fishing reports 2020 - Upper Red Lake Fishing Reports (URL)

[kelly-p]

BearDown you really need to check the Bog out yourself. Take plenty of bug spray because you will discover that the flys bite hard and understand why the homesteaders wore their wool pants and wool coats all summer before there was bug spray.

The DNR has their line in the wrong place. Anybody with knowledge of the Bog or access to topo maps can see that. Anybody driving between URL and Lake of the Woods on Highway #72 can see that. About 9 miles north of the Tamarac River Bridge is Ludlow Island. A bunch of old ponds where gravel was dug out and the Big Bog Boardwalk. That is the highest place in the bog and the water flows north from there but the DNR has their line about 5 miles north of there, just south of the County line where #72 has the S curve. That Government can be wrong shouldn't surprise any of us. In fact in the "30's" during the drought when it was very dry Government decided that a dam was needed on Lost River. They built a great dam across the dry river bed. The only problem was that when the rains came and Lost River started flowing again they discovered that they had built the dam backwards. The river flowed in the oposite direction then they thought. Grandpa said that it was the best entertainment in the area for a long time. The Government people would look at their maps, look at the river flowing the wrong way through their dam and scratch their heads. Again and again and again. Even funnier is the fact that some local people were hired as laborers. They all knew that the dam was being built backwards but never said one thing,,,,, just kept grinning at each other and collecting their paychecks. The problem was soon solved tho as some beavers found all them wonderfull timbers driven into the river bed and built a dam,,,,, facing the right direction. Grandpa said that proved that beaver were smarter then Government.

As far as the Bog BearDown think of it as a big sponge. Take a sponge and set it on a level surface. Pour water on it until it is saturated. Then pour a little more water on and watch where the water flows out. The water will flow out the edge's of the sponge but the center of the sponge will not dry out. Just like the Bog. With that I'm done discussing the bog with you. You are going to believe what you believe. Besides it is that time of to start resting. Shakey and Doc will start showing up in about 5 months and I want to be rested up.

[BearDown]

Okay Kelly C'mon man. One more attempt at this. I do not disagree with anything you say except your assumtion that the DNR drew that line. It was most likely drawn by the USGS and that map is so big I have no idea how anyone could say that it is five miles this way or that way. And that is not the point!!!

The point is that the Red River water shed and the Rainy RIver watershed are different watersheds and it is impossible for water to flow into both of them. You don't have to be Sir Isaac Newton to figure that out. There has to be a line somewhere! WHere it is, I couldn't care less, but it HAS to be there. Period.

Over and out.

[grpd]

Kelly I know this is a different subject but just a quick question. The big bog boardwalk is that exactly as it sounds, i have seen the parking place but is it a place you park and walk a boardwalk and if so how long is it. Thank you

ps. I remember when i was younger and foolish I speared many fish from the ditch water north of red lake in the spring,no more, not saying they are not there but just got a little smarter

[kelly-p]

It is an elevated walkway across the bog. I think it goes about 1 1/2 miles. I have never walked it so I don't know for sure.

AAAHHHH! The good old days, chasing suckers around north of the lake. I used to always go up along Little Deer River. It was pretty much all hardwoods along the banks back then and pretty good going but still a lot of work. I wonder how many calories we used to burn up?

One spring when I was working at the fish hatchery the DNR was wondering if many walleyes were running up Little Deer so one of the DNR guys and me went up to see. It's about midnight and we have worked our way up Little Deer until it is breaking up into little streams. We hear some spashing up ahead and think it is fish running. When we come around the bend in the stream we are face to face with a bear. I ran for the truck and after I got to the truck it took the DNR guy about 10 minutes to get there. When he got there I started picking on him about how slow them DNR guys ran. You &*%#@$#^&* was his reply along with, "You had the flashlight!".

[grpd]

Thank you, I am for sure am going to walk it this fall, always wanted to so going to do it,

LOL at the story

[halad]

How about "On The Trail" vol. 2, by KP

[Random guy]

No Hal that one will be titled "Who moved the trail"

[Bassin'Wally Guy]

Johny or anyone...what's the bite been like? Hot, cold luke warm. Still in that 6-8 foot in morning and evenings. How about the pike bite. Still Going?? Thinking about coming up this Thursday and Friday. Usually room at the campground by the access??

Thanks in advance...just don't want to pull the camper and the boat, kids, and all that without having some info up front.

Thanks again,

Chris

[Bassin'Wally Guy]

Report -

Winds calm (Northwestern boat not needed), sun shining. Fish are biting. Find rock and you'll find fish. Good Luck to all. Be back soon.

BTW - which way does the Tamara river flow? I thought it went into the lake. But in the morning it sure looked like it was flowing (at least the foam was) moving out of the lake? What's up with that?????????? Jonny or Kelly??

Thanks.

