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

[Rick]

Here is what Red Lake Remote said:

Well that just happened! Wow, it was a brutal 3 days but Red Lake Remote kept on keeping on with no interuption in service. Was it easy and did it go well, hell no. But we pushed through the weather and are resetting houses on fresh spots for New year's.

[Rick]

Red Lake Remote Ice Fishing Update

 

Tracks are still humming! Receiving several calls of concern about future reservations and we are right on schedule post-storm/slush/flooding lake apocalypse. All reservations are good to go and we never did have an interruption in service.

 

An old trick of track tamping and freezing as we place sleepers is keeping the flooding contained to a minimum, and the RLR clients have been great about not drilling a bunch of holes and flooding areas around the sleepers.

 

It truly helps to have clients that understand that when things get ugly I may have to clear snow/slush around your house at 4 AM or you may not be able to drill a bunch of tip-up holes or just helping to keep the area flood-free and clean makes all the difference.

 

I believe as a guide by trade you can only be as good as your clients and I have great clients.  Also, RLR's small staff that not only help RLR but another access across the pond have been instrumental in keeping the tracks moving and can't thank them enough.

 

Now, if we could get these walleye to stop being A-holes and get back to biting we will be set. The bite has been slow as their world has also had some severe changes in the last few days. Guessing it is going to take some stability to get their groove back and stop this look and leave stuff they have been doing. 

 

We are working and ready for your Upper Red Lake fishing trip with Red Lake Remote Sleepers. See ya soon!

[kelly-p]

21 hours ago, smurfy said:

my wife said red lake fishhouse rentals posted on facebook with all they slush they encountered there not renting this weekend?????????

There is a bunch of them still shut down.  There were so many houses on the lake when the storm. Every place a house sat during the storm is now huge drifts and slush. Many square miles of lake may not be fished anymore this winter. With all the traffic on the roads during the storm many of the roads were destroyed and can not be reopened. During a storm like we had every vehicle down a road traps more snow on the road.  A lot of wheelhouses set up right on the roads so the snow drifted around and sank the roads. It is really ugly out there. Years ago we would completely close the roads before a bad storm hit so the roads could blow clear without any traffic on them, this year it was bumper to bumper wheelhouses heading out on the lake the evening before the storm hit. Some people even took infants and toddlers out on the lake before the blizzard hit.

[mulefarm]

Not sure why the resorts didn’t shut the roads down, knowing the storm was coming, and the consequences of letting the vehicles and houses out?

[leech~~]

11 minutes ago, mulefarm said:

Not sure why the resorts didn’t shut the roads down, knowing the storm was coming, and the consequences of letting the vehicles and houses out?

 

Probably two reasons.

-Need to pay bills

-Their not meteorologists and didn't know how bad it would be? 

[kelly-p]

46 minutes ago, mulefarm said:

Not sure why the resorts didn’t shut the roads down, knowing the storm was coming, and the consequences of letting the vehicles and houses out?

Like one guy said it was trying to stop a stampede.   The forecast was for up to 18 inches of snow and 30 to 40 mph winds for 3 days. It was pretty close as  the snow filled pickup boxes to the top. It was a strange snow, not wet but heavy. The snowblower on my bobcat throws most snow 50 feet, this stuff goes 15 feet.  In my opinion there was just barely enough ice for vehicle traffic before the storm. 12 to 14 inches in the best places and some of that white ice from slush. The big crack that ringed the lake up to 1/4 mile wide only had 8 to 9 inches of and was hidden under the snow, people were driving all over it. Add heavy snow to that and water is going to come up. Some people had water over the floors of their houses during the storm.  Everybody was warned that if they went out on the lake they could be stranded out there for up to 4 days. As it turned out they got the last of the stranded people off the lake yesterday. Some people went up to 3 miles away from the road systems. There were people out there with no boots, just tennis shoes. I think the only business that didn't have to shut down were Red Lake Remote with track vehicles, no roads or wheelhouses and Beacon Harbor which limits the amount of wheelhouses they let out and the wheelhouses have to follow some rules.

[PRO-V]

I know we say it every year but it's hard to believe how stupid some people are. I know some people will make excuses for being out there and probably give me a hard time but YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!!!!!! How some members of the human race can function is beyond me.

[Wanderer]

Sometimes personal responsibility needs to kick in, doesn’t it?  Never ceases to amaze me how so many think they can venture out on a remote and desolate lake yet prepare like they’re going to a KOA or a shopping mall.

[gimruis]

My brother in law was one of those idiots.  I told him not to go.  He still went on Thursday before the storm and said he planned to stay until New Years with enough bait, beer, water, food, etc to last until then.  When he tried to leave, he couldn't pull his wheel house out with his F-250 so he had to leave it there.  He lives several hours away too and now his house is stuck 8 miles out and he doesn't know when he will be able to go back.  He's worried about burglars too, as unattended houses are a magnet for thieves.  His argument is always "we may not catch many fish, but we always have a good time."

[kelly-p]

Ouch! He will not have to worry about burglars unless they are on sleds. It could be a long time before a road gets back out to 8 miles and to get there he had to cross the big crack and that only had 8-9 inches of ice before the storm.  I would guess that crack is not making any more ice and  is sinking from the weight of the snow. Hopefully he is jacked up high so he isn't freezing in completely.

