AFG Chairman II Trip June 25-27, 2013

  

Our friends from AFG started arriving about 11:00 AM on Tuesday morning. The last arrivals were in by 2:00 PM. We left port with the Chairman and two Lady of the Lakes by 2:20 PM. We had seventeen guests on the three houseboats with two guests meeting us at our mooring spot.

Lady of the Lake

We were moored up and secure by 6:00 PM. Chef Jim and chef helper Bernie had a chicken and rib dinner served by 7:00 PM.

Wednesday morning opened with a 6:00 AM rainstorm with plenty of lightning.  The forecast was calling for rain most of the day. The guides; Jon Balaski, Kevin Erickson, Matt Shermoen, Ryan Schmidt, Tony Snyder, Cody Christensen and myself were all ready to go by 7:45 AM.

The morning bite was good in shallow water in bays, points, and deeper water with current. In the bays weed beds with the wind blowing in were hot. Best baits were crawlers on a crawler harness. On the points jigs and minnows were good. It was the same in the current areas. 

We returned to the Chairman and prepared a shore lunch for 28 people. We left the houseboats at 1:30 PM. Guess what the weatherman was wrong. The sun came out and a beautiful afternoon set in. The winds died and with that so did the shallow water bite. A quick run to the current areas got us right back on track!  Chef Jim served his awesome slow cooked prime rib for dinner on Wednesday night.

Back to lunch in 2013 Lund Pro V GL197

 Thursday the weatherman predicted 10-15 mph winds and clear skies. The morning started out with about an 8 mph wind. Walleyes bit well on shallow water reefs and on the rock points in about 8 feet of water. The weatherman missed his wind prediction; it died by 9:15 AM. I left and went to a wing dam in the current and we had a walleye every cast with a jig and minnow for over one hour. We had another   large shore lunch and were back at by 1:30 PM.

We cleared the point in the bay we were parked in. Guess what? The weatherman corrected himself and the wind was blowing a steady 15 mph. The last afternoon was a crawler and crawler harness bonanza. The walleyes went goofy on the wind blown weed lines. Back to the houseboats for a fine meal and a morning cruise in.

   

Casa Loma June 24, 2013

Casa Loma

June 24, 2013

Bart Olek and his family came to Casa Loma on Saturday June 22, 2013.  I was scheduled to take his relatives fishing on Monday. Bart and his dad Sonny would follow along. I was going to do things a little different than I may do on a houseboat.

We decided to head to Hitchcock Bay and work our way back to Casa Loma showing the group a variety of spots during the day. We had a southwest wind blowing. We started in the east end of Hitchcock on the north shore. We started with jigs tipped with minnows. We contacted walleyes right away and found them between two points spread out all the way between. We kept some nice keepers, through back some big ones and decided to move on to the next spot in Hitchcock.

This spot had two islands close together with a shallow water reef in front of the island on the left.  The wind was stronger at this spot, again walleyes right away, nice keepers, and triples. Fun! We caught several more and it was time to move to another area. We went to Saginaw Bay. The southwest wind was hitting all kinds of shoreline in Saginaw. We did not hit any fish immediately. We moved along the shoreline and there was a small little point that was hooking the waves with a series of exposed rock islands almost like reefs. I had switched to nickel Northland Baitfish spinners tipped with minnows.  The walleyes were stacked in pretty good and they loved the spinners. We caught some really nice fish having to release many, but also had really nice 16”+ walleyes. Once again it was off to another spot. We headed to Brule Narrows.

We did not fish the Brule, we graphed the holes on the east end, and they were full of walleyes from 30-32 feet and also 34-36 feet in the forty-foot holes. Next stop was Lost Bay.

Lost Bay is a longer narrower bay with a few points and islands. A great portion of the bay is about 8 feet and the bottom does not change much. We made a pass and did not have contact with any fish. We made a second pass putting the boat right on the break, where the bottom starts to rise to the shoreline. The walleyes were right on that edge where the bottom changed from mud to rock.  We fished two spots and were able to repeat the production on the same kind of transition. Next we were on to Cranberry Bay.

It was getting late; we tried a shallow reef fishing the windward edge. This was the first spot all day that the graph was totally clear of baitfish and clutter. It was also clear of fish. Casa Loma is very close to Black Bay. The water is darkly stained in Black Bay and the rocks cannot be seen a foot under water.

The guys wanted me to show them the safe way in and point out areas to fish. We did that and headed back to Casa Loma to clean the limits of walleyes that we kept.   

Guide Rates Know the Difference

We have been receiving questions about the difference between our guide rates and others that have a base fee plus a $50.00 extra charge for the the third and fourth person. We charge $350.00 per day for guiding Rainy Lake Houseboat customers and it allows for either two or three fisher persons per guide boat. Fuel and bait is extra.  I have been providing guide services on Rainy Lake for 47 years. There is a very good reason why we do not include fuel.

