Thanks guys! We have done 4 guides over the years each time it really helped us find and locate fish. Then using that information for following years. There in not a lot of water between the dam and the lake so I think we should be able to hunt fish down our selves vs spending $500.
16 years of being on Rainy we have had some amazing years and some flops. I am hoping we have a banner year! Fishing the spawn run in the river.
Hey guys, we leave on Tuesday. I wish I had been up there the last 2 weeks. I have seen guides posting crazy pike an walleye,(mostly on rainy)
We will be on Namakan Tuesday-Friday. This will be the earliest we have ever been up. We usually do the 2nd week of June when the kids get done with school. And every year all we here is “O man you should have been here a few weeks ago”LOL so here we are a few weeks earlier. Crappie55… if you would send me some information on how you did and any specifics once your home would be awesome!!! Everyone boat safe. Can’t wait for a tight line!
Any updates on Kab or Namakan? Going up next weekend to camp, having to find a new site to stay at as ours is under water i guess.
Wondering if anyone has been out fishing the last few days?
Scott,
Thank you so much for the message. I am very familier with all of those spots. We have hit them many times in late July and had good action. I am glad to hear that our previous tactics sound like they will hold up for us on a fall bite as well. Good luck on your trip this year.
Travis.
Thx Bigstorm,
I went back through several years of posts and read several that you had written. When you go east of the Narrows how far do you go? I know there are a bunch of humps just past the narrows and into the first big bay (drawing a blank on the name). Do you find your self going as far as Blue Berry Island and humps that way? In July we usually fish Blue Berry and all the humps down to Virgin Island.
After you launch your boat you just find a place to park and then head out to camp. There are dumpsters for you to use to throw trash away on your way out. There are also pit toilets at the landing if needed.
We got home on Thursday and we camped on Mica Island for 3 nights.
We have done 12 years on rainy and decided this year to change it up and stay on Namakan. Without knowing where to fish we spent 2 days hunting.
The only thing we could catch fish consistantly were plastics. We did best on white paddle tails, pink landed fish too. Storm 360 and B Fishin, we’re the 2 brands that we used and worked well. I would highly suggest picking these up if you don’t have them in your box already.
Most fish came out of 4-8 FOW. We just casted to shore and brought them back. Fished lots of bays and inner islands. We fished a few islands that were out in the open along the markers but never got anything.
Our best location was Johnson Bay!
We caught only 1 fish on minnows which we used a lot but just never produced. If it were me going back this week I would not buy any.
As our bag of fish were mixed we Caught a lot of really nice smallies tons of hammer handles and 10 keeper walleyes in our 3 days.
Good luck this week pack lots of sunscreen, bug spray and for sure a fly swater for each person. The deer flies were a bit bothersum in Camp.
What would kind of areas are the fish holding on now? Deep,shallow up by the dam? Thanks for any advise with any bit of specifics.
Also is everts selling bait??
Thanks, drive by there today on our way home from Rainy looks like a good lake.
Hey Scott,
We have really only used 2 different techniques in the past 11 years. Either vertical jigging live bait. Which is our typical tactic when we go in July out on the reefs. I personally prefer casting and fishing shallow. So we moved our trips from July when the fish are deep to as early in June as we can. The earlier we go the more fish we seem to be able to find shallow and never even have to go out into the lake.
90% of our fishing this coming week I plan to get on B Fishin Paddle tails. My best colors have always been white or pink. We are pitching these jigs up along all of the shore lines and slowly bring it back to the boat. I’d say most fish are within 10 feet of the shorelines. As always the wind does play a factor. But only if it’s coming out of the north as we do not fish the Canadian side.
We will be there June 7th-12th this will be our 7th year in a row.
We spend most of our time fishing the shores on and around Hitchcock Island. The mainland just just south if the island fish there down to the houseboat mourning beach which would be back towards the west that is a great shoreline. We also fished the points of Marion Bay as well and done very well. I have not used a Minnie in 2 years all I use now is B Fishin Moxies and Paddle tails. Best bites have been on white and Pink.
3 years ago we struggled to catch fish and a boat came by our camp site and literally caught 3 fish right in front of our site using them. I ran down to the dock asking what they were using and that’s what it was. Now that is all I use.
