Fishing the Red Lake River .....

[Vanish]

New Guy Here .. so Thanks' in advance ... Just wondering about fishing in general on the red lake river between "High Landing" ... and "Kratka Bridge" Just wondering if any one Knows that area here ??? and what it would be like fishing there in general ???? Thanks' Bill ......... Looks Like my first post was in the wrong Place !!!!!

[CANOPY SAM]

Welcome to the forum Vanish.

The river between High Landing and Kratka is often pretty over-looked water. To my knowledge, it gets very little fishing pressure, and if and when someone lands on a good bite up that way, they remain pretty tight-lipped as a rule.

There are a lot of good fishing spots between Kratka and town. Find the deeper holes and you'll likely find a few fish. This year fishing has been quite a bit slower than last year, but the ice is good, and the current is very slow, so this makes ice-fishing the river much easier.

There are a lot of nice walleyes in that stretch of river, and many, many good pike. Finding pike is easy here. Finding walleyes is a little tougher. Again, finding deeper stretches of water, in the "head" of a hole, or the "tail" of a hole will help to put you in good percentage water.

There's still a window of time left on the "first ice" early season bite, so now is the time to get out and explore this water. Once the deep cold sets in for winter, fishing really falls off here locally.

I'll be honest with you, if you're hoping anyone in the area will share key info I'm afraid you'll be pretty disappointed. Folks around here are pretty quiet about a good bite. I think, in a way, that's a good thing. Our river is a great underutilized resource, and when the "word" gets out about fish biting, people are all over it so fast fish get cleaned out in the blink of an eye.

Spring, summer and fall fishing can be really good in the river. If you're interested in learning a little water once the snow and ice are gone give me a call, and I'll be happy to take you out for a float trip and show you some good fishing.

What brings you to NW Minnesota from So Cal?

[Vanish]

Sam ... Thanks' for the reply .... I have bought some property along the river in this area .. and was wondering what to expect as far as how the fishing there would go ..... wont make it there until the summer ... But would sure like to have you show me around if the offer is still Good !!!!!! I'll send you a pm with my Number .... if that sounds Good to You .... THANKS' AGAIN ,,,,, Bill ......

[CANOPY SAM]

Sure Vanish. The offer is always open. I never fish as much as I used to, or would like to, but fishing everyday probably wouldn't go over too well with my wifey.

Without knowing exactly where your property is I can't really say how the fishing will be, but as long as you have river frontage access, you'll have access to some fishing opportunities by boat or canoe.

My family is blessed with a lovely piece of river front property south of TRF. We have a really nice spot in the back yard that we fish from spring to first ice, and catch lots of walleyes, catfish, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and various other critters.

Look forward to hearing from you, and meeting you this summer. Really wish I was in So Cal right now!

[swen]

I am from goodridge and i was up there for christmas and the water level is so low that i am sure it might freeze to the ground since in most spots there are only 1foot to 1 1/2 feet of water but the best is usually right west of the highlanding bridge.

[CANOPY SAM]

Swen. I'm sure you're right about the river below the dam. With the exception of some of the deeper holes, most of the river will almost certainly freeze to the bottom.

Above the dam there is ample water to support fish thru the winter. Although there are many very low stretches of water out east of town, there are also stretches of water that are 6-8 feet deep, even with the low water conditions. As long as there is a little water continuing to flow there should be enough oxygen to keep our fish alive.

At least I hope so....

[Vanish]

I Have Been wondering about a Couple of things ??? Were is the Dam on the River ??? and also I hear the red Lake River is real popular canoe River .... is the whole river open to canoeing even on the reservation ??? or can you only canoe on certain parts of the river ??????

[CANOPY SAM]

Bill. There is a small low-head dam a few miles east of Lower Red Lake on the reservation. The next dam in sequence is right in TRF, just south of 1st street. This is a complete dam including flood gates, and power turbines supplying electricity for TRF. This dam controls the water depth in your stretch of river, and most of the area "above" the dam.

To my knowledge there are only a few low-head dams for the remainder of the Red Lake River all the way to East Grand Forks. There was a large low-head dam in Crookston, MN, but it was completely removed a few years back, which allowed catfish back into our stretch of river.

The Red Lake River is all open to canoeing, however, I wouldn't say it's "popular". I only know of a few people that ever float the river, below the dam, in a canoe, of which I am one. Much of the river, above the dam, is accessible by a regular boat with motor. Canoeing is a nice peaceful way to "learn" the water, and most of the river between TRF and St.Hilaire is only accessible by canoe.

Dropping in a canoe in TRF, and floating the river south can offer you some of the best walleye, smallmouth bass, pike and catfishing you can find anywhere in the country! Stealthily canoeing into the deep holes in the river out by Smiley, Kratka, and Highlanding Bridge can also reveal some terrific walleye and pike fishing.