Our guides are very conscious of the price of fuel and bait. They will only burn the amount of fuel necessary to provide you with the best fishing experience possible. I have fished with  all inclusive rate guides on Rainy Lake. There may be a better bite five or ten miles further that you won't get to because they might burn an extra two or three gallons of gas and won't do it. The fish may be five or ten miles closer and you are paying for gas that you did not burn but pay for anyway because you payed an all inclusive rate. twenty five miles out expect 18-22 gallons, 15-20 miles 15-18 gallons, 3-15 miles 3-12 gallons. Our boats are 19-20 ft Lund Pro V style boat in fiberglass or aluminum hulls with 4 stoke 175-250 hp engines.   

Bill Dougherty, Jon Balaski, Kevin Erickson, Matt Shermoen, Ryan Schmidt, Norm Wood, Tony Snyder, Bruce Jean, Bob Heiss, and Cody Christensen all guide for Rainy Lake Houseboats. We make sure all of our customers have the best fishing possible with the lowest expense necessary. Our guides have lived here there whole lives, no the water intimately, expert on all fish species. A Rainy Lake Houseboat fishing guide is one that puts your fish catching above all else. You will not find them taking the best spot in the boat and fishing first. You are not paying to watch a guide catch fish, you are paying him to put you on fish, and catch them. Sometimes he may fish trying to teach you a technique, once accomplished it all you!    

Rainy Lake Houseboats does not charge our guides any booking fees for the guide trips we provide them. We appreciate their talent, and the way in which they treat our guests; That is payment enough for us.

Click on this link to visit our guide page 

  

Art Kaemmer Chairman II Fly Fishing Trip June 20-23, 2013

Art's group arrived Wednesday evening June 19th. The Chairman pulled out of port at 7:30 AM Thursday morning. A hour and one half breakfast cruise to our mooring site and we were off in search of surface striking smallmouth bass.

The guides were Bill Dougherty, Jon Balaski and Kevin Erickson. Bernie Lessard was the chef for the trip. We started our trip in a large bay that had plenty of water for all three guides to fish. The smallmouth did not wait very long to start gobbling poppers. Fred Kaemmer was using a white/gray Murray Shenandoah Chugger with white rubber legs, Art was using a candy cane Dahlberg diver.

                                                                                                    

Water levels are close two twenty inches above normal on Rainy Lake this year. We planned on fishing bedding bass. The high water has made it hard to see beds in their normal spots. We caught bass off of the deeper beds but found beds in spots they had not been before, shallower which makes them easier to see. It was looking like we might have really good fishing, the bass on beds were striking good but we were catching bass tight to the shore not on beds  too.

Candy Cane Dahlberg Diver

The morning action was good but the afternoon was better. The candy cane diver was getting hit on the back end of the fly and not hooking up real good, ditto with the Shenandoah chugger.  I cut off the tail feathers on both. It seemed to do the trick, lots of hookups. The sun came out and it got warm. Art switched to a smaller purple Dahlberg diver, Fred switched to a smaller chartreuse bumblebee Dahlberg diver. The smallies really got active. 19 1/2" was my boats largest for the day. Art and Fred boated 37 smallmouth between them. 

On Friday we went to a river that was very good to Art last year. We only had a couple strikes. I decided to move on to another bay. We were all by ourselves no sign of any boats. Kevin and Jon were in another large bay splitting the water in half.  Fishing was incredible for all three boats. The bass hit all day long, on beds, around rock and flat weeds, close to the bushes you name it. After tallying up the count for the day we  just shook our heads. Just over a 180 bass for six fly fisherman. Needless to say everyone was looking forward to Saturday.

 

Saturday the morning sky was overcast and a light southeast wind 5-10 mph was blowing.The bass started out again with a bang. We fished till 3:30 PM and headed back to the Chairman and a dinner cruise in. What a trip, 365 smallmouth bass boated. It does not get much better than that!

Roger Cormier and Midwest Outdoors visit Rainy Lake Houseboats

Roger was at the dock waiting when I returned back to base in my new Lund Pro V GL 208. Everyone gets excited when they get a new boat. I had a smile as I came off plane pulling into our bay. I drove a 250 hp Suzuki for a few years it was a quiet motor. My 250 hp Mercury Verado Pro redefines the word quiet and easy smooth steering. I was returning from the last day of Jason and LuAnn Gatts's Chairman II trip. Roger and I visited and set a game plan for Tuesday's fishing. 

We met for a 7:00 AM breakfast and hit the water by 7:30 AM.  We were going to fish smallmouth bass, walleyed pike and northerns during the day. We traveled to an area and started to cast plastics, top water bass baits, and Husky Jerks on points with a little wind blown in. It did not take long to find out the bass were on fire along with the walleyes. As we pulled in towards the second point both of my  Humminbirds1198 c SI and 798 c SI showed fish all over where the point came from ten to seven feet.
Often fisherman get so focused on the tip of the point or the visible underneath area and don't pay attention to the portion not visible. Fish your way into the points catching the outer fish first, move in closer as the bite slows.

