This is the weekend of the International Falls Bass Championship, which will feature much more than fishing. Starting tonight, August 27, there will be entertainment every evening, plus daytime entertainment Friday and Saturday. Weigh-ins will be at 3pm in Smokey Bear Park and are a blast to watch. So, how’s the bass fishing? Well, the anglers pre-fishing would have you believe there’s no action, no where. However, anglers fishing for walleye on the submerged reefs are pulling in some nice smallmouth and they’ll admit it. The walleye are responding to a wide variety of colors and baits and are most active in the morning in about 30 feet of water. Crappie can be found in several of the bays west of Brule Narrows.
The sturgeon bite remains hot in Rainy River with the area around Birchdale being the hottest. Find a fairly deep hole and drop a gob of worms or minnows on a hook with enough weight to hold it just off the bottom and you will be on your way to catching one of the prehistoric monsters. Walleye and smallmouth have been more active in the ares below the dam at International Falls and then downstream to the Little Fork River confluence near Pelland The weather has made some pretty wide swings lately and that has had an effect on the fish. The best site has been on the warmer days, but that’s also when the most anglers are out. At any rate, walleye are hanging around the submerged structures and responding best to live bait and bright colored jigs or spinners. Crappie and northern pike have been most active around the weedy edges of bays. Smallmouth bass are being found along the rocky shorelines, try casting a lure into the shadows near the shoreline.
The North American Sturgeon Championship proved there are lots of sturgeon in Rainy River, it is a catch and release tournament so they are all right back in the river. Eian Gustafson (13) of Karlstad won the cash prize of $2,630.00 with a 58 inch sturgeon. Walleye anglers say the bite on the river is pretty good too, they are dragging spinner rigs through the current slowly in 12 to 18 feet of water. Some birders have been out and around because some songbirds are already beginning to migrate south providing more opportunities. Voyageurs National Park offers many hiking trails where it’s very likely to spot wildlife winged and otherwise. 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.
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. |
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