license. The US has no say over that. What they do have control over is how those fish come into the country. From what Im hearing is they need to come through customs. A boat ramp on the river is not customs.

Have also heard rumors of the Canadian side going to catch and release next year.

______________ wrote:

Yes, catch and release only for the early season.

I really don’t understand the whole 100% catch and release deal up there. We used to have a group go up every year. We would camp and fish and at least one night we would have a fish fry with each guy keeping a fish for supper… now that tradition is toast for us.

Yet the limit remains 8 for the 1000’s of ice anglers all winter. Crazy. What did keeping a fish under 19″ do that hurt this fishery?

That’s not correct. The limit is 6 from 5/11/19-4/14/20 on LOTW.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Any one else going to be up this weekend. I’m taking my son 8 yrs old to join the circus and get him on a rainy river bite. Show him why we dont walleye fish at home much

Awfully dangerous river

biggill wrote:

That’s not correct. The limit is 6 from 5/11/19-4/14/20 on LOTW.

Gotch ya. Been a while since I’ve been up there on the ice… ok same complaint then. They have a 6 fish limit what is the issue with keeping one or two walleye now? What was or is this supposed to help?

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
Any one else going to be up this weekend. I’m taking my son 8 yrs old to join the circus and get him on a rainy river bite. Show him why we dont walleye fish at home much

Awfully dangerous river

Oh no you didn’t

belletaine wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
Any one else going to be up this weekend. I’m taking my son 8 yrs old to join the circus and get him on a rainy river bite. Show him why we dont walleye fish at home much

Awfully dangerous river

Oh no you didn’t

He never stops trolling! Even in high water

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishwater wrote:</div>
Yes, catch and release only for the early season.

I really don’t understand the whole 100% catch and release deal up there. We used to have a group go up every year. We would camp and fish and at least one night we would have a fish fry with each guy keeping a fish for supper… now that tradition is toast for us.

Yet the limit remains 8 for the 1000’s of ice anglers all winter. Crazy. What did keeping a fish under 19″ do that hurt this fishery?

When they first announced the catch and release change, they said it was in part because their spring electrofishing (done near Birchdale I believe) results have shown a decline in male walleyes in the past few years, so they’re trying to help rebuild the population of those males that are 19.5″ and less. Plus, such a vast majority of the people go up there not just to keep and eat a couple of fish.

Joe, I should’ve said that they reduced the winter limit from 8 to 6 fish in conjunction with the change to c&r on the rainy. So they indeed did address the winter harvest as well.

blank wrote:

Plus, such a vast majority of the people go up there not just to keep and eat a couple of fish.

Agree completely. It was just a tradition our group hated to see go.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
Any one else going to be up this weekend. I’m taking my son 8 yrs old to join the circus and get him on a rainy river bite. Show him why we dont walleye fish at home much

Awfully dangerous river

You dirty dog

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>blank wrote:</div>
Plus, such a vast majority of the people go up there not just to keep and eat a couple of fish.

Agree completely. It was just a tradition our group hated to see go.

As someone who originally got hooked on fishing because of the Rainy River, I think this is a very bad decision by the DNR. I don’t know if I would have went for CnR as I wasn’t into fishing at the time and that would have seemed like a long trip for no reward. Plus I was a broke recent college grad at the time, and a couple “free” meals made the trip more feasible financially. Of course now I spend a ton of time and money traveling all over MN to catch and release fish, but maybe my anecdotal story is statistically insignificant.

I still hope to have a fish fry or two while up there. There are other fish to eat than walleye.

Glad to hear it’s systems GO up there. Gonna be hard to wait another week still…. 1st time for us!

Just called a MN Conservation Officer who works the river and he told me that his superiors told him that because it is catch and release on the MN side, a Canadian limit of walleyes can’t be brought across the line at all. Didn’t tell me where to find this in writing. Probably is not. He said the only option to eat walleyes would be to clean and eat on the Canadian side. Not doing that! No big deal really but do like a fish fry at the end of the day also.

Duluth Fish, that sounds correct. The LOTW page has a nice write up about fishing on the Ontario side of the Rainy.

http://www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/can-i-fish-the-canadian-side-of-the-rainy-river-during-the-spring-season/

I asked the CO when I was up there last weekend. I was told it is on page 56 of the regs. His explanation is that you can not possess more than a Minnesota limit when in Minnesota waters. Since the Minnesota limit is zero you can’t possess more than zero.

Bass-n-Eyes wrote:

I asked the CO when I was up there last weekend. I was told it is on page 56 of the regs. His explanation is that you can not possess more than a Minnesota limit when in Minnesota waters. Since the Minnesota limit is zero you can’t possess more than zero.

Not true at all in that context. I have 2 examples.

1. If the rainy river is open out into lotw, you may catch, keep and transport a lotw limit from lotw to your dock or landing on rainy river. This is fact.

2. If you fish the WI side of Lake Superior, you may catch keep and transport steelhead trout from WI waters to your landing as long as you have a valid WI fishing license. This is fact.

The key word is transport. You may not actively fish while in possession of something not legal on that body of water.

All I’m saying is that this is not a good example. I do not believe you can transport walleye across the RR from Ontario to Mn.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Joe Clem wrote:</div>
I asked the CO when I was up there last weekend. I was told it is on page 56 of the regs. His explanation is that you can not possess more than a Minnesota limit when in Minnesota waters. Since the Minnesota limit is zero you can’t possess more than zero.

Not true at all in that context. I have 2 examples.

1. If the rainy river is open out into lotw, you may catch, keep and transport a lotw limit from lotw to your dock or landing on rainy river. This is fact.

2. If you fish the WI side of Lake Superior, you may catch keep and transport steelhead trout from WI waters to your landing as long as you have a valid WI fishing license. This is fact.

The key word is transport. You may not actively fish while in possession of something not legal on that body of water.

All I’m saying is that this is not a good example. I do not believe you can transport walleye across the RR from Ontario to Mn.

I’m just telling you what the warden told me. If you want to argue take it up with him.

Maybe just keep one, see how that goes..

Here’s what it says in the regs, page 56. “While in Minnesota anglers may not possess more than a Minnesota limit of fish from Canada-Minnesota border waters.” According to the warden I spoke to at Birchdale Saturday since the Minnesota limit is zero you may not possess more than that. This is fact.

Minnesota state statute 6266.0700 subp 4 section B.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/6266.0700/

While in this state, a person permitted to take and possess fish in this state and licensed by the Canadian province of Ontario or Manitoba may not possess fish taken from the inland waters of Ontario or Manitoba in excess of this state’s limit unless the excess fish are accompanied by proof of taking from inland Canadian waters. When accompanied by such proof, one Canadian limit and one Minnesota limit may be possessed simultaneously. The following is considered sufficient proof for a period of seven days after date of issuance:
(1) Written verification issued by United States Customs of having entered the United States at a time consistent with the time of having taken fish in inland Canadian waters.
(2) A receipt from a resort, campground, or place of lodging located on inland Canadian waters issued at a time consistent with the time of having taken fish in inland Canadian waters.

You are correct but that only applies to fish taken from inland waters. Rainy River is not an inland water.

Yup. You’re correct.

I am wrong. I glossed over the inland waters part. Says here

While in this state, a person permitted to take and possess fish in this state and licensed by the Canadian province of Ontario or Manitoba may not possess fish taken from Minnesota-Canada boundary waters in excess of this state’s limit.

But I will say that when the lake opens up it leaves this open for the lake limit.