Fishing Report From Rainy Lake May 13-May 20th

[yowoodchuck]

I just got back from Rainy Lake.  We were there 8 days after ice-out.  That was also one week before walleye season opened up there.  A lot less riff-raff.

We fished 6 days for smallies and pike.  Both were eating 3-5 inch yellow perch, which were schooled up in the warmer water.  Water temps ranged from 46 to 58.

We caught most of our fish on 4 and 5 inch rattling stick baits and # 3 through 5 mepps and other inline spinners.  Noise and flash both seemed to matter more than color.  On the 3 days the wind was from the West and warm--we caught roughly 25 smallmouth off points each day --all females full of eggs, mostly between 16 and 20 inches.  The smallest smallmouth was 14".  They acted like pike...no big jumps.  All were released. 

The pike were a different story---they acted like smallmouth--some big runs and some acrobatics.  The pike ranged from 28 to about 43 inches long.  We caught 2 small pike all week.  We had a hard time catching pike that were in the slot for eating, most of the pike were about 30 inches and above.  On the good 3 days we caught about 60 pike each day, maybe 80 on the best day.  CoVid really helped the fish.  There will be some really large classes of smallmouth and pike that will grow to be giants.  In two years, I think 48 inch pike will be common, and I plan to be there.  I stayed on the Canadian side in a great but somewhat funky lodge, run by a great but somewhat funky person.  Not the ritz, but a great location and a boat-in place that was off the grid and really beautiful. North West Rainy Lake is my favorite part of the lake, lots of deep water near lots of football and basketball sized rock and may islands.

 

 

 

 

  

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, yowoodchuck said:

I just got back from Rainy Lake.  We were there 8 days after ice-out.  That was also one week before walleye season opened up there.  A lot less riff-raff.

We fished 6 days for smallies and pike.  Both were eating 3-5 inch yellow perch, which were schooled up in the warmer water.  Water temps ranged from 46 to 58.

We caught most of our fish on 4 and 5 inch rattling stick baits and # 3 through 5 mepps and other inline spinners.  Noise and flash both seemed to matter more than color.  On the 3 days the wind was from the West and warm--we caught roughly 25 smallmouth off points each day --all females full of eggs, mostly between 16 and 20 inches.  The smallest smallmouth was 14".  They acted like pike...no big jumps.  All were released. 

The pike were a different story---they acted like smallmouth--some big runs and some acrobatics.  The pike ranged from 28 to about 43 inches long.  We caught 2 small pike all week.  We had a hard time catching pike that were in the slot for eating, most of the pike were about 30 inches and above.  On the good 3 days we caught about 60 pike each day, maybe 80 on the best day.  CoVid really helped the fish.  There will be some really large classes of smallmouth and pike that will grow to be giants.  In two years, I think 48 inch pike will be common, and I plan to be there.  I stayed on the Canadian side in a great but somewhat funky lodge, run by a great but somewhat funky person.  Not the ritz, but a great location and a boat-in place that was off the grid and really beautiful. North West Rainy Lake is my favorite part of the lake, lots of deep water near lots of football and basketball sized rock and may islands.

 

 

 

 

  

                   Great report, Thanks for sharing.