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Long over due fishing report, it's been way to long!


RangerGuy

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It's been way to many years, since Tina & I took a week to fish, and actually have anything to report. I'm a little out of practice, hope you enjoy LOL!

 

We had to make a 2 day stop in Iron Bridge, Ontario for a friends wedding. Then on Sunday, October 9th we hit the road for Rainy Lake, Minnesota!

 

I have always wanted to fish Lake of the Woods & Rainy Lake. We got to Thunderbird Lodge around dinner time, Thunderbird Lodges was one of the nicest cottages we ever stayed at.

 


Our Cottage for the week

 


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Me and the dogs relaxing after driving 12 hours and unpacking hehe!

 

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Rainy Lake really lived up to it's rep as a walleye factory! The first day we fishing by ourselves, we didn't travel far from the lodge under 30 mins from the lodge.

We caught walleye ranging from 14 to 25 inches in every spot we hit. If you could put fish on the screen and stay on them you would get 

bite..First day on the lake ever and end we filled our limit, which all were released because I couldn't remember the slot HAHAHA! AWESOME! 

 

Here's a few shots of our first day :)

We caught a bunch of these:

 

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The big one for the day 25"

"<ahttps://mc8pcq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mQiDfPmjdtxxGR7h7i_BDSacLg84ATlqlk7DeomGu8AmLkyanrKBhCNaGq7M79ZYB-NrMSun8w_Bzju_3e8zZVlb5SkorJ3-ry0UYUCrASxEzJ4kucKI0xSWexN2fsYOysOp2rrUM95g2qGatvHHKvqQY0udPP0ya7EIe-v5kKvg?width=623&height=467&cropmode=none" width="623" height="467" />

 

 

 

Our second day was spent with Chris of RainyDaze Guide Service. Let me tell you, Chris is a top

notch guide with top notch gear. 

 

Our boat for the day a Skeeter WX2190 with 300 yamaha! What an awesome boat, I seriously have

two foot-itis now for sure! Running the large expanse of Rainy Lake in 20mph winds and you could

hardly feel the waves! So cool!

 

Here is a shot of Chris looking for fish.

 

"<ahttps://ly8vcq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mNKb_morNpf8Q9-1x403ZpIOF0Eqm5txb5oULpvLfCZOeW6RFlBbNGt5flJPsJBpufwW2iJvdKUn3BwiX-iKCqzOXfjHxPLczPxGNzkodeW4avSQOX-vHWFgYmS8Do9oRcVwimUrskIY8exPCqk-AVGlswrkWUN1ny3S39FZx6s4?width=480&height=270&cropmode=none" width="480" height="270" />

 

 

The bait moved and his fish scattered, so we were not sitting on

big schools of walleyes. He explained that once the ciscos move to spawn

they can be very hard to locate on Rainy Lake. Still, he really figured them out.

We enjoyed this way more as we got to watch and learn how he found and worked them!

 

We would find small groups of 5 to 10 fish and got fish from every group all day!

We were using custom made rods designed by him and his guides, apparently

they are made in the same factory as the G Loomis NRX rods. I gotta say

they were the nicest jigging rods I have ever used.. feather light and super 

sensitive. I could feel bottom in 30' of water with a 3/16 jig/ minnow combo!

 

Needless to say we came home with a new pair of jigging rods! If you looking for a nice

cheap but very smooth reel. A Pflueger President is the ticket. WE LOVED THESE REELS!

 

Here is a sample of the fish we caught with RainyDaze Guide Service (Chris Granrud)

 

Tina out fished both myself and Chris. She filled both our limits and still caught some in the

top of the slot!

Although I did get the biggest eyes, all my fish bounced between 20- 25 inches, yes were

competitive with each other LOL! :)

"<ahttps://mc8ocq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mzvdYsxWj1lnjREloc9mbg_9Gwy1L-0YOY3tm40DzdnPs_C9lpzAYUef-1Wea-wuNnnjIZggaGh7_ySIINiyO_TzIYnNVxca1I0Vu0D-b4UuPego3HApGW-3a3M0noq7pujdde9G6x_nNyA_-l_fJcg1BO8GiZmGEbPPRXgm3Frk?width=519&height=389&cropmode=none" width="519" height="389" />

 

 

"<ahttps://ly8lcq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3m9rAmCejmzS2Z6qRIbq8SOCkRZakUvYsyxj1LfUy1ohOJZGtsAEGQphLCipSrVldOOoPo9EJm83KJhuWyWq67ZHe8NCFap_isA8FFm9mHHyZhXGvX1vlblfS4n1W9eBUaGnCqAlOBCYnVHVtVSDnCNxmg0Z48ZPww86LwIN1C1uU?width=396&height=720&cropmode=none" width="396" height="720" />

 

 

  

"<ahttps://li8vcq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3miH8XBcx_0io0tMrtEvr0wd5GlYHIcAQFWdOOWp3fCFpx22RWBaD8OF84OOPyppmCbdKED-bKbk7LXU8mBaRLMavDGxugFp_QQrvVHnR6uQ9iJ6NO2LtU-9PmM-l1tU0zREi2Ad_AnwthNidm5mLuMySugzO8PPtRWIpL2IctDEc?width=396&height=720&cropmode=none" width="396" height="720" />

 

