2011 Rainy Lake Houseboat Get-Together(s)!

You read that right! Due to the incredible popularity of previous events we’re holding more than one this year!

Here’s the dates:

Early Summer Event: June 1 – 5, 2011 (5 boat/group maximum)

Fall Event: Sept. 14 – 18, 2011 (10 boat/group maximum)

Cost per person: $470.00

What it gets you: 4 nights and 5 days on Rainy Lake chasing walleyes and slab crappies with 5 friends. Lodging on a Voyageur’s class houseboat. More scenery and solitude than you can handle and some of the best fishing to be found on the planet!

Here’s a thread from the 2009 event once everyone got back home. I’m sure everyone in attendance would agree this was one of THE BEST trips of all time!

2009 In-Depth Outdoors GTG on Rainy Lake

For those that missed the details about these trips, here’s the scoop:

Everyone that attends will be mobile and living the life of luxury in 50 foot houseboats which will make taking advantage of the great fishing and the incredible scenery a truly unique experience! Camp sites within Voyageurs National Park have been reserved. We’re a “go” for launch on this one.

The dates for the spring trip have been selected to coincide with the hot shallow water bite Chris Granrud has made famous. Big walleyes and pike on plastics and cranks are the norm!

The dates for the fall trip have been selected to fall dead center during prime time for walleyes, smallies and crappies. If you’ve followed Chris Granrud’s reports over the past couple seasons you know that September is one of the best times of the year to be on Rainy.

And I know what you’re thinking… sounds expensive. Well… it isn’t free but as houseboat trips go, the pricing we’ve been able to secure is pretty incredible as well. Read on for the details.

Cost per person for 5 days / nights is $470. This includes ALL taxes, insurance, fuel (up to 80 gallons per boat alloted), linens, ice…. no surprises. Occupancy will be 6 people per boat on a 50 foot houseboat that typically sleep 10 people so SPACE and COMFORT will not be compromised >>> http://www.rainylakehouseboats.com/fleet/voy.html

In fact these boats are floating castles. Every person gets their own bed. Full kitchen. Shower, refrigerator and BBQ grill on the deck. You can bring your own fishing boat along to make the day trips out away from the houseboat or if you don’t want to tow your boat from home you can rent one from RLH. The cost to rent a fishing boat is NOT included in the package but can be added at a reasonable cost.

Bill Dougherty and Chris Granrud will be doing a pre-launch seminar so everyone has a very good game plan heading out. Each day we will have pre-designated “beaching” areas where everyone can meet each evening to shoot the breeze, drink beers and tell stories. Bill, Chris and I will be on hand each evening to make sure everyone in attendance is catching the heck out of the fish. Our goal is to make sure everyone has the time of the live’s so they want to come back again next season.

There will be a mid-day Cajun shore lunch fish fry during our stay, provided by RLH and IDO.

So, if anyone’s interested in attending, let us know. We are willing to work with each and every interested party to answer questions and get everyone ready for this trip. Contact information for James Holst is listed below at the end of this post. Feel free to contact me with any and all questions.

More to follow in the coming days…. but check those calendars. If you want to get in on a once in a lifetime trip to Rainy Lake at the premiere time of the year…. this is it. And to do it as a group should make it all the more sweet.

Contact Information

James Holst

Ph. 507-271-0362

Email [email protected]

That’s a great deal!! I’ll be in one of those Voyageurs (leaving the 5th) with my family. Wish I’d have known about this before we booked. Might have to seriously look at the Sept offer though. Sounds like a great experience!!

Had a great time last year James thinking about it again

You can’t beat this trip!

These get togethers are simply put “a heck of a lot of fun!!” for anyone that hasn’t attended one before. Rainy Lake has a lot to offer “In Depth” anglers.

Here are some fun facts about our early season bite on the big lake. Rainy lake swallows up over 220,000 acres. Much of Rainy Lake on the US side is within the confines of Voyageurs National Park. This is the only national park with no road access!! Yep you NEED to boat into this beauty! This means very few cabins and traces of human disturbance. Most of the cabins have been removed over the years when the park came in or left for historical reasons. Your left with ROCK, PINE TREES, WILDLIFE…. and BIG FISH!! I often relate this to the BWCA…….WITH YOUR BIG POWERBOAT!! Thus the ability to float a big condo within this pristine wilderness is simply amazing!! I hope we all respect this right and do our best to keep not only the fishery in great shape, but the backdrop that makes Rainy Lake the most beautiful lake in the world!! The huge mass of islands (2500) and back bays make early season fishing seemingly a new adventure each day. Bring shorelunch kits to cook up a few tastey fillets around noon. Big Walleyes, Pike, Smallies and Slab crappies are often found is relatively close proximity to one another. The sometimes ugly side of all big fisheries due to inclimate weather is greatly reduced when fishing sheltered areas early in the season. I assure you early open water along with fall and then of course winter is your best chance to tag a tank hands down!!

