Just had a buddy come back last weekend. He found the fish to be deep (30-35 feet). Water temps dropped from 65 to 60 and the fishing was slow until the last day. He did well pulling spinners with crawlers. All fish came from those deep depths. Another boat did well in 25 feet the same day.
Watch out for the rocks!! 
Jon – one word: river!!!
The smallmouth fishing on Rainy River is nothing short of fabulous right now. Even if I was staying at the Thunderbird most of my time would be spent on the river. The walleye fishing has also been excellent on the river. You do need to be careful of rocks – just like you do on the lake. I should add that I no longer live in SE MN, but in I Falls so the information is from locals.
I am leaving Thursday, Jon is already @ Mille Lacs and meeting us up there, where on the river? I have only fished the LOTW side of the Rainy River, what is the river like on this end????? Depths? Jigs or cranks?
How long is the run from Thunderbird to the river? It looks like under 5-6 miles, right?
You’ll have to land on the river due to the dam. There’s a landing on Shorewood Drive which is off of Hwy 11 & 71 – turn west at Hardees. Below the dam right now from what I understand. I would try topwater early and late – I like Zara puppys or spooks. Flyrods would probably work also – there were lots of bass surfacing tonight. I would also try jigs and plastics and Shadraps should be effective also. For more info stop at Hardees and ask for my brother Dave – he owns the place and is a wealth of info.
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