The Rainy River is now ice-free and we have begun fishing out of boats once again. With water temps in the low to mid 30’s and clarity still pretty bad, I have put the walleyes on the back burner. However, those pursuing walleyes are finding some scattered up and down the river. If you put in a lot of time, do your homework, and cover a lot of water, it can be done. But I would highly suggest looking towards spring sturgeon fishing.
While looking for sturgeon I will search on my GPS for deeper holes or flats, and idle over them while watching my Humminbird, hoping to find big marks hugging the bottom. Once I have found some fish I will go up river about 50 yards and anchor. I then throw my sturgeon rig back towards where I graphed the fish. My sturgeon set up consists of a 4-ounce flat weight, a heavy swivel, and a 40 LB mono leader tied to a 5/0 octopus hook. I have this set-up tied to a heavier musky style rod with a combination of night crawlers and frozen shiners baited on the hook.
When I am set to fish I toss my rig back and tighten up my line, then I set my rod in a holder. Even though these fish can get quite big, the bite can be very subtle. It is important to pay attention to your rod tip and line; any change could be a bite. When I think I may have something I check for weight, and if there happens to be some, the fight is on. These fish are some most powerful and prehistoric fish we can find in freshwater. I highly recommend you venture out on the Rainy River at some point this spring and give this species a try!
Tight Lines,
Matt Newell
Team Yukon Outdoors
