Rainy in July

Planning a trip over the 4th of July weekend. Will be focusing on walleyes but we all like fishing regardless of what is biting. This will be my first time on rainy as well as the people coming with. So that being said I’m starting from scratch on tactics and areas to be targeting. Although I have been reading anything I can find and watching videos. From what I’ve been reading looks like that time of the year the fish could be shallow and they might be moved out to the reefs. We will be camping on dryweed island so if like to stay in that area somewhat. Anyways I have garmin mapping and navionics on the phone which I’m not really expecting to work, also I ordered a hotspots map for rainy as my garmin gps is kind of hard to look at and pick out structure. Any tips or info anyone could give would be greatly appreciated. Depths or areas to key in on, tactics or even just info about rainy or staying on the park, seriously anything is helpful and I would love all the help I can get!

Thanks Happy fishin’!

I can’t help much with fishing advice as I’ve only been to Rainy 3 or 4 times and never hit a hot bite. But there’s lots of water available, and you should have plenty of company that weekend. Your Navionics should work fine. GPS doesn’t need phone service to work, it’s satellite based. But it can draw down your phone battery fast, so make sure you have a way to recharge it. Phone service in the Dryweed Island area should be good anyway; it’s not that far from the Falls. Rainy has lots of rocks and they aren’t all marked. My rule is if you’re in less than 20 feet be careful. If you’re in less than 10 feet be paranoid. Good luck.

Ron wrote:

I can’t help much with fishing advice as I’ve only been to Rainy 3 or 4 times and never hit a hot bite. But there’s lots of water available, and you should have plenty of company that weekend. Your Navionics should work fine. GPS doesn’t need phone service to work, it’s satellite based. But it can draw down your phone battery fast, so make sure you have a way to recharge it. Phone service in the Dryweed Island area should be good anyway; it’s not that far from the Falls. Rainy has lots of rocks and they aren’t all marked. My rule is if you’re in less than 20 feet be careful. If you’re in less than 10 feet be paranoid. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice and information ron! I will be very cautious in shallow water and I will be sure to have a couple battery packs to charge the phone up too! Much appreciated!

I fish Rainy in early October so the timing may be different, but I would focus on points near steep drops near islands or there are some reefs/shoals not too far from Dryweed that come up to 15ft or shallower that should hold fish. I would expect some decent smallies and northerns just working shorelines too

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JMP

I’m gonna be up there that same weekend. And the trick is to find out wat depth the biting fish are. Main lake humps with bottom bouncers and spinners. Cover ground unless you find the mother load. Then use jigs. Crack a beer if your not catching in that beer move on don’t get stuck fishing that same place because you caught a fish or someone said it’s a good spot. Rainy is a huge lake and the fish are there just find em!

It may be too late but I’d recommend hiring a guide for a half day if possible.

You’re right though. I’ve caught fish in 8 feet of water and 40 feet on the same day that time of year. Like Bruce said use spinners or lindy rigs to find active fish then switch to jigs if you find a pod of fish. Use your electronics first. There are a lot of fishy looking places but they all won’t hold fish. The nice thing is that there are plenty of spots so you don’t have to share with too many boats. The colors I like are gold, chartuse, silver, green, but don’t be afraid to experiment. Shiners are the minnow of choice but chubs (fatheads) work well too. Worms can be great that time of year and always bring leeches. If you want smallest just move up into 25 feet or less at the same spots.

Have fun and stay away from a side console black Lund ProV with 2 kids most likely fighting over who ate the others snack.

Some spots marked on these maps.

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I will be up there the 7th thru the 15th for the 3rd year staying at Thunderbird. By early July the Walleyes should be on the reefs. Jigs in under 30 feet would be my first choice, they will sometimes be on the tops of these reefs and also sometimes on the edges. I have found that it is best to move around slowly as the the fish don’t stay in one spot. Many times you need to have current to catch these fish. I have also been successful following a contour on the windward side of islands usually around the 20 to 26 foot depth.
Shiners tend to work best but if good current crawlers also work at times. If you find good cabbage weeds slip bobber for Walleyes can also be good. Finding eaters can be tough at times don’t throw back the 13 inch fish or you may go hungry. Good luck.