Red River Fishing Reports

[Ed Carlson]

Can be very good. You need to react to the conditions daily. The tributaries slow and clear first so they are often the best areas to look for catch-able fish.

Walleye action will take off as soon as the ice starts to clear near the dams. Unfortunately this is a very short window of opportunity as very soon after the Red blows up and floods big time.

Then as the rivers recede once again, it clears up and the walleye and pike again begin to feed near the shoreline. So monitoring where the rivers slow first, and clear first is wise. That information will point you in the right direction as to where to fish.

Concentrate on areas very close to shore and areas of the least flow. They will be resting on there spring spawning migration and feeding opportunistically in those sheltered areas.

Slow is the key, keep the jigs tipped with large fathead minnows slow and close to the bank.

* NOTE * If you new to the Red River boundary waters be sure to read up on the MN/ND and MN/SD regs. They differ from either adjoining state in many ways. Daily and possession Limits are less, and other restrictions may apply.

* Reminder * New fishing licenses are required April 1 2011.

[pikestabber]

* Reminder * New fishing licenses are required April 1 2011.

April 30th, statewide, unless border waters are different...

[Ed Carlson]

Check the state of your residency as it may vary from side to side...SD/ND/MN..ect.

2. NDG&F Licenses

These regulations are in effect for two years from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012. A fishing year is defined as April 1 of one calendar year through March 31 of the following calendar year. NOTE: In the event of emergency changes to the 2010-12 proclamation, Game and Fish will issue a statewide press release and post new information on its website.

Licenses are valid for one year starting April 1 and ending March 31 of the following year. An angler must possess a valid fishing license for the respective season.

Residents and nonresidents age 16 and older need licenses. Residents under age 16 may take and possess a limit of fish without a fishing license. Any nonresident under age 16 may take and possess a limit of fish without a nonresident fishing license if accompanied by an individual possessing a valid fishing license.

North Dakota residents who are on leave from active duty with the United States military can fish without a license. Contact the Department for details.

Nonresident full-time students living in North Dakota, who are attending a state or tribal college, or a private institution of higher education, may qualify for purchasing resident fishing licenses. Contact the Department for details.

Some licenses are in the form of stamps. Stamps must be pasted to a Fishing, Hunting and Furbearer certificate and must also be signed.

The fishing license must be in the possession of the licensee at all times while fishing.

Free Fishing Days - Residents of North Dakota may fish without a resident fishing license on June 5 and June 6, 2010 and on June 4 and June 5, 2011.

License Fees

Resident Fishing, Hunting & Furbearer Certificate - $1.00

Resident Individual - $10.00

Resident Husband and Wife - $14.00

Resident, 65 years or older - $3.00

Resident, Disabled (from Bismarck office only) - $3.00

Resident Combination License (16 years or older - includes fishing, small game, general game and habitat, and furbearer licenses) - $32.00

Nonresident Fishing, Hunting & Furbearer Certificate - $2.00

Nonresident Individual - $35.00

Nonresident Husband and Wife - $45.00

Nonresident Ten Days - $25.00

Nonresident Three Days - $15.00

All paddlefish snaggers must possess a paddlefish tag in addition to a valid fishing license and certificates that may be required. A resident paddlefish tag is $3.00, a nonresident paddlefish tag is $7.50

Red River:

Red and Bois De Sioux rivers up to the first vehicular bridge or crossing on any of their tributaries

Northern Pike - Daily 3, Possession 3.

Walleye, Sauger, Saugeye or Combination - Daily 3, Possession 3.

Red and Bois de Sioux Rivers

Residents of North Dakota and Minnesota holding a valid resident fishing license from their respective state, and persons of other states who either have a nonresident North Dakota or Minnesota fishing license, may fish in the Red and Bois de Sioux rivers.

Those anglers possessing a valid license may launch and fish from either shore and may transport legally harvested fish with them by the most convenient route to the state in which they are licensed.

All anglers and boaters are required to comply with aquatic nuisance species, and fish and bait regulations of the state in which they occupy, except while on the water or ice, anglers must comply with the regulations of the state for which they are licensed. (Note: this includes those who are not required to have a license.)

Anglers with a valid North Dakota license (see first paragraph above) - can fish both rivers in their entirety but only to the mouth of any tributaries on the Minnesota side (fishing in any of the tributaries requires a valid Minnesota fishing license).

Anglers with a valid Minnesota license (see first paragraph above) - can fish both rivers in their entirety and any North Dakota tributary up to the first vehicular bridge or crossing (fishing upstream of these bridges/crossing on the tributaries requires a valid North Dakota fishing license).

From the Red and Bois de Sioux rivers (as well as all waters east of ND Highway 1) - the daily and possession limit on catfish is five (including only one catfish that may exceed 24 inches) regardless of the number of state or provincial licenses purchased by the angler.

