Drove up to Rainy Friday morning under bright sunshine. Put the boat in at the park in Baudette at 2pm. Fished until 6pm. ZERO walleyes. I consulted with at least a dozen other fishermen. The best catch I heard of was 6 walleyes for the entire day. The river was open all the way to Wheelers point on Friday. Saturday was similar. 2 walleyes and one large sturgeon. That was fun. The lake was open all the way to the Gap on Saturday afternoon. Since the fishing was slow we spent more time messing around watching the sturgeon fishermen hauling in one fish after another. Most boats had a dozen or more sturgeon. maybe I should change up and give that a serious try?
The resort owner told me upon leaving that this is the worst walleye run they have seen in the 68 years they have been there. They didn’t attribute it to dirty water but rather the FACT…that the emerald shiners didn’t run up the river this year for one reason or another. I don’t know…it was just not the Rainy river of the past where even an amatuer fisherman like me could have a 40 fish / day catch.
I have no idea how big the sturgeon was…I hand landed it and really struggled to get it out of the water. It was well over 50 inches and almost threw my back out getting it in. For perspective…I’m 6’2″, 230lbs with a down jacket and rain coat on. The pictures out on the lake are at the ice pack at the Gap and looking back in at all the boats toward Wheeler’s Point…Until next year.
