Tips for Your 2023 Fishing Excursion
Certain fish are more abundant during different times of the year, and depending on the month, are more concentrated in certain areas. If you’ve booked a houseboat and a Rainy Lake fishing trip in June, you can find Northerns in shallow bays, reed beds, rock piles and areas where there are plenty of walleye and crappie. If you come in September, you can find walleye near sunken islands, reefs, and mud flats. No matter what, we have tips and tricks you can use from May to September.
Take a look at our 2023 fishing calendar below to make sure your Rainy Lake fishing outing and houseboat excursion align with your trip. We’ve also included some Rainy Lake fishing tips and tricks on which bait to use depending on what type of fish you’re looking to catch and the season of your visit.
A MN Fishing Calendar: 2023
Northern
Baits: Johnson Silver Minnow, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Mepps Spinners, Stickbaits, jigs, bucktails, Daredevils, Jerkbaits Steel leaders.
14 lbs. monofilament or 20 lbs. super line.
Shallow bays, points in shallow bays, reed beds, neck down areas, rock piles, and the area walleye and crappie are using.
Shallow bays, points in shallow bays, reed beds, neck down areas, rock piles, and the area walleye and crappie are using. Rock piles outside of spawning bays close to deep water.
Cabbage beds, standing reeds, points on outside of bays on main lake, sunken islands and reefs, current and river areas.
Cabbage beds, standing reeds, points on outside of bays on main lake, sunken islands and reefs, current and river areas, beaver houses.
Cabbage beds, points, rock piles, and sunken islands.
Walleye
Baits: Jigs – 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2; Lindy rigs 48-72 inch snells 1/4-3/4 oz.; Plastics 3″ and 4″ tails both scented and non in smelt, chartreuse colors. Hammered gold spinners and crawler harnesses, stick baits, Rattlin Rogue, Rapala, slip bobbers.
6 lbs. monofilament
Shallow bays 3-8 ft., 30-48 ft.; break lines outside spawning bays, current areas in narrows and rivers. Jig and minnow, Lindy Rigs, artificial stick baits.
Shallow bays 3-8 ft.; break lines 10-20ft. Points, shallow reefs, Crawler harness, Lindy Rig with leech, stick baits, scented plastics on a jig, jig and minnow.
Shallow bays 6-10 ft. along weed lines, spinner and minnow or crawler harness points 15-25 ft., reefs 10-30 ft., lindy and leech, jig and minnow, bottom bouncers with spinner or crawler harness.
Sunken islands, reefs and mud flats 25-48 ft. Leeches, minnows, crawlers and Lindy's or jig and minnow, current area in narrows of rivers.
Sunken islands, reefs and mud flats 25-48 ft. Leeches, minnows, crawlers and Lindy's or jig and minnow, current area in narrows or rivers, current can be spectacular.
Smallmouth
Baits: #3 Mepps, Beetle spins, Tiny Torpedo, Tube Jigs, Jigs with 3″ and 4″ plastic tails, Hair Jigs, Rattle Traps, Shad Raps, Stick Baits, Chug Bugs, Pop “R”, Skitter Pops, Skitter Props, Spinner baits, Buzz Baits.
8 lbs. monofilament
Large spawning bays; concentrate on the points and gravel rocky shoreline. Jerk baits, plastic, #3 Mepps, Vibrax spinner.
Similar to May, but they move to the gravel, sand, and rocky areas to spawn. They remain after the spawn, topwater, Mepps, Shad Rap, spinner baits, 3" and 4" plastic tubes and tails.
Rocky boulder strewn points, cabbage beds, islands, underwater points, topwater, Mepps, Shad Rap, spinnerbaits, 3" and 4" plastic tubes and tails.
Rocky boulder strewn points, cabbage beds, islands, underwater points, topwater, Mepps, Shad Rap, spinnerbaits, 3" and 4" plastic tubes and tails.
Points with access to deep water, islands, underwater bars protruding into deepwater, rocky points and reefs in the bays.
Crappie
Baits: 1/16, 1/8 oz. jig heads; tube jigs, twister tails, road runners, bobbers, slip bobbers.
4-6 lbs. monofilement
Black Bay, water temp 60-70 degrees, reed beds, rock piles both exposed and sunken. 1/16 jig tipped with minnow, tun jigs on bobbers set at 1-1/2 to 2 ft.
Black Bay, early June same as May. Once spawning is over, look for cabbage beds, reed beds, structure such as sunken trees in the Rat Root River, crappie cribs in Black Bay.
Cabbage beds, reed beds, structures such as sunken trees in the Rat Root River, crappie cribs in Black Bay.
Cabbage beds, reed beds, structures such as sunken trees in the Rat Root River. Crappie cribs in Black Bay, towards the end of month they will move to deep water by Dryweed and Grindstone Islands.
Break lines on the north side of Grindstone Island 20-35 ft. Grindstone to Dryweed break line 20-35 ft.
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