Strong Sturgeon Bite!

With all the accesses to Rainy River open, more and more anglers are getting out on the open water. While walleye fishing remains open until April 14 on our border waters, most folks have been fishing for Sturgeon. This is the catch-and-release season and the Sturgeon bite is always strong as spring rolls in. The best bet is to find a deep hole in the river and then go downstream a bit and fish with a combination of worms and minnows on a big hook suspended just off the bottom with some sinkers. Use your heaviest gear, the sturgeon can grow to 100 pounds and you want to be able to catch them fairly quickly, snap a few photos and release them fairly quickly.

There are no sturgeon above the dam at International Falls on Rainy River, but you can fish for walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass, and the fishing has been good just below the Ranier Rapids. The best access for this area is the Pat Roche landing near Voyageurs National Park Headquarters.
​
Birders are seeing the return of migratory birds of all types, perhaps the most notable are the geese because of their size, tendency to fly in large groups and because they are just plain noisy. There are plenty of wildlife watching opportunities both within and outside of the National Park.