We are not allowed, again to my "limited" knowledge, to use any resources within the Red Lake Reservation. We can't fish, we can't hunt, we can't cut wood, we can't have a cabin or land, and we can't lawfully explore any reservation property. This reservation is one of only two "sovereign" reservations in the entire country, which makes it a "nation" unto itself, meaning we are only allowed to drive thru, or work there with prior permission and authorization.

If you look on a map you'll see the eastern (half) shore of Upper Red Lake is actually Minnesota property, and we are allowed to fish this water under the auspices of MN state law, but there is a peculiar "imaginary" line that runs thru Upper Red lake which acts as a boundary between reservation (western half), and state owned waters (eastern half).

Your property is well west of the reservation line, and canoeing in the area shouldn't ever be an issue. You'd have to paddle another 15-20 miles (as the crow flies) up river (east) from your place to reach the reservation line.

[swen]

yes the red lake river is a great place to canoe or kayak as long as you stay out of the reservation. i use to kayak on it all the time i started at the neptune bridge and went all the way into TRF took most of the day but was a blast and caught many fish. even from TRF to

ST. Hillarie is a great stretch

[CANOPY SAM]

Where is the Neptune Bridge, Swen? I've never heard of this bridge before.

[swen]

the neptune bridge is county rd 2 on your way to Gully MN i use to fish there all the time because its only a couple miles from the reservation so it would produce pretty good walleye and crappie when they would open up the dam on the reservation

[MN Mike]

Timely article for you guys in the GF Herald today about fishing on the reservation, they even have a video to go with it on their website.

There are a few people from our local area that go fish by the dam on Lower Red in the summer and catch HUGE Pike, you have to hire a guide, you can not fish Lower Red but you can fish the river and other small lakes. I believe the river is only open to Pike, it's not open to us to catch walleye and I'm unsure about Crappie but they say all of that is caught at the dam on Lower Red.

Here's a little snippet from the GF Herald today.

• Four lakes on the Red Lake Indian Reservation stocked with rainbow trout and brook trout are open to ice fishing for the first time this winter to nontribal anglers who hire a tribal guide.

• The trout limit is five, and use of minnows for bait is prohibited.

• Nonresident fishing permits cost $10 daily, $25 weekly and $50 for a season.

Mike

[CANOPY SAM]

Thanks Mike. I read both these articles and don't see anything about fishing pike near the Reservation Dam? Can you point me in the direction of any literature that states our (non-tribal) rights to fish the tribal waters on the Red Lake River?

Do you mean we also have to hire a guide service from the reservation to fish for pike on the reservation Red Lake River waters?

Honestly, I wouldn't really think this would be necessary. What I mean is, there are no barriers between fish at the head waters of the Red Lake River and Thief River Falls. There is a small low-head dam on the river just a few miles west of the lake (in the reservation), but between here and there, there's nothing else to stop pike from swimming freely up and down the (non-tribal) stretches of water...at least that I know of.

I'd be willing to guess there are many, many trophy pike, and lots of good walleye fishing spots between us and the reservation border. I just don't think many people bother fishing it.

It might just be me, but I'd rather not drop a couple hundred bucks on a guide if I don't have to. With a canoe, or small shallow-drafting boat and a short shaft motor, I'd guess someone could access most of that water without too much trouble.

With the water so low below the dam, I'll probably be exploring more of that water above the dam this summer.

[TyGuy02]

I fished by the neptune bridge in june this year and didn't have any luck. Talked to another boat and they only had one small pike. I have caught a few walleyes in the past from shore there, but that was only when the water was high. When I was there in june the water was low, couldn't imagine how low it would've been in august or september this year! There is a boat access at that bridge, and when I floated downstream there didn't seem to be too much for obstacles in the water. I think I spotted one tree sticking up to avoid in the 2 miles I floated down.

[MN Mike]

I don't think we have any rights to anything inside the reservation borders. If you want the name and number of the fellow that fish's it, send me a PM, I'll shoot it back to you. He can fill you in better than I on how he goes about fishing that area, you are right, hardly anyone fish's it. Trust me, if it was an expensive adventure ( hiring the guide as you are required to do to fish the river ), he wouldn't do it, he makes a few trips throughout the summer up there, it would add up in a hurry.

Mike

[Vanish]

I fished by the neptune bridge in june this year and didn't have any luck. Talked to another boat and they only had one small pike. I have caught a few walleyes in the past from shore there, but that was only when the water was high. When I was there in june the water was low, couldn't imagine how low it would've been in august or september this year! There is a boat access at that bridge, and when I floated downstream there didn't seem to be too much for obstacles in the water. I think I spotted one tree sticking up to avoid in the 2 miles I floated down.

