Anglers are getting out on Rainy Lake. Walleye anglers are finding some success on Sand Bay in about 30 feet of water using jigs and minnows. Glow jigs seem to work best, and the best bite is early in the day. lite weight dark houses have been showing up on Black Bay where you stand a good chance of spearing a large northern pike, however, there haven't been many reports on that. Anglers are also trying Black Bay for crappie, hitting the areas near the crappie cribs. We've been hit with the first major snow of the season, and that usually means greatly improved trail conditions. International Voyageur Snowmobile Club will be grooming their trails, but due to the partial Federal Government shutdown, trails in the National Park will not be groomed. That applies to snowmobile, cross country ski and snowshoe trails. The National Park Service was able to stake the trail from Franks Bay to Ash River and mark any known pressure ridges and determined conditions are adequate to travel from Ash River to Crane Lake, but again, trails in the Park are not being groomed until the partial government shutdown is resolved. We've told about Matthew Swanson reeling in the record catch-and-release northern pike on Rainy River in May. However, the December issue of MidWest Outdoors reports that Maddie Ogg reeled in the record setter in October. The confusion is caused because Swanson did not submit his catch until after Ogg's had been submitted and reported to MidWest Outdoors.
Matthew's Rainy River Pike is the record at 45 1/4 inches. Maddy's fish is also a huge one at 43 1/5 inches. Congratulation to both. Meanwhile, Rainy Lake anglers are walking out on the protected bays to try for some early ice walleye. Always put safety first, you need 4 inches of clear ice to support walking on the ice, and you should check the ice depth frequently. As to success, anglers say it is hit-and-miss, you need to be in the right spot. Jigging with minnows seems to work the best. Our forecasts are calling for freezing temperatures and little if any snow, so we will see good ice forming. This post was brought to you by Rainy Lake Guide Association. We are into the middle of October and ruffed grouse hunters are starting to flush more birds as the cover has been coming down. Cold and wet weather lately has limited the number of hunters willing to get out.
Fall color watchers are seeing the peak pass them by, although there are still some green leaves. By about October 20th, they will all be gone. Birders can catch all sorts of migrating waterfowl from swans to geese, and as a reminder, if you hike any of the trails you should wear some blaze orange for safety. Weather has been a factor for Rainy Lake and Rainy River anglers. While few folk are getting out, those that find the window of opportunity are finding walleye, northern pike and crappie at varying depths around the submerged structure in Rainy Lake. Crappie are also being caught in the west end of Black Bay and up into the Rat Root River. This post was brought to you by Rainy Lake Guide Association. |
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