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Upper Red Lake Fishing Reports by Outdoors with JonnyP


Random guy

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Just made reservations with you and Kelly over new years and looking forward to fishing the Red for the first time! Do you guys supply hats and noise makers?

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I should have some extra hats and for noise makers I will just have Doc and Shaky stop by. All the noise you want. laugh

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Bring the rattle reels and you'll have plenty of noise!

Good to hear that there some decent ice and with a cold snap hopefully it locks up tight soon.

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I will just have Doc and Shaky stop by. All the noise you want. laugh

Will probably have to bring my sidekick so he will give those two a run for the money!

Soooooo....... what model/size/color Lindy tackle do I have buy to give me the best chance to catch fish on this lake? wink

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Love to make it back up to Url. Think quads late next week could be possible up there?

If the wind dont blow all the ice off.

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Soooooo....... what model/size/color Lindy tackle do I have buy to give me the best chance to catch fish on this lake? wink

Well if you come up without red Lindy Rattle N' Flyers or Perch patterns Darters you will be sorry. wink

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Today I got a call from Buddy Hillman informing me he has staked his road out the first ¾ of a mile and is now allowing foot traffic along with ATVs and sleds in the near future. A solid 4 ½ -5” inches of ice for the first half mile and the last quarter mile it dropped below 4” although we are seeing ice pushing down with each cold night. Now Buddy also wants to point out that conditions are very localized and can change within a few feet.

As for the fish they are on fire right now. Tonight I decided to try the new colors Lindy Frostees just to see how the fish reacted to them verses a plain or solid color Frostee knock off and it was three to one. That holographic life like finish does make a difference. On several occasion the knock off took some work to “convince” the fish to hit if he did not turn away On the second flasher with the new colors there was not time to finesse the fish. As soon as a line showed up on Marcum the fish was in hot pursuit of the lure slamming it. I don’t know if it is more flash or just more lifelike colors but the fish like then and that makes me like them. I even caught a few fish over the 20” mark that had to go back.

As hot as the bite is I hate to leave it for a few days but off to the St. Paul Ice Show for the entire weekend. See some of you there!

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Nice report Jonny, after a quick trip to the cities today I will be packing the wheeler and gear and heading for some of that action this weekend.

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What is the thoughts for the weekend. I am thinking about heading up. I have been waiting to get on the ice. Would walking out be recommended over four wheelers this weekend. How far out would I have to go to get to where the fish are biting?

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Fishing has been great right out in front of West Wind all the way to Hillmans,in about 8ft of water. I was out this morning in front of W.W and was sitting on almost 6" of ice, and did real well for eyes. As for wheelers a guy would have to call the access they are planning on using and they'll give you that awnser. Not that far of a walk even if you could't use them. Good Luck!

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I have never had any luck with just jiggin'. I would appreciate any advice. Do you typically use 6 lb test? During the early ice period, do you ever tip them with minnow heads? Is it a constant jig, if so, how many inches do you typically jig up? 3 inches? 6? A foot?

Any advice would be appreciated! I have pretty much just been a hook and minnow kind of guy. Thanks for any tips!

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Is there any access that anyone can just walk out on? I've never been to this lake but I'm willing to make a trip up there for the fun of it.

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This time of year it is mostly a jigging bite. Best approach is to have a plain hook with a smaller minnow deadsticked or bobber in one hole and the other run a Lindy Rattle N’ Flyer Spoon tipped with just a minnow head. When the fish are aggressive they will slam the jigging action, when more neutral or negative the Red Lake walleye will come in to investigate any sound or flash. This is where the almost motionless live bait presentation offers an easy meal for a sluggish walleye.

As for the access fees I am not sure as each one is different. For public walk out you can look at the ramps but you run the risk if river mouth area that is always a gamble. Nice thing about the resort and road access is you have the latest info, marked road/trail and somebody ready to help you with any problem that may arise.

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cool. thanks for these great reports. Planning a trip up there very soon, haven't been up there in a couple years.

Soooo, whats the crappie bite been like?

Any size to the perch yet?

Thanks

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Planning on coming up tomorrow. Wondering if I should load four wheeler or just plan on walking out. Any recommendations as what resort to go out of?

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Great reports. Hope you're having a good ice show, Jonny.

Got my InFisherman a couple days ago. There's a nice article featuring JonnyP and a diamond approach to jigging in large pike. Looks good. I'll let Jonny elaborate...

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Kind of floors me that just 4 days after 2 guys have to be rescued off the ice that people are asking whether or not to bring wheelers or to walk. Just putting in my 2 cents worth as it does put other people in danger to go out after these guys. Based on my conversation with a friend on the south side he recommends waiting a while unless you are really experienced at getting out of the water after breaking through! Hopefully with the cold weather this week it will be safe to travel by the weekend.

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Kind of floors me that just 4 days after 2 guys have to be rescued off the ice that people are asking whether or not to bring wheelers or to walk. Just putting in my 2 cents worth as it does put other people in danger to go out after these guys. Based on my conversation with a friend on the south side he recommends waiting a while unless you are really experienced at getting out of the water after breaking through! Hopefully with the cold weather this week it will be safe to travel by the weekend.

Wheelers were fine on the east shore this weekend even a pick up out there. South shore not so much with open water off shore

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Quote:
Kind of floors me that just 4 days after 2 guys have to be rescued off the ice

The rescue was Friday morning. 2 days ago.

Quote:
that people are asking whether or not to bring wheelers or to walk.

The guy that asked that question asked it at 5:48 AM Friday. About 4 hours BEFORE the guys needed to be rescued.

