Being blessed with some stability in our weather patterns of late, the walleyes have responded as though coming off of a fad diet. After Chasing Smallmouth over the past several trips I didn’t really know what to expect when I hit the water this morning. Sitting at the dock prior to my customers meeting me I reviewed my gameplan on my Lakemaster chip placing emphasis on the best structure with a good west wind. I pinpointed several small humps with deeper haunts directly westward which is where our strong winds prevailed from this morning. With hopes fish would gravitate in numbers from deeper water to congregate on the edges or even tops of these rock piles.
It was immediately apparent that the fish were on the same pattern as we were. 3 and even 4 solid lines on my graph indicated we were directly on top of these fish. Boat control has been CRITICAL. Beings these are very small humps it is nearly impossible to anchor in the wind, and land on your mark. Running the big motor staying vertical directly over the fish has been VITAL. We’ve had our best success fishing Precision H20 jigs in the 1/8 oz size in the Chartruesse color. Heavier jigs have been virtually ignored or immediately spit back out. We’ve had our best results tipping these jigs with your ordinary fat head or leech. Small jigging motions or back and forth swimming along the bottom has worked well for us. Leave your snap jigging at home for a bit yet.
We’ve also enjoyed success drifting across the series of humps with Shak-E-Blades. Drift socks are a must if winds are too high. We’re tipping these with fatheads or leeches as well. The erratic movements in the water with live bait trailing is awesome. Apparently the walleyes up here haven’t seen anything like it. I expect this new twist on spinner rigs will soon be a Rainy Staple…. Shhhhhhhh!
If you’ve never fished Rainy before than you really need to give this massive body of water a try. This is 220,000 acres of pristine Walleye structure. Any walleye angler knows with one glance at the map that this is a fishermans paradise. With that being said it is IMPERATIVE that you have some sort of game plan by reviewing your map or better yet Lakemasters Chip to highlight likely holding areas. Combine the prevailing wind directions with your best structure, and then work your graph. Trust me you cannot catch fish that aren’t there. We have MILES of dead structure, and also MILES of productive areas. The more efficient you become at seperating the two the more procuctive you will become, and your personal catch rates will drastically increase. Today we ended up with 35 walleyes from 9-3:30. Lots of nice eaters for a shore lunch too! Never had a boat fish within a mile of us today. Gotta love Rainy Lake!!!
Nice report. Got me even more pumped for my trip to northern MB this week
I know what you mean about not having another boat around. I am guessing the closest to us will be about 30 miles 
big G
Very nice Fish. Thanks for the report!
Good report RD! I can’t wait to get up there. We’ll be fishing the Canada side next week and I have high hopes for a great week.
Any word on what the crappies are doing right now?
Another great report, RainyDaze. I’ve gotta get to Rainy some day. It’s on the “must do” list.
Crappies can be found on shallow rock piles adjacent to spawning grounds. We’ve absolutley lit up the crappies on Shrimpos, Ratso’s and Flu-Flu’s so far this year. When you find them they are plenty aggressive!!!!
Rainy is a unequalled body of water with close to 2500 islands. There are very few places in the world with the solitudes and tranquility of Rainy Lake that you can bring a V-8 Mercruiser into. Most of Rainy lies within Voyageurs National Park, so it gives the same feel as the BWCA except less work. VNP is the only National Park only accessible via water. It gives you the feel that it is just you, the fish, wildlife, and Ma nature! Trust me guiding here is a dream come true, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Oh Oh OH and THERES ANOTHER ONE FOR ME!!! LOL!
Sounds great RD!!! We’ll be up on NW Bay starting Saturday and will be there the whole week. I’m really looking forward to this year and the possibility of getting into some great fishing for all species! Usually we take our trip mid-July and crappies are hard to come by at that time of year, but it sounds like this year we may just have a shot at those crappies.
Thanks for the feedback! Can’t wait until we leave Friday!
Good Luck Buddy!
If you get tired of the border procedures give me a shout. We have miles of untapped walleyes here on the US side also. Have a great trip, and lay the wood to the Big guys!
Great report Chris
Having spent 6-7 years growing up in the Falls I sure miss fishing Rainy Lake. Your reports bring back some great memories.
Ron
Hey Slider,
Sure wish our local economy would allow more people like yourself the opportunity to make a living up here. I can only imagine how it feels to move away from the outdoor opportunities in this area we’re so fortunate to enjoy on a day to day basis. I’ll tell you a few years ago I made a decision to settle down in this area, and spend my days basking in the beauty of this area. Best decision I’ve made so far. Whether we’re hunting ruffed grouse, waterfowl, or fishing the lake or river there is no place we’d rather be. We surely won’t be the richest folks in a monetary sense, but surely will rank high in quality of life for a fishing addicts! Trust me I enjoy working overtime, and better get down to the dock! If we had a night bite I would likely have to cut sleep out of the daily routine! LOL!!!
Thanks for the report, Chris!
I’m heading to the ThunderBird Lodge tomorrow night.
I won’t be getting good sleep for a few days now.
Sully
Hey Jason,
Hope you guys have a great trip. Walleyes are really starting to pick up, and smallies are showing up on there beds!