The shorter days and cooler weather usually trigger more aggressive feeding among our gamefish. Anglers are finding more smallmouth bass along with walleye on the submerged structure. The walleye are a little deeper and the shoals east of Grindstone Island have been the hottest spots.  Use bright colored jigs and live bait to target walleye and colorful lures for the bass. The crappie bite has been pretty good in Black Bay and into the Rat Root River. 

Walleye are starting to show up more frequently in Rainy River as the annual fall run appears to have started. River anglers are also still trying for some trophy sturgeon and the tag season will close at the end of the month. 

Even though it’s early September, some maple trees are showing red so fall colors could be showing a little early this year.

Photo by Full Throttle Guiding.

Walleye, smallmouth bass and crappie have all been more active in the late afternoon and into the evening. Walleye have transitioned to the submerged reefs that are around 30 feet deep. There are several of these humps east of the islands north of Jackfish Bay. There are also some hot spots in Sand Bay. Jigging with a bright colored jig and live bait will do the trick. Smallmouth bass have been hanging near the rocky shorelines and weedy edges of the bays. Crappie fishing has been best in Black Bay and back into the Rat Root River on the west end of the Bay. 

In Rainy River, walleye are being pulled from the faster waters and structure below the dam at International Falls and sturgeon anglers are checking the wider bends downstream. The North American Sturgeon Championships will be held Saturday at Nelson Park in Birchdale.  

For the most up-to-date information you can call the International Falls, Ranier and Rainy Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau at (218) 283-9400.

Vote for Voyageurs National Park, share the link, and vote again every day until August 28. 

Floating Bogs were put on the move with recent storms and one has been causing concern in the west end of Rainy Lake heading into the popular islands area west of Grindstone Island. Naturally, our advice is to steer clear of it. Meanwhile, there have been good reports on walleye hitting jigs or spinners tipped with live bait near the submerged reefs east of Grindstone Island and well away from the floating bog. Crappie are hitting in Black Bay and up the Rat Root River to Rat Root Lake. The crappie are apparently a bit finicky, showing up on graphs, but not hitting on the bait. Northern Pike are fairly active in the morning and evening along the weedy edges at the mouth of Cranberry Bay and in Black Bay.  

On Rainy River, the outside bends have been producing walleye and smallmouth bass, while the sturgeon anglers are sticking to the shallow flats downstream from any of the deeper holes. The sturgeon tag season is now open and the catch-and-release only North American Sturgeon Championships are coming up August 19, 2017 at Nelson Park in Birchdale. 

For the most up-to-date information you can call the International Falls, Ranier and Rainy Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau at (218) 283-9400.