Rainy Lake, Minnesota Walleye fishing report

Ahhh…. Yep the fish are still biting!!! Next verse same as the first. Precision Jigs, Powerpro Braided line, St. Croix rods, and LakeMaster Chip = over 100 walleyes breaking 20 inches for the week. Biggest fish went 27 1/4. I’d like to focus this report a little on necessary tackle for optimum success. Fishing finesse tactics for Big walleyes requires you to be on your game, and every advantage you can utilize to place the odds in your favor is a must. Year in and year out I fine tune my walleye game to become a little more efficient. Here is what I have found to be vital for my walleye tactics. Number one is understand walleye movements by knowing where they are coming from, and where they are going year in and year out. The second factor to your success is getting on the right patterns by confirming the target fish with your Lakemaster chip. Third is to be best equipped with the best of the best in rods, line and tackle. I have been a long time believer in a 7ft St. Croix Med-Lite. I do a lot of casting, and now have a firm belief that a Medium Flex is truely optimum for my game. A braided line like Powerpro is in my opinion a MUST!!! I love the Powerpro as it is silky smooth, strong as nails,and holds up much better than other braided lines running it over rocks. Lastly is the hook. As a nearly 100 percent JIG GUY. The Precison jig line is like a dream for me. The hook (second to none) the color/paint selection (Second to none) and the bait keeper (Second to none, and vital in between weight selections make it you guessed it (Second to none). As I witness nearly 75 percent of my clients having only a few of the pieces of the walleye puzzle needing a little work I feel it is imperative to mention how important it is to optimize your success on the water.

Here is the week in review. Other than a tough East end on one day of the week the fishing has once again been outstanding. Even with the tough East Bite we ended up catching close to 25 walleyes with 10 going over the slot, but had to work a bit harder for them. I found this week to be a bit different than past Walleye excursions. I predicted that some of the main humps would get too much pressure and force fish to smaller less pronounced pieces of structure, and I found this to be the case. Big humps and reefs are still producing, but once everyone is doing it you can bet the best bite has moved. Never fails. I don’t enjoy fishing in big groups. Call me a loner, but don’t call me when the optimum bite is over. I like to be on the lead edge. This week I focused on small humps and breaks with favorable wind and no traffic. LIGHTS OUT!!!

Fun thing about fishing small structure is that it is nearly impossible to be crowded as you are on the producing structure, and as hard as people might work to get on the same fish they only become witness to the Daze Guide Service Harvest. I’d rather leave the tailgating parties for Vikings Sunday, and not around the boat. "Pretty Big lake huh" If this is said to you with a smile you can bet people are not stating the obvious, but might be a gentle reminder you are a bit too close for comfort. Remember the Spot on the Spot. We found this week to be areas with deep current flow working over rocks with wind coming from the opposite direction. Trust me this isn’t the easiest pitch and retrieve routine in 25-35 f.o.w.. As we were careful not to spook the fish we stayed away from the feeding freny casting into the walleyes. The wind was at our back blowing our line towards the structure. The under-current was taking our jig back at us. The walleye laid in between rock edges or holes with current flowing overtop of them. If you could drop it in the hole you would pull out a plumb "Walleye". Precise jig size and Powerpro Braided line was crucial to hook ups. When we would feel the hit we would immediately reel and lay the wood to the fish. This isn’t a bite for sissy hook sets. Literally give them the wood to make up the distance. BIg walleyes have boney mouths!!! Yep we’re "Back In Black" Take a look how black these walleyes are!!! AWESOME LOOKING FISH!!!

Truth of the matter is the Walleye bite is unbelievable, and this fall could quite possibly be even better. I believe there is a real chance the next state record will be produced from these waters. I plan on catching it. LOL!!! Always plan for success right!! It is much more fun that way. We have an unbelievable population of big, healthy, girthy, hard fighting black backed walleyes. Please take care of the fishery. Take the extra couple minutes to be sure when releasing that slot fish that it swims off healthy. Everyday more and more anglers are becoming more aware of their personal effects on a fishery. I believe the Star and Tribune just had a piece printed on Lindy Rigging. Although I personally haven’t read it yet I have had many email me telling me that after my 2 cents on lindy rigging that this piece hit the Star and Tribune. It is nice to see other people are concerned about some of the negative effects also. We’re growing trophy fish in these waters. Come enjoy, and be part of the success story. Fall trips are stil available. Come catch the fish of your lifetime, or 50!!!