Leaving this Wednesday morning for a few days on Redgut Bay. Staying at Silver Muskie Lodge. Looking for just some general tips on techniques to try and depths to target this time of year. Will be targeting walleye, SMB, and crappie, probably in that order. Kinda planning the same techniques mentioned in the other Rainy thread. Jigs, slip bobber, dropshot, cranks, glide baits, spinners, etc. Trolling will be last resort.
We have taken a HB trip on Rainy for about a dozen years end of June to early/mid July, and the off shore structure is usually not going too strong yet. Might be different this year as it’s been so warm so early. I’ve never been up in Red Gut, but my general rule for Rainy is find current and pay attention to the bottom content, the hard granite bottom areas usually don’t hold much.
We usually do the 3rd week of June somewhere on Rainy camping at a VNP site. Bigwerm’s suggestion is dead on, finding current and wind blown points/shorelines are usually good starting points. We have also found walleyes stacked on offshore structure, good electronics helps locate these fish.
Thanks for the input! I think there are 2 or 3 flowages that come into Redgut. Will definitely be relying heavily on the electronics. Is there a depth range you’re seeing most fish congregated this time of year? Or, is it more about where the bottom content transitions are? Do good weeds play a part? Never fished a shield lake so just trying to sponge as much info as possible.
I don’t fish Rainy but spend a lot of time on Kabetogama and Namakan. Fish are available deep, shallow, and in between most times of the year. Last year in late july the best bite for me on Kab/Nam was in 6-8ft in the weeds. At that same time I could go catch fish on deep offshore structures or trolling 20-30ft down over deep basins (60-100ft). I try to break down the lake into sections and pick apart each section as it’s a different lake. There’s fish in most parts of the lake but often they’re doing very different things. Bottom content is definitely worth paying attention too. With all the rock up there I find it surprising how often I find walleyes holding in sand areas away from rocks. Any rock to sand or mud transition is worth checking out whether it’s in 6ft or 30ft. Fish the wind, don’t hide from it. If you have a consistent wind direction for a couple days it can really narrow down your search.
Next to Redgut is Porter’s Bay (I think that’s the name) be careful I think fishing is closed in that bay to June 20 or 24th there is a sign at entrance. Drifting small jig and minnow can be deadly and good amount of 12 inch plus. Lime green has been the color of choice. Mostly Crappies but some Walleye’s to. Just outside the entrance are two small humps near shore always hold some nice eating Walleyes.
Good luck Wayne
Next to Redgut is Porter’s Bay (I think that’s the name) be careful I think fishing is closed in that bay to June 20 or 24th there is a sign at entrance. Drifting small jig and minnow can be deadly and good amount of 12 inch plus. Lime green has been the color of choice. Mostly Crappies but some Walleye’s to. Just outside the entrance are two small humps near shore always hold some nice eating Walleyes.
Good luck Wayne
I’ll double check, but I think those sanctuaries open up the day we get there. Thanks for the info!
Stayed at the Silver Muskie about 15 years ago. Great place! Don’t over think it. Easy fishing. Jig, minnow, or plastic caught fish all day every day. Fish the narrows between islands (Current). Every night the walleyes could be caught right off the dock. They were eating bugs off the surface. Cool to see and easy to catch. But when the sun drops, the mosquitos will own you.
Had a great trip! Nothing too big for us, but tons of 12-17” fish. Never strayed from the jig. Didn’t have to. When we got tired of dealing with minnows, bright twister tails and ripple shads did just as well, if not better. Even had good luck on a 5” hollow belly on a swim jig. Big Werm, you were spot on with the point about current. Neck down areas were on fire. Even found a fair number of crappies. Northern below was caught on a 12” walleye. Lol.
IMG_4222-scaled.jpeg
IMG_4220-scaled.jpeg
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