[kelly-p]

The Tamarac flows into URL normally. If there is a west wind then it flows out of URL. But when the west wind quits it flows back into the lake. If a strong east wind wind blows then the Tamarac flows into the lake faster. Have I got you confused yet? hehehehe The wind pushes the water across the lake raising the water on the side the wind is blowing to and dropping the water level on the side the wind is blowing from. It will fluctuate 2 to 3 feet with a strong wind. After a strong wind quits the water will slosh back and forth across the lake for about a day and a half. High and low pressure systems moving across the lake will also change the water levels. That is why you want to be extra cautious when out there on early ice and a low pressure system moves across the lake. It will crack the ice up.

[Bassin'Wally Guy]

Thanks Kelly.

Makes perfect sense to me. Good explanation. Guess the winds were calmer but from the west, so the phenomenon I observed agreed with your explanation.

How goes the bear hunting?

Thanks,

[Ears]

So with the lack of cold weather, what do people think about when we will have fishable ice? Driveable ice? Lookingn to come up Dec 31 with a wheelhouse, but its not looking so good at this point.

[TonkaBass]

No it's not...

[Desperado]

Ohhhhh, I dunnknow

according to weather.com right now

It's

26 and calm in Baudette

27 and calm in Waskish

28 and calm in Northome

29 and calm in Brrmidji

[magnum mike]

I'm not trying to rain on your parade but its raining now. I can't wait for some ice we can travel on but it's not looking good for anytime soon. Look at today's temp and the forecast temps...

[ozzie]

oh the ice will come and if we don't have windy days with a little cold snap there will be walkble and drivable ice in no time......

[kelly-p]

Like my Grandma used to say, " All you can do about the weather is talk about it." We all think that we're smart but Mother Nature is still the Boss and sets her own time table that we all have to adapt to.

[basskiller]

amen to that

[chrismackmn]

Kelly, you guys still dumping ice cubes into the lake? I see the temps are in the teens. I like it!

[kelly-p]

It seems to be working too!!!!!

[fishlakeman]

U guys getting skim ice yet? All the big slough water has finally frozen solid here, hopefully this wind stays down the next week, as we're going to have at least some halfway decent temperatures.

[Bigtime22]

Had a great day today, saw ice on all of the ponds and some smaller lakes (south metro). Can't wait for RL to be frozen, I have 3 weekends planned up there this winter and I don't know how long I can wait. Absolutely my favorite time of the year.

[WIFisher]

There is an 1-2 inches on red for as far as you can see from what i hear.. Some guys have walked out a lil ways but only over about a foot of water.

[kelly-p]

With the light NW wind this morning by Noon there was already open water visable from the north shore. Right now the wind is gusting up to 18 mph.

[slimy]

I drove out of Mort's tonite, 3' with the front tires that was far enough. By the weekend I would not be surprised if some crazy "crazy felers" from Waskish won`t be out there driving mini vans and catchin somthin.

[kelly-p]

"crazy felers" from Waskish

With the run of luck I've had the past year I KNOW it will not be me. Lets see, I break may ankle out on the lake last winter. I have the rice crop planted and ready to go when we find out that our buyer will not be buying any rice so in the middle of the wettest spring we've had in years we try to dry up the rice paddies enough to plant dry grain. Great plan but in July a wind storm comes through and does what I thought was impossible, flattens the soybean crop and knocks down over 20 big trees in my yard. That is followed by 3 nights of frost in August that does a number on the surviving soybeans. Then a cold wet October so nothing can be combined means that you miss the biggest holiday of the year, "rifle season" trying to combine the pitiful remains of the crop. But things are looking up. The farming is done and the ankle is good enough that I can finally walk without hobbling in a circle. But 2 days ago I fall out of a deer stand and luckily don't rebreak tha ankle but mess it up good enough that I'm back on crutches again. As I've gotten older it seems like every week I find something else that I can not do anymore. It was good to find out tyhat I could still fly but a real bummer that I couldn't land anymore. No,,,,,,,, with this run of luck you will not find me on any thin ice.

I did talk to Buddy today and he is having a hard time just getting the first 200 feet done. A skim of ice with snow drifted over so it will not freeze. He spent all of yesterday with waders on trying to knock it down so it will freeze. From Ditch #5 today I could see open water both to the east AND west.

[Bigtime22]

Sounds like a bit of a rough run, I am sure things will get better. Looking forward to this winter more than years past, don't know what it is, but I just have to get out there.

[kelly-p]

Sometimes in life you just have to "duck and cover" and hope for the best. All things come even in the end. Patsy says she is going to wrap me in bubble wrap and make me stay in the house.

[minndonn]

Isn't it something how the ground gets farther away as you get older.

[2COOL4Y]

Hi everybody, I am coming up to Big Red on Jan. 1st,2nd, and 3rd. I was wondering if I'll need my extension for my auger? Any help would be great.