Quote:
Based on my conversation with a friend on the south side he recommends waiting a while

URL is a big lake and the conditions are never the same all over the lake. Each entry point is going to have different conditions so it is important to talk to the people where you plan on going out. You might have 10 inches of ice one place but 2 inches of ice 6 miles away. Like Bigslugger found out, open water one place but a few miles away there was decent ice.

Whether it is ice reports or fishing reports never assume that it is the same over the entire URL.

Anybody have any idea of how many of MN's average sized lakes could be fit into URL.

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I just got back from the St. Paul ice show and apologize for my lack of response. The old laptop that could didn't and most likely made its last weird sound. I was disconnected for a few days. Now back at the helm of my home office I can reply again.

As for the pike article yes IN-Fisherman did a nice piece on my diamond method for pike. It’s a fun well written article. Working with the IN-Fisherman guys and writer Matt Straw was a blast as usual. Pick up a copy and check it out.

Ice conditions…this topic during first ice is always a problem in the Upper Red lake forums. Last year the south shore was safe and had better ice long before the Eastern/North shore did. South shore outfitters where letting traffic out and advertising it while the eastern shore had to block the roads and post guards to keep people from going out. Several guides, resorts and road operators on the eastern side tried to explain the difference from one shore to the other but where chastised for it. Looks like some shoe trading going on this year.

As stated several times before I am going to reiterate it. CHECK WITH THE ACCESS YOU PLAN TO USE THE DAY YOU ARE GOING TO USE IT! Currently eastern shore access is working for foot traffic where as the other regions are not. It’s a massive lake and a lot can change from one shore to the other.

To put it in perspective.

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Hey, dem walleyes were bitin pretty good in North St Paul this weekend, don't ya know...:)

good map Jonny, thanks! Who knew the cities were so big??

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One of those red lake seals just popped up a man-hole cover in St. Paul !

Thats where they came from to start with! grin

Just got in from Maplewood, err I mean the NE corner. Report coming soon.

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Once the bags where unpacked from St. Paul Ice Show I took a quick nap and back out to the ice. This time I was headed for an area that will see our sleeper houses the first week. The anticipation of putting clients on an extreme bite the first few days was killing me. I made a rule that I would drill every fifty paces at a minimum for 1/8 mile then walk back and bring the Bearcat ahead. It was worth it as my final destination after checking ice every 50 yards for 1 ¼ miles across the ice.

Ice condition out of Hillmans where I checked averaged 8-9 inches of good looking ice. Not saying a missed a bad spot or ½ mile either way is good but where I was the ice was good all the way out to 12 feet of water.

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Today’s walleyes where turned on, no doubt about that. Two of us limited in short order and threw back multiple fish within the protected slot, several nice 20” class fish showing up today mixed in with the keeper sized walleye. I even caught a bonus 10” perch this afternoon. Fishing on Upper Red Lake is starting off great! Limits coming in with ease and a great size average to boot.

As for today’s bite I think anything would have caught walleye but we did find the fish reacted much more aggressively to the new Purple Smelt pattern on the Lindy Frostee tipped with just a minnow head. No hesitation or finesse action, just a streak across the Marcum was all we had for a warning before the Frostee would get slammed.

I can see why they slam it! Sparkly!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • jparrucci
      Very low, probably 2 feet lower than last year at ice out.
    • mbeyer
      what do they look like this spring?
    • SkunkedAgain
      I might have missed a guess, but here are the ones that I noted:   JerkinLips – March 27th, then April 7th Brianf. – March 28th Bobberwatcher – April…. MikeG3Boat – April 10th SkunkedAgain – early April, then April 21st   Definitely a tough year for guesses, as it seemed to be a no-brainer early ice out. Then it got cold and snowed again.
    • mbeyer
      MN DNR posted April 13 as Ice out date for Vermilion
    • Brianf.
      ^^^45 in the morning and 47 in the evening
    • CigarGuy
      👍. What was the water temp in Black Bay? Thanks....
    • Brianf.
      No, that wasn't me.  I drive a 621 Ranger. 
    • CigarGuy
      So, that was you in the camo lund? I'm bummed, I have to head back to the cities tomorrow for a few days, then back up for at least a few weeks. Got the dock in and fired up to get out chasing some crappies till opener!
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Lots of ice on the main basin, but it is definitely deteriorating.  Some anglers have been fishing the open water at the mouth of the Rainy River in front of the Lighthouse Gap.  The rest of the basin is still iced over. Pike enthusiasts caught some big pike earlier last week tip up fishing in pre-spawn areas adjacent to traditional spawning areas.  8 - 14' of water using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring has been the ticket.  Ice fishing for all practical purposes is done for the year. The focus for the basin moving forward will be pike transitioning into back bays to spawn,  This is open water fishing and an opportunity available as the pike season is open year round on Lake of the Woods. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. With both the ice fishing and spring fishing on the Rainy River being so good, many are looking forward to the MN Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 11th.  It should be epic. On the Rainy River...  An absolutely incredible week of walleye and sturgeon fishing on the Rain Rainy River.     Walleye anglers, as a rule, caught good numbers of fish and lots of big fish.  This spring was one for the books.   To follow that up, the sturgeon season is currently underway and although every day can be different, many boats have caught 30 - 40 sturgeon in a day!  We have heard of fish measuring into the low 70 inch range.  Lots in the 60 - 70 inch range as well.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  Open water is continuing to expand in areas with current.  The sight of open water simply is wetting the pallet of those eager for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th.   A few locals were on the ice this week, targeting pike.  Some big slimers were iced along with some muskies as well.  If you like fishing for predators, LOW is healthy!  
    • Brianf.
      Early bird gets the worm some say...   I have it on good authority that this very special angler caught no walleyes or muskies and that any panfish caught were released unharmed.        
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