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2020 - Upper Red Lake Fishing Reports (URL)


Rick

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good time to go up to red had 3 good trips up there around the 1st week in jan,good fishing went out of hillmans and jrs south side access,always used red jigs and green jigs ,fathead minnows and some times bare red hook with a fathead deadstick if the fish are not real active,ihave had excellent results for walleye and managed a couple bonus crappie that you could hang on the wall if wanted 15 to 16" fish !always had fun and the poeple were very helpful!from the resorts have fun!i hope you like catching 15 to 22" walleyes!!!the lake full of them.

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Buddy found 7 to 9 inches of ice most places today. One area about 2 miles out was still lagging behind with 5 to 6 inches. He took one of his hardhouses out with the wheeler and I see some other hardhouses being taken out there today with wheelers or sleds.

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just back from 3 days on the east shore. fished the first break in 8-9 feet with 8 inches of ice and a lot of ice movement going on..... went out one afternoon only to find my route back in somewhat a challenge due to a huge crack in the ice and significany heaving alone shore. before the high winds and cold kicked in on Sat. night fishing was pretty good. brought at least 20 plus eyes through the hole and all were keepers except 2 that pushed 20 in. kept just enough to have dinner both nights which is what i am up there for! fishing was excellent the hour before dark and just so-so in the a.m. good luck everyone....see you over new years.

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I understand.......I only kept fish under the 17in slot.......remarkably the only two fish I caught that were not keepers were the two almost 20in. Everything else was under 17. Sorry for the confusion.

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Buddy says that even with this cold weather we are only gaining about 1/2 inch of ice a night. He is thinking the water is still warmer then normal due to the warm November. Yesterday he was measuring 9 1/2 inches of ice but last night and tonight will be 2 more nights of -15/-20 degrees. As usual with the cold weather new cracks are appearing. He's thinking that by next weekend light trucks will be heading out there. 2 guys spent last night out there and caught 15 walleyes.

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I'm pretty sure he ment by this weekend. 18th/19th. The best is to check with the road you are going out on. I see that Mort's is also guessing that light vehicles will be going out later in the week.

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i was up yesterday and there was 11 inches where i was at i also had to cross gaps that were 1 and 1/2 feet across but the ice looked goood.

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Kelly, I am coming up there in Jan. Where are you located so we can get bait from you? Are you far from the main road? Also, how long does it take to drive from Joas Beach to the WestWind and Waskish? Thanks.

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Dad sold the bait selling part of things to Hillman's so they sell the bait now. We just rent fish houses and Jon guides. From Joa's to Waskish,,, 10-15 minutes. Just be careful as "halad" drives the same road. grin Unless,,, the lake is froze over good then his dog drives him home across the lake.

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Fished Friday to Monday morning out Hillmans road with small wheel house and atv. Fishing was ok alot of fish to big the first night 1/2 mile out. Went 2 miles out Sat and caught more fish in the under 17 inch range. The ice out Buddy's road is in great shape good black ice and it was making ice Sat night (at least seemed) could not get any sleep between hearing the ice crack from miles away then it would get closer,and closer and then shack the !@$# out of the house. Must have lifted it 3 inches up and then back down.Checked the ice Friday with Buddy had around 8-9 inches most spots, Sun only had made 1 1/2 inches in 3 days. As always big thanks to the Hillmans, had a gerat time on the ice with Buddy it was a blast.

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Jon fished in deeper water with his sled today over gravel and rocks catching a limit with very few within the protected slot. Walleyes where hitting rattling lures with orange/silver colors He said the ice varied form 8-10 inches with some nasty cracks running across the lake that he needed to drive around.

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Kelly,

Hope your luck has been better...and your health too. Just wanted to double check on our reservations for 5 man on the 29th and 30th...a freind wanted to know if the 6 man goes out around x-mas too.....he didn't understand the magnitude of the shack.....I'm guessing you wait a bit before you slide that one out!! Did you get a buck this year, or just a broken ankle?

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Any reports of any crappies being caught yet? I know there probably hasnt been too many people out yet and probably not out as far they'd like. Just curious. Hoping to make a trip up around the first week of January. Good luck all!

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Will a pickup and a wheel house be able to drive out on Jan. 1-2 no problems?

Most likely yes. All depends on weather.

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"Will a pickup and a wheel house be able to drive out on Jan. 1-2 no problems?"

You should be OK but again it depends on the weather. You'll need to talk to the people that have the road you plan on going out from.

Nobody is really deep enough to get into crappies yet and usualy the crappies start up about mid Feb. and on into March.

Stepplechaser, You're set to go. We're planning on all the houses heading out at the same time. The big 6 man houses have a lot bigger "footprint" on the ice so that helps as does having the houses on skids so the weight is spread out. I spent most of deer season trying to salvage the crop but the time I did spend hunting I had a lot of luck so it went well. Good news for me but bad for you,,,,,,I used up all of my remaining luck on deer hunting but now I have to pick a place for your fishhouse. grin The ankle isn't rebroken but there is some ligament and tendon damage. No big deal tho because at this age it is hard to tell if I'm limping from an injury or just old age. grin

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We were out this past saturday thru monday on the south shore and did pretty good on the eyes. Fished 11 feet. Eyes hittin rattling spoons(glow red) and dead stick with Tiger eyes. It was about 50/50 with keepers to protected slot fish. Afternoon bite seemed best.

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managed to do some scouting early this morning close to reservation line, started out at daybreak in about 7.5ft to 8ft of water, managed some nice eyes but the fishing was a little on the slow side, moved out to the 9 - 10ft of water mark and the action was very good around 10 am

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Is anyone driving on url, if so what acess would u suggest ? I m pulling a crankdown with a half ton pu. hope 2 head up 2morrow morn. 12/18

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i found a good foot of ice today, the furthest i check was about 300 yards off shore along the reservation line.

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Pulled my house out to 10-ft. with my pick-up. 13" ice. Fished 1400 to 1630 caught 3-1 small enough to keep. There must be 50-fish houses out in front of Rogers already.

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I was up yesterday. I went out of hillmans. Started out in about 1 1/2 miles out and not a bite. Went out to 2 1/2 miles and not a bite. Ended up 3 1/2 miles out and caught a limit for my son and me. The fish didn't start biting until about 4 o'clock. No slot fish, just decent eaters. When a school moved thru, it was fast and furious, but for the most part, it was on the slow side. Jigging with a minnow head seemed to be the best. The ice was in good condition. There is about 12" of solid ice. There are people driving trucks and pulling wheel houses. I had a guy fish next to me and he drove out in a suburban. I had a game warden check me and he told me that fishing had been slow around the lake.

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