On the south end…  Some good walleye fishing this week.  As many summer weeks, it was helpful to be versatile.  On the big lake, sometimes you have to play the wind, meaning, you have to be flexible where you fish.

The fish were there and some great catches this week.  Most fishing in 25-33 feet.  Some are still jigging.  Frozen shiners and leeches were both good this week.  With water temps in the mid to upper 60’s, leeches and crawlers will heat up.

Spinners (otherwise called harnesses) with minnows, leeches or crawlers were all effective this week.  It is good to mix up colors and bait until you find the right mix.  Gold, glow, pink, orange, chartreuse or a combo of them are good colors in stained water.

More and more anglers trolling crankbaits with success.  Some have been trolling cranks since the opener but it seems most anglers wait till the water warms.  A great method to cover water and find cooperative fish.

On the Rainy River…   Some good summer fishing reports from the river.  Walleyes being caught jigging, pulling spinners and trolling crankbaits.  Current breaks and holes holding most fish.

Smallmouth bass in rocky areas, current breaks, bridge embankments and weed edges.  Lots of bass in the river.  Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and tube jigs are good lures to start with.

Pike are adjacent to weedlines, in slack water areas and in bays.  Working shorelines whether trolling or casting will normally produce nice fish.

Sturgeon anglers, mark your calendars, sturgeon season opens again July 1st.

Up at the NW Angle…  Walleye fishing continues to be strong up at the Angle.  Fish coming from literally 5-33′ of water.  Not every walleye is keying on the same food sources.  With structure, rocks, and mud, lots of variety at the Angle.  Jigging, spinners and cranks all producing.

Muskie season opens Saturday, June 19th.  Lots of nice fish already caught unintentionally as these predators like to eat.  Muskie anglers were forced to fish MN waters last year with the border closure were happily surprised with the size and quantity of fish on the MN side.  This year should be good.

Pike hanging out in weedy bays.  Smallmouth relating to rocky points and reefs.

With the Canada border still closed, there are many ways to get up to the Angle.

1.  The LOW Passenger Service, charter boat shuttle service from the south end, is open and running.  2.  If you have the right boat and expertise, boating across is an option.  3.  And finally, Lake Country Air flying service, a float plane service out of Baudette and other locations.

On the south end…  What a beautiful opener.  Lots of fish were caught despite the beautiful weather being sunny and calm!  No complaints.

As predicted, the go to bait for walleyes and saugers was a jig and frozen shiner vertically jigged in 14-20 feet of water.  Many caught limits and most caught walleyes for a hearty fish fry.  A healthy mix of small fish, eaters, slots and trophies reported.

Jig colors, gold, orange, glow, pink, chartreuse or a combo of these colors.

Some reported trolling crankbaits for the opener with success.  Crankbaits trolled slowly, 1.5 – 2.0 mph this time of year can really put a lot of fish in the boat.

Plenty of pike made an appearance this weekend for walleye anglers with fish of all sizes boated.  Amazing how these fish love a jig and minnow while walleye fishing.

On the Rainy River…   Some nice walleyes caught in the river this weekend.  Between the fish left over from the spawn and the fish making the Rainy River their home, good fish were boated.  There are 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale to fish.

Sturgeon season is closed until the harvest season opens up again on 7/1/21 – 9/30/21.

Up at the NW Angle…  Beautiful weekend up at the Angle.  Some commented in the morning everywhere they stopped, they caught fish.  The go to presentation was a jig and a minnow.  Some actually did well on crawlers already.  Besides small fish and nice eaters, a lot of walleyes 20-24 inches made for good photos.

The walleye limit on the MN side of LOW and Rainy River is a combined limit of six walleyes and saugers, with up to four being walleyes.  The protected slot is 19.5 – 28.0 inches must be released.  Anglers can keep one walleye over 28 inches.

With the Canada border still closed, there are many ways to get up to the Angle.  The LOW Passenger Service, charter boat shuttle service from the south end, is open and running.  If you have the right boat and expertise, boating across is an option.  And finally, Lake Country Air flying service, a float plane service out of Baudette and other locations.

On the south end…  Pike anglers catching fish in back bays. Deadbait on a quick strike rig under a bobber, spoons, spinnerbaits and crankbaits are the go to presentations.  The pike season is open year-round on LOW and the Rainy River.

The pike limit is 3 fish per day, 30-40 inches must be released, one over 40″ allowed.  Most practice catch and release with a nice photo on big fish, and there are a lot of big pike being caught.

On the Rainy River…   Sturgeon anglers looking to keep a sturgeon have through May 7th.  After that catch and release kicks in again.  Catch and release 5/8/21 – 5/15/21.  Closed 5/16/21 – 6/30/21.  Harvest season, 7/1/21 – 9/30/21.

A 3-5 ounce no-roll sinker combined with a sturgeon rig (18″ snell of 60 lb test with a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook) with a glob of crawlers, frozen emerald shiners or both is the most common setup.

Good numbers of fish, all size ranges, being caught.  Sturgeon have been active.

Up at the NW Angle…  A few anglers fishing pike in back bays but most looking forward to the May 15th fishing opener.  The go to walleye spots come the opener will be shoreline and island structure and underwater points.  The technique, a jig and a minnow!

With the Canada border still closed, there are many ways to get up to the Angle.  The LOW Passenger Service, charter boat shuttle service from the south end, is open and running.  If you have the right boat and expertise, boating across is an option.  And finally, Lake Country Air flying service, a float plane service out of Baudette and other locations.