Rainy Lake

[Pitts]

I just got back from a week at Rainy and it was a tough fish for keepers.
The land hurricane that went through on Mon 9th and the cold front moving in on Tues the 10th did not help things much.
During the eye of the hurricane looking low pressure that was about 400 miles across which passed right over Rainy Lake we were able to get 2 keepers in the calm.
Then the reef fishing shutdown for the rest of the week no matter what we threw at them.
What did start up or we finally discovered is that some pretty nice fish were suspended over the deep parts of the main lakes. Pulling deep diver Reef Runners in silver/black or darkblue/silver at close to 23' down was catching lots of slimers and the occasional eye all day and more eyes at dusk than slimers.

I did see a group of guys that did well right at dusk on crawlers on a reef but they had fished that reef during the day with no luck and the fish just turned on at dark. I never had that good luck:)

I did see multiple pods of baitfish all over the place which is probably the reason almost every local person says the fishing has been slow this year a hit or miss situation.

Woody told me the fish were biting great:) Just not where I was.

I wish I had figured out the suspended fish earlier I love trolling.
The RR lures were told to us by a guy in the resort on the last day but my buddy was pulling a deep perch color rapala?? and got a nice 21" fish.
Had a great time anyway and spent some good times on the water which was a lot better than working:)

Pitts

[Mickey]

I was up on Rainy the week of July 4th and the fishing was tough also. I tried fishing from 3' to 45' deep and the best night I had was 6 eyes in a 3 hour period(not exactly fast). Minnows, crawlers, leeches, jigs, crankbaits and bottom bouncing spinners the fish just didn't seem to want anything even though I was marking baitfish and "hooks" all over the lake(wish I had an Aqua-Vu to see what was down there). Just my opinion but for being a "world class" walleye lake I believe that is more hype than reality, when I saw guys who had been coming up there for more than 30 yrs. celebrating that after 4 days of fishing they finally got the "net wet" and took 2 little 12" walleyes to the fish cleaning house, I realized that I had fallen victim to all the advertising and this lake was not a "walleye factory". I've noticed that whenever people ask about "Rainy Lake" only a few people post responses, so maybe others have learned the truth about the fishery? It is a beautiful area, but the fishing on the U.S. side has fallen way short of what's promised by the locals(who are after the tourists $$$) I don't think I'll be back to fish anytime soon. Sorry to hear you also struggled to catch fish, I figured that after fishing for more than 40 yrs. somehow I forgot how to catch them.

[Koldfront Kraig]

Mickey was this your first trip to Rainy?

[Mickey]

No, I have fished the U.S. side 3 times(twice at the end of Sept. in 2001 & 2002, plus this past July) and at the end of July in 2001 on the Canadian side(family vacation at Coppens Resort) Even with temps in the 90's(surface temp was over 80 in some bays) & no wind during the day, the Canadian side fishing was BY FAR BETTER. With such high temps. we had huge T-storms brew up every night with rains so heavy the resorts gravel road washed out in different spots 4 or 5 days of our weeks stay. With such unstable weather between morning and night the fish still bit, in fact, I believe that I caught more fish in 1 day(any of the days) in Canadian waters than on an entire trip ( 3 different 1 week stays) on the U.S. side. The reason I went back to Rainy Lake was the great 1st impression I had and since it's the same lake I thought it made more sense to keep my money in the U.S. and also avoid any border problems. I would consider going back on the Canadian side but as far as I'm concerned 3 strikes and the U.S. side and their resorts are out.

[Xplorer not logged]

Pitts,
I was up on Namakan the same time period, from the 7th thru 10th (left early due to nasty wether) camping out on the islands. Bite for slots was good saturday evening and sunday morning. Good smallie action also, but starting sunday night it all went downhill. Woke up to a predicted high of 48 and north wind/rain on tuesday and decided to head'er home. A friend was up on kab the enrtire work week prior and hammered the fish, figures.
Yes there is some good fishing on the CA side in redgut/swell/seine bays but the eastern reefs can be very good this time of year also.
Xplorer