Rainy Lake Information
 

Houseboating on Rainy Lake the week of the 16th. Plan to fish on the Minnesota side. Any information or tips would be greatly appreciated.

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

Grey Wolf,

Are the person who I have been in contact with prior to this post?

Anyway, I had some trouble sending you this message(details, details,...), so here it is. Hope this helps.

Excellent choice to do the houseboat thing on Rainy. It’s a blast.

I’ll try and pass along what I know. I was up there last weekend, and have been up there several times this year.

Last weekend I had my best luck fishing the points at the entrance to Anderson Bay, which is on the American side, about the middle of the eastern basin. Caught fish in about 40 feet of water during the day, and about 30 feet in the evening. Used all the minnows I had, then all the leeches, and had 3 crawlers left when I packed it in. Fished them under slip bobbers with pink Gamagatzu, jigging with white/pink, all pink, and some chartruse, plain jighead, also caught some with a fuzzy grub tail.

I generally fish the eastern basin near Kettle Falls. I put in at the Ash River visitor center, and proceed to Kettle Falls and pay to portage across to Rainy. Putting in at Ash river is closer than International Falls, 14 miles vs. 27 miles, and no big open water to cross. If your houseboat is in the eastern basin, and someone is going to meet up with you, I suggest they do the same. Sometimes the big parts of the lake can be rough, and impassable.

If you have time, I suggest you fish the eastern basin, it’s less crowded, and there are plenty of fish. Stop in and visit Kettle Falls Hotel, it’s great. Careful navigating the channel to the falls, follow someone if you are not comfortable. Kettle Falls is a great place to hang out on a rainy day. Very cool historical place.

If you have any questions about the fishing spots listed below, go the Kettle Falls Hotel, and they have a huge wall map of the lake. All the spots listed below can be found on this map. Ask for Rusty, or Shaun, or Pete to show you these spots. Tell them I (Greg Pesall) sent you and they will treat you right.

I usually fish the shoreline points, or rock reefs. I will run my graph until I see fish on the bottom, usually in 25-40 feet of water. Typically, 30-36 feet. Some of my favorite locations in the eastern basin are:
Blueberry island reefs, fish north east of the island, there is a white hazard buoy out in front of the island. This is a large reef, and I like the outer edges of it. Also out about ¼ mile north of the island is a nice reef.

Windmill rock, I think it’s buoy 27. Fish the east side in about 35 feet of water.

Minnatki Islands, there is a nice reef extends off the east side. Good fishing, hang out on top of the reef in the evening, in about 30 feet of water, the deeper edges during the day.

Boob’s Island, fish the south side/east side, excellent reef. Lot’s of fish around there.

Bouy 39, and 38. Both are good. Find the fish on your graph, usually around 35 feet.

Another good reef is the one about ½ mile east of the channel of the Brule Narrows. Can be hard to find, but it’s there.

Brule Narrows can be good in a variety of spots, good place on a windy day.

The western entrance of the Brule, there is a small island with two buoys marking the entrance, fish from the buoys out north and west, towards the big lake. Good fishing spot.

These are only some of the many good spots to fish Rainy. There are many reefs and shoreline points that I have not mentioned, and they can be good.

What do I use?
Minnows, leeches or crawlers. In that order. Try them all.

During the day, when the fishing is a little slower, I use a slip bobber, with a plain hook and minnow or leech or crawler. I always tip my hook with a Berkley Crappie nibbler. You will catch more fish if you use them. Put one on before the minnow, slide it up the hook a little ways and you are good to go. Try using a crappie nibbler, and have someone next to you without one, and see what happens. I have proven it time and time again, you will outfish someone who is not using them. But you do not need them to catch fish.

During the morning and evening when the bite is more aggressive, I use a plain jighead, or a fuzzy grub, or a tube jig. Use small tails, with a ¼ oz jig. I like the plain jighead that have a flat spot on their head to make the hook stick upwards when resting on the bottom. Pink is always a good color, chartruse, and yellow, or white, or black can be good also. I usually put pink on first. I also tip my jig with a crappie nibbler, and a minnow, leech, or worm.

For northerns, fish the shallow bays, and cast, cast, cast. Smallmouth can be caught the same way, work the rocky shorelines.