[ozzie]

Kelly do you recall the weather that hit the lake back to the day you broke your ankle maybe 8-9 years ago on Super Bowl weekend?  We were out on a single lane loop that was plowed for us and we were warned that if the weather predicted started that we better get off the lake otherwise we might be out there awhile.  Sure enough about after the first quarter the wind picked up and snow started to fall.  I told my group we should leave now but they wanted to finish the game so we prepped to leave but kept watching the game.  We got off the lake but only after spending 3 hours to make it 500 yards to the main road.  We kept having to unhook a truck, create a path, back the truck up and rehook it to the house and pull until we got stuck again and at the same time the following vehicle and house would move up.  Was one of the nastiest times on the lake I had, and we saw many, but if we hadn't pulled the plug at the time we did we would have been stranded for at least 2-3 days as all the roads drifted shut.  Only positive for the roads back then is the traffic was light compared to what you see out there now.  Hope everyone got or gets off the lake safely!!

[kelly-p]

10 hours ago, ozzie said:

day you broke your ankle maybe 8-9 years ago

That was not a fun winter. Try auguring a fishing standing on one leg.   The auger stands still and you around and around, until you fall down.  

[stjoeguy]

We got back last night from two nights on Upper Red Lake with Jonny P and Red Lake Remote.  I would highly recommend Red Lake Remote.  The fishing was mediocre but thats fishing, no guarantees, you never know what you're going to get on any two days.  Four guys fishing two days brought back 11 walleyes and 7 perch.  Two walleyes were 18" & 19".  The other keepers were 15" - 17".  We probably threw back another half dozen smaller fish.  One northern that we didn't keep made a mess wrapping itself around another line.  One interesting thing was that we never got a bite after dark.  8 rattle reels and never a bite in 2 nights.

 

Jonny P is definitely a hard worker.  First, after loading our gear into his tracked Suburban and trailer, he brings you out to the house and gives a good orientation about the lake regs, furnace control, thermostat, CO monitors, oven operation etc.  Next, he was out several times checking on us and plowing the area around the house and even plowing an area out a ways as a snow fence to prevent drifting because he heard the wind was shifting overnight.  The house was very well built and comfortable.  Every exposed wood piece had sanded edges and angled corners.  The floor was covered with a vinyl diamond grey garage flooring.  The bathroom had an outside door to help keep odors out of the house and a motion sensing light that came on as soon as you walked in.  Both the bathroom and main door had sections of track tread laid in front to prevent slipping.  We used the oven one night to make lasagna and garlic breadsticks.  We were very impressed with the house.

 

So, fishing could have been better, but that's the way it goes.  We'll definitely book with Red Lake Remote again for our next trip to Red Lake.

[Rick]

From Red Lake Remote - Ice Fishing & Sleeper Rentals

Everything is prepped as best as I can and now we wait for the storm to come over the horizon. I will stay on ice with the clients for yet another snowstorm just in case. Few fish biting, some might be drinking a beer or two and several shenanigans going on but I will be making sure everyone stays safe, that is prority #1.

[smurfy]

anyone else hear this...……..heard westwind shutdown for the season.

[smurfy]

I've since been informed at just for this week and weekend for now.

[kelly-p]

No Westwind is just taking care of their rentals and closing the road to wheelhouses for now.

[PRO-V]

My son and 5 of his buddies have been in a big sleeper on the north side since Thursday. Caught a 17" walleye as soon as they dropped a line and then only got a 10" five hours later. Nothing during the nights. Yesterday one of the guys had his rod jerked down the hole. A minute later another guy hooked something and pulled up the missing rod. The fish was still on and he reeled him up to find that it had wrapped every line in the house. Otherwise no bites and not really marking any.

[Rick]

1 hour ago, PRO-V said:

My son and 5 of his buddies have been in a big sleeper on the north side since Thursday. Caught a 17" walleye as soon as they dropped a line and then only got a 10" five hours later. Nothing during the nights. Yesterday one of the guys had his rod jerked down the hole. A minute later another guy hooked something and pulled up the missing rod. The fish was still on and he reeled him up to find that it had wrapped every line in the house. Otherwise no bites and not really marking any.

Nice gator!

[PRO-V]

Yes sir. I don't know if they measured it. I spent my day smoking one of the Canadian lake trout I got last week.

[cookie129]

the bite might pic up if that pike is not lurking around

 

[cookie129]

If he is throw something down there to chase him away. 

 back in the crappie day My costumers were doing well tell they caught a big pike. I threw a spear down with a rope. That pike took off and snagged two rattle wheels and peeled them out    so funny

[Rick]

Upper Red Lake right now.

[eyeguy 54]

15 hours ago, Rick said:

Upper Red Lake right now.

Looks more like the North Pole!

[kelly-p]

I hear today was worse. I sure miss working out there.

[smurfy]

story has it an ice castle went down. guess they where were they werent supposed to be!!!!!!

[Harv]

2 hours ago, smurfy said:

story has it an ice castle went down. guess they where were they werent supposed to be!!!!!!

 

[Mike89]

so did they get it out before it went under??  and hope all are safe...

[PRO-V]

1 hour ago, Mike89 said:

so did they get it out before it went under??  and hope all are safe...

Hope not. It will make a good crappie crib.

[IceHawk]

Probably a good old fashioned trap door. Scary part this time of year you hit one with anything you go down real quick!