Years of dreaming, months of planning, and poof it’s all a memory. I wanted to go on a guided fishing trip to Rainy Lake for quite some time. It seemed every year it was pushed back for one reason or another. This last summer it was decided that this was the year. I wasn’t at first sure with whom we should go. That changed really fast as I began following RainyDaze on the IDO web site. Chris’s accomplishments as a guide certainly were noted by our party, and with that, the wheels began to turn.
I started making inquiries to RainyDaze last February. Chris was about the most patient person I’ve ever dealt with. I would think of a handful of questions and fire off an e-mail and like clockwork, he would promptly reply. Pike have always been a favorite of mine to target. The problem with living close to the metro is that a shot at a large pike is tough to come by. I knew from following Chris’s writings and viewing the many pictures of the countless mammoth pike he has dealt with, that even though there were no guarantees, the odds were better than anything we had going.
We finally decided that on December 19th our day of chasing flags for northern pike was going to happen. Our party would comprise of my wife, my sister-in-law, and myself. At Chris’s urging, we booked a couple nights at the Thunderbird Lodge on Rainy. Needless to say, the time could not have dragged by any slower. With the crazy late-October and early-December weather, I didn’t know what would happen. One day it would cool down and then for three days in a row we would be losing ice. Every once in awhile I would send Chris a note and he would assure me that things weren’t great but that we would have enough ice to get out. I would always promptly tell this to my wife who was sure we were all going to end up dying. Yup, she was a tad reluctant.
We arrived at the Thunderbird on the afternoon of the 18th. What a beautiful complex. We dined in their restaurant and then headed off to our room for the longest night of my life. By 4 am, I was ready even though Chris said, “I’ll meet you at 7:30 am.” By 7am, we were all set for our day with RainyDaze. At 7:25, we spotted the white Dodge we were waiting for. Chris had already been to the lake and had the houses warming up. After brief introductions it was off to the lake and a short ride across the ice.
Chris was every bit the seasoned professional in person as he portrayed through his correspondence. Since we were strictly interested in pike, we set up all the tip ups baited with the biggest sucker minnows I have ever used. Chris said, “You have to throw them a home run ball if you want a big one.”
I would like to say that we hammered the pike on my dream trip, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case this time. We caught pike and missed pike, baited and re-baited. In the end, as the sun started to set, the lunkers of Rainy, would be well-rested and able to do battle a different day.
We all enjoyed our day with Chris. We could tell he was disappointed in not being able to expand his search due to the ice conditions. Sure, it would have been great to hook into a monster but my time visiting with a true professional will always be fondly remembered.
The girls had fun and so did I. Anyone wanting a first class guided trip can’t go wrong with a day in the world of RainyDaze!
Marv
The kind words from so many customers I’ve received in recent months makes everything worth it!! Slush or thin ice……Busted snowmobiles and broken augers…..Appreciative anglers 
