Rainy River L.O.W. Fishing Report April 1, 2026
"Spring has arrived at Lake of the Woods, and the transition from ice to open water is in full swing. The Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale on the Rainy River is open for all boats, marking the official start of the spring fishing season on one of North America's premier fisheries.
Fishing Guides Available Step Aboard and Fish! Fishing guides from Rainy River and Lake of the Woods resorts are available to take you fishing on the Rainy River for walleyes and sturgeon. Avoid any lines and simply step aboard! Everything is provided including the know-how, tackle, bait, and local expertise. Guides put you on fish, handle the logistics, and maximize your time on the water. Whether you're chasing trophy sturgeon or filling your camera with walleye photos during catch-and-release season, a guide trip is the best way to experience spring on the Rainy River.
For late season ice anglers, most resorts have finished up for the season. There are still some ice accesses that are allowing ATVs and side-by-sides with portables for those looking to squeeze in one final trip, but the focus has clearly shifted to boats and open water opportunities. Ice conditions vary across the lake, and caution is essential this time of year. If you're going out, check conditions with the resort or ice road operator frequently, avoid areas with current or pressure cracks, and always let someone know your plans.
Rainy River Open Water Report - Spring Season is Here! The Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale is open and seeing steady boat traffic. The next access downstream is Frontier, and with just a bit of ice on the landing but open water throughout that stretch and to the west, it will be open very soon as well.
The bite is on! Good numbers of walleyes are being reported. Some anglers are catching big fish, but the norm so far has been numbers over size. Don't let that discourage you—the best is yet to come! As we move deeper into spring and closer to the opener, the size and quality will continue to improve.
What's Working on the Rainy River. Most anglers on the river are catching walleyes using a jig and minnow or jig and plastic. These are the bread-and-butter presentations that work consistently throughout the spring season.
Trolling slowly upstream and dragging a jig behind the boat has been effective. This covers water, keeps your bait in the strike zone, and allows you to find active fish. Others are anchored up and vertical jigging in proven holes and current breaks.
Another technique to keep in the back pocket is trolling upstream with crankbaits. Some troll the shorelines working structure and transitions, while others use a three-way rig with a 2 to 3 ounce dropper and 6 foot piece of mono or fluorocarbon to a shallow diving crankbait. This setup gets the bait down in the current and covers a lot of productive water.
Important reminder: The walleye season on the Rainy River and Four Mile Bay is catch and release through April 14, 2026. You can catch them, photograph them, and enjoy the fight—but all walleyes must go back in the water until the harvest season opens.
Great Sturgeon Reports, Trophy Fish Being Caught. Some great sturgeon reports are coming in from the Rainy River! A variety of sizes are being caught, including some fish over 75 inches. These prehistoric ,giants are aggressive right now, and the catch-and-release opportunities are outstanding.
Lake Sturgeon Season:
- Catch and release through April 23rd (current season)
- Harvest season: April 24 - May 7, 2026 (1 per calendar year; fish must be 45"-50" inclusive or over 75"; must be immediately tagged/endorsed and registered within 48 hours)
- Catch and release: May 8 - 15, 2026
- Closed: May 16 - June 30, 2026
Come prepared with heavy tackle—many anglers use their muskie or catfish gear. Bring an oversized net or tail lasso, needle nose pliers, measuring tape or bump board, camera, and know what documentation is required if you catch a potential state record.
Pike Season Year-Round Action Continues. The pike season is open year-round on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River. Great action continues for late season ice anglers targeting pike with tip-ups, and soon, anglers will be targeting them in open water as well.
Pike are aggressive right now as they stage for spawning. They're feeding heavily, and both ice and open water anglers are connecting with trophy fish. This is prime time for big pike. Pike limit: 3 fish in posession with one over 40 inches allowed. All pike 30 to 40 inches must be released immediately.
Looking Ahead. The Minnesota Fishing Opener is May 9, 2026. The jig bite will be on fire in that cold water and walleyes are close to shore. By opener, we'll see even better size distribution and the harvest season will be in full swing.
Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River offer world-class walleye fishing during the fishing opener weekend and throughout the summer. Resorts are taking reservations now, and prime dates fill quickly. Don't wait—book your trip and secure your spot for one of the best fishing weekends of the year." — Lake of the Woods Tourism, (800) 382-FISH
Wired2Fish April 1, 2026 "Bank Fishing for Great Lakes Brown Trout in the Spring"
"There’s something different about chasing browns from the bank. No electronics, no boat, no long trolling passes: It’s just you, your rod, and a stretch of shoreline that might look empty until it suddenly isn’t. Shore fishing for brown trout in the Great Lakes and their tributaries is raw, seasonal, and deeply personal. It’s about reading water, grinding through weather, and believing the next cast could connect you to a fish that’s seen more miles than most people.
Across the basins, brown trout offer legitimate shore-bound opportunities for anglers willing to put in the time. It makes great early season fun on both spinning and fly casting gear.
