Forecast: Ice, but good fishing, By LAUREL BEAGER, Editor

Rainy Lake remains socked in by ice, but there is open water in Borderland for the Minnesota walleye opener Saturday.
As of Tuesday, Sand Bay, Black Bay and Jackfish Bay on Rainy Lake were open, according to Jeff Eibler, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Office in International Falls.
“The die hards that have to get out on opener will have places to fish on the lake,” he said.
Eibler recalled the long-lasting winter of 1996 when people were ice fishing on the opener. “While it’s novel, I wouldn’t want to make it a habit,” he said laughing.
However, he said a good bet for walleye on opener will be Rainy River. “Especially with this late spring, fish on the river are still in spawn mode,” he said. “It would be a good place to try.”
But just when will the ice go out on Rainy Lake? Eibler predicts early next week.
“It’s a weird year,” he said noting that some area lakes that are usually out first are now last.
Walleye
Meanwhile, the walleye population on Rainy Lake and Rainy River remains strong.
“When I came up here in 1990, the words I got from people was that it was tough fishing,” he said. “Everybody remembered the better days long ago. The good old days are now.”
On Rainy Lake, anglers may keep eight walleye and sauger, with no more than four fish being walleye. Fish measuring between 17 inches and 28 inches must be immediately released. One walleye may be kept that measures more than 28 inches.
Eibler called the walleye population since the mid-1990s “phenomenal.”
“We’re seeing more big fish than we ever have,” he said. “The number of fish in our index next at 17 inches is at a record high,” he said. “We’re seeing consistently strong year classes.”
A year class is a generation of walleyes born the same year.
Eibler said the health population is a result of a wave of strong year classes: 1994, ‘96, ‘97, ‘99.
“That buoyed the numbers considerably,” he said. “It’s been a little more variable lately.”
Typically, in walleye populations, strong year classes occur every three to four years, he said. In the 1990s, Rainy Lake experienced six strong classes in 10 years.
In the 2000s, he said the population is experiencing four strong year classes in eight years. “It’s not quite as good, but is still excellent,” he said.
The strongest year class ever measured dating back to 1959, is the 2001 year class. “Most of those fish have entered the protective slot,” he said. “We’re seeing record numbers of fish over 17 inches. They’re fun to catch. So, no matter what, we’ve got that large pool of big fish out there that people like to catch.”
But not all anglers are looking for the big fish. Some are seeking the smaller, eater-sized fish, he said.
“We hear about people having a hard time finding small fish,” he said. “That will come and go. Some years we’ll have a strong year class come in and have a high number of eating size. Other years it will be tougher to find eating fish. That might be the case this coming year.”
Eibler said the 2003 year class is a little bit above average in terms of strength. “Those fish are 5 year olds, 15-16 inches. The keepers, they’re not huge numbers, but a little above average.”
Really strong classes were measured in 2006 and ‘07, which hatched last year. “We have indications they will be abundant,” he said. “2006 is on the edge. The 10-12 inchers that will be teasing folks. The faster ones will get harvested. To fill out a meal, 11-12 inchers are tempting to keep. And that’s fine. They’re very abundant.”
The population continues to look good. The last 13-14 years, compared to historical numbers, are very above average numbers.
Northern pike
Northern pike are right as spawn, according to ice-out trapping DNR staff are conducting on Elephant and Echo lakes, said Eibler.
“Pike spawn at ice out, as the ice recedes from the shorelines,” he said. “They’re looking for flow. Tilson Bay is better than average, attracting northern pike.”
Cranberry and Black bays on Rainy Lake and the Rat Root Lake are at spawn or post-spawn.
“There will be big northern pike up shallow,” he said of the opener.
Black crappie
Eibler says crappie action will get better in the next few weeks.
But in the meantime, he noted that trapping netting conducted in Black Bay shows a record number of crappies in one year class. The DNR has measured the population since 1992.
“The 2003 year class are little small, about 8 inches last year, but they will be tempting anglers this year at 10 inches. It’s a nice crappie, but not what we’ve become accustomed on Rainy Lake.”
A strong 1998 year class is the strongest seen on Rainy Lake. “They’ll be 10 year olds. Those are the 13-14 inch fish that anglers occasionally bump into,” he said.