From the Red and Bois de Sioux rivers up to the first vehicular bridge or crossing on any of their tributaries - the daily and possession limit for walleye, sauger, saugeye or combination is three. The daily and possession limit for northern pike is three.

[Ed Carlson]

Starting to open up in the Headwaters region of the Red.

[lindyrigem]

ive got a question for someone on this thread who knows about the weight of eggs in a walleye. one of my fishing buddies and i have a disagreement. he says that eggs in a walleye weigh almost nothing but i say that they really weigh up. if someone knows anything about this id sure appreciate the help. neither one of us really know which is correct.

[Ed Carlson]

Yes eggs have weight, they add up.

Especially as they get closer to time to drop and they fish gorge them with blood and they plump up. 2 to 3 lbs on a large walleye is common, or even more.

There is a % formula but it escapes me right now. You may be able to reserch it on the DNR or NDG&F fisheries site.

[lindyrigem]

thanks ed ill pass that info along and look that formula up on the game and fish website.

[Scoot]

Yes, you and Ed are both definitely correct. If you compare the weight of similar length female walleyes in the Spring vs. all other times of the year, there's clearly a difference- the gals weigh a lot more in the Spring. Locally here in the Red, it's not uncommon to have a 30" fish weigh about nine pounds in the Summer and well over 11 in the Spring.

[lindyrigem]

i was trying to find a formula that show what percentage of a large female walleyes weight is eggs but had no luck. i did however find some interesting stuff out though. a female walleye does not become sexually mature(able to spawn) until age 4. for each 1 lb. of body weight a female walleye produces 24,000 to 40,000 eggs. as a walleye grows their feculity(egg production) increases but their fertility decreases. the first year a walleye spawns the eggs have close to a 70% hatch rate but a large walleye (say 10 lbs.) has only about a 40% hatch rate but makes up for that low hatch rate by laying up to 400,000 eggs. a male walleye becomes able to fertilize eggs at age 3. thought this might be kind of interesting with the spawn just around the corner.

[Scoot]

That is interesting- thanks for sharing, Lindy.

[Ed Carlson]

River looks to going to top out sooner than we suspected. Some fishing opportunity's will be close behind that in the Southern Red River Basin.

[Scoot]

Sweet! I'm all for getting done with Spring flooding and into Spring fishing!!!

[Ed Carlson]

No boating is advised at all on the Red River and it's tributaries at this time. In some cases it may be illegal to do so and you may be fined.

It is far too dangerous to be out there. It is not fish-able and targeting fish is nearly imposable as they can be anywhere.

Show some patience and watch the river for fish-able access and open access to the South.

I would venture a guess Wahpeton may be fish-able by boat in a week, if they open the park gates.

We do not need any repeats of the tragedy in Georgetown just yesterday of two boaters drowned. My sincere condolences go out to the family's of the two lost hunters to the flood waters.

Be patient, be smart, be safe!

[Scoot]

We do not need any repeats of the tragedy in Georgetown just yesterday of two boaters drowned. My sincere condolences go out to the family's of the two lost hunters to the flood waters.

Ditto. Terrible deal for sure.

[Ed Carlson]

They kicked up the release rate from White Rock Dam so the Red in the South is on the rise again.

I expected this, it will yo-yo up and down above flood stage for a long time yet. With high velocity rates in the channel.

It was teetering on fishable there yet it's rough going even from shore. No boating is allowed or cleared by the USCG as of today.

I will look to the Wild Rice and other tribs that may go inside there banks soon to be the first fishing to pursue. I would keep an eye on that.

It will be a slow fall, all over, state wide.

Watching the USGS gauges will be a big help to chase down a bite in the weeks ahead.

[lindyrigem]

ya youre right ed its going to be be a slow fall for the floodwaters, were supposed to crest here in drayton sometime today or tonight. i would not be surprised if it is early june before the red is in its banks here. thats too bad cause we usually get a really good cat bite below the dam when we can get on the river by mid may or so. i dont do alot of catfishing but its a blast when the big cats are stacked up below the dam.

[Ed Carlson]

They will shift to the trib's and away from the main channel, look for them up in them.

The dam if completely under will not hold there attention too long. I see them heading up to secondary dams and areas up far into the trib's very early on.

Might get more boots on the ground fishing in, just on new locations peripheral to the Red.

[Ed Carlson]

Got some shallow water Kitty Cork'n action in yesterday, and last night.

Man-O-Man was that fun!

Kitty's are feeding up shallow on the flooded fields and grass flats up the tribs. Used sucker and sour Goldeye cuts.

There fat bellies look like volley balls, they are feeding big time.

Kitty's are on the prowl!

