Rainy Lake Houseboats

Open water is on the horizon on Rainy Lake. I am going to write some how to’s to help your fishing on Rainy Lake. Both live and artificial bait are very good presentations. I love to fish plastics; they work extremely well during spring and throughout the summer months.

I will discuss Northland Tackles new Impulse Swim’n Grubs. They are a new scent impregnated plastic grub that comes in 2”, 3” and 4” lengths. Scented plastics have been around for a few years, the Impulse series blows Gulp and other scented products out of the water. I had the opportunity to test these grubs and other offerings in the Impulse series during August 2011. Normally warm water times are not as effective as cold water for scented plastics. Impulse’s claim is fish hold the bait much longer than the other leading brands. It is absolutely true in my book. I would feel strikes, not set the hook, wait five seconds and then reel up slack and the fish would still be there. The other huge advantage is the excellent action and durability; I caught many fish on one single grub.

I love to cast grubs into shallow structure, big points, small points, inside turns, beside boulders or any cover that fish can ambush from. Polarized glasses are a must; they are the cheapest depth finder you will ever find. Seeing the structure is the most important factor when casting artificial baits. I like amber colored lenses. You will see where the brown colored water changes to darker or blue colored. After awhile you will see the subtle changes in water color enabling you to see the underwater extensions, inside turns, weeds, boulders, off shore reefs that are huge fish attractors. Polarized sunglasses cost as little as $15 on up to the big bucked glasses, they all work! Don’t leave home without them.

Below is a summer craw Swim’n grub, Gumball Jig on left, Vegas jig below, and Eye-Ball Jig on right. I am not particular about jig head color. One thing I know for sure plain lead color will never hurt you.

I use three main jig heads when fishing grubs; all Northland jigs; Slurp Jig Heads, Gum-Ball Jigs, Eye-Ball Jigs and Vegas Jigs. They all have bait keeper barbs on the hook shank. I really like the wire bait keepers. When I am fishing 2-6 feet of water I use 6 lbs. test monofilament and a 1’8 oz. jig head. Grubs don’t need a lot of action. You can straight reel them reel at a pace that lets the jig get down in the water column. At the beginning keep your rod tip pointed to 11:00 on a clock face, as you see your line approach the darker water lower your rod tip and slow your retrieve. Expect to get snagged in the beginning; adjust your retrieve accordingly. If the water deepens quicker or the point or rocks break sharply I go to a ¼ oz. jig and often switch to an 8 or 10 lbs. test mono line. The jig falls slower with the heavier line but lets you penetrate the deeper breaks.

Other excellent techniques to try is sharp short sideway jerks with your Impulse Swim’n Grub. The jig will fall when your jerk ends; this is when the fish often strike, I use this action all the way back to the boat. You can be the judge on how fast to reel, I keep my hand off of the reel handle during the jerk and just spin the handle a few turns to pick up the slack then jerk again. Practice makes perfect. Instead of jerking you can use a rise and fall action by lifting rod tip then dropping during your retrieve. Remember it is not a race to get the jig back to the boat. You will figure this out; you should get snagged once in awhile if you don’t you are reeling to fast. I like to lift with the rod tip, let it drop and then pick up the slack and lift again.