All of the islands around campsite kempton entrance east produce fish too. That’s where we camp and it’s nice we can be on fish very quickly last year we used less than a half a tank of gas. Spent 90% of our time just running the trolling motor.
Good luck and leave a few for us.
Eau Claire boys!
That is very true, that is why we started at the lake and worked up to the dam as a last resort. No one from the lake to the dam including us were catching anything ;( Could have just been the day.
We fished most of the day yesterday and it was SLOW. In total I caught one short walleye and then this big guy. (See pic).
There were a good number of boats all up and down from the dam to town. I only saw 4 fish in total caught. Most boats I talked to said they had caught nothing.
So I guess the spring fun is over on P4 I guess now I wait till the opener.
Good luck out there.
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Heading back down to P4 tomorrow, has anyone been out the last day or 2 with any luck?
Was thinking of hitting up the upper end of Pepin and wanting to avoid the dam and all that craziness.
Not knowing lots about early season walleye, has it been slow because most fish are in a spawn pattern now and focusing on getting busy vs. eating?
I was wondering when the post spawn bite might occur? I don’t get many opportunities in the spring to get down to the river but the few years we had post spawn bite was really fun.
Well just got back from our trip to P4. We got in about 8 this morning and put in at the Wisconsin channel which had docks but were 5 ft deep in water.
We worked a few spots from there up to the dam with very little success. We had only seen a few boats catch a few shorts up by the dam. After 5 hours of battling current and no fish we moved down around the island and into the calm down stream water below the lock. Boats were stacked. But they were there because that’s where the small fish were bountiful. I probably saw 50+ fish brought in per hour. But most seemed to be 6-12”.
There was one boat using crawlers and they had 5 sturgeon in one spot, that was cool.
All told it was a beautiful day to be out but had to have a fish sandwich at McDonald’s for dinner.
Good luck out there be safe as the water is high and will be getting even higher over the next week.
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Oops forgot to mention that if you ever wanted a guide for a half day which I would recommend, call Chris Granrud with Rainy Daze.
We have been going to Rainy this being our 10th year and I find it helpful very 3-5 years to get him. Tactics change fish movements etc. Learned a lot from being out with him a few times.
Gold spinners?? Were you pulling like a snell? Did you guys do much with minnows? We are heading up on Sunday it’s my favorite few days of summer!
For sure, my current pants and coat were under $150 and after a while in the rain I might as well not have any gear on its so heavy and takes forever to dry out. I figure 200-300 per piece is what I am willing to spend.
Plan to be in for a good time. Rainy Lake is my favorite place in the world to camp.
I saw a Lost bay on the canadian side didn’t see one on the US. Never the less you will be in for a good time.
As for bugs The large black flys suck literally. I don’t know about this year but in the past seems some years they are really bad and eat your legs to death in the boat.
The mosquitos may carry you away if there isn’t any wind. I always pack a few different types of sprays. I even use the 100% deet by colmen if I have to. A little bit of cancer spray never hurts.
There is one thing you need to add to your tackle box if you don’t already have it and that is plastic ring worms and moxies or paddle tails.
3 years ago was our first trip up in early to mid june. So we got a guide and did the minnow thing for 5 hours in 10 different spots and id not produce a ton of stuff.
The next 2 days we repeated what the guide should us an put some fish in the boat but nothing amazing. That night a boat can through our bay and caught a 20incher 10 ft from our dock and 3 other walleyes within 30 mins.
Needless to say thats definitly better than we had been doing and better than what the guide produces for us. So i yelled over to them and they said they were fishing plastics.
I knew exactly what they were using because it was the same the same B-fishin plastics I use on the mississippi for walleye.
What a difference it made. We went out the next day and caught 30-40 great fish.
So now we buy 4 dozen minnows in stead of 8 and a buy 6 packs of plastics for the trip.
I found for me on the MN side that my best colors were white and pink.
You will find fish in that 2 – 6 feet of water for sure.
have a great time and let me know how you do. We leave a week from today!
Can I get my good sized boat under the bridge in the park to get in that slough?
I have fished by Burnet, when camping there in the summer. I have never fished there in the fall. That sounds like a good option.