[Scoot]

Sweet! I bet that was some seriously welcome fun! I can't wait to get out and chase some whiskered fishies!!!

[Ed Carlson]

It's very close to home Scoot. We need to hook up and go Kitty Scout'n.

[Scoot]

Oh man, I'd love to! However, I'm getting crushed at work and homelife isn't exactly laid back right now either. I'll shoot you an e-mail if I get a window of opportunity.

[yote]

Ed,

I am from Thief River origianlly and moved to Hallock last fall. I am itching to get out and do some kitty hunting as I lived in GF for awhile and got the bug. My question is how far will the cats run up tribs when the red is flooded? Is 10 or 15 miles out of the question? I am thinking about some dams on the Two Rivers in the hallock area. Thanks in advance for any info.

[Ed Carlson]

They may go that far, or even farther. Depends on if they find what they want before they get that far up? The water in many trib's will stay high a long time so this will keep them on the move a gLong time.

Look for warm water field pools that are getting lots of sun and lessened current, but very close to the main current.

[Ed Carlson]

Sun was out yesterday, and so was the cats.

Right up on top of flooded roads and in the ditch's and flooded trees just off the ditch. Cut sour sucker was the best bait of all.

Floats were again the best option and produced steady action in the late afternoon and at dusk. The cats are responding to the falling water levels and are falling back slowly closer to the Red.

Scouting with a set of binoculars is a smart way to find them. You see cats rolling, get the Cork's and Cut's out.

[Ed Carlson]

They opened up the park at Whap now. The river is a bit wild yet, not for the uninitiated river rat at all.

The velocity of the current is the biggest concern, as is wood on the move. The flow needs to slow more for it to be more easily fished from a boat.

If your not very well versed in fishing current and fast water, I wouldn't try it yet.

Some helpfull info for use if you plan a trip. The fishing should get very good soon in this area.

Wahpeton has two nice campgrounds available. One in Chahinkapa Park and one on the north end of town along the river.

Kidder Recreation Area is on the north end of town just off 4th Street North. At Kidder there are 8 paved camper/RV spots available. Kidder provides electric (30 amp) and water hook-up. Restrooms with showers are also available. There are two picnic shelters available for use, a dump station, a boat landing, fishing pier, and a fish cleaning station. Campground reservations are available at $25 per night and must be paid in advance. A reservation guarantees a camper/RV spot. A reservation sign in the name of the applicant will be posted only if the reservations fee has been paid. Please call 701-642-2811 to make your reservation.

Chahinkapa Park Campground is located in Chahinkapa Park right next to the zoo. Chahinkapa campground has 6 camper/RV spots avaiable. There is electic (30 amp) hook-ups avaiable. Chahinkapa campground also has bathrooms and showers, a dump and a place to get water. Campground reservations are available at $25 per night and must be paid in advance. A reservation guarantees a camper/RF spot. A reservation sign in the name of the applicant will be posted only if the reservations fee has been paid. Please call 701-642-8709 to make your reservation.

There are also available areas for tents at both Kidder Recreation and Chahinkapa campground. The cost for tents is $10.00 per tent per night. Reservations for tents are not necessary.

[Ed Carlson]

River is falling nicely in the Headwaters section of the Red. Flow is still rock'n along but it's fish-able. 10' is consider "Back Full Flood Stage" in that particular area, very fish-able now from shore. Expect things to be a bit muddy, rubber fishing boots are a wise choice with street shoes handy for the ride home.

[dragon81]

Was thinking of hitting up some cats this friday, high water causing problems ? or is fishing still decent? Thanks for any info.

[Ed Carlson]

Still High, still Convent Landing Boat Ramp the only one open for use....and that is high too.

Shore fishing is improving as in there is more dry ground to work with. Flow is fast so you will need to deal with that anywhere.

Cats are good to very good at times, mostly hugging the channel. Cutbiat Goldeye and Suckers are best. Crawlers also doing OK up shallow on flooded grass areas.

Lots of Gnats around, be ready for them!!!

[SpclPatrolGroup]

I've heard that the river is suposed to drop significantly in the next week, dont know if there is any truth to that, but one can hope.

[Ed Carlson]

To the South maybe? Very hard to see it dropping in the Central region any time soon. They have a lot of water yet to dump from the Sheyenne system yet. Barring any new heavy rains the ND Wild Rive may finally start to fall.

The Otter Tail, Sheyenne, and the Wild Rice has the most significant impact on the Red in the FM area. The Boix De Sioux should be about caught up from the releases from Lake Traverse and Mud Lake. Again, every rain we get will jump thing up quickly as there is no buffer in the system to absorb the quick changes.

I believe we will need to adapt and polish up our skills on high river fishing tactics this whole season.