There are several nice houseboat docking areas near Rabbit Island, which is about 3 miles west of Kettle Falls, along the south shoreline. There is a campsite called fishcamp island next to Rabbit, the houseboat sites are in the bay behind Rabbit and Fishcamp islands. You have to be in close, on the south side of the islands to spot them. Not a bad idea to send a small boat in to scout. From these docking spots you can reach many good fishing areas, like the ones above.

You must be able to read the buoys to safely navigate this lake. Do not go blasting through a bay you are not familiar with. Stay in the navigational channels when moving, or follow someone. Be careful in bays you are not familiar with, go slow and have someone in front watching. The water is clear enough to spot boulders at slow speed.

Good luck and be safe.

Greg Pesall

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

Gray Wolf,

Yeah, everything Mr. Pesall said is good information. I've been doing the houseboat adventures on Rainy Lake for the last 8 years, always the last week in July or the first week in August. Anyway, for the walleyes all the afore mentioned reefs are good. As for bait, I'm partial to a jig and crawler first, and a jig and shiner second. Lindy rigs and leeches are extremely popular, but I do just as well or better with the jigs. Maybe because the fish see so many leeches. Slip bobbers are good too, but I rarely use them. Another technique that is worth a try if it's slow on the reef is trolling(1-5mph) lures off the reefs in 25-60 feet of water. I use this same technique for northers but I catch just as many walleyes. As for lures, I've caught them on a wide variety. Jointed Buchertail shallow depth raiders were absolutely deadly for northerns and walleyes when I went in the beginning of August. Other lures are: #9 shad raps, sinking rapala magnums, and Buchertail jointed depth raiders. The key is to get the bait down 15-30 feet and use white or shiny lures. I use as much as an ounce of lead to get the big lures down. Metallic silver is great when it's sunny. The reason for this pattern is ciscoes and other pelagic baitfish suspend off the reefs
causing the predators to pursue. They can also find cooler more comfortable water by going deeper.

Other tips for northerns are trolling reefs and main lake drop-offs in 20-35 feet. If you'll be in the eastern basin, the drop-off east from Browns Bay to Finger Bay was hot. We trolled up 5 in about a half an hour the last day I was there.
If your interested in smallies, ther're just about anywhere! Reefs, shorelines, and islands are good bets. Windmill rock, the island due east it, and around sand bay island are all good. I had great success with crawfish colored tubes and shad raps. Just cast up to the srtucture and use an erratic, stop and go retrieve. The key is to find the boulders, not the flat rock.
Hope all that helped. And be careful of the rocks! They come up out of nowhere. Have a great trip!
-KL

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

anyone been on the north arm of rainy near standingstone pt or north of there? any info is helpful.

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

Great tips for trolling on Rainy.

Thanks for the trolling tips, I can't wait to give them a try, I have heard trolling the reefs can be great.

See you out there.
Greg P.

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

My previous post was the first time I posted on a message board. I am amazed at the quality of information here. Thanks for the time and effort. With this information we can't help but have a great week.

Do you know of any good houseboat sites in the area of Big Island? On the map it looks like this would be a good location to base out of.

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

If memory serves me, there are a couple of houseboat docking sites on the south side of big island, in what is known as Kempton Channel. And some in some of the nearby bays. But I do not recall exactly where.

The houseboat outfitter will provide you with detailed navigational maps, and they should also highlight the better docking areas.

In the middle of the Kempton Channel is a finger like bay, extending into Big Island, about a quarter mile long and about 100 yards wide. Good northern fishing along the weedbeds. Great spot to have some fun if it's too rough on the big lake. No houseboat sites in this bay itself.

Good luck,
Greg P.

RE: Rainy Lake Information
 

I almost exclusive stay in Anderson Bay, but I do know that there are 3 or 4 good spots on the southeast side of Big Island in Kempton Bay. And a handful more on Blueberry Island. There are also a few spots on the south shore of Hitchcock Bay. When I go, these spots are almost always taken. But this late in the season you should have no problem. Enjoy the trip! -KL

Publishers of Outdoor Adventures in Minnesota
 

I think that Greg P. should continue to write such explicit, fun, informational, adventuresome fishing, boating, camping, "Exploring all the Minnesota" recreational experiences/spots for others to hopefully experience, and go to comfidently..... Add a couple of his photos....***** kt**** and he would be good to go... for life!!! I would buy it at Barnes and Noble.. wouldn't u...lol... Nite... and not as in Crawlers...