Ruby Lake Fishing Reports

[tmg1brandt]

Hi, does anyone know if it's possible to get back to Ruby Lake, which is north on 38 past Spider Lake, what the access and ice conditions are like? Any experience fishing it? Thanks!

[mixxedbagg]

There is some legal access if you want to bushwhack off of 49, but I suspect that 3755 will be plowed. (Disclaimer: I haven't been out there this winter.) The little road to the access on the E side (about a third of a mile) may or may not be plowed.

I've only fished open water there twice. The only fish I caught were a few largemouths and some really, really nice smallmouths.

[jjjohnson]

Why would you talk about a small lake like this on the internet?

[mixxedbagg]

Quote:

Why would you talk about a small lake like this on the internet?

Cause I didn't reply with anything about the fishing that he couldn't have figured out about Ruby from those lake books you see at local bait shops.

It's a gorgeous lake, especially in fall. There are nice fish in there, but every local will tell you it's difficult to fish because of crystal clear water. Because it's beautiful and clear, I'm happy to give someone directions to see that wonderful place in person. Enjoy Ruby, but be kind to that lovely lake and leave it as you found it!

[glenn57]

Why would you talk about a small lake like this on the internet?

why not????????????? there are a lot smaller lakes discussed on here!

[Duffman]

There's a ton of small lakes between G.R. and Bigfork. I've seen a lot of smaller lakes than Ruby in the area mentioned on the net over the years. Doesn't mean you'll catch jack squat out of them though.

I could name a dozen small lakes in the area, they could be great for fishing or they could be terrible, or they could be both depending on the day you fish it.

I've never fished Ruby, but I've fished about 15 other lakes within a five mile radius. Some with success, some were met with the big skunkerino. Get out and explore, there's too many lakes around to be worried about what a little post has to say on the 'net.

Remember, it's just as easy to post a fabricated fishing story as it is the truth. "Decoy Lakes" and "Decoy Spots" are nothing new to internet fishing forums, they've been posted for years.

[Greg Clusiau]

Duffman pretty much nailed it and just because it's a small lake doesn't necessarily mean it's a well-kept secret and full of nice fish. I've fished some of the lakes on the map and can honestly say it's very doubtful that I'll be going back anytime soon to a couple of them, which had a good crappie population but were extremely small. It was fun though, I'll admit that.

[mixxedbagg]

Quote:

I've never fished Ruby, but I've fished about 15 other lakes within a five mile radius.

You sure you live in Savage and not Itasca County, Duff? Wow. You've been all over this area.

[Duffman]

The Chipp has been my playground for almost three decades. Started with duck and grouse hunting back in '83, met a girl with a lake place up there a few years later. Her folks have now retired up there. Like I said, tons of lakes and wild areas to explore. And this weekender doesn't have enough time to come close to exploring them all.

[jjjohnson]

Say what you will. Plugging small lakes on fishing forums, especially in areas that are populated with seasonal homes, encourages tresspassers. It happens wether you guys want to admit it or not. Not to mention the pressure on sensitive fish populations(especially pan fish).

I too have been fishing the "chip" for decades, and have been met with increased tresspassers, litterers and the like, who came up with an idea based off of what they read on forums like this.

Yes, I know you still have to catch the fish. Yes, I know there may be public accesses. Yes, I know you guys arent the offenders .

And, I know that my opinion on this this subject is basically meaningless, and you guys have every right to use this format. But, people should use better judgment when sending others into relativly remote "gods country " .

[jjjohnson]

299 veiws. 8 replies.

[fridron]

jj, sounds like you're getting a little possessive about area lakes. How did you find out about some of them? I bet you heard and then asked, prior to the internet, or like some of us, used an atlas and just drove around. Same difference, different means. Time to trust that the game hogs don't have the fortitude to work that hard.

[Duffman]

When I see a small lake that I like to fish mentioned online, the last thing I do is draw further attention to it by defending it. I let them roll slowly off of the page, maybe get involved in a couple other threads to bump it further on down.