"<ahttps://li8ucq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mPSmHJyjokvrpbmylEthZBNa0HY1eIqewloh6k_yRjqkM6B9XnwcPAB1PbeTDMYsUnskupopBV4AAqnazAntghoXjqY4FeX37vrCX8eVyvT6EXomBsGjiUWyIHihU5Mf8ZAlihoSHSH00BpztfmyOEHdGXqP-M1og0IuCdpSWpV8?width=396&height=720&cropmode=none" width="396" height="720" />

 

"<ahttps://ly8pcq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mO0_jNjt6ccn9-qJ9LnghXe1IllEzZTBjT9GfQumBANGPQv3fIRwiaGY-4fslKf0V-cMpdlALZpQCn9CyIKwv-uar5Szfumd64TsklnipqIOAXPQOMIZ-nKdq_GXFW9fEDxIDSutUI0TfHtmw7SedcJRIAHn4lXoBv_3DYJrg3ow?width=720&height=405&cropmode=none" width="720" height="405" />

 

It was an amazing day! We will be making the drive again to Rainy Lake some day for sure. It's only 18 hrs from us HAHA!

 

The rest of our week was pretty tough as the winds didn't seem to let up 15 mph and 20 mph westerly winds are not 

friendly on Rainy, so we never ventured to far from the lodge. We did manage to round up some more walleye but

nothing over 17".  We did break in our new JTX Mag Med-LT Custom rods with 2 PB's!

 

Tina with her PB Smallie!  4.5lb

 

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And me with my PB Pike 38.5" AWESOME!!! 

 

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And finnally Tango likes to help me detect the light walleye bite! She spent the week perched just like this watching for fish HAHA!

 

"<ahttps://ly8icq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mzoxxtoNDcrCjeXnTRXP5P1307rIjgDxQnf7iHIIl_xF35SPSsyHmK667bKOaURefGLTpWKk3szOjreUdDfCNfqlNsUQOvYzORb7JrEaB5L65LEsEw9X7Nj6tVBLC1kgbFj-ka7y-1bVdJEFFvscLOj6spExJXoAtONrI50WrfWU?width=888&height=500&cropmode=none" width="888" height="500" />

 

Last one is for Tango!

"<ahttps://ly8jcq-dm2306.files.1drv.com/y3mePO9s0CzKICLzGyBAHX9x7A06lTaOZzd3s4xk25bogmRPPtpSa0uS92dKcIzD8P4m0vizf1U8UGX2iwUa91tO8uMym2Td2kLkzewGVgeaeZRE3igdqL5LJ_ZO_Yj17YePjfLoK7yNoth1hdKMpjzsPtQKr_enyCczRMI1r6kkH8?width=618&height=640&cropmode=none" width="618" height="640" />

 

 

Hope you enjoyed!

 

Edited by RangerGuy
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Man! I wish I knew to ask about that! Would have loved to hear about those stories hehe!

 

Your close to Rainy? You lucky man!!!

 

Wish I knew a fellow OFC'r was close! I totally would have met up :)

 

Oh and yes, I think I found my dream boat! Once my garage is built I will be working

towards get'n into a WX2190 with that yammie!!!

 

We ran 45 mins 1 way and burned 1/2 tank gas (20 gallons roughly) , incredible for a boat that size and wieght.

Edited by RangerGuy
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Man! I wish I knew to ask about that! Would have loved to hear about those stories hehe!

 

Your close to Rainy? You lucky man!!!

 

Wish I knew a fellow OFC'r was close! I totally would have met up :)

Im from international falls dood. Lived my childhood in fort frances. No im in emo smack dab between LOTWs and Rainy lake. Ive fished both all my life(I love these waters)

 

Im 40 minutes from NW bay rainy lake(retarded fishery)

 

I also fish porters inlet alot and black sturgeon.

 

Rainy is just rediculously good fishing year round.

 

Ive guided the lidners here a few times.

 

Chris has a chip on his shoulder. He was telling me two years ago ice fishing NW bay. Pros wrecking his gear, rehooking fish for pics etc. And if ya know chris he friggen hates it.

 

Hes a funny guy, and one heck of an angler.

 

FYI my cousin owns camp narrows way up on the north arm of rainy. And one of my best friends own rainy lake houseboats right by the thunderbird lodge

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Awesome report! I love the walleye pix! Thanx for posting. Too bad you didn't hook up with Rick. I was fortunate enough to meet him in June while I was in the area working. That area is an awesome fish factory. I spent a week in Ear Falls before returning home - non stop action!!

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Hey everyone,

 

Thank you for all the comments! Would I brave that drive again absolutely! I got the feeling this was a slow week from talking to a few guys, with the bait moving and the walleye scattering but honestly I did not feel like we had slow fishing.

 

I have been so busy training my retrievers the last few years, We stepped back from fishing to only on long weekends if there was no trial to compete in and during duck season no fishing at all until December once or twice on Quinte.

 

I miss it, it`s in my blood! When I`m training my dogs, I`m wondering how the walleye are biting on Nip, when I`m sitting in the duck blind I`m wonder how the walleye are biting..

 

To be honest our duck hunting as been dismal the last few years, my public spots have dried up for some reason and I am having a hard time dragging my butt out at 2:30 am to drive 1.5 hrs to watch the sun rise and promise my dog the birds are coming LOL!.

 

Rick I think we should fish together up your way for sure!

 

Would it not be great to put a group of people together, have everybody meet up there, just throwing it out there! :)

Edited by RangerGuy
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