Arvid's Fishing Report

My friend, Chuck, from Indiana is back in Minnesota for a few days visiting family and friends. He fished with his brother in the Ottertail area this past weekend and had some pretty good fishing, catching some nice crappies, bluegills and small walleyes. He came to Baudette Tuesday for a visit and a couple days of fishing. We fished the river Tuesday evening for a couple of hours in light rain and drizzle and then again on Wednesday, both morning and afternoon, in cloudy weather, but no rain. We had a difficult time catching fish to bring home. All three times out, in total, we kept eight walleyes and two sauger, but we did catch several that were released. We caught and released seven walleyes, 19″, 21″, 21″, 21-1/2″, 24-1/2″, 25″, & 26-1/2″, four sturgeon, 40″, 42″, 45″ & 48″, plus numerous little walleye and sauger.

Chuck with a nice 25″ walleye

Chuck with a 45″ sturgeon

A nice 26-1/2″ fall walleye

We have had some rain, maybe close to three inches, during the first two weeks of October. Areas east of here must have gotten more than that from the looks of the river.  The water level is up with plenty of current and it’s dirty.  Fishing the middle of the river is fruitless because your line is continually picking up dead grass and weed.  Fishing reports were not very encouraging; numerous “never had a bite” comments, but a couple of reports had boats picking up a few fish, fishing up tight to the river bank where the current and weeds were less.

It was a nice weekend in Baudette. We had some sun which has been almost non-existent the past couple of weeks. I asked Diane if she wanted to go fishing with me for a couple hours just to get outside. Not expecting a whole lot, we went down river by the airport and anchored up close to shore in maybe 11-12 feet of water. The water temperature was a little over fifty degrees, still to warm for really good fishing.  Fishing wasn’t great, but it was OK.  It’s the same old story; got out fished again.  We caught eight walleyes, a sauger and two sturgeon.  Diane caught and released a 19-1/2″ walleye and a 40″ sturgeon; she caught a 18″ walleye that we kept. I caught a 16″ walleye and a sturgeon about 30″.  Five small walleyes were released.  It was a good time.

Diane with a 19-1/2″ walleye

Diane’s 40″ sturgeon

Playing a sturgeon at sunset

It has been some weather pattern that we’ve been having. The wind blows from one direction one day and the opposite direction the next. We’ve had a lot of windy, cloudy and damp days lately. River fishing is a little bit like the weather; good one day; not so good the next and you really can’t tell which day you’re going to get.

Willard called Sunday afternoon and invited me to go fishing with him. We hadn’t fished together this summer and he thought that if we were doing to do it, we had better get with it. He acquired himself a used pontoon with a complete enclosed top to make fall fishing a little more comfortable for himself. We fished the river by his place for about three hours.  It was cloudy with a little mist in the air and a good breeze from the northwest. There were several other boats in the area, but we didn’t see much for fish being caught. We anchored up in about fifteen feet of water and fished with live shiners.  We caught about ten walleyes and sauger; kept six and a nice perch. We were happy with that and more importantly, quite comfortable.

Willard on the deck of his pontoon

Willard with two nice fall walleyes

Indications are that fall fishing has begun. Reports have the walleyes staging in front of the Lighthouse Gap and a few have followed the shiner run into the river. There is lot of activity on the river. The town of Rainy River has their annual walleye tournament this weekend and there are a number of boats out pre-fishing the tournament. Reports are that the best fishing is in 16-20 feet of water with jigs and shiners. I was gone for the weekend and was anxious to fish when I got home. Monday morning I went out for a couple hours and caught a small perch, a bullhead and two walleyes; one about 10″ and the other was 28″; nothing to bring home. That afternoon I fished for a little over an hour and caught two nice walleyes and two perch that I kept and release a couple small walleyes.

A to be released September 28″ Walleye

Fishing on the river is a little slow. We are getting enough to eat, but that’s about all. Friday evening, Bob, Sue and I caught five or six small saugers; kept one plus a real nice perch. Saturday morning, while Sue & Diane were doing the garage sale thing, Bob and I fished for a couple hours. Bob caught a nice 17″ walleye and we kept two other small ones. Bob also caught about a 25″ northern that we cut the line and released. That’s three or four northern caught in the last three days all in 18′ to 20′ of water. A few emerald shiners have showed up in the river the past couple of days; maybe a few walleyes will follow them in from the lake.

Another northern caught in 20′ of water

Sister Sue and Bob are here for a visit and to have fresh walleye for lunch is high on the list. The rumor was that a few fish were being caught in the river so I tried by the airport on Tuesday evening. I caught about a dozen walleye and sauger; kept a nice limit; the rest were really small. When Sue and Bob came on Wednesday we only had a few minutes to fish before dark and caught a couple little saugers and a northern; nothing to bring home. Thursday evening, the three of us fished for about two hours and caught two 16+” walleyes, a 13″ sauger and several little sauger plus a 28″ northern that was released; northern wasn’t on the menu. The weather was great and we have enough for lunch.
Bob with a nice 16-1/2″ walleye

Sue with a 28″ Northern