Last season by June 15th Rainydaze Guide Servcie had landed and released 51 or 52 pike exceeding the 10lb mark (3 over 20lbs!!). Walleyes over 26 inches were pretty darn……COMMON!! We also had a great mix of huge smallmouth bass. The chance to land 1 of these 3 species on each cast really is a ridiculous amount of fun. I especially like this bite after we all begin to grow tired of trying to convince winter fish to bite. These fish……..are aggressive fish coming off the spawn devouring shallow holding baitfish.

Our Crappie bite was off last spring due to poor spawning conditions. Many still caught the big specs, but much more difficult than previous years. This I assure you has no reflection on Crappie numbers as they are in very good shape. We started our season with very low water which does NOT look like will happen this year. Crappies like water to slowly rise into the mid 50’s then low 60’s. A little stability in the weather has huge papermouths popping corks under like no tomorrow. Lets all cross our fingers for a kind Mother Nature this spring in all reaches of the state.

I will my presenting my typical pre-launch seminar like I do for our fall trip. I try my best to get all members of this trip up to speed on the current patterns that we’ve been using to turn big fish. I thoroughly enjoy putting names to faces from all of our corresponding on the “Net”. I WILL TRY not to post too many big fish pics prior to the launch as I clearly understand you need to FOCUS prior to PLAY!!

I believe we are going to limit this trip to 30 fisherman. I would highly suggest for both this trip and the September trip to contact James to get your group inked. Last year we turned too many fisherman that we simply didn’t have room for. Thus we’ve decided to create yet another trip to hopefully meet our demands for a Rainy Lake adventure amongst both old and new friends!! I hope to see you there!!

Again I CANNOT emphasize this enough. Get your spot for your group of anglers immediately. For not only this spring excursion with Rainy Lake Houseboats, but also for fall. I assure you attending is MUCH more fun that reading about it. WE cap off these numbers to 30 in the spring and 60 in the fall to ensure we can efficiently utilize prime houseboat sites for this time of year.

Great, I understand my threesome is already singed up. Timing could not be better. We were already planning on being on Rainy those same days, vacation days, etc. already booked. However we were planning on tenting on one of the islands, replacing the 20+ year BWCA trip with a boat trip. Thanks for providing a soft bed instead of the tent and rocks! My old body will be truly appreciative.

Chris as our BWCA tipe for the last 10 years or so has focused entirely on smallies, I am looking for one of the pigs as in your posting.

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Great, I understand my threesome is already singed up. Timing could not be better. We were already planning on being on Rainy those same days, vacation days, etc. already booked. However we were planning on tenting on one of the islands, replacing the 20+ year BWCA trip with a boat trip. Thanks for providing a soft bed instead of the tent and rocks! My old body will be truly appreciative.

Chris as our BWCA tipe for the last 10 years or so has focused entirely on smallies, I am looking for one of the pigs as in your posting.

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Both Chris and Billy will have some good info for you. At that time of the year Billy is primarily chasing smallies with flyrods so expect the fish to be shallow.

I’ll be at the cabin with my wife and kids the first weekend in June. So be prepared for cold weather or even hot weather. I have the ability to change the weather without even trying. In any case it’s going to be a great weekend. Spring time on Rainy is awesome.

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Chris as our BWCA tipe for the last 10 years or so has focused entirely on smallies, I am looking for one of the pigs as in your posting.

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Those big smallies are truly a blast!! The bigger fish was a hair under 6lbs and the smaller one was just under 5 1/2 lbs. I’m also interested in fly fishing those smallies!! I too will be picking Billy’s brain on that.

I also have had guys want to fly fish big pike during the early open water season. For the avid fly fisherman the big bow in the Skeeter 2100 is ideal for this type of adventure. For the novice fly fisherman….I’ll be wearing my helmet with goggles!!

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I’ll be at the cabin with my wife and kids the first weekend in June. So be prepared for cold weather or even hot weather. I have the ability to change the weather without even trying. In any case it’s going to be a great weekend. Spring time on Rainy is awesome.

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LOL!! I used to think I only had that capability!! Over the years I’ve learned to never count on nice weather always expecting the worst. If it is bad…..Your prepared for it. If it turns out to be beautiful……..BONUS!!

The memories of last season are endless!! I’ll keep updating some of last years pics to help you through the rest of the winter!! Before we know it the waves will be slapping the side of our boat as the fire is crackling on the shoreline!!










<img src="/wp-content/uploads/bbu_images/fishing/post_images/1296689627_D

Hey Chris

Look into that crystal ball of yours and give us an idea of the patterns we should expect to be on for the walleyes and pike, please.

I just love thinking about it!! Well I don’t think I’ve ever gone through that period of time when you can’t poke some big walleyes and Pike on Plastics. The Ringworm bite has always been good fished in a Firecracker/Chart. tail. With the new addition of the Moxie in the BfishN line up this will be my personal first choice throwing to shallow rocks for tank walleyes. Keep in mind many of these big walleyes and pike will be keying in on perch up shallow, so you match the pattern.

