Ice out made for change of locations this year for some of our long term guests, the results were great! On Sunday I was helping one of our houseboats get to Seine Bay skirting the ice along the way. ( Pictures on last blog post). Monday I was fishing with the Welsch party, (true Blackhawk […]
Read MoreAuthor: Billy Dougherty
Ice is Out!
I went up to Seine Bay Saturday afternoon May 17th and got to Pine Point. The ice had choked off any opportunity to get into Seine Bay. One boat was stuck out in the ice after getting through in the morning. It took them over an hour to finally get through. My friend Stuart Milette has a […]
Read MoreIce Out Update 6:00 PM May 13 2014
Ice made fair amount of progress at 5:00 Pm today. The picture on the left is taken from the Dryweed Island South houseboat mooring site. Ice was gone about a mile and one half east of Bushy head Island. ice is moving south east with the northwest wind. winds are supposed to blow 10-15 mph […]
Read MoreRainy Lake’s fish Masses Planning a Shallow Water Invasion
Billy Dougherty with Memorial Day Walleye! 2014’s nasty winter has passed and spring is here. Ice out will be during the week of May 12th. Guess what? Rainy Lake’s fish population has planned a shallow water invasion. The move to shallow water will peak from Memorial Day weekend way into June. Mark my words spring is on […]
Read MoreIce Conditions May 5, 2014
This is Jack Fish Bay about 9:00 AM this morning . Northern Pike were cruising in the pencil reeds and along the cattail edges. We have a forecast this week that has temperatures in the mid fifties to low sixty degree temperatures, with mid week heavy rains. The pond at Rainy Lake Houseboats was totally open […]
Read MoreIce Conditions April 29, 2014
Spring is in full force at Rainy Lake. This picture shows the pond at Rainy Lake One Stop. It is not Rainy Lake but gives us a barometer to give you an idea of when the ice will be out. When the pond is ice free historically Rainy Lake is ice free ten days later. […]
Read MoreArtificial Lures Can Provide Many Memories if Fished Properly
Norm Westerhold’s favorite comment before many of his casts was “here’s dinner!”. Norm never ceased to amaze me. I have never seen anyone that could fish a #3 Mepps Aglia spinner, either gold (sunny) silver for (cloudy) like him. Smallmouth bass, walleyes, northern pike all eat the Mepps like no tomorrow. Norm had an […]
Read MoreJune Fishing Explodes for Good Reason!
Why does June fishing still excite me after forty seven years of guiding? June is the culmination of a series of phases that walleyes, smallmouth bass, northern pike and crappies go through every year. The phases are pre spawn, spawn, post spawn, pre summer, and peak summer fishing. Pre spawn starts in early May continuing until each species […]
Read MoreMinneapolis 2014 Northwest Sport Show March 26-30
Our final sport show of the year begins on Wednesday. Tom and his son Andy will be there representing Rainy Lake Houseboats. We have a twenty-foot-wide booth that will make it easy to stop in and say hello or talk about this year’s houseboat trip. It has been an old fashioned winter this […]
Read MoreSigns of Spring are Here
Nick Sears March 17, 2014 Every year one of the truest signs that spring is on the way are the northern pike moving through the flats in front of the spawning bays. Their annual pilgrimage has began in earnest. Big pike are moving each day and they are being caught with ciscoes on quick […]
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