Wes from Cabela’s brought outdoor journalist Mike Pehanich founder and publisher of Smallwatersfishing.com, Steve Quinn Editor Infisherman Magazine, and Gary Lewis Author, Speaker, TV Host from Bend Oregon.
We had breakfast underway on our way to the Brule Cove mooring site. We loaded up our Lund Pro V’s and headed out to explore Rainy Lake. We planned on targeting walleyes and smallmouth bass on the Minnesota waters in Voyageurs national Park.
Jon and I fished reefs about a ½ mile apart from one another. Walleyes were schooled fairly heavy in 22-24 feet of water. There was very little wind. I put ¼ oz. gold Vegas jigs on Steve’s and Mikes lines. We tipped them with ½ a night crawler. It did not take long to start scoring. We caught many 20-24” fish; Steve caught a 24 ½ and 24” walleye. We kept several for a walleye dinner. Mike is also a senior writer for Bass Master Magazine; I knew he was itching to catch some of Rainy Lakes famous smallmouth bass!
I had an area that I thought would be good, a long extending point with current flowing, almost like a wing dam. Mike was rigged with a Shaky Worm with a 3/32 jig head. Steve had a chartreuse grub with a willow leaf blade. Mike cast to the downstream side on the tip of the point. You could see the current breaking on the point. He did not get two shakes in when the smallie nailed it. First bass was a very respectable 20” fish. We continued down the point which turned into a big table area about five feet deep with boulders and weed growth. We had frantic action for almost an hour.
Jon fished a different area farter east down he lake. Gary likes to cast a fly rod. Jon worked down a wall strewn with boulders. The smallmouth were hiding alongside, in front, or in back of every boulder, on full assault, Gary had constant action on popping bugs.
On Wednesday morning Steve and Mike and I decided to cast easterly facing points in shallow water with tubes, jerk baits, Souls Shads and Shaky worms. A 3 1/2 pound plus bass followed the northern in and just sat underneath the pike. All of the fish were caught on the back hook, which I do not think is good. It means the fish are in a neutral to negative mood. Steve and Mike wanted to switch up gears and fish for walleyes on the humps. Wes, Gary, and Jon met us and we switched people around also. Wes joined Steve and I for the afternoon.
I have been fishing submerged islands strewn with boulders. The walleyes are holding next to these boulders or boulder piles from 15-22 feet. They are snaggy and difficult to fish with snells and walking sinkers. It did not take long to find the first school of walleyes. I don’t know who had the hotter tick Steve or Wes, but I do know this; I could have received a reasonable amount of money for gold ¼ oz. Vegas Jigs made by Northland Fishing Tackle. Tipped with a leech walleyes had no chance. The walleye dinner on the Chairman II would be out of site tonight!
Walleyes started to swim higher off of the bottom making it harder to catch them with jigs. I went to the double screen mode on my 1197 Hummingbird. We were now in 28 ft. of water. By hitting my left scroll button I moved the cursor over to the fish being zoomed in at 4X. The fish was 3 feet off the bottom at 25 feet. I grabbed my slip bobber rod and set it up so the float would hold it four feet off the bottom. I tipped with a leech, tossed it out, once the line went all the way to the bobber stop the float stated up for three seconds, and walleye on!
The picture below shows Steve’s jig going down on the left literally landing on a walleyes nose and on the right the walleye and jig coming up after Steve’s hook set!
Wes wanted to troll for pike before the day ended. We set up with a black and gold prism patterned Jake and a shad colored Depth Raider. The depth Raider was hot. Wes caught three pike and the Jake struck out.
Jon took Wes and Gary to try their luck the same way but came up with different results. Gary no sooner had his black and silver Storm Flat Stick out when he got hit hard at 3.5 mph. No pike but a dandy 25 ½ walleye. Jon moved them about two miles and started again and whack a dandy 28” fatter than fat walleye on the Flat Stick again. Time to go back to the Chairman II for a panko bread crumb coated walleye dinner!
Our last day began with more of Rainy Lake’s fabulous walleye fishing. Gary like the panko walleye so much that he wanted to catch four to take home to Bend, Oregon. After another great session we all went casting for bass and whatever other creatures wanted to strike. Wes, Steve, Gary and Mike closed out their stay with a New York Strip Steak dinner cruise on the way back to Rainy Lake Houseboats.