We could not have ordered a better weekend for the 2021 – 22 walleye season opener. The skies we sunny, temperatures mild and the water conditions calm. Many fish were caught throughout the spectrum. Lots of eaters for the weekend fish fry, slot fish that were eagerly put back and trophies walleye made the top stories around the campfire.
Drumroll for the “go-to” bait …. BDDdddddd …. brightly colored jig tipped with a frozen shiner. As most seasoned Lake of The Woods walleye fishermen and women know, the brightly colored jig helps give a flash in her stained waters that walleye just can’t seem to resist. The frozen shiner helps with the scent that seals the deal. Put that combination down in 14 – 20 feet of water with a vertical jigging presentation and you have fish in the boat. If you head to the sandy bottoms of the gap or out in front of Pine Island, give the spinner harness with a crawler a try. It works beautifully all over the lake and mouth of the river. An interesting note to mention here, there were a few fishermen that slow trolled cranks (1.5 – 2mph) out in front of Pine Island in 8 to 16 feet with success. Favorite color of the weekend was gold. Followed up with blue & silver. Bubblegum pink rounded out the top 3 that produced consistent numbers of fish.
The reports that came back into the lodge were that the numbers of fish were caught outa 4 Mile Bay, behind and in front of the gap as well as along the front of Pine Island. The larger fish were landed on the Rainy River. The “trip maker” trophy walleye are, no doubt, the leftover spawners that have not made it back out the big water just yet. All in all, we had one heck of an opener with many fish caught and many new memories made. 
Speaking of new memories, we here are River Bend Resort would like to extend our hospitality and welcome you to give us a call. Our call agents are waiting to help get your next vacation booked. If you are bringing your own boat and only need to book a cabin, we are very happy to announce that you can do that easily all on online through our website. Simply log on and book your next stay. We’ll be waiting for you. If you just purchased your boat, Paul said he will be conducting free boat backing demonstrations at the public launch weekly.
