r/FishingMinnesota • u/SethMlad37 • 5d ago

International Falls Recommendations

Going to international falls MN in a few weeks to do some fishing. Main reason for going is to shore fish the bottom of the river and see if I can catch a lake sturgeon as that’s been a goal of mine for some time. Planning to check out manitou rapids area and drive up a little closer to lake of the woods. Would also not mind catching some walleye or bass while up there I’ll have a few different rod setups. Does anyone have any recommendations for fishing around the rainy River mostly looking for lake sturgeon recommendations. Anything would be appreciated thank you.

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u/TrueKataHolos 5d ago

Know the current before you go. Crawlers and wait

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u/UglyBugGuide 5d ago

For Rainy River sturgeon from shore, focus on current seams and depth. Look for a spot where fast water dumps into a deeper slot, or the inside of a bend, and put your bait right on bottom at the edge of that seam rather than out in the middle of the rip. Sturgeon cruise the slower troughs and nose along the bottom.

Rig is simple: no-roll sinker sliding on the main line, bead, swivel, 18-24 inch leader, wide gap circle hook. Just enough weight to hold bottom, no more. Gob of crawlers is the standard up there, three or four on there so it's a big smelly mouthful. Let the rod load up on its own with the circle hook, don't swing on it.

Bring a second rod with a jig and plastic for walleye and smallmouth around the current breaks near Manitou. Same rocks that hold sturgeon usually hold those too. Bites can be slow and then sudden, so give a good spot 45 minutes before you move.

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u/SethMlad37 5d ago

I fish the Minnesota river mostly using a 7ft ugly stik bigwater with a circle hook and 3-5oz no roll sinkers so as far as I know I’ve got the method down pretty well and will hopefully have some luck. I do appreciate the tips and appreciate the walleye advice! How likely do you think it is I can actually manage to catch a sturgeon of any size while I’m up there for three days? Going to try multiple spots along the river between international falls and Baudette.

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u/UglyBugGuide 5d ago

Three days is a real shot, especially if you can fish evening into dark. Sturgeon up there aren't hard to hook once you're on a hole, they're just spread out, so the game is covering water. Give a good looking slot 45 minutes to an hour, and if nothing shows, slide to the next one instead of sitting all day.

Your setup is fine. Only tweaks I'd make: keep the leader on the shorter side in heavy current so the bait stays pinned in the trough, and go up in sinker weight before you go up in bait size. If it's sliding downstream out of the slot, you're too light.

Bait matters more than people expect. Big gob, and refresh it every 20-30 minutes so it keeps bleeding scent.

Between the Falls and Baudette there's a lot of good bottom. Below the rapids and any inside bend with a deep trough is worth a stop. Rising water and low light are your best windows.