This morning, a steady stream of bass fishermen made their way to Rainy Lake from the Sorting Gap Marina.
First on their minds has been the run up through the rapids and the climb of water under the lift bridge at Ranier. That wall of water has made more than one fisherman wonder at how much water is leaving Rainy Lake.
In pre-fishing, some anglers have totalled five fish limits exceeding 20 pounds while others have been stumped to find a single weighing fish.
Today’s break in the weather—with dropping temperatures and a strong northwest wind—promised to change fishing patterns again. The previous 10 days of bright sunny weather, and still surface water, had proven difficult.
This change reflects much more accurately the traditional wind patterns found on Rainy Lake. Anglers will be looking to match previous years fishing patterns to today’s weather.
Mike Shultz and Larry Hullett were talking yesterday evening that tournament fishermen have made Rainy Lake a much smaller lake than in the first years.
As Shultz noted, his holes were located in Northeast Bay and north of Cherry Island the first couple of years of the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and in the days of fishing those tournaments, he seldom ever saw a boat.
Today, anglers are reaching into every nook and cranny in the 270,000 acre lake to find fish—and being alone in an area has disappeared.
And while the lake seems to be getting smaller, the fishermen also are expanding their methods of fishing.
During yesterday’s Kid-Pro tourney, for instance, Jimmy Klick, who fishes the Professional Walleye Trail, experimented with planer boards and deep water trolling using deep-diving Shad Raps.
Others were using a finesse technique trolling and bouncing small jigs baited with small grubs along the bottom. Traditional jerk, spinner bait, and soft plastic presentations continued to dominate the practice fishing.