Stickbaits are a personal favorite for me also. I love Perch, Gold/Black, and Silver/Black. I’ll work the silver/black in the sunshine and the Gold/Black in the clouds. I seem to remember someone putting the hurt to those monster pike a few years ago on a shoot we did with Rogues or Long bomber A’s in the suspending model. Trust me I will be getting myself more suspending Long Bomber A’s if I can find them. I will utilize the Perch or Fire Tiger pattern whenever.

Smallies are milling around beds. Pick you poison bass boys!! Personally if I can EVER catch Smallies on topwater……I TRY!! I love smacking poppers and following up a variety of plastics. Different presentations laced up always allow anglers the chance to pull a few more bass from the area beds.

I fish Crappies where I find them spawning with a small cork and tub jig or flu-flu tipped with a minnow. The small bobber allows anglers to work the presentation slighly above the rocks or weeds while detecting those “Up Bites” from those Monster Slabs!! We’ve got a strong class of Crappies right now in the 12-13 inches. Of course 14-16’s are another thing tha puts Rainy Lake on the Map for fisherman around the world!!! 2lb plus crappies are a definate possibility!! My personal biggest weighed 2lbs 9oz.

You two are killing me, will sure need to look at the calendar seriously in the next day or two.
Awesome time, Awesome pics,
Jack

Never to early:

Countown to Rainy

Here’s a question I received from a member…

Q: I’d like to attend but I don’t think I’ll be able to round up 5 other guys to fill a boat.

A: Nobody has to fill a boat. Actually this is one of the things that makes this type of event MORE FUN. IDO will help match you up with other anglers that want to attend. Through a little networking and combining of groups the houseboats are filled to the 6 guy capacity and everyone on the boats gets to meet new people and potentially make a new fishing buddy or two. So far in the two events we’ve held this has worked very, very well.

So even if it it you and one buddy… give me a shout. I won’t have any issues getting you hooked up with other IDO guys.

James is your “Hook-Up”

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Never to early:

Countown to Rainy

That is fun!!

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Never to early:

Countown to Rainy

thats cool

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Thats a great deal:)

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Thats a great deal:)

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There’s still room. Gather up a group and come on along!

If you are anyone else have any questions about attending just email them to me at [email protected]

I’m getting the itch for soft water even though I LOVE march fishing!! The thought of kicking back on the houseboat after a long day battling Rainy Lake Tankers…….SOUNDS PRETTY DARN GOOD!!

Group update!

As of today (March 4) we’ve got groups or guys coming from the following areas for the June trip.

Lakeville, MN
Rochester, MN
Fridley, MN
Richfield, MN
Whitebear, MN
Cannon Falls, MN
Prairie du Chien, WI
Cuba City, WI
Farley, IA
Earlville, IA

We still have room for this trip if anyone’s interested. If you follow Chris’ reports you know that this is the best time of year to be chasing big walleyes, pike and smallies back in the bays. A big boat is NOT needed.

If anyone has any questions about attending… give me a shout. Email or phone both work.

As our Ice sheet continue to add inches one can only imagine the great timing of this trip. DO NOT be short of stickbaits and leader material!! You’ll be catchig both big walleyes, Pike and smallies on them!! CANNOT WAIT!!

Chris ?

what are you using for leader material ?

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Group update!

As of today (March 4) we’ve got groups or guys coming from the following areas for the June trip.

Lakeville, MN
Rochester, MN
Fridley, MN
Richfield, MN
Whitebear, MN
Cannon Falls, MN
Prairie du Chien, WI
Cuba City, WI
Farley, IA
Earlville, IA

We still have room for this trip if anyone’s interested. If you follow Chris’ reports you know that this is the best time of year to be chasing big walleyes, pike and smallies back in the bays. A big boat is NOT needed.

If anyone has any questions about attending… give me a shout. Email or phone both work.

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G O B E A R S !!

Anyone going on this spring trip is going to have a blast if the bite is anything like the trip we took in the old fish casket with chris during that exact time frame in 2009.Wish I could make it again.

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Chris ?

what are you using for leader material ?

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I have been using the tyger wire the last couple years. Hand tied leaders of variable lengths. Dosn’t get all kinked up and is very flexible. Your stickbaits will run much better without a store boat stiff leader that gets kinked on the first fish.

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Anyone going on this spring trip is going to have a blast if the bite is anything like the trip we took in the old fish casket with chris during that exact time frame in 2009.Wish I could make it again.

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Randy……. That is such a great time to get after those big Rainy Lake Tankers!! Remember that monster pike that was towing us across the water?? I also seem to remember someone connecting with a 29 3/4 Walleye!! Aaaaah JUNE!! BRING IT!!

And the fun lasted all week! That kid was on a roll in shallow water every day.