We switched to top water baits and it was non stop action. The bass that missed the Tiny Torpedo or Skitter Prop got a taste of Trigger X crawfish or a Kalin five inch tail watermelon color. We could have caught smallmouth in the first bay all day long, they were hot, and active.

    

We moved to another area to see what stage the smallmouth were in on a different area of the lake. We soon found beds, they were hard to see as the water is about a 1 1/2 feet high. There was no response to a top water bait or crawfish. Roger tossed a small black maribou jig in and bang a good strike and landed bass. The bass was a large male. The reason for the non activity was spawning. The male bass spray their sperm when caught, this one was doing the same. The female would not strike.

Next we tried fishing pike with buzz baits. The little pike were active but we were not seeing any big pike until! A large pike 36-38" absolutely crushed my Northland Buzz Bait. Trouble was he ripped the bait to shreds, all I ended up with was a straight wire and a hook, no prop, skirt or anything else. 

Walleyes for supper, next on the agenda. We started with a small breeze in the morning, it was flat glass by afternoon. Fisherman first thought when it is hot and still is to go deeper. Not mine. Go shallower. We fished a reef that was in 15 feet of water, casting plastic tails and jig and a minnow (1/8 oz. jig) up into four and a half feet of water. Almost a walleye a cast and guess what, the plastic caught as many walleyes as the jig with a minnow!

On the way home!

Gatts Family Outing on Rainy Lake houseboats Chairman II June 15 - 18, 2013

Jason, LuAnn, Logan, and Logan's friend arrived at Rainy Lake Houseboats and were off on a three day excursion on the Chairman II Saturday afternoon. Jon Balaski and Kevin Erickson had the houseboat moored by 3:30 PM

The Lund guide boats were loaded and off to fish walleyes on the Minnesota side of the lake. Jon and Kevin put the guests on the walleyes, they absolutely creamed them. Jason, LuAnn, Logan and Grant caught 60 plus walleyes in a little over two hours of fishing, what a start to the trip. 

  

   

Time foe dinner chef Jim Black had a chicken and rib dinner ready for the Gatts's. No one ever goes hungry on the Chairman. Everyone was looking forward to tomorrows fishing. 

Jason with nice walleye and fancy squall wear!

Monday morning turned out cooler with cloud cover an an easterly wind about 10 mph blowing. The walleyes did not mind the clouds or the chop. Jigs and minnows were the order of the day! We did not shoot as many pics today, but fishing was very good again.

Pete Ankeny Chairman II June 11 – 14, 2013

Pete’s trip marks the first fly fishing only trip of the year. Bill Dougherty, Jon Balaski and Kevin Erickson were the guides. We fish strictly smallmouth bass with accidental pike thrown in. This year we were hoping to target bedded smallmouth bass on Pete’s trip. On the previous trip we had seen a few bass nests but not many. Our Guide boats are Lund Pro V GL208 with a  with a 250 hp Mercury, Lund Pro V GL197  with a 225 hp Mercury Verado, and a Lund 2025 Pro V IFS  with a 250 HP Suzuki.

Lund Pro V GL 208

Lund Pro V GL 197

  

On Tuesday Pete Ankeny, Chuck Moos, Ben Case and Steve Johnson caught about 35 very nice smallmouth casting Murray popping bugs and a form of wooly bugger called a tequillia.

Wednesday smallmouth bass started to bed heavily on shallow south facing shores. At times bass milling around the nests surrounded the boats. They had no interest in feeding. They wanted to spawn but water temperature or some other phenomenon was holding them up. Further down the shore bass started to hit surface poppers. Sometimes it was a slow rise to the fly and a subtle sucking the fly under; other times it was a hard smack.  During the afternoon the bass seemed to leave the spawning nests and moved very tight to shore. The water level is about 1 ½ ft. higher than normal.  This makes the nests deeper and harder to see and at the same time allows bass to get quite close to the shoreline edge. 

 

Thursday smallies cooperated really well taking poppers off the surface in nesting areas. More nests were showing up as the day went on. Even though bass were on or very near the nests they had not spawned and were not guarding the nest with their normal ferocious attitudes.

Every year is different in the life of a Rainy Lake smallmouth. They are not native to Rainy Lake. They were introduced in the early 1900’s. Smallmouth have the hardest time spawning of all the different species. They need certain water temperatures, bottom content that has rock, sand, and gravel. Unlike other fish in the lake the female smallmouth only mates with one male, not multiple males. After spawning the male stays on the nest fanning the nest and protecting it from minnows, crayfish or any other threats. Eggs hatch in 3-10 days normally the longer the time period the more stressful on the male smallmouth.

Another successful trip was had; it was different in the respect that the bass were around nests but not actually spawning. It is probably happening today and tomorrow. We will be back for more fly-fishing on Thursday. We leave this afternoon on a walleye trip.