Fished the Rainy River Tuesday – Friday. Sorry to report it was the worst fishing I have ever seen on that river. Total catch for the trip was one walleye and two Sturgeon. Oh and 50 Redhorse suckers. We used enough bait to last all summer. Man those suckers are well named.
The river was just below flood stage, dirty, full of stumps, twigs, logs, dock sections, weeds and other debris. At times there was so much grass in the water you had to put a split shot up the line to keep the trash off of your bait.
All was not lost. The weather was absolutely ideal, about 72 degrees with very low humidity. The only fishing consolation was the 55 X 21 (40 pounds) sturgeon but I forgot the camera that day so we don’t even have a picture. Curses, foiled again.
If you are planning a trip up that way, best advice would be to put it off a couple of weeks if at all possible. I think they were working the dam at International Falls. The river would rise and fall a couple of feet a day like they were opening and closing the gates.
Great guys to fish with and great weather in a beautiful place sure beats working. Maybe next time (August) the fish will cooperate.
