 Photo Courtesy Elisa Winterland Walleye:
Pattern one: Walleyes are keying in on deeper weed structure right now. Weedy bays or weedy shorelines where the wind is actively washing in have been most productive. Walleye spinners (tipped with minnows or crawlers) or a 1/8 oz. jig and a minnow have been the go-to presentations. Pattern two: Some walleyes are beginning their transition to deeper structure. Break lines or reef tops in the twenty to thirty-five range that are near spring spawning habitats are a good place to start looking with your electronics. ¼ oz. jigs and lindy rigs are catching fish. As always, areas of current have been producing fish. Current fish are showing up in the twenty-five to thirty-five foot range. Smallmouth Bass: With the cooler June weather some bass are amazingly still guarding nests. Most of this activity is happening near the deeper colder parts of the lake. In other parts of the lake bass are transitioning away from spawning and are actively feeding in shallow water. Any boulders, points or rock-weed combinations are great places to target. Two to six feet appears to be the range. Plastics, twitch baits, top-waters, and in line spinners are working. Crappie: Some crappies continue to be caught using small jigs or slip bobbers in the four to six-foot range. Weeds or a combination of rock structure and weeds is often the ticket. Other crappies are beginning to school up on break lines, points or sunken brush piles if you can find them. Northern Pike: Weeds, weeds and more weeds. The best pike action is coming from deeper weed lines (five to ten feet), especially windblown weeds or areas where the wind has been blowing for the past couple of days and is now calm. Spinner-baits, buzz-baits, top-waters and spoons are great lures to work weedy structure with. As always, windy points and shorelines fished with suspending twitch baits is a good option. Like walleye, some of the pike are moving toward deeper water (15 to 30 feet) as they transition to summer forage. This post was brought to you by Rainy Lake Guide Association.  Walleye:
With water temperatures on the rise walleye have turned on. They are holding near shallow windblown structure such as points, inside turns and weedy bays. Most walleyes are being caught in the three to ten foot range with a wide variety of techniques. The go-to choice has been jigs (casted or trolled) and spinners tipped with minnows or worms. Long lining crankbaits or twitching jerk baits have been effective options when covering water is important, and last but not least, don’t overlook the ever-underestimated slip bobber tipped with a minnow or leech. Areas of current have proved successful especially on low wind days. In these areas deeper holes (20 to 35 feet) with ¼ to 3/8 oz jigs have been good places to focus. A few fish are being caught on break lines and shallow reefs (17 to 25 feet) directly adjacent to spawning areas. Smallmouth Bass: Most of the lake is now seeing at least some bass guarding their nests. This has been a moving target this season with different parts of the lake warming at different rates and often cooling just as fast with roller-coaster forecasts. Recently however; things appear to have stabilized and the bass are moving up. Deeper parts of the lake are seeing bass just starting to bed while shallower areas have experienced bedding bass for over a week now. Look for bass on shorelines in and around shallow boulders. Top water lures, stick baits, and plastics have been catching fish. Crappie: Crappies continue to be shallow in the three to six foot range. Most crappies are being caught using a slip bobber and a minnow. Turns and points in bull rushes as well as on and around sunken rocks have been the key. Northern Pike: With the warming bays baitfish have moved in and the predators have followed. Look for pike to be moving into shallow warming waters. They are well past spawn now and are feeding heavily. Windy shorelines and bays where other fish and minnows are schooling is a good place to start. Water temperature is often the key to spring pike but remember the actual temperature is not as important as the direction it is going. Rising water temps throughout the day can often bring pike into small areas in big numbers. Spoons, larger jerk baits, and twitch baits are drawing strikes. This post was brought to you by Rainy Lake Guide Association.  Fishing Tip
Suspending twitch baits can bring some of the most exciting spring action with nearly every species Rainy Lake has to offer. Often however; these baits are fished too fast when the water is cold and fish are not in an aggressive mood. The key to more strikes is in the pause. Even a pause of five to ten seconds is not too long, but to a waiting angler that feels like eternity. Counting the seconds on each pause can help you force yourself to wait. And don’t be afraid to change it up, Jerk-Jerk-Pause two seconds, Jerk-Jerk Pause five seconds. When you get a strike remember what you did and repeat it. Fishing Report Walleye: With water temperatures in the high forties to mid-fifties walleyes have remained slightly behind in their traditional movements. They are being caught in bays where water temperatures are slightly above that of the main lake. Windblown shorelines and points have been most productive. 1/16 to 1/8th ounce jigs tipped with a minnow or plastic have been effective. With the cold weather the need to slow down and be methodical can’t be understated. Action on spinner rigs is starting to pick up. With warmer weather in the forecast the bite is only expected to get better. Smallmouth Bass: Due to the cold temperatures Smallmouth have yet to begin nesting. Most fish are being caught near their traditional spawning area staging up on windy points, large boulders or any other significant structure near potential spawning sites. Suspending twitch baits have worked great. A long pause is the key to more strikes. As always plastics and hair jigs are great go-to options. Crappie: Crappies are shallow in the three to five-foot range. Most crappies are being caught using a slip bobber and a minnow. Turns and points in bull rushes as well as on and around sunken rocks have been the key. Northern Pike: Pike have finished their spawning weeks ago but remain shallow and near spawning areas. Bays protected from larger bodies where water has had a chance to warm faster are a good place to start. Spinner baits, spoons and most significantly suspending twitch baits have been most productive. -Our fishing report is courtesy the Rainy Lake Guide Association. -Photo Courtesy Minnesota Arrowhead Association -This post was brought to you by Rainy Lake Guide Association. |
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