Rainy River Spring Walleyes

Hey guys,
I have never fished the Rainy River at ice off and was hoping to find out a few things before I try to plan a trip with a few friends.
First, everyone I talk to about heading up there in the spring tells me it’s a poop show and there is too many boats to even make it worth my time. Can it really be that bad? I understand that there will be a line at the boat ramps, especially on weekends, but once you get on the water is it as bad as everyone says?
Second, how much River does everyone fish? Is it more contained in one area or do people catch fish for miles along the River?
Any input would be appreciated, I am starting to consider bringing ice fishing gear too, just in case it is as bad as everyone says and I can maybe get out on the ice instead.
Thank you

From what I understand the problem is at the ramp. I’ve heard of guys parking up to a mile away and walking back after parking. I don’t know if thats true…………it’s the internet after-all.

It depends on the year. During the busiest years in my 12 years going up there, the lines can be really long if there is only a couple accesses open and you get there from like 8-10 am. Once you’re on the water it’s not too bad as there’s a lot of miles of river between the accesses to spread out. If the river is opened up to 4 mile bay, the lines generally aren’t as bad and there is not a ton of pressure in most areas on the water, relatively, since you can fish like 40 miles of river as the crow flies. The only reason not to go, imo, is if the Forks break open, as that will shut down or severely negatively impact fishing for a few days to a week.

I went up there for 5 years, ending 2 years ago. Yes there was a long line at the ramps, but most everyone was competent and courteous. In the years I was there there were always high school kids giving rides to parked cars for tips, so no big deal there. Where people fish all depends on the ice and the year. It is kind of a crap shoot, if you catch the river when one of the tributaries lets loose of its ice the river can be super muddy for about a week and worthless, in 5 years I had to reschedule my trip twice. The fishing can be really fun and you can catch some stuffed with eggs monster females as well as males. In addition we often fished at least one day for sturgeon, which are surprisingly plentiful. we always brought in enough small males for a meal every night and a restaurant in Baudette would cook them up for us. However, as of last year, it became catch and release only. Kinda, took the fun out of it for me. If I was to go again I would go the week after Walleye closed and fish for sturgeon.

My first year was 19 years ago and I have never waited more than 20min… Get up early and fish late, no issues at all.

If you want to launch your boat after breakfast or leave an hour before dark you WILL be waiting awhile. Avoid the obvious times and its pretty easy going.

If you get the chance to go, do it. It can be annoying to get your boat in the water, but if you get there early it’s not that bad. Just don’t sleep in. People do spread out depending on the amount of river open. Watch reports and make calls if you are flexible on the time you can go. I don’t like crowds and it’s never been so bad while fishing that I regretted going. It is hit and miss. Main thing is if the little and big fork rivers let loose don’t go until it clears or you here good reports. Every year is a new experience and well worth it so don’t let people get u down on it. It’s not for everyone but you have to experience it once to know. Go for it! I’m hoping to this year. Good luck if you do. If you have good luck once you will be up there every year👍🏻

Everyone’s pretty much hit it on the head. Ideally you get up there before/after the Forks go, if it’s strictly eyes then I’d shoot for before. As everyone’s said, get up early and expect to deal with anything from a few boats in line at the launch to waiting for over an hour. I will say that’s more dependent on the amount of soft water than time of day though, if the river thaws early and all the accesses are open, you probably won’t have to worry too much about wait times beyond what you would expect at a popular fishery. Make sure to bring plenty of cash for those kids running shuttles, as well as an energy drink or two. If no one’s running, and you see some guy hiking it from up the road, ask if he wants a lift. Letting the odd hitch hiker hop on the tailgate can bring plenty good karma and fishing reports.

Your absolute best chance is to be flexible on dates and wait until right beforehand, if that’s not an option then I would probably go with the first weekend in April. I would bring sturgeon gear for a backup plan, because even if the Forks break you’ll probably a catch a few. Just be aware that after you do, you’ll probably start to forget about the walleye.

With all the variables, just keep an open mind. I’ve had days where I was skunked, and I’ve had days where we weren’t bothering to measure anything that didn’t look 25″ or bigger because the 25″+ fish were biting so hot that we wanted to get jigs back down. I had a buddy get his PB (29″) and then break it twice in as many hours. Arguably the majority of that I would say still comes down to timing, but do your research and be prepared to grind it out with several different techniques and you should be fine. I would HIGHLY recommend the trip, I’ve been going every year for the last ten years, and I have no plans on quitting anytime soon.

Here’s my best, only 28.5″, but we got a girth and the math put her at 11 lbs.

Then there’s 63.5″ of my all time favorite fish to catch.

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Thank you guys, I appreciate all the feedback. I’m really looking forward to giving it a shot! I have thought about it for a couple years, and I think this is the year I will finally make it. Good Luck to everyone else that will be out there. 👍🏼

Lines in the morning for putting the boat in can be long. Lines for loading the boat up in the evening can be terrible. Plan ahead for that. Floating in front of a ramp for hours waiting to load can be a ordeal.

One more question for you guys,
Are there other boat ramps in the area that are private that you can pay a fee to launch at?

Might be a couple of resort ramps that open when everything is wide open but none that I can think of right now. I have only ever used the public ramps.

Cody Bagley wrote:

One more question for you guys,
Are there other boat ramps in the area that are private that you can pay a fee to launch at?

NO…there are 3 main access points where people use to fish the river. Birchdale, Frontier, and Vidas. All but Frontier has a 2 boat access point when cleared out. Frontier is all gravel good for smaller boats. Birchdale most popular and Vidas are both paved.

Odds in my experience is you cannot set a weekend or dates to go and hit it perfectly. Its been 20 plus years for me and thankfully I have been able to drop everything and go when I feel its time. I have done several reports here on the Rainy River, also James has shot several shows that you should be able to find on YouTube to help shorten the fishing learning curve.

Its a great time, my favorite trip of the year which we have turned into annual tradition with a few close buddies.

Yes the lines can be super long like mentioned before, but the fishing is definitely worth it. I like the C&R factor as well. In my opinion, this is a trophy trip, that’s why we go.

Good Luck, if you see 3 guys in a skeeter, having a good time, that’s most likely us! Cannot wait!

Calvin Svihel wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Cody Bagley wrote:</div>
One more question for you guys,
Are there other boat ramps in the area that are private that you can pay a fee to launch at?

NO…there are 3 main access points where people use to fish the river. Birchdale, Frontier, and Vidas. All but Frontier has a 2 boat access point when cleared out. Frontier is all gravel good for smaller boats. Birchdale most popular and Vidas are both paved.

I’d say 4 main access points, by including Timbermill Park on the east edge of Baudette. Another nice two concrete ramp access.

For the long lines, bring a bike along with you to save some time and ride from the truck back to the ramp and vice versa.

CBMN wrote:

Might be a couple of resort ramps that open when everything is wide open but none that I can think of right now. I have only ever used the public ramps.

Hey Chris, was it Birchdale where we launched?

No Scott we landed upstream of that as Birchdale wasn’t open yet.