techo

I always look for SkeeterP and Nitro at each tourney, cool dudes that are as friendly as they come. True fisher folk! I look forward to seeing you guys at Stockton. We said a prayer for the soul injured on the jet ski, BUT did no one see this coming? I am against more laws and regulations and have no idea on what happened on this particular "accident". Something has to be done sometime to protect the lake and the people on it. I fish the lake, because I enjoy it.....it is becoming less enjoyable as it becomes more crowded and respect for others seems to wane.

Amen

KC, Ed is the actual roaster and owner. He just throws me some free stuff and kicks in on some tourney fees as a sponsor. I love his coffee though. Live on it! Thanks for trying it out.

"RPS, I believe Tim means 3 weeks or so until we get our lake back from the circus monkeys in the "Big Wave, Go Fast Boats." I can't wait for the summer traffic to die down a bit. It seems worse this year to me, but I might just be getting cranky as I age.

GPS with all of your spots marked already?

About three weeks to go!

Love lightening......not on the lake though. I usually leave and live to fish another day.

It is no secret he has my endorsement....for whatever that is worth.

I know you would care for them. When I get back from Minnesota (Saturday) I wll try to dig them out and give you a PM. We can hook up.

A brother indeed. I missed how many people you helped and towed this summer. I think you might be below quota!

Disregard all useless bickering regarding he usual debates....cause we are family/

Hey brother EP, If you remind me when we get closer....I will give you my entry fee again. Don't much care about payback.

This is the icky thread that just refuses to die!

With your fishing skill....I doubt you wull ever go hungry. Are you guys headed to Stockton for AIA Championship? They gave us a pity spot so the little Skeeter and two coffee addicts will be up there.

I have my suspicions Champ needs no help from the likes of me. He probably steered me there the first time. Good luck this weekend....I will be envious.

If you promise on your life (seriously) that I would get them back....I have all of the maps for that lake. I can try to dig them up and send them with you. I am out of town next week, but can hook up with you before you go. I love that lake. It was rumored at one time if you cut me....I would bleed Rainy Lake water.

My friend recommends Scott Matthews. He guides out of Thunderbird. I never used a guide up there and I might have the seven maps for there. When are you headed up?

Wow! You will be busy fishing for all of the species. Check Airplane Island for smallmouth and pike. Walleye are med light spinning reels, jig tipped with minnow. Some folks say color matter, some don't. I liked the yellow with red eyes, but really don't think color matters. A good depth finder to mark them matters. A good walleye chop on the water is helpful. There are two islands on the way to Brule Narrows that are usually good with some humps nearby. Just run your depth finder out from the islands until you see humps or dips with fish stacked on them. Cast out and reel to the area the fish are stacked. I am not a fan of the walleye fight, but love to eat them. Smallmouth are the best fighters. The bigger ones will be deep, but we used jointed Rapalas on a med light spinning reel for them too. We would cast to the bank and let the bait set until the splash went calm. Twitch it and hope for a top water hit. If that didn't work then strike the rod down and reel in at a steady rate. Sometimes they would hit close to the boat. I liked the islands around Mermaid Rock, but they are on the Canadian side. Mepps spinners worked well too. Crappie are sweet. Red Gut Bay on the Canada side was my favorite place on Rainy for crappie. Smaller jigs tipped with minnows were the way to go. If you stop by the Holiday Gas Station (used to be Rainy Lake One Stop) and ask for Dave he is an awesome fisherman and might help you out. Tell him the old Holiday manager, Carpenter, recommended him. The Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club puts crappie cribs out every year on the USA side. I would find a map of them if I wanting to catch crappie. Pike are easy. I think you can throw a coat hanger in the water and they will attack it. Any little cove with trees, rocks or weeds will work. They are icky slimy fish that ruin lures and have red meat. Fun to catch though. We hated them when I lived there. Musky fishing is tough. You cast a hundred times with big buzz baits or buck bait spinners hoping for one bite. Not my favorite fishing. ShaSha resort has some good burgers and a ton of chipmunks. Thunderbird Lodge had the best steak I have ever eaten in my whole life. I am not sure of she still works there, but the kitchen manager found a hair on a plate and had every dish washed again one time.

No fish to see there....move along.

You looked bummed. Please try to cheer up a little will ya?

Oops Bud was Northenaire Houseboats.

I lived in International Falls for about ten years. Back in the day....Rainy Lake Houseboats was owned by an old guy named Bud. If he still owns it, then I would highly recommend him and his son for setting up trips or guiding. Walleye are the main fish up there, but Rainy Lake has one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the Americas. There are seven large maps to Rainy Lake. I mostly fished on the Canadian side, but Brule Narrows has some great small mouth. In my time, the jointed Rapala was king for catching large Northern Pike or small mouth bass. The Mepps spinner was another great choice, A lead head jig tipped with a minnow was a walleye main bait.

You are a great writer. I felt like I was there and my heart started beating faster. I love fishing!

As usual....I agree with Whacked. I have the H2O C and it is fairly unbreakable, accurate and worth the money. I would rather have a fancier mounted one, but it suffices in the fog and dark. I grow sad at the thought of good people dying a preventable death. Prayers said at our house for the family, too.

Better than sex! Maybe even better than sex with a partner!