Sturgeon on the rainy

[fishuhalik]

For the last few years i've been dying to get up and do a sturgeon fishing trip, but this year i'm leaving for boot camp beginning of april. I was just wondering if the fishing's any good late march, or if it doesn't start till later

[DTro]

I don't think you can legally fish for them in March. Let me check here....

[DTro]

Sorry, Oct 31-April 23rd is catch and release only. For some reason I thought the C&R season started in April.

So yeah as long as you can get a boat out, you will find Sturgeon. A lot of the walleye guys catch them in Late March/Early April

[fishuhalik]

Good news! I would like to go on a sturgeon-only trip, but with the quality of walleye fishing up there in the spring, i wouldn't mind having to "settle" with some huge walleyes.

[Roman_K]

I would love to do some sturgeon fishing on the rainy this year. I am absolutely addicted after catching them on the croix last year. Now I want to catch one of those sumo's I see in pictures from the rainy. Looking for some tips on catching them up there, where to launch? What to use? Any advice would be really helpful.

[fishuhalik]

Just outta curiousity, anyone on here wanna make a trip up mid-march?

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Won't there be ice in mid-March covering the whole river or no?

[fishuhalik]

sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's kinda of a carpshoot

[Sturg]

It depends on the spring thaw. The last two years at the sturgeon excursion the ice went out a day or two before April 18-20th at the mouth of the Rainy. Two years ago there was still ice in front of Schusters on Friday night of the excursion. It rained overnight and the ice cleared-out to Lake of the Woods. There is about 60 miles of river between International Falls and Baudette. Some of it will probably be open in late March. The upper river is much different from the mouth area but there are sturgeon everywhere on the river. Just watch the walleye posts in March to see which portion of the river is open and which launch sites are working. Good luck!

[traveler]

the boat traffic drops dramatically after the april 15 walleye closure. I love walleyes, but it's such a hassle at those landings that I've been waiting till after the 15th the last couple years and just go to target the sturge.

[Tim_Anderson]

For about the past 10 years I've really been exploring the Rainy for sturgies. And I fish the walleyes pretty hard as well. I have caught the sturgies up below the Dam in I-Falls. Have caught them down near the Pelland landing as well. In both cases (on a typical year) you should be able to fish them there sometime in mid to late March.

I remember one year, I think 2000(?) when the entire Rainy was open in mid to late March. It was a tremendous spring for walleye fishing (and sturgies), but the river did go muddy, and was worthless fishing before the walleye season ever ended.

For the past few years, Birchdale has opened right in the first few days of April. The Frontier Access usually opens 4-6 days after that. Then the Vidas access. Eventually, it works it's way down to the mouth, which can be great fishing as well. I know a bunch of the guys from this site did really well out in the mouth after the walleye season.

Timing is everything. For the river, it's great until it goes muddy. Then the mouth is great until it goes muddy. Once it clears, it is good again, but the sturgies are more spread out by then/less concentrated. Late in the season, it is more typical for a couple of guys to catch 10 or 15 fish a day (or less). Early in the season, we often catch that many in an hour or two. But then, you have to be willing to deal with the walleye crowd!

I'll be guiding up there as soon as the river opens, and as much as I can thereafter. My goal is to get one over 100# this year!

Good luck, and let me know if I can help.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Tim, do you find that the muddiness affect the sturgeon as well as the walleyes?

[Tim_Anderson]

For sure. A certain level of muddiness is ok, but once visibility goes to zero and the debris starts rolling along the bottom,it's usually over with (set-up gets fouled before the fish finds it).

Problem is, that often happens overnight instead of gradually. When that happens in the river, I usually run for the lake, and can usually buy some time there before it hits. After that, I wait for everything to clear. Last year was a pretty good one. Nice, slow, sustained melt. The muddiness was really kept to a minimum. One can only hope for the same this year.

[fishuhalik]

Thanks for the replies tim. I remember your posts from last year, very impressive! If you were only able to for one long weekend, what weekend would you go? I know it varies from year to year, but historically what's the best weekend for sturgies only? It looks like i'm not leaving for boot camp till end of april now, so i've got the entire prime time open.

[Tim_Anderson]

I would go the first or second weekend in April. Like I said, the fish are much more concentrated, and the action can be fast and furious. There are tons of walleye fishermen up there, and that is honestly a hassle, but to me it is worth it. I've been going up for lots of years now, and the crowd is just part of the deal. Actually, I kind of enjoy it. Lots of fishing comraderie. People helping one another at the landings and on the river. Lots of time to sit around and shoot the breeze with folks. I like talking and laughing with the boat next to me. Just about everybody up there is just so happy to be out fishing in the boat again!

By crowds I mean that you could spend 2-3 hours a day waiting in line to get your boat in and out of the river.

Some people really hate the crowds. Kind of like no amount of good fishing is worth THAT. If crowds could make or break your trip, I'd go later, but then the mud can mess with you. Every spring is different, so when to do that is a hard call. Maybe plan for the third weekend, and then really watch the fishing reports on here to keep track of the river conditions.

If you see me up there, stop and say "HI". I'll be in a green/gold Ranger 620.

[fishuhalik]

I'll definitely keep my open for ya!

[jwmiller33]

what makes the water get muddy?

[snowman678]

what makes the water get muddy?

Runoff from the snow melting.

[Silver Scale]

It can get real muddy with lots of debri when the Little and Big Fork rivers have there ice going out.

[PierBridge]

If a guy were to go Mid-Week during the Walleye rush would that help on the Boat-Launch congestion or is it still a Zoo no matter which days you are up there.

Thanks Pier!

[uppdacreek]

From what I heard last year, it doesn't matter when you are there, it is always packed. My only suggestion would to be show up EARLY EARLY EARLY. I heard reports of 2 mile walks to get back to the launch!

[Tim_Anderson]

Either that or you could just anchor up and spend the night in your boat...

[fiskyknut]

Pierbridge.. Those big crowds of terrorists are much thinner on Tues, wed, and Thursdays. Iffin you can you should avoid the weekend masses as it's much nicer on the river mid-week!!

fiskyknut

[PierBridge]

Cool guys and Thanks Much!