Not knowing much about this, a few questions. Why is going up there to fish connected to ice out? Are the fish in there to spawn? How late into May does good fishing extend? Is it water temperature? Just being ice free? Rising water levels or falling? What else?
The fish are moving under the ice into the river now. It’s hard to fish them though the ice. 
One of the reasons we started the sturgeon excursion in April is because the walleye nuts have gone home and there were very few boats up there. That’s changed. 
They spawn in May to June.
Fishing is good all year with spring being the best as they have nookie on their mind and head to their spawning areas. There is a closed period (check rules) for them to not be bothered in their bedrooms.
Remember the females start spawning first at about 25 years old (about a 50″ fish) and then not every year, males are 14 before they can reproduce.
Nookie makes me hungry too. 
BK now you did it. Look what you started, hope no one tells FW how you talk. PS my themocouple went out this morning. Glad I had a spare.
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BK now you did it. Look what you started, hope no one tells FW how you talk. PS my themocouple went out this morning. Glad I had a spare.
I have a spare too! Thanks Dan 
So, where to stay? What to bring for bait? What to do? What ramps to use?
There are several resorts along the river to call. Wigwam and Adrian’s(sp?) come to minds. Just start making calls.
1/2 or full flat of crawlers will do is. The amount depends on how many are fishing.
Fish the river channel looking for holes. Put 3-5 crawlers on a #4/0 circle hook with a 3 ounce no-roll and put the rod in the holder. Once you rod starts bouncing, pick it up and start reeling like mad.
Depending where the ice is will dictate which ramps to use. Wheelers Point, has a nice ramp. There is another in Baudette and upstream there are 3 more: Vidas, Frontier and Birchdale.
Good luck.
We stayed at River Bend last year. Perfect. It gave us a spot to sleep and that’s all we needed. If we go this year, we are skipping bringing groceries. We ended up just eating at the various resorts by walking to them, preparing meals would have been a waste of time.
To the o.p.-For me it’s a chance to get in on some action before the fishing opener. It’s a great April-early May fishing opportunity. Once opener hits it’s just too easy to stick close to home and fish the usual suspects.
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To the o.p.-For me it’s a chance to get in on some action before the fishing opener. It’s a great April-early May fishing opportunity. Once opener hits it’s just too easy to stick close to home and fish the usual suspects.
And its a great opportunity to land some big fish without too much effort and get your blood pumping for open water action.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/novdec12/rainy_river.html
http://limnology.wisc.edu/personnel/rusak/rusak_pdfs/rusak_1997_cjz.pdf
This is my most anticipated fishing trip each year. I fish sturgeon roughly 20 days or so each year on the St. Croix, but the fish on LOTW and Rainy river are SO much bigger!!
Sturgeon bite like a perch on musky gear. Pay attention. Keep you line tight. Any tap, reel in your circle hook fast doubling over the rod. DOn’t hole by gill plates. Sturgeon have no teeth, don’t be afraid of their mouthes. They’re very old, take care of this great resource and safely release for another fisherman years later.
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