I’m in the process of planning a trip to the river, I have a 16′ Lund pike older with a 45 hp tiller I’ll be taking plan on staying at sportsmans lodge but thought about tenting it. Have never been up there any help or suggestions is much appreciated. One question I have is do I have to have a Canada and MN license? How should I plan on fishing mainly jigs? Thanks in advance tight lines.
You could maybe tent it if the weather cooperates. I believe Franz Jevne landing is also a campsite. However, I would not consider it, after a long, usually cold day, on the river a warm place to sleep is a requirement imo. Don’t need a Canadian license so long as you stay on the MN “half”. There is a line somewhat down the middle, but you will want/need GPS to make sure you are not across it. They will patrol it and they will ticket you if you are fishing in Canada w/out a license, and with live bait and anything else they can ticket you for. For fishing you can do a lot of different things, so long as it’s a jig and so long as it’s gold (other colors work too, just not as well or as consistently imo) you will catch fish. Can’t wait!!! And glad we are talking about it already!!!!! 
Moxies, paddletails, and pulse-r are my favorite lures. Usually bright colors and big. 5-16 to 3/8 oz jigs are typical but heavier when the current is high. Rippin raps in #6-7 can work too. Just not as well as plastic.
Last year I never touched a minnow and caught 30-40 fish a day by myself. I’ll only but minnows now if I want to fish sturgeon or if a cold front comes in.
when are u going
when are u going
For best results, figure out a way to go at the right time. If you can go on a days notice, do it.
March 29th to April 4th I have a set schedule but I may be able to go a little earlier or later by 2 or 3 days thanks for all of the help
Personally I’d opt for the latter. The only problem is there’s a better chance of the river getting muddy.
to cold to tent camp
how do you fish the plastics biggill? cast and retrieve? when using a jig and minnow ive usually done a vertical jigging presentation. mostly when im fishing plastics im pitching them close to shore and retrieving slowly back to the boat but would be curious how you are fishing them as I don’t catch 30-40 fish in a day 
On the rainy a more aggressive pitching technique is what I typically use. In higher current areas I’ve also vertical jigged and slowly slipped with the current. This actually worked very well last year for bigger fish.
The biggest problem I have on the rainy is the huge numbers of missed fish. I believe that they try to pin your lure to the bottom of the river rather than eating it. This happens more when pitching across the current. I typically have better hookups when vertical and slipping with the current.
When pitching I don’t typically pitch toward shorelines. Pretty much just a random pitch to anywhere in the river.
Don’t be afraid to fish the plastics the same way as your live bait as well.
thanks biggill! ill try these methods out this year. tight lines!
When does everybody think the first boat will be on the river?????????
March first. It’s already halfway to birchdale.
Mid March. Here is a link to last years predictions including the historical ice out dates.
Haha well I tried, go back in the IDO Rainy River archives to the thread titled Ice Out Dates
is there a lot of snow on the ground up there? just wondering as far as run off when warms up
Was 58 yesterday and warm for the next 5 days (above freeing) but still a lot of snow on the ground. Rain predicted for mon but then below freezing following that ,still a bit of winter left…
If you are relying on a GPS to stay in MN waters make sure you check that your map chip shows it. I found out whatever chip I have in my humminbird does not show the boarder.
There is a line somewhat down the middle, but you will want/need GPS to make sure you are not across it. They will patrol it and they will ticket you if you are fishing in Canada w/out a license, and with live bait and anything else they can ticket you for. F
Why don’t they just ‘Build a wall’, and have Trump pay for it? LOL
Technically there’s open water now.
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Technically there’s open water now.
please keep posted on open water and amount of run off. going to mexico for a week and then want to come up and fish the river if the conditions are right this year.its on my bucket list
My brother sent me a photo of my camper buried in snow from this week. He said they had over a foot in the last week. However with these temps snow will melt fast.
1/2″ of rain predicted up there on Monday. There only a few more day of above freezing temps and we go back to normal. This quick opening should help, but time will tell how fast it will go in the coming month. I do feel this will have a big effect on the rest of the of the season.
Let’s hope for a long prespawm season. Makes for much more room on the water.
Tent camping at Birchdale is great if you have the correct gear, if you do not it would be cold and miserable. In my younger days I was lucky enough to camp and fish from the time the river opened until it muddied up!
My set up included a large(cheap) dome tent, cot, heat source, and a good down sleeping bag, with an additional oversized sleeping bag.
I’d take the “chill” out before going to sleep and when getting dressed in the morning. This set up was great to very cold overnight temps.
As for fishing plastics, pitch em or drag up stream. Unlike some river systems, you can fish a fairly heavy jig.
I’m not going to get to go this year as we are expecting a new baby the beginning of April. I will have to live vicariously through everyone here. Have fun!
If you have a MN License and a Canadian License is there a different on the water or possession limit that supersedes the other? Can you be under a legal limit on one side of the border and possibly over a legal limit on the other side of the border?
If you have a MN License and a Canadian License is there a different on the water or possession limit that supersedes the other? Can you be under a legal limit on one side of the border and possibly over a legal limit on the other side of the border?
Don’t quote me on this as you will have to look into the details but I believe the limit on the Canadian side is 2 fish under 18.1″ (Metric conversion) and the MN side is two under 19.5″. You cant sturgeon fish in Ontario, you can’t have live bait or beer in the boat also. Again I am not sure I am accurate with everything said but you defiantly have some research to do.
I believe there is a small length discrepancy between the Ontario limit and MN because of the cm-in conversion. I know for sure that your fish must be legal for the side of the border that you are currently on. One does NOT supersede the other, ever.
My suggestion is to use only artificial bait and catch and release only on the CA side. That way bait rules and length limits will never apply. Fish the MN side for your keepers.
I agree with gill. A lot easier to just fish the way he mentioned.
Noticed that I had a typo, as I don’t believe any live bait is allowed when fishing the Ontario side.
Interesting satellite photo today.
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Anyone going up this weekend to push across the ice?
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