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Posted

What's URL got for eelpout? I've been meaning to ask this... We pulled one up in the middle of the night. We didn't think there were any in the lake! Not a good surprise eek.gif

Posted

Red Lake used to have a very strong eelpout population. In the 80s it was common to catch a couple everynight. As the lake crashed they followd the same fate a few years later down the road. From what the fisherie biys told me they went about the same time the whitefish did for the same reasons. Although they have always been present and hopefully making a comeback, they to are an important part of the balance.

Posted

We used to catch a few every winter from '99 - 2001. But then again we were able to target the Whitefish back then. Then the warm water hit and... *BOOM*... Whitefish and Eelpout gone! The 1st fish I caught on Red was a Whitefish... back in '99 we came looking for crappie and I kept marking fish right under the ice... finally I got one to bite and it was a good size whitefish! I wasn't sure what to think about that! But we got into the crappie that night and eventually we learned that the Whitey's were good to smoke and actually good to eat too, so a couple mid-afternoon forays were spent chasing them around...

The Eel'ers we caught in Red were all quite skinny and only weighed 2-3 pounds... nothing like the chunky LOW or Cass Eelpout that I'm used to.

Good Luck!

Ken

Posted

Late 90s was really a fun time to fish up there.

Drive out, this looks good, set up the house, auger 4 holes, and proceed to catch fish all night.

Fun part was catching Crappies, Whitefish, Pike, Perch, Eelpout, and the very young Walleyes all using the same jig & minnow on the bottom. Too bad the Whitefish disappeared because that was a hoot! Every line in the house would go down at the same time when a school moved through and they would tangle each other up. \:\)

Posted

I remember in 2002 I caught a couple whitefish and wonder what the heck they were doing in red lake. I never knew they use to be plentiful in Red. Just like you guys said they were only a couple of feet under the ice, I just thought they were real high suspending crappies. \:\) Ahh the good old days when you caught your limit of 14-15 in crappies in less than half a hour.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      It's kind of sad. The two lakes I loved the most in this state are Mille Lacs and Burntside.  And I think we broke them both!  😕
    • JerkinLips
      Went back to Burntside on Tuesday and I got "skunked again" (LOL).  Looked like the lake was a mess over the weekend, but it was all frozen solid by sunrise Tuesday when I arrived.  The new ice cleats I got worked very well on the glare ice.  Was a beautiful sunny day but cool and quite windy.  I had a nice view of my tip-up from my warm fishhouse but the flag never went up, and I didn't mark a fish while jigging.  May have to try North Arm next, or go back into the BWCAW if the ice conditions improve.
    • JerkinLips
      Yes, eagle swoops are awesome.  Had one happen when I was duck hunting one year in Stuntz Bay.  Stole the only duck I got that day.   Vermilion got very wet over the weekend.  Tower Cafe posted a video of a SxS driving into McKinley Park landing going through water that went over their floor board.  Burntside Lake was frozen nice and solid Tuesday morning when I was there.
    • Wanderer
      Or the other book that said: The bitterness of poor quality outlasts the sweetness of a low price…   Dang, what a mess to have to deal with.
    • leech~~
      When it said. "The foolish man, builds his house upon the sand"? 🫣   Just got back from 10days on the golf of America.  By Panama city Florida.   
    • smurfy
      Venny backstrap and the fixins!
    • SkunkedAgain
      Running on empty at dark on a sled is definitely stress-inducing. Been there, done that. Glad that you made it out.
    • SkunkedAgain
      Eagle swoops are always a hoot to watch.   The snow is mostly gone on the lake. Ice melt made things pretty wet but the ice is obviously still very thick. 
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  The big question:  "How is the ice up at Lake of the Woods?"  That is for each individual resort or outfitter who operates an ice road or trail to answer, but overall, ice conditions are still very good and ice fishing is going strong!  As always, stay on the marked ice  roads and trails for safety.     Being up on the Canadian border, the colder temps Lake of the Woods enjoys vs much of the region combined with three feet of ice makes a big difference.  Fish houses are allowed unattended overnight through March 31st and it sounds like a good number of resorts will be fishing through the month, but ultimately, Mother Nature will determine that.     Regarding the fishing, overall, very good reports for walleyes, saugers and perch.  There is a strong population of smaller walleyes and saugers in the lake which bodes well for the future, but in the meantime, anglers are sorting through them to catch their keepers.   The one-two punch of jigging and deadsticking remains the most effective technique. Jigging spoons with rattles tipped with a minnow head or a lipless crankbait on the jigging line is the ticket.  On the deadstick, a live minnow a foot off the bottom on a plain red hook or medium sized ice fishing jig is catching a lot of fish.   Using electronics is super helpful.  Many nice walleyes are swimming through suspended, keep an eye out.   Anglers tip-up fishing for pike have had a great week and it should continue to get even better.  Suckers, frozen alewife and smelt are working well. Putting baits 1 foot under the ice or right off bottom seems to be effective this week.  Most common depths, 9 - 15 feet. On the Rainy River...  The Rain River is still frozen with no signs of open water yet.  Every year can be different, but on average, the Rainy River will start opening up around the third week of March.  The first boat ramp suitable for larger boats is Nelson Park in Birchdale.  We will keep you posted.    As of March 1st, walleyes and saugers are catch and release only on Four Mile Bay and the Rainy River.     Make plans now for sturgeon season.  Once the open water appears, the fish are super active.  Here are the seasons...   -Catch and Release Season: May 8th – May 15th and October 1 – April 23rd. -Harvest Season: April 24th – May 7th and July 1 – September 30. -Closed Season: May 16th – June 30th.  Up at the Northwest Angle...  Fishing remains very good up at the Angle and the ice is in good shape as well.  As on the south end, resorts monitor ice roads and trails daily and there are still some great ice fishing opportunities available.     Walleyes, saugers, perch, and pike are showing up in good numbers.  Those targeting crappies are reporting good numbers of fish.  Work through a NW Angle resort for ice fishing opportunities on this part of the lake. The walleye and sauger season is open through April 14th. Pike fishing never closes, and perch and crappie remain open year-round as well. Whether booking a day house rental, sleeper fish house, or resort stay, there is still plenty of time to plan a late-season ice fishing adventure. 
    • Wanderer
      Looks like a shallow lake with some potential.  Keepable crappies, decent bluegills and some nice perch according to the last survey (2015). Susan Lake   With a max depth of 10 feet, I’d want to know a little more about it before I’d start drilling holes.  Could be a nice little adventure though.  
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