Rainy Lake, Minnesota fishing report

First of all Merry Christmas gentleman!! I hope the holidays find all of you "Iceheads" in the company of good friends and family. Dip a couple glasses out of the Egg Nog bowl and drop in the "Christmas story" with your family. Who can forget receiving their own "Red Rider" BB gun as a young boy!! WELL MEN…… We’ve finally received the secret "Decoder" and have uncovered 2 patterns that are producing jaw dropping walleyes. Ice fishing is NOW…… in full swing here on Rainy Lake. We’ve got an ice road plowed out onto Sand Bay with nearly 15 inches on the road. Off the road the ice thickness is drastically reduced. I’ve seen several big trucks out there, but I might suggest exercising caution with vehicles at this point. Venturing far off a plowed road is not advisable in my book of 1000 ways to die. We’ve put our customers on the big fish recently, but not without a LOT of hole drilling to uncover the right spots to camp. The good and the bad of vast fisheries is they are obviously capable of producing the high quantities of large fish, but naturally these tanks have lots of places to hide. Marco……….polo…….MARCO………POLO searches at times has made our search and destroy team wonder if the target species jumped out of the pool. I believe the baitfish movements can drastically alter the big fish movements, and if an angler can harness the knowledge of this pattern you’ll spend the winters with doubled over ice rods rather than "Boy this sure is a pretty lake"!! We’ve literally fished 4-5 different patterns with variable success. Deep mud, Structure, Current, Shallow sand……You name it ladies and gents. As a fishing finatic making a living as a guide any off time is often utilized searching a new pattern. These are the unsung, and non advertised homework days that often seperate the good and the not quite so good. Most of the time these days are incredibly NON-PRODUCTIVE!! LOL!! I’d like to give a serious shout out to our "Search and Destroy" team that has worked hard again this year helping Rainydaze Guide Service keep our faithfull customers on the best bite known to man. Eliminating areas void of baitfish is simply a daunting task on 220,000 acres 8 inches at a time, but uncovering the the coveted "Candy Shop" of trophy Rainy Lake tanks is always worth the effort EVERYTIME!

We’ve got a beautiful pattern going right now in both deep and shallow water haunts. The trophy caliber fish parade is in full swing, and we’re throwing candy www.customjigs and spins at the Rainy Lake walleyes on a daily basis. Working the big fish with your electronics continues to play a critical role in hooking these fish up. I cannot stress enough the importance of having your head in the game when at any moment that fish of a lifetime may give you an opportunity. If your face is on your new droid, and hands in the Dorito bag the outcome will likely NOT be favorable. An anglers ability quickly read the mood of a fish from the moment it is detected by your flasher is simply critical to triggering that fish to eat. Remember we don’t target 13 inch fish (The spike bucks of the fishery). If your simply interested in knocking some meat down for camp you can be sloppy with your presentation. Frankly 13 inch fish haven’t learned the law of the water yet. The big fish lately have been pretty aggressive, and everyday anglers are getting multiple chances at monster fish. I’ve always said I wish I could spend one on one time with every angler in the group, but often times due to the logistics of larger parties this is not possible. Make no question about the fact that BIG FISH ICED……YEP THATS KING!! Still the knowledge gained on handling a big fish entering your 2500 watt "Circle of Trust" PRICELESS!! I’d like to congratulate Dave Marquart from the Skeeter Boat Center on his 27 inch walleye a couple days ago. Dave hasn’t spent a lot of time ice fishing, and this was his first walleye to grace the topside of the sheet!!! There is no better feeling as a fishing guide than when your customer crosses the eyes of an elite fish like this. I’ve been forunate enough to have tangled with more than my share of big fish over my lifetime. I’m as hooked on the sport of ice angling as a guy could be (I’m Gut Hooked). The smiles on customers faces……The knuckle bumps and high fives replaying the event over and over spikes the blood through my veins!!

We’ve got about 10-12 inches of snow on the ice sheet as I type this and have been blessed with nice temperatures to fish. My best fishing log is my collection of pictures and last year I know we just entered a 25-30 BELOW stretch. Temperatures are simply BALMY, and too warm for a true "Cannonball" in this years Ice Plunge yet! High teens make it pretty easy to fish and search for customers next "PB". My Snosuit is scoffing at this "Girly weather". I’ve taunted Mother Nature before, but I’m going to have to commend her on her softer side……Life is just too short to have a bad relationship with her. We’ve suggested our customers lace up 1/8 oz. lightning spoons or 1/8 oz H20 jigs if they want to catch fish. We’ve also utilized a deadstick with shiners or fatheads depending on weather conditions (Hook, Splitshot,Bobber style) OLD SCHOOL MY FRIENDS!! I still think nothing compares to a bobber sinking out of site!! "Uuuuh……GUYS?? BOBBER DOWN!!" Utilzing a Shiner as an attractant very often increases big fish encounters in Otter portables. There is little question the side to side flash of the shiner mirrored sides is a beacon to the buffet.

For those of you planning your fishing trips yet this year or for 2011 this always a timeframe that holds great potential for icing a truly special walleye or pike. We’ve got a few days still open in January along with February and March, but slots are getting as scarce as the Vikings playoff picture (OK not that scarce). The Rainy Lake Walleye/Pike bite has this camp cool fisherman pretty amped up right now, but come Mid-February you’ll see these boys grooving after monster Crappies. Due to some time restraints I’m going to attempt to broadly answer a couple common inquiries as of late. I’ve had many requests for multi-species trips where anglers want to chase Eyes and Crappies on the sheet. Typically speaking the best Trophy walleye bites don’t coincide with the monster slab bites. I do plan on spending a little time in February targeting monster pike along with Crappies. We’ve also had many open water trips being pre-booked, and again if you want a ride in my new 2011 WX2100 Powered by the ridiculous 300HP Yamaha SHO….Might want to put it on the books. I will help plan your trip based upon your target species, and fishing preference!! There will be no extra charge for the carnival ride through Voyageurs National park! Helmets remain optional.

Happy Holidays everyone!! May everyone be fortunate enough to be enrolled in the "Jelly of the Month Club" from your wonderful boss……..This truly it IS the gift that keeps on giving Clark……… all year long!!

From Rainydaze Guide Service We’re the fishing nuts that keep on hooking those elite fish…..ALL……YEAR…….LONG!! FISHERMAN WANTED!!