Rainy River & Lake of the Woods South Shore
Fishing Report 4-25-2012
It’s Sturgeon Time! Limited Time Only! Only 20 days left! Don’t miss out!
Check out this picture of one of the healthy sized ones caught recently. Riley Tarsi guided by Captain Keith reeled in and released a nice 61 inch sturgeon this past weekend.
Check out this entertaining video of the sturgeon action Jake & Aaron from Bemidji Outdoors had recently.
The details…..
Areas from one mile up river from the lodge through Four Mile Bay have been producing some nice sturgeon. Quite a few are being caught right out in front of the lodge. It is a blast watching from our front window these prehistoric monsters being caught daily. The water temperature has come up a little bit over the past week; we are sitting around 45 degrees right now, typical for this time of year. Even though it was a early spring the weather the past few weeks overall has been quite cool keeping the temperature water low.
The depth to hook into one of these monsters is all over the board really 16′, 21′ and 40′. Depth doesn’t seem to be the biggest factor, than finding a hole in the river bottom is. Sitting at the edge of a hole so the current will pull your hook into the hole where the sturgeon lurk seems to be a successful approach. If after a half hour or so you are not getting anything adjust your anchor by moving closer or further away, even sometimes 3 feet can make all of the difference. Once you hook into a good one you better have ate your Wheaties, they will fight you for it, sometimes up to 1-2 hours. Size 5-6 circle hooks and a 2 oz no roll weight works best tipped with night crawlers work best to lure them in. Only 20 days left of the spring season, April 24-May 7 you can harvest one within size limits if you purchase a sturgeon tag (only $5) along with your Minnesota fishing license and May 8-15 you can catch and release before the season ends for a month and half time reopening July 1 again. We anticipate the bite to be good right through to the end of the season. We still have some openings for lodging, camping and guided trips too! Give us a call! 800-862-8602 or contact us online here.
Check out the recent article in the St. Cloud Times more about the phenomenal sturgeon we have here. According to local DNR Large Lake Specialist, Tom Heinrich, in his estimation Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River has one of the largest sturgeon populations in the country!
Read all about it here….
Pike Bite
The best pike bite continues to be in the Zippel Bay & Four Mile Bay area lately. Anchored with dead bait has been best.
6th Annual Sturgeon Tournament is next weekend!
May 4 & 5 is our annual sturgeon tournament. One boat spot remains available. Give us a call to book your spot. Entry fee is only $70 per person and includes a prime rib awards banquet dinner. Live Entertainment and prizes up to $4800 in mostly cash will be given away over the two days. Always a great time!