I plan on bringing my own leaches and worms with me up to rainy lake.
I ordered a bunch of pulse r plastics over the winter and have a crapload of twister tails and ring worms for jiggin.
I’m just wondering what you guys wouldn’t head up there without as far as tackle goes .
Thanks a lot
Don’t take any Moxie’s in white and Char./orange core. 
Chris will tell you Rapala Max Raps.
You arent going into Canada are you? Cant take leeches into Canada. Just a friendly heads-up.
You can’t take dirt into canada either.
One of my more favorite set ups for Rainy is a simple egg sinker in-line to a swivel then back about 5-6 feet to a bare hook (have also used small floating jig heads) using a minnow & sometimes a leech.
Have had about as much luck with that as anything.
Egg weight anywhere from 1/2 oz to 1 1/2 oz.
Worth trying anyhow.
When your heading up may very well be the key to what tackle to have along. We’re approximately 3 weeks behind what might be considered a normal year, as it pertains to both water temps and spawn cycles. Water levels now appear to be climbing over the rule curve as the 3-4 inches of rain quickly is getting washed into the system. 
I have some very similar questions. I’m packing the tackleboxes this weekend for a CA side Rainy Lake fishing trip next week (5/28-6/2). It’s my 2nd trip up to Rainy Lake, but conditions this year are much different than the other year I was up. I’ll be chasing the tenacious trio of walleye, pike, and smallies. At this time of year (6 days from now), is there a certain pattern/presentation that I must try for each individual species? Any recommendations on a gameplan?
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Don’t take any Moxie’s in white and Char./orange core.
At this time of year, is there a certain structure you’re looking for when casting plastics for eyes? Soft bottom bays? rock shorelines? Gravel? Areas with current? Is there a certain depth that is most productive right now?
I’ve got moxies and ringworms in both colors (and maybe the orange-core pulse-R)
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Don’t take any Moxie’s in white and Char./orange core.
At this time of year, is there a certain structure you’re looking for when casting plastics for eyes? Soft bottom bays? rock shorelines? Gravel? Areas with current? Is there a certain depth that is most productive right now?
I’ve got moxies and ringworms in both colors (and maybe the orange-core pulse-R)
Don’t be looking deep. 3-12’ish fow will likely be the ticket. As for lake bottom you may need to experiment a bit. Gravel and bouldery areas will likely be key.
There’s an area that we fish that is mostly a sandy flat. Early in the season we catch walleye there. Once the weeds start to take hold then it’s pike time. That’s why I suggest experimenting. A soft bottom bay may be textbook pike but this early you may get surprised with walleye. Could even be that one side of a small bay will be walleye and one pike, saw that last year too.
“If I” were up there. (What a sad phrase as my fishing partner is there and I’m in my cube) 
I would be mixing up stickbaits, shallow’ish rapalas, and moxies/Pulse-Rs.
Good fishin’ and I’ll be thinking of you!
Thank You Pat.
Fishing is excellent right now Tyler. One thing to keep in mind is that Rainy Lake is 225,000 acres and fishes different in each area. A couple days ago we murdered the Walleyes on jigs and Moxies in 18ft of water on the Canadian side of the lake. Today we blitzed the big Walleyes on Stick baits in 3-6 ft. of water. Big Pike……I mean the BIG BIG Pike are often times keying in on areas where the male Walleyes are mingling around after the females leave the spawning area. Personally I would arm myself with a pocket full of jigs and Plastics and a box full of an assortment of shallow running stickbaits. I also would have slip bobber rigs. We landed around 20-25 fish in the protected slot today averaging in the 22-24 inch range. We also pulled some big pike again with the biggest taping out at 39 inches.
Thank You Chris. Is there much of a night bite on the lake? Worth casting lighted slip bobbers off the dock during the nighttime? Last year we didn’t get much going at all at night. Had a good bite going in one area at right at dark it stopped suddenly. Did the fish move, or bite totally shuts off?
Just got back from a long weekend on the far East end. Thanks to Chris and a few others here I gave the shallow water sickbaits top billing and it really paid off. I’m officially a believer. Found lots of male walleyes full of milt that just hammered a flat rap in 3′-5′. Found big pike were roaming the shallows also. No need to stop for minnows next time!
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Just got back from a long weekend on the far East end. Thanks to Chris and a few others here I gave the shallow water sickbaits top billing and it really paid off. I’m officially a believer. Found lots of male walleyes full of milt that just hammered a flat rap in 3′-5′. Found big pike were roaming the shallows also. No need to stop for minnows next time!
sounds like a good time. Do you know what the water temp is ?
How was the weather?
Water temps swung 10 degrees from the bays to the main lake where we were. Anywhere from 42-52. Weather was cold and overcast when we got there and hot clear and then windy when we left. I’m actually a but burnt. If it stays that way I’m heading back up as soon as possible!
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