We are trying to plan a rainy lake houseboat adventure for our fishing group of 7. We are going with Northeraire houseboats Aug 10 to 17. Does anyone have any pointers, suggestions, or words of wisdom? This is our 1st houseboat and 1st time on Rainy. Thanks,
Captain Chaos 
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We are trying to plan a rainy lake houseboat adventure for our fishing group of 7. We are going with Northeraire houseboats Aug 10 to 17. Does anyone have any pointers, suggestions, or words of wisdom? This is our 1st houseboat and 1st time on Rainy. Thanks,
Captain Chaos
What kind of information are you looking for?? 
I am have a lot to share on this subject and I hate typing. Let’s see how I do. We have been fishing Rainy for 10+ years. doing it by houseboat the last 2 years. The scenery and fishing at Rainy can’t be beat. House boating is the way to go.
Let me suggest walkie talkies, they will help in several ways. When searching for your HB site, send in a member of your group to scope the site out first. They can then reach you by WT if they ok the site. Cell service on Rainy is spotty and east of the Brule Narrows non existent. I also recommend letting the scouter stay there and hold your site on busy days, when many boats are looking for sites.
We rent from Rainy Lake House Boats, so some of this boat specific stuff may not apply. Also , make sure you request a gang plank. It is much easier for getting onto the beach and a must if you have a senior or a dog. Remember to pull it up at night tough so you don’t have any mice visitors.
Buy only block ice, cubes are a waste. Cubes are only needed at first if your beverages are not cold to start with. After the first day you can chop your own ice with an ice pick or screwdriver, which you have brought with you. They will furnish 2- 48 qt. coolers for you for ice storage. We bring 2 other 48’s or bigger with us. Blocks will last awhile in them. Also, sleeping bags draped over the cooler on the front deck will help shade them from the sun. It really does help ice retention.
If you fish with minnows you will need to take a lot with you. We usually start with 5 doz. and there are 6 of us. You will need a 5 gal. bucket with tight fitting lid and handle. Drill tiny holes in the bucket, lots of them. You can tie it off the back of the HB with all your extra minnows. Hopefully it will be deep enough back there to keep them happy and cool. Probably need some big rocks to help sink it. Just make sure you don’t drag them if you move the HB, will kill the minners.
You basically have to bring everything with you for a week, just like a fly-in. They HB company will deliver things, ice bait, groceries, but I don’t think they do it every day. I pack a medical bag, with an ace bandage, gauzes, tape, tweezers, antacids, aloe, Vaseline, Neosporin. You get the idea. Binoculars are helpful for reading numbers on the buoys while navigating the HB, also great for viewing wildlife. Don’t forget lots of bug juice and sunscreen. We have a nice stereo system on our boat, so CD’s are nice.
When beaching the HB, you have to gun the boat to beach it. Make sure you warn all aboard of the coming jolt. Last year my husband beached us with no exact warning, my mom was in the back, lost her footing, fell and hit the fire extiguisher on the wall. Turns out she fished a week with 5 broken ribs. She is 79 years old, talk about a HAMMER. ( I think she will be packing Vicadin this year, just in case).
HB sites all have a nice fire pit, so if you are the type don’t forget camp chairs, and s’more fixins’. I bring a small rug for the bathroom floor. Helps with wet floor. I could probably go on and on. I have a complete master list of what we bring. If you would like I could e-mail it to you in an attachment. Just let me know. Our trip this year is from July 8-14th, can’t wait, have fun!
Quote:
I am have a lot to share on this subject and I hate typing. Let’s see how I do. We have been fishing Rainy for 10+ years. doing it by houseboat the last 2 years. The scenery and fishing at Rainy can’t be beat. House boating is the way to go.
Let me suggest walkie talkies, they will help in several ways. When searching for your HB site, send in a member of your group to scope the site out first. They can then reach you by WT if they ok the site. Cell service on Rainy is spotty and east of the Brule Narrows non existent. I also recommend letting the scouter stay there and hold your site on busy days, when many boats are looking for sites.
We rent from Rainy Lake House Boats, so some of this boat specific stuff may not apply. Also , make sure you request a gang plank. It is much easier for getting onto the beach and a must if you have a senior or a dog. Remember to pull it up at night tough so you don’t have any mice visitors.
Buy only block ice, cubes are a waste. Cubes are only needed at first if your beverages are not cold to start with. After the first day you can chop your own ice with an ice pick or screwdriver, which you have brought with you. They will furnish 2- 48 qt. coolers for you for ice storage. We bring 2 other 48’s or bigger with us. Blocks will last awhile in them. Also, sleeping bags draped over the cooler on the front deck will help shade them from the sun. It really does help ice retention.
If you fish with minnows you will need to take a lot with you. We usually start with 5 doz. and there are 6 of us. You will need a 5 gal. bucket with tight fitting lid and handle. Drill tiny holes in the bucket, lots of them. You can tie it off the back of the HB with all your extra minnows. Hopefully it will be deep enough back there to keep them happy and cool. Probably need some big rocks to help sink it. Just make sure you don’t drag them if you move the HB, will kill the minners.
You basically have to bring everything with you for a week, just like a fly-in. They HB company will deliver things, ice bait, groceries, but I don’t think they do it every day. I pack a medical bag, with an ace bandage, gauzes, tape, tweezers, antacids, aloe, Vaseline, Neosporin. You get the idea. Binoculars are helpful for reading numbers on the buoys while navigating the HB, also great for viewing wildlife. Don’t forget lots of bug juice and sunscreen. We have a nice stereo system on our boat, so CD’s are nice.
When beaching the HB, you have to gun the boat to beach it. Make sure you warn all aboard of the coming jolt. Last year my husband beached us with no exact warning, my mom was in the back, lost her footing, fell and hit the fire extiguisher on the wall. Turns out she fished a week with 5 broken ribs. She is 79 years old, talk about a HAMMER. ( I think she will be packing Vicadin this year, just in case).
All great information P.Norts!! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for the response, well, for the past 13 years we’ve been driving to a boat in outfitters near Savant Lake in NW Ontario fishing for walleyes and trophy pike, so we are not new to the fishing trip. We are just new to the houseboat and Rainy so that being said we’re are just wondering about some pointers about how to make the houseboat adventure go great. What if any different gear do we need, some fishing pointers for the lake, do we need a generator, how far to the east should we go to get to a secluded area, leeches, live minnows (how many) or plastics??? Any pointers/suggestions you have for the houseboat newbies would be great…
thanks, Chaos
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