Unlike some open-water species that roam deep and suspend offshore, browns are structure-oriented and temperature-driven. They relate to current breaks, creek mouths, rocky points, pier heads, and stained water edges. That makes them accessible, especially in the spring when they are stacked in the mouths of ..." Read Article and Learn More >> Bank Fishing for Great Lakes Brown Trout in the Spring
More Recent Fishing Reports
Follow on X • Follow on Facebook • Lake of the Woods 4-1 • Ely MN 04-01 • MN DNR Musky Plan 3-31 • MN Fisheries Summit 3-29 • Lake of the Woods 3-26 • Ely MN 3-25 • Justin Chromy • 3-6 Mille Lacs Open Water Walleye Limit • 3-5 MN Walleye Limit Reduction • 3-4 Lake of the Woods Report • Ely MN Fishing Report • 3-2 Sundin's Ideal Fishing Trip • Mille Lacs Perch 2-9 • Schara Walleye Limits • Walleye Limit 2-1 • Walleye Limit 1-27 • IOWA Limits 1-23 • 1-22 Walleye Limits • Gary Barnard 11-11 • Technology 10-25 • Charts 1-23-25 • MAPS 1-22-23 • Barotrauma Study 1-25-24 • Fish Consumption • Forward Sonar • Panfish Workgroup
Ely Area, Arrowhead Outdoors Fishing Report April 1, 2026
"Crappies again showed signs of going strong only for us to get another cold snap to cool it off. When it was going strong anglers reported catching a good number of quality crappies and gills mixed in. These anglers reported catching crappies up high, while fishing over 20 to 30 feet of water. Fish were uspended, holding at about 10 to 15 feet under the ice.
Crappie minnows fished under a bobber or deadstick, with a purple, white or pink jig, were very effective here for many anglers. Many anglers also did well fishing a white colored soft plastics.
Sunfish were still holding tight to the bottom. Oftentimes not coming off the bottom more than 5 feet. Small jigs loaded up with wax worms was the ticket for getting them to bite. Some real giants stretching the tape past 10 inches were reported by anglers.
Whitefish/tullibees: Many anglers fishing for panfish with soft plastics caught a handful of nice tullibees. Tullibees are a lot like crappies, when the suns out, they are often very high in the water column and actively chase your baits up and down like a lake trout would, but when the clouds come in they cool off and often are unwilling to chase your baits.
Small jigging spoons you would use for stream trout and small panfish jigs, both loaded with waxies, are a very effective way to catch tullibees. Anglers should look for deep holes between 20 to 40 feet of water for schools of tullibees." — Arrowhead Outdoors, 218-365-5358
Today's Feature Fishing Report: Minnesota Fisheries Summit 2026 "Muskie Plan, hatchery upgrades, shore fishing expanded"
Minnesota Long Range Muskellunge Plan
One exciting development revealed at the 2026 MN DNR Fisheries Summit last weekend is the newly revised long range Muskie management plan”. In the presentation, the co-chair of the northern pike and muskellunge technical committee highlighted some key differences between the new plan, and former plan, which expired in 2020.
Unlike the former plan, which sought to combine muskie and northern pike management efforts, the new plan focuses solely on muskies. Another key departure from previous plans is a switch from focusing on adding new waters, to an emphasis on preserving and improving populations in existing muskie lakes and rivers. Specifically mentioned, Lake Vermilion, Lake Mille Lacs and Lake Minnetonka are slated to receive special attention.
How muskie populations are maintained is slated to be updated too. Whenever possible, stocking of muskie fingerlings, the previous standard, will be replaced by stocking of larger and more fully developed yearling fish. Survival of the yearling fish is typically much better than that of fingerlings. So, if the plan yields the expected results, stocking a smaller number or larger size fish, should make maintaining populations easier going forward.
A potential downside of the proposed muskie plan “could be” diminished emphasis on northern pike management. It’s too soon to make any judgement about that, but as a northern pike enthusiast, I’ll be working to learn more about future plans for statewide northern pike management; more on that later.
Minnesota Get Out More Projects Update
An initiative that’s receiving high praise from fisheries managers and users alike is the “Get Out More” project.
The “Get Out More” project came about in 2023 when MN-FISH helped secure $110 million dollars in funding from the state of Minnesota general funds. Specific use of those funds that were in focus at the summit were upgrades to Minnesota’s fish hatcheries and expanding access to shore fishing locations around the state.
First off, a presentation by Mandy Erickson who highlighted progress of 2 big projects, and another dozen or so small projects. Plans for the Waterville, Minnesota hatchery, a 24-million-dollar project, are nearly complete. The new hatchery provides not only improved efficiency for species currently stocked from the location but makes it possible to expand into other species too. Classrooms and public viewing stations will allow access to observers, without risking contamination of sensitive elements of the process.
Another project, 15 million dollars in scope, is being planned for the Crystal Springs hatchery. Plans are still in development but approaching completion. As I understand, the Crystal Springs facility will be different from others in that it will feature a closed water system. To help prevent the introduction of unwanted water born invasions, water will be filtered, temperature controlled and re-circulated throughout the hatchery.
Expect more updates about the Crystal Springs project, as well as some smaller projects as details become available.
For his part in the presentation, Jim Levitt updated attendees about progress of various shore fishing expansion projects. There were 21 projects already completed in 2024-25; there are 37 in the hopper for 2026 and for 2027, another 15 projects pending.
In past years, shore fishing piers, or other shoreline access points were developed based primarily on availability of a spot. These days, Levitt reports that there is a much stronger emphasis on developing shore fishing sites with good potential that fish will be available to catch. Working with DNR fisheries, sites are selected in areas with access to fish habitat, or in some cases, where habitat enhancements can be added.
From my perspective, the importance of access for youngsters, or anglers who don’t have boats cannot be overstated. Angler recruitment depends on providing folks from all walks of life with opportunities to participate in fishing. Judging by the enthusiasm in the room, most everyone in attendance agrees. So, the program is likely to expand in the future. If you live near a location that would be a good fit for a shore fishing structure, take a minute to let them know. Contact Jim Levitt 651-259-5819 or email jim.levitt@state.mn.us
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