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2020 - Upper Red Lake Fishing Reports (URL)


Rick

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We were up for the first time ever. Started Sat 12:00 - 3:30 or so (wind got wild). Slow with only overs being caught. Fished Sunday from 9:30 - 3:30 and did much better. Stayed away from crowds and must have caught 40 fish with 11 keepers. It was great letting my novice anglers learn to drag jigs.

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Unbelievable. All the lots in the sunny beach area are completely flooded.....docks and boats are gone and in peoples yards. Our lot is totally under water and the shed is flooded as well. This is a pretty serious situation as there will be a lot of damage to assess when access is available. It is unreal that wave action could cause this as it looks like a tsunami hit. Anyone who had put in there own boat access is flooded. I am going to guess fishing will be almost non-existent for quite some time as the lake is muddy and churned. Anyone coming up this weekend should call ahead of time. The lake was too high when the wind hit and it made a for a perfect storm. Not sure if even the corp of engineers could have avoided this from happening?

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I'll move this over to the WOW! Topic so this can be for fishing reports.

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Sounds good Kelly...had posted here then realized there was a topic for discussion already. No clue how to delete!

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30 less crappies

Had a call from chris last thursday .His brother Phil was up here this winter helping Buddy Hillmen on the ice and he wanted to know if I had a cabin for saturday night. i said sure thing. I tried calling him saturday to see how they were doing but got know anwser. They pulled in here around 6 pm and were pumped as they had just cleaned 20 crappies plus they kept 6 that were over 15 to get mounted. Kinda sad to see them take so many but they drove a long way I guess and the limit is ten a piece . Chris kinda dissppeared when the crappie fishing slowed down as far as coming up here. He did become good friends with the greek and Ole and goes to alaska every year for 10 days in June

I remember the first time I met him we were on the lake about 1 am when this truck with a trailor was fllying towards the shore and a ice heave. I said watch this guy is going to hit that ice heave close to shore. We saw his headlights go skyword and had a good laugh. Little did I know at the time it was chris. He rolled in to our cabin at 8 the next morning. It took him 7 hours to get here from when we saw him go over that ice heave less then 1 mile from here with half his gear missing and half the trailor missing. We followed the debrie field he left and gathered some of his gear as he worked on that trailor of his dads all day here in the driveway. I think he has toned it down since those days.

He did leave us a meal of crappies that we had for dinner tonight at the westwind and just as I expected with the beautiful calm day the walleye were snapping from what I heard at westwind . If you were in 7 feet of water with a jig, spinner or bobber fishing you were catching fish. People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I love fishing on these types of days but here on red I have had some of my best fishing when the lake is like glass. I knew we should of went fishing when I got home from the farm but the girls did not get home untell 7. Oh well there will be other days

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Posted on: Today 0:57:49

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Fishing report 6/5-6/7

Rented a cabin on the south shore. On sunday fished a rock pile between Morts and our cabin. We caught 15 eyes and probably 5 times the drum. We kept 9 eyes for the frying pan. We where drifting lindy rigs and jigs in 6-8 feet of water trying to keep the speed as slow as possible. Monday morning started in the same place couldn't keep the drums off the line and decided to trailer the boat and head to north end. There was probably ten boats by the river and started there with the same procedure and caught a few eyes and alot more drum. We decided to head to the north end and thats when we hit the mother load. There was very little wind on Monday so using the trolling motor and keeping speeds around .5 fishing the 5-7 foot depth, started to catch a few eyes and alot more drum. The ratio was much better drums to eyes probably 2 to 1. After catching a few eyes in the same area decided to use my i-pilot to anchor ( It works great as a anchor in moderate wind ) Slip bobber was the key as we caught quite a few eyes and for the most part kept the drums off our lines using this method. I would say we caught probably 50 eyes on monday. On Tues only needed 3 fish to get our limit of 12 and I decided to troll crankbaits to try to get some bigger fish. We troll crankbaits in the same area as Monday and probably caught 30 eyes and only 2 drum. The fish where a better size but still the biggest was only 20 inches. We also caught 3 northerns but nothing over 30 inches. Overall another good trip to Red lake, if you want numbers Red is the place to be, if size is what your looking for then another lake up the road is where you should head to. We have been going to red for about 7 years in a row on the same weekend and this will probably be our last trip to the lake because of the size of the fish.

