Rainy Lake, Minnesota fishing report 6-30-10

As we patiently await the fireworks display here in Borderland the big fish parade seems to be neverending. Here in Ifall we get to witness Canada Day also having 2 days of fireworks in one week!! So much fun for the kids!! A special shout out to the "Texas Scoop" on her PB Walleye this week, and Fellow IDO member Nic Habeck for posting the 41st and 42nd Pike through our guide service over the 10lb mark since May 1st!! The brilliance of Rainy Lake seems to come alive with the early sunshine of summer. Wildlife sightings are around every corner with the miles of undisturbed shorelines serving as a tranquil backdrop for the many anglers experiencing our "World Class Fishing". Like any body of water that encompasses a vast 220,000 acres some fisherman have found it unproductive on a 5 day trip to simply try eliminate dead water. Often times the Mid to late June timeframe throws a curveball to even the most experienced Walleye boys as the fish are sometimes in "Nowhere Land". Sounds like a great topic for a walleye article.

We’re just emerging from a 2 week mayfly hatch that has had the walleyes hitting the lake buffet in their baggy sweatpants, and has demanded antsy anglers adapt presentations to after dinner snacks to put good fish on film. I never really have understood why we refer to these June/July flies as "Mayflies", but I presume "June Bugs" was already taken. I guess in the real world outside polar plunging….they probably do hatch in May. We’re simply a month behind the curve…..Heck 80’s Music just got here,and the "Fishing Queen" LOVES IT!! Truth of the matter is…..no matter how magical you are with your jig stick with added food in the water column you will have to work harder to coax fish to your presentation. Often times I’ve been able to fish amongst the hoards of emerging flies, but this year was a bit different…..IMAGINE THAT!! At times on a 220,000 acre body of water you can simply mobilize to an area that is unaffected by the hatch, and then at other times the lake will experience a broad hatch that covers most of the lake. Recently we’ve moved our Sparkling Skeeter back into a transitional zone snapping up predominately large slot walleyes and tank pike only having consistent success with those smaller eaters over deep haunts. I might add this years water temperature reversal was a bit similiar to last years. Fish moved back, and anglers failed to adjust. This is now finally changing as I henpeck this report, and I fully expect the large numbers of big fish will be as hungry as a guy hitting the Chinese buffet a couple hours after his eating frenzy around deeper water. Mayflies have little nutritional value to these girthy walleyes, and they soon will become angry towards anglers presentations once again!!

As I mentioned earlier the Pike are cooperating very nicely this late into June, and 40 inch fish have been….. dare I say "COMMONPLACE" this season in the big fish patterns we’ve employed. I have noticed that many of these pike (25%) have had some gashes on the tails or body of the fish which I might guess came from a low water spawn, or fighting in key spawning grounds?? I might need to pose this question to our large lake specialist here on Rainy Lake to get some clarity on this observation. Regardless we as "In Depth Anglers" need to handle these Tank fish with every precaution possible, and spend the extra time to ensure the safe return to the cool waters. Please DO NOT throw these fish in the bottom of your boat. Keep the fish in the water to remove hooks or in the net above the bottom of your floor. Take quick pictures!! We have a very impressive fishery for "Giant Jacks"…..With proper care of these 10-20lb fish those 20+ plus will continue to become more common!! Lastly keep in mind large fish will often fight you with everything they have. These fish often times need more time to recover than smaller fish. Hold the fish upright in the water for as long as it takes for that fish to thrust away from your hands. Anglers need to keep fingers out of the red gill plates. They will hurt you as much as the fish!!

Through conversations with customers and future customers I’ll reiterate…….Yes it will likely get even better. If there is ever a time that has me scratching my head it usually is in the mid-june timeframe where the fish scatter out. Storms, Cold fronts, and bug hatches are more common this time of year. When July fireworks go off usually the fish settle in, and from here until the snow falls on opening morning at Deer camp you’ll see awesome fishing when on top of the biggest and baddest. This is a critical time of year for anglers to effectively locate the largest concentrations of baitfish. Fisherman that simply fish spots that look good to them will have long days with 2500 islands and and undisclosed amount of sunken reefs. Keep a keen eye on your H-bird for pods of tastey swimming treats that will often locate on the windward sides of the best summer structure. Don’t leave home without a pocket full of H20 Precision jigs from BfishN tackle in Purple, Orange/Chart, and White. The best walleye anglers still treat each outing as a different day, and are quick to abandon yesterdays success or failure. If there is a lake that demands anglers to forget about last years honey hole this is it. Get those boys lined up for Big Walleyes!! We’ll see you on the water, and we’ll be the boat with the Frabill out!! Fall dates are beginning to fill up, and I’ll remind it is much better to be in the picture than to simply view them.