Winter
has definitely settled in on Rainy Lake.
A normal old-fashioned winter has taken hold. Unlike the rest of
Minnesota we have snow and and plenty of it. Snowmobiling is excellent on both the
groomed lake and land trails.
Ice
is as good as it has been in some time.
We have had some temperatures that have been a little on the extreme
side -46 this past Saturday morning. The temp actually rose to +3 by noon.
What
does all this mean to you as far as spring and summer goes? Rainy Lake should have a more normal ice out
than 2010 and 2012. Both were set records as the earliest ice outs on record.
Rainy Lake will be much more like it is supposed to be. Normal water flows from
the incoming rivers and feeding watersheds. Ice out should occur in the normal range
in late April or early May.
In flow from Namakan Lake into Rainy Lake at Kettle Falls
During
a normal year the fish movements are much more predictable. The current flows
through almost all of the bays on Rainy Lake. It is not always noticeable (more
so with light winds) but it has an effect never the less. Certain areas of the bays warm quicker than
others. Sometimes you move to the shore with the wind blowing in and the temp
is cooler. How so? The wind moves surface the fastest warming shoreline water
on the windy side. Current tends to move all the water slowly but at the same
time cooling the warmer water driven by wind. Smallmouth can be very affected by the wind
and current actions, mostly positively.
When
the smallies nest in a bay you will find them in certain areas fanning beds. A
week later in a different area there are new beds with smallies on them. All
that has happened is a area with slow moving current has warmed sufficiently to
stimulate the smallies to spawn. This is one of the reasons you see beds in the
same place year after year.
Nesting
conditions for ducks, geese, loons, and swans are much better. Early ice-outs
usually mean low water; normal ice out is usually an indicator of normal water
levels. Loons are really affected by
water levels. They cannot walk on land and therefore nest extremely close to
the waters edge. Once they go to nest it is important for the water levels to
remain constant, if it goes up their nest flood and they must build new and lay
eggs again. Normal hatching season for the loons is from July 1-6, and the signet swans about a week earlier.
Adult swans with two signets right behind them
Adult swan in flight, so majestic!
May and June reservations are flowing in very well. Many of our May and June customers come for the fishing experience. They are a lot like me, they love the normal spring and early summer season that we are used to after all these years. Hopefully the ultra warm early springs are not the norm.
I
could go on and on frankly I just can’t wait for ice out!