This was In september !!!!!!

[CANOPY SAM]

You should've seen it in June! There was quite a lot of flooding in the area as they drew down the Upper and Lower Red Lakes. Then they shut everything down right at the head of a severe drought! Nearly dried up our river completely. Even the folks at Upper Red are a little miffed that the draw down was so drastic. There are only a few places left on the entire eastern shore of Upper Red Lake where you can still launch a boat...in the summertime of course.

We're going to need a lot more snow, and heavy spring rains to get back to our "normal" water levels. But I'll give you guys a little tip. This is the time to explore. It's a great opportunity to learn the hidden river structure you can't see during normal, higher water years.

[cdoo]

I know its probably been asked and answered, but I'm looking to take someone out fishing this weekend and do not have the time to take the trek to the big pond. I'm looking to get him on some fish. The KC tourney is Sunday and want to get a little ways away from the crowd. Which direction would be best from the 8th st access? Possibly put out a couple of tip ups for jacks and maybe jig for a walleye. I'd go tomorrow and miss the tourney crowd, but the 500 is happening.

[CANOPY SAM]

Did you find any fish, cdoo? Sorry I didn't respond earlier but I was over in Grand Rapids on a Christian Men's Retreat. Great snowmobiling, ice-fishing for Lakers (didn't catch any), and winter sauna including the good old Polar Plunge thru the ice on Bluewater Lake!

Good times, good times....

[cdoo]

Didn't make it out. The weather chased off the visitor. Hunkered down with the family after church and got ready for a trip to LOTW this weekend instead. Going out of Babblers and I think hitting Arnesons Reef. First winter trip to the big water this year and of course a clipper is coming through on Thursday. I just wish the stinking barometer would level out a bit.

[CANOPY SAM]

Amen, brother, Amen! Weather man reports a high of 0 on Saturday! These roller coaster barometric pressure changes every few days are really messing up ice-fishing this year. I thought about heading up on Saturday, but think I'll wait for more steady weather. Not really into spending a hundo just to catch 3 7-8 inch saugers.

[cdoo]

The one thing I've learned in my years of fishing is that fishing is unpredictable. I'm hoping that they will baffle me again and be biting. (No rebuttal to that please, I'm trying to stay excited about the prospect of disappearing bobbers)

[cdoo]

Thinking about bringing my almost 4 year old daughter out tomorrow ice fishing for the first time. Figure I'd throw a couple of tip ups out and dead stick a couple of rods. May be the shortest fishing trip of my life, but she sees pictures of me with fish and wants to go. Any tips near 8th street access to snag something? Plan on setting up in 10 feet with the portable and putting tip ups a little shallower. Hope we can catch one right away to keep her interest up.

[CANOPY SAM]

How you do, Cdoo? The wife and I just got back in from a nice 25 mile ride on the river, and across country. We rode by 8th street and there were lots of people down there fishing. You catch a couple, see anyone catch anything? Your little girl get to see a fish?

Sure is a beautiful day to be outside! Wish every winter day could be so nice.

[cdoo]

My daughter and I are headed out now to try our luck. I'll let you know how it goes and hopefully have a pic or two to post.

[cdoo]

No fish were caught on my daughter's maiden voyage, but she surprised me and lasted about 4 hours. We brought the dvd player and I think that helped. We did have 2 bobbers disappear of course both times I was putting a new Veggie Tales in for her. She really loved the ice cream on the way home and is asking when we can go again. Are there crappie or some other panfish that we can still target in the Red Lake River?

[CANOPY SAM]

Sorry no fish, but if she had fun that's all that matters! It was a beautiful day to be out on the ice. Best time to bring the little ones out.

cdoo. There are a lot of rock bass in the river below the dam, and I believe, on a rare occasion, there are a few Red Lake crappies that find their way down to our stretch of river, but they are so rare I'm not real sure it's worth the time to look for them.

Ice-fishing can be pretty slow this time of year, so don't get discouraged. Spring, summer, and fall fishing are much better then our winter season here on the river.

[cdoo]

No, no, not discouraged. It was real sloppy out there so we just hung around the access. It would have only been 7 feet deep join open water so we had a little less than 4 feet of water under the ice. Didn't think she'd last moving and setting up again. I'd take a few hours being skunked with her over a weekend on lotw catching buckets of keeper eyes. Watching her play in the minnow bucket and setting her movie aside every 5 minutes to jiggle her pole like I was made it worth it. She kept telling me the big fish was coming, we have to wait 3 more minutes. I think I have a fishing buddy for next winter.

[CANOPY SAM]

I think you do too!