Mike, not sure if this is the same map you were thinking of, but it’s the one that we used when we were learning the ropes up there.
http://sportsmanslodges.com/files/2413/9925/7940/Rainy_River_Access_Map1.pdf
The vast majority of the guys (self included) stay at one of the resorts at the mouth of the river, where it dumps into Lake of the Woods (also known as Four Mile Bay and The Gap). There are a bunch of them all in a row there, and it’s nice because you can dock the boat at their slips overnight, instead of having to trailer every day. Having said that, if I was primarily interested in walleye, I would probably stay somewhere in Baudette or further upriver (most of the better walleye fishing seems to be up river, especially for larger fish). My group is mainly focused on sturgeon, so we stay down by the Gap. You’ll certainly catch walleyes there, but the whole reason the fishing is so good is because they’re migrating upriver.
Most guys will fish as far as Birchdale, which is about 30-40 miles upriver from The Gap. You can fish several accesses between the two, but IME Wheeler’s Point (the access at the Gap) and Birchdale are the two nicest, so we tend to go there. If you check out the IDO episodes on Rainy, they’ll explain pretty much everything you need to know regarding how to catch sturgeon and walleye, so I won’t talk too much about that (it’s a lot more entertaining watching James catch fish anyway!) Jigs, minnows, and plastics will have you covered for walleye, and a 3/0-5/0 Octopus/Circle hook and a 3-5oz No Roll sinker will have you covered for sturgeon. If you guys do chase sturgeon, PLEASE respect the fish, net them or learn how to tail them properly, and DON’T hold them vertically by the gills. A lot of those fish are older than we are, and deserve our respect.
The only real issue the weather can pose is when “The Forks” break. Those are the two main tributaries to Rainy, and after they melt enough to let loose, the river turns into chocolate milk for about a week or so. Doesn’t hurt the sturgeon fishing too terribly, but it can really shut down the walleye bite. The only real ways to combat it are to book an early trip in late March and deal with the cold (and driving to landings every day, since the river melts upstream first), or book in April and hope you hit it right. In fact if you watch one of James’ last episodes, he makes a point to mention that they had to reschedule the trip a week later, due to the Forks. If you have the bad luck of hitting it shortly after they let loose, typically the best bet is to fish as far upriver as possible, because that’s the stretch that will clear first.
I do have buddies who fish past Birchdale towards Rainy Lake, but they only target sturgeon, I don’t know much about that stretch of the river, other than it’s not very popular among anglers. I will say spring trips to the Rainy are probably my favorite fishing trip of the year, and all this typing has gotten me pretty excited, if you couldn’t tell!
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