Sturgeon Championships!

The annual North American Sturgeon Fishing Championship takes place August 15th on Rainy River at Birchdale. This is a catch-and-releae contest and judging is by length only. The longest fish will win 50% of the entry fees. The contest goes from 4pm to 7pm with a free Youth Sturgeon Championship (Open to all youth 17 and under) from noon ’til 2pm. This is a great annual event that benefits the Birchdale Community Building. So how is the sturgeon fishing? Pretty good, the best bet is to find a deeper hole and drop a gob of worms on a circle hook nearly to the bottom.
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Walleye fishing on Rainy River has been pretty good in 12 to 18 feet of water slow trolling with a shiner minnow. Walleye fishing on Rainy Lake has been best in the more open and deeper areas like the reefs just west of Brule Narrows. If it’s fairly calm, use a jig and leech, if there’s some chop, try trolling with a minnow in the same areas. Smallmouth bass have been pretty active along the windy points on the islands and south shore of Rainy Lake. Some large northern pike have been pulled from Jackfish Bay and Black Bay.