There are more page views because there was some actual action in a GR thread, for all the lakes in the area the GR forum is one of the most tight-lipped that HSO has to offer, and it was just Mixxed, Greg and I chatting about lakes without actually naming lakes that probably drew more views.

I understand and totally agree with your concerns.

But now you got me wondering about Ruby

[Raider4ever]

Why would you talk about a small lake like this on the internet?

REMOVED BY MODERATOR.

[jjjohnson]

I didnt attack anyone. Just stated a question about ethics.

BTW I dont live on Ruby, Ruby actually sucks, im on a different near by lake that gets trampled and trashed every year.

EDITED BY MODERATOR

[birchbranch]

Easy guys, no need to get personal. I see both sides, however, I tend to agree with jjjohnson in that small lakes are easier to damage with increased pressure. I live on a small lake that has been overfished, so I have seen firsthand the depletion of fish populations due to pressure. (This had nothing to do with the internet since this lake had never been mentioned) I also realize that this is the internet age and people will talk, probably not a whole lot different than doing well fishing and then heading down to the bar and bragging it up, as far as increased pressure is concerned. These are good discussions as long as everybody remains civil. Good luck fishing to all.

[mixxedbagg]

Wow. I log on this morning to find out that I'm accomplice to littering and trespassing!

jjj--Ruby Lake is listed in area fishing guidebooks. It's easy to find out about. If 2 more people fish that lake because of the information I provided, I'll be surprised.

I posted my honest experience with a lake that's beautiful and worth experiencing, but harder than average to fish in my opinion.

Now, I have enough sense that I would have never posted, "Hey, make sure you hit the saddle between the two 30' holes on the south end. Every time I go there, I limit out in eater walleyes!"

Go fishing!

[magnum mike]

It’s easy to get possessive about hunting & fishing areas. It happens all the time. I own property in “The Big Chip” because I love the area. I also take ownership of the entire area I use. By this I mean I treat it like it is mine and take care of it. I have seen more people in the area than ever before and it gets more crowded every year. It is a big area but it feels like it is shrinking. I see slob hunters, litterbugs, rookies & pests and there is nothing anyone can do about it. I also see the “veterans” that keep coming to the area and have been for years before I got there. When I see something I don’t like, I say something to the individual…politely. There is no point in being a knob because they are more likely to just blow it off. I would rather educate than complain. It’s funny but I believe some people just don’t know any better.

I have seen MANY small lakes get pounded because of chatter in the bar long before there was an internet. If you think you have a hot spot, dummy-up and don’t tell ANYONE. Take a kid there and help keep our sport alive.

[bmc]

I was contacted by another moderator about the direction of where this thread was going and deleted/edited a couple of posts.

Let's keep things informative/postive w/o the name calling/bickering back and forth.

Thanks!

Brian

[Raider4ever]

I've notified the moderators about my post and asked that they remove it. It was not, to quote Luther Vandross, my "one shining moment". I apologize to all of you because you wasted your valuable time reading the post in hopes of gleaning something of value.

Sincerely,

Raider4Ever

[bmc]

Thanks Raider!

Brian

[Raider4ever]

Apparently I wasn't quite quick enough. Thanks bmc.

[Duffman]

I have seen MANY small lakes get pounded because of chatter in the bar long before there was an internet.

Even today, a guy quietly enjoying a barley pop at the local watering hole can pick up info, I go into bionic ear mode when I belly up to the bar.

About the only GR place and bite that I've seen online that I've never heard of elsewhere is the local smelt run. That's it, secret honey holes? They don't exist. It's funny when you mention a small lake in the company of some locals, they give you that "How do you know about that lake?" look. The answer is usually easy, some local told me about it.

And that local can be friends or family, could be stuff I hear thru Marcell church gossip, but more likely than not it's from talking to a fellow angler on some isolated lake. Can the internet do some damage to smaller lakes? Sure, but it's probably no worse than some local getting on the cell and calling all his buddies about a "at this moment" hot bite.