Good luck

Mark

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So Your saying they were to small or to big? Enloy up the road I'm still fishing here

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It pretty obvious that you will be fishing there. I wish everybody that has a business in the area the best of luck staying in business. The 7 years we been coming up, we have stayed at numerous places and everybody has been great. This year was the fewest boats on the lake and the weather was fine. The price of gas,lodging, and all the other expenses just isn't worth it to not have a chance at catching a trophy fish. Will I be going to LOTW to fish, no. I live a 1/2 from the best walleye lake in the country for size and numbers so thats where I'll be. One other thing I'm not a meat fishermen. I like a good meal of fish but don't have to keep everything I catch. I been fishing for 35 years and would like to put a trophy fish on the wall.

Mark

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Makes sense to me. If I want huge numbers its Red Lake, if I want huge fish I go north or to one of the little lakes to the SE. If I want to mix some bass in with a walleye evening I travel. The land of 10,000 lakes has just as many options and that is great.

Although on Upper Red you can tweek the size of the fish you catch to a point by how you fish them. If you want to catch bigger fish (22-28") look at super shallow in the reeds or out deep in open water on a crank bait or large creek chub bite. If you want all small fish work the rock edges in the middle of the lake with jigs. For a mix with many in the protected slot hit the breakline as most already do.

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Last year in late June we landed a 27 1/2 walleye in 4 feet of water.

Trophy Pike. Trophy crappie. I would bet there are more red lake crappies mounted from red lake then all the other 9,999 lakes combined. And lets not forget the state record Quillback was caught last year by tyler from bearpaw speed trolling for pike.

Who knows what the future holds for big walleye. I do not expect it to ever be a trophy walleye lake and thats ok with me. My biggest walleye was caught on fish lake by harris 31 1/2 incher fishing for fall crappie.

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It pretty obvious that you will be fishing there. I wish everybody that has a business in the area the best of luck staying in business. The 7 years we been coming up, we have stayed at numerous places and everybody has been great. This year was the fewest boats on the lake and the weather was fine. The price of gas,lodging, and all the other expenses just isn't worth it to not have a chance at catching a trophy fish. Will I be going to LOTW to fish, no. I live a 1/2 from the best walleye lake in the country for size and numbers so thats where I'll be. One other thing I'm not a meat fishermen. I like a good meal of fish but don't have to keep everything I catch. I been fishing for 35 years and would like to put a trophy fish on the wall.

Mark

I hear ya. i just cant see going all that ways for four little dinks

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I hear ya. i just cant see going all that ways for four little dinks

That could be a good thing because when I drove by the boat launching ramps yesterday it looked so busy that if you had been here somebody else might not have had a place to park.

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...and I pick this weekend to stay home and get work done! Oh well, next weekend the menu opens up a bit:)

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I had the pleasure of taking Kellie's uncle Loyde and his gal Zelda out fishing thursday. With the east wind we fished this side of the lake with deccent success.

We ended up keeping 6 release a few to small and a couple to big. Loyde and Zelda had a hard time setting the hook as we were trollling spinners. I landed 7 fish and I was driving the boat. They each should of landed more then they did so the 4hr of fishing we did was really better then the outcome of only 6 fish to keep.

We did not have any guest this weekend but Jimmy was up saturday and landed a 44 inch pike and a keeper walleye with in ten minutes of being on the lake.

We spent saturday at the ribbon cutting at the state park and also climbed the fire tower they put up at the stae park. Wow what a veiw. If your in waskish take the time to go to the top.

I now will have to buy some binocs.

I did get out saturday morning to see if there were any crappies still in the secret spot. When I arrived I was the first one on the spot. A second boat slid in to my right after a bit and a 3rd slid in a bit later. A couple other boats took a look and kept going. A forth boat came in from the east and trolled around us. I spent about two hours working the area and only managed 3 small pike. I never saw any of the other boats land a fish so the secret spot did not produce and with all the boats I guesss its not really a secret spot any more. From what I saw the crappies have moved to there summer hide outs.

