Rainy River Spring Fever

Ice Fishing is still in full effect, and many guys are catching fish all over North Dakota and Minnesota, but with the winter dragging on and hopefully coming to an end, many fisherman are starting to think about putting away the ice fishing gear and pulling out the spring and summer gear.

I personally get excited for the annual spring fishing trip to the Rainy River. This is a river that is connected to Lake of the Woods, which is partially in Minnesota, and mostly in Canada. This is one of the first places that you can get a boat in the spring. Due to the fast currents, the ice melts faster on the Rainy River than on regular lakes. This makes for a big event because all of the guys who have “spring fever” and are somewhat
close to this area fish the Rainy in the spring.

Half of the river is considered Canadian water, and the other half is the United States of Americas. Its a little tricky knowing where the imaginary border is, but regardless of what side your on, catching your limit of walleyes is not very hard in the spring on the Rainy River.

This is a very popular event, and there are hundreds of boats waiting at the boat access to get on the water and fish. Some people to avoid the lines, drag their boat across solid ice until they reach the water and drop their boats in this way. This is dangerous, and I don’t suggest it, but it is a common practice.

The walleyes bite like crazy. You’ll need heavy jigs, ranging from a 1/2 ounce to an ounce, so that you can get it down to the bottom in the current. In the spring, you use shiner minnows and heavy jigs, and that’s all it takes. You don’t even have to cast. You just drop your jig to the bottom right next to your boat and do what we call in the outdoors world “vertical jigging.” Lift it off the bottom a couple inches and then drop it to the bottom. Repeat this over and over until you feel something bite or pull.

This is a blast, because all fish in the spring, have to fatten up so they have the energy to spawn. Spawning is where the females lay their eggs, and the males come by and add their mix to the party. This takes energy, and energy equals eating up everything in sight the month prior to spawn. This also equals loads of fisherman capitalizing on this and fishing as often as possible during this time.

Like I said, this is a very popular event. Most hotels are booked up months in advance, but this doesn’t stop the most avid outdoorsman from sleeping in their trucks. Because it is usually still chilly outside, this isn’t the most comfortable fishing trip of the year, but it is definitely one of the most anticipated due to the fact that guys like me are getting a little sick of ice fishing and are ready to knock the cobwebs off the long poles.

So, whether you are an avid fisherman or a newbie beginner, if you can get yourself up to the Rainy River this spring and get yourself in a boat, you will surely catch some delicious walleye.