I'm not slammin the locals either, because honestly, we all have friends and family that live in the area, and vice versa when it comes to the Twin Cities. We're all Minnesota locals. Meat hogs know no boundaries.

Spread out the info on area lakes online, and you will also spread out the anglers.

I've got a triangle of friends that I trust with fishing info, that's it. Everything else is hearsay, internet rumors, or just plain old fishing stories.

[glenn57]

"marcell church gossip" funny, like it. but you do mean richys........right!!!!!!!!

[Duffman]

"marcell church gossip" funny, like it. but you do mean richys........right!!!!!!!!

I'm serious Glenn, but by the time the church gossip is usually relayed to me, I'm already loading up the truck on a Sunday afternoon for the trip back down to the concrete jungle. The info just gets filed back in the ol' memory bank. And that thing gets tougher to access every day.

Richies? That place is good for overhearing sled trail conditions, not so good for overhearing fishing spots. But it's a great place for me to grab a bump and some eats before deciding which "secret honey hole" to hit in the afternoon, I'm usually at Richies because my morning "secret honey hole" didn't pan out.

[glenn57]

funny!!! so its kinda like thee ole telephone party line! we dont get that way much even though where only bout 13 miles from marcell. did spear ranier once. visit the lumber yard now and then!

[Pinusbanksiana]

Isn't Camp Rudy, the Forest Service property with buildings, an access point to get on that lake?

[shogun]

I've never liked what these forums have done to the fishing. Fishing in general has changed tremendously due to technology, and personally, I believe the fishing in Minnesota has changed tremendously due to these online forums. I have seen first-hand, these forums absolutely destroy fishing in certain lakes down here in the Duluth area. Before these forums came along, fishing pressure was pretty mediocre - then once these forums became popular - the fishing pressure sky-rocketed, and the catching diminished.

People don't want to work for their fish anymore, they just want to come on here and have everyone tell them where they can go and catch them. The lakes down here never had much ice-fishing pressure, now I can think of one in particular that turns into a large city in the winter time - and get this, most of those people out there fishing are driving up from the twin cities. Talking with the DNR, I have learned that there are tens of thousands of crappies taken out of this lake in a single winter ice fishing season. And it goes through these cycles of okay fishing years to skunk - because people hammer the lake and fish it out. There is no way I can prove it, but I guarantee you, if these forums never existed - it would not be the way it is today.

I can vouch for pretty much any other place I have fished in Minnesota, at one time or another, I have seen how these forums have negatively impacted the fishing.

[Raider4ever]

I've never liked what these forums have done to the fishing. Fishing in general has changed tremendously due to technology, and personally, I believe the fishing in Minnesota has changed tremendously due to these online forums. I have seen first-hand, these forums absolutely destroy fishing in certain lakes down here in the Duluth area. Before these forums came along, fishing pressure was pretty mediocre - then once these forums became popular - the fishing pressure sky-rocketed, and the catching diminished.

People don't want to work for their fish anymore, they just want to come on here and have everyone tell them where they can go and catch them. The lakes down here never had much ice-fishing pressure, now I can think of one in particular that turns into a large city in the winter time - and get this, most of those people out there fishing are driving up from the twin cities. Talking with the DNR, I have learned that there are tens of thousands of crappies taken out of this lake in a single winter ice fishing season. And it goes through these cycles of okay fishing years to skunk - because people hammer the lake and fish it out. There is no way I can prove it, but I guarantee you, if these forums never existed - it would not be the way it is today.

I can vouch for pretty much any other place I have fished in Minnesota, at one time or another, I have seen how these forums have negatively impacted the fishing.

Staying out of this one. No need to have my knuckles rapped twice by Sr. Mary Admin.

But, if someone else wants to discuss how technological advances in: Outerwear, fish houses, Heating, snowmobiles, electronics, etc. has led to an increase in the popularity of ice fishing by making it more accessible to people more than that there interweb-thingy could ever dream of, thus, putting more people on the same amount of water (that hasn't changed in roughly a gazillion years, excluding reservoirs), chime right in.

[Raider4ever]

I do love a good run-on sentence apparently.