Where is Cranberry?
I have fished red wing maybe a dozen times. I have never done great. Many times coming home empty at
The end of the day other times with a good bag. I have only really ever fished where jay creek flows in and the Wisconsin side of the dam near all the rip rap.
We decided to head to redwing tomorrow based on this post.
Other than the few spots mentioned is there anywhere else we should try?
I heard talk of plastics, is that dragging them in 10-20 ft current seems or is it pitching them into shallow shallow areas.
This will be my last time out until may. So if anyone can enlighten me on how to have a great day tomorrow that would be awesome.
The walleye’s are shallow and feeding,we have been working the points with wind ,using a shadow rap from Rapala,they are pounding it.I have been fishing the North Arm with little pressure from other boats,my son landed a 30.5 inch eye.
The bass are starting to move on to beds,mostly the males as the big girls are staging just off in deeper water waiting for the water temps to rise a little more.
Crappies are being caught not by me but some locals are starting to get some in the shallows.
The big pike have been spotty we get a good one ever now and then.
BB1 Falls Motel
Any curtain color you found they were hitting best?
Size 7,9 or 11?
Was it the small or big bill bait?
Thanks for any update.
We will be on rainy on Wednesday!!!!!
My sons first fishing trip he is crazy excited to get his first walleye.
Well I have had some amazing trips in the past few years.
Caught Giant Rooster Fish in Cabo. 80 pounds one of the biggest they ever saw and one of the coolest fish I have ever seen.
I also just got back from Tarpon fish in Boca Grande FL. In 1 night we caught 11! Here is the biggest 185 pounds.
My next major fishing trip will be again for giant Tarpon. That was a thrill of a life time. They jump 5 feet out of the water and fight like hell.
I may look to do Costa Rica next time for these guys.
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UGH, Well I guess even when the boat is gassed up the cooler has ice it is still not a guarantee that the wife won’t find 19 things for you to do instead of going fishing. 
So I guess all the fish in Pepin get to swim for a few more days.
I am in the same boat we ususally go up the last week in July and always fish mid lake humps and do really well.
We are going up on monday through Friday this week. I guess we will see you on the water.
I have decided to get a guide. We are going to use Rainy Daze guide service.
We used Chris Granrud a few years ago and he gave us a great day and taught us lots and our trips are now much more effective.
Since we are going up earlier this year and know the bite can be significantly different we decided to do the same thing and get a guide. So we can have a great week of “Cataching” vs “fishing” I hope. I had asked Chris yestarday what is going on and what to bring.
He said the same as above. Fishing the shallows with 1/8 oz minniow tipped. Plus they are also throwing a lot of Black/gold or white #13 Raps.
I don’t have my own stories yet but this is the word on the lake. Looks like good weather See you boys soon.
We will be at Camp 91 Kempton East Entrance in a White/Blue Stratus come on over for a beer if your in the area!
Travis
We have gone up the last 6 years either the last week of June or the last week of July depending on the weekend. We always camp. Its an awesome place to get out and enjoy nature. We have always stayed and fished to the east of the bruel Narrows.
And there has never been a bad day. We have always caught plenty for dinner and a good handful to bring home.
If you look at your hot spot map you will find several humps in the middle of the lake. Some are even islands. These have been key for the majority of the walleyes we have caught.
As for bait, the only thing we ever use is a 1/4 to 3/8 oz jig head with either a crawler or minnow. Be sure to have both!
Hope that helps, we will be up end of july to take on some of our own rainy walleyes.
One last thing if you have time and a few extra hundred bucks. I would get Chris Granrud for a guide. Even a half day trip will be well worth the time and money. Especially if you plan on making this a regular trip annually. We went out with him 2 years ago and we learned several small techniques that really made a difference and he also highlighted out Hot Spots map!
Here is his site. http://www.rainydazeoutdoors.com/
This was my mission tonight. I am going to call tomorrow. I just sent the guy a Facebook message. I will keep you all posted if I get a reply.
Has anyone seen these built by anyone else. They work and hold up amazing I can’t believe he is the only guy making them.
I looked at them that is where the picture came from. However they no longer seem to be selling them. Their site takes you to ebay to buy them but they no longer have an active store.