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Hey Cookie. I came up to your area Saturday. The fishing at my lake has been awful all season so I thought URL would give up a few for a fish fry. I was backtrolling up the shore around 10:30 and told my boys "Hey, I know that boat". Just as I got close enought to see "Imagine That", you cranked up that Big Honda and headed back towards your place. I tried to flag you down and call on the radio but you were on a mission. We picked a few walleyes out of that spot and managed a total of 12 for the box and released about that many more. We caught everything but the EBSC crappies.

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Hey Mike , yes I was on a mission as I was opening up Imagine That. Must be that racing blood in me as I know the gas milage is horrible when I do that . I was fishing the semi secret crappie spot but its looks like they may be done spawning.I think I caught the same pike 3 times in a row. the guy and gal that trolled in behind me and the other two boat caught 2 fish right away but not sure what they were other then they did net them. i think they were dink walleye.

Uncle Loyde and his crew staying at westwind have done real well all week. Yesterday was there slowest day but the wind may of been a factor.

My brother will be arriving tomorrow so I will be hitting it hard wed through sat.Should be fun as he has a passion for fishing and it's a hoot to fish with him .

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You might have the hottest thing going these days. I think I'll be taking the 2 grandpas back there for Father's Day saturday. What channel do you monitor on the marine radio. If we get into them again, I could give you a shout.

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...and I pick this weekend to stay home and get work done! Oh well, next weekend the menu opens up a bit:)

... and by that time the Creek chub/Lindy rig bite will be on for bigger fish along with the deep water Shadling bite that also produce bigger more aggressive fish.

I have several guide trips stacked up immediately after the slot change and to be honest the weather is playing out nicely to make for some great fishing; it should be a blast.

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thats still my bugaboo...knowing when and to what tactics to switch to on Red when the "first break" goes south. After the break, theres a whole lot of water out there...

Always appreciate any tips from the pros Jonny.

Question...why the creek chubs? Are you saying they're better than shiners for a time?

I've done fairly well on Shadlings since trying them on your recommendation last year, what depths would you be targeting, or is it more a certain kind of bottom you're targeting?

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Well a lot goes into it as my brain goes into overload once the "break bite" is over.

Creek chubs or river minnows? Well creekers and river shiners are tough as nails, can’t kill em. Plus they thrash like no other. With the often wind churned and stained water the creek chub or rainbow puts out a big distress vibration and a dark profile/outline that stands out in the muddy waters. Shiners are the bread and butter of the Red Lake walleye but when it comes to creating an easy meal a round body minnow that tends to hang out alone around rocks and weeds is much easier to catch then a fleeing darting school of shiners randomly speeding through the deeper open water. Plus it becomes hard to find shiners after mid June and to be honest the fatheads I have been seeing lately do not look very healthy, active or that they have much fight left in them. I had more fatheads die on the boat ride then shiners last week, what’s that tell ya?

As for depths that factor goes out the window as soon as water temps hit 68 degrees. Some days they are in 15 feet over the mud suspended up two feet feeding on emeralds and that is why you see down riggers on my boat and some days they are up in two feet of water feeding on frogs and baby perch and that is where the big eyes live. I put more into what is happening on the lake that I can see with the naked eye than anything else. Are shiners swimming by the boat? Was there frogs hopping around the landing when I put the boat in? What are the Pelicans doing? What has the wind been doing for the last few days? Is there clear water spewing from the ditches? Is there a mud line coming out of the river? What are the crowds doing? What baits are selling at the bait shop? These little factors along with some sonar work all gets plugged into my itty bitty brain right in-between…bobbers and what’s for dinner and out comes a plan of attack. Sometimes I am dead on and sometimes I mistaken but year after year after year a guy starts to think less about…bobbers and remembers the good and bad ideas.

Today was a perfect example. I went to a magical spot far far away and sure enough as I closed in there was a big boat with a bear paw on it. Yup Tyler got out of bed before me and beat me out there, fair enough. I had it in my head the south wind would be stacking bait and fish on the south side of structure so instead of crowding Tyler I boogied around and started working some other spots in the 6-9 foot range. This was fairly uneventful until my hat blew off my head as I reached for it my sunglasses slid off my nose. I cursed, picked up my hat and glasses and realized holy heck its bright out! Duh the fish are deep mid day and let’s not be completely stupid, the wind was out of the north for a freaking week. A quick boat ride to 13 feet of water with a rocky drop off facing NW and it was game on. I went from sheephead king to full live well in about 30 minutes. Stuff like that is why I say depth is factor of where the fish are, not the factor that put the fish there.

I need to make a point of just driving onto the lake and stopping to think about what is going on around me before making any moves.

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thanks Jonny. It's obvious local knowledge goes a long way, as does being observant and thinking outside the box.

So is the break bite pretty much done, or will this weekend still be decent if a guy gives it a good effort?

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The break bite is still going on the north shore from Beacon Harbor and West a few miles, the eastern shore in front of Weswinds and south plus guys are still getting a fish in front of Rogers. Minnows jigged on bright jigs or Shadlings pulled around is working well.

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good deal, thanks Jonny. My son and his family from the cities are making thier first pilgrimage to the cabin and I was hoping to be able to look good:) Well, kind of anyway...!

Maybe I can wait till next week to start thinking then.

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Ouch...fished the north shore friday with some sucess, but went to the well again sat. with my son (1st time to Red for him) and did poorly. 1 keeper, maybe 3 small releasers, couple small pike. Worked a bunch of spots, 4 to 7 ft of water...didn't see much being caught either. Jigs and shiners, some shadling trolling.

Also, I had trouble trolling the shadlings (more so than 2 weeks ago) Even in 8 ft of water i was hitting weeds consistently, and while I love those lures, they are very weed sensitive. No surprise weeds are coming up I guess...maybe more so in ceretain areas? I was just surprised to have as much troule as I did already. Time to break out those spinners...

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Hoping for a repeat of last weekend, we fished the same spots on the north shore Saturday. It was actually better fishing than last week. Bright colored jigs and shiners were the top producers but crawlers and leeches also worked. We knocked out 6 limits in a few hours. I think this was impressive since my motor had major electrical issues and I had to be dragged by my buddy for 3 hours. He has been talking about getting a drift sock but he didn't bargain for an 18 foot Lund! Overall it was a good Father's Day trip.

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We are seeing the same clustering we do in the winter, one guys catches a fish and the area is packed with boats for two days...and then burnt. If boats are in the area or have been in the area the fish are moving on. I truly think we are at the pivot point where walleyes can stay shallow to feed or start the trend to deeper water. All it takes is some boat pressure, warm temps or nasty wind right now and these fish are blowing off the shallows and are not coming back. I seen it firsthand trolling the last few days; areas of pressure the bite was slower and fish where smaller, new territory away from everybody the fishing was fast and furious with bigger fish.

Traveler what size Shadling where you running? I run a #5 long lined and have little trouble. Now if I try to run a #7 behind a board or below the boat it is tangle city with the weeds.

Talking about weeds if you are hitting weeds look deeper. The weeds are a barrier walleyes use to corner and pin shiners. Shiners cruise the lake randomly all over but when they come to a barrier (weed edge, rocks and even small humps) they act like a bunch of confused tourist on a dead end road; none of them know which way to go and ball up in a mess of bewildered minnows. This of course is easy feeding for walleyes and they know it. Keep working deeper by six inch depths until you start running weed free and you will see a better bite and weed edge walleyes tend to be a bigger run of fish.

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Myself brother Warren his friend Roy and Warren's daughter Amanda fished thursday and the friday evning. We ran spinners trolling 1.4 to 1.8 miles an hour from 5 to 8 feet. I would guess we caught around 50 fish some to small not one over 20. Tyey went home with there 12 keepers and that was the goal.

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Jonny; I was running the little 5's; shiner, redtail, fathead colors. I kept shortening the dropback trying to get weedless, guyess i should have gone deeper, but I was already out farther than my norm (expand the norm I guess!)

I really did hit a lot of spots, trying to avoid boats for the most part. One of those days i guess...

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