Fishing Reports Upper Red Lake Opener

[Will]

how was fishing over the weekend?

[srj]

No replies? Sometimes means good, but probably not this time. We hit the water Saturday at 1:30 P.M. in my camo lund, launching at the park ramp. Guys leaving said it was very slow. Saw a fish netted from one of the docks. On getting out in the lake, it was obvious the normal early drop-off bite wasn't happening....most all boats were well off the breakline. We fished minnows for almost an hour in two different areas without a bite and only saw a couple fish netted. Switched to cranks and caught 18 by 4:30. All eaters, only one over 17. Covered lots of ground, passed by many boats and saw very few netted.  We didn't catch any sheepfish or pike, which seemed odd. Water was around 55 degrees.

We thought fishing was okay but certainly not what we expected. Can't say what the morning or evening bite was like.

Good luck

 

 

 

 

[Peterevvv]

Lake conditions and fish patterns looked to be weeks ahead of previous years. Fish were still schooled up and biting very light in the bad weather. We had to get right on top of structure and then wait for a school to come by to get a consistent bite. It seemed a lot of guys we talked to weren't tuned into this and had problems. They were still at the mouth of the river and/or doing a fast troll through deeper water. We parked on a rock pile on the north side in 6ft and pitched green fuzzy grubs and caught limits of fish all throughout the days over the weekend within a couple hours. I think a lot of guys where way too deep for the water temps and it doesn't surprise me that boats that moved around a lot would finally run into the schools and structure that were producing.

[Rick]

Nice 1st report Peter!!! Cool

 

[Will]

Thanks for the replies

[Rick]

Don't forget to  click the "Like this" button when you appreciate someones info or help.

[perchking]

I have not been to Red since 2007, I really need to get back.  I was first introduced to a bunch of FM'ers during our visits, I used to take 20+ guys from the UP on that annual weekend getaway. 

[walleye29us]

How has the bite been lately?

[CranktheTank]

I personally was fishing around the Park Rapids area this weekend, however I have some family members fishing on Upper Red on Saturday and they had a hoot in the few hours they were out!  They pulled cranks in the 4-7 foot range after launching out of Roger's and boated 50+ walleyes with fish size ranging 15-21 inches.  I was surprised that they reported minimal boats on the water and zero pressure on the areas they were targeting.  They caught a lot of fish just barely over 17 inches and had to work a little for their eaters!  In my opinion this is a great issue to have!  Most importantly they were able to get my 4 year old cousin on some awesome walleye action and she is completely "hooked" on fishing now!

[kelly-p]

I've been way too busy to think about fishing but I talked to John from Beacon's today and he said that this weekend was by far the best fishing of the season. 

[BLACKJACK]

My wife and I were up Friday and Sat, staying at Big Bog, fishing just outside the Tamarack. Friday afternoon the water was rough but we had good fishing!!!! It was fun. Had to sort thru quite a few +17's and small fish to get our eaters but it was fun. Sat morning was tougher, we only caught two fish!! Late Sat afternoon went back out and the fish were biting better, again sorted thru overs and unders but got several that we could take home.

 

Is it a concern that its hard to find fish in that 14.5 -17 inch range? How long will it take the 12-13 inch fish to grow to 15-16 inches? 

 

I hope they don't open up the slot so those 17-20 inch fish get eaten!!! Leave them be the future spawners!!

[Muskieguy]

Just returned from a 4 day trip, Friday PM thru Monday AM.  Fishing was steady every time we were out, averaging about 10-15 fish per hour for the 2 of us in my boat.  However, the fish seemed to come in bunches. There were times we caught 5 fish on 5 casts, and times we went 45 minutes without a bite.  We tried many different areas and many different depths from 4-9 feet.  Best depths for us were from 5-7 feet.  Friday was our best day for bigger fish with at least a dozen over 19, including a 25.5 incher.  We had no trouble catching fish in the 15-17 inch range.  As a matter of fact we fished Monday morning in order to catch the fish we planned on taking home, and it took less than 10 minutes to catch our 4 fish around 16 inches, including many smaller/bigger fish we threw back. I would say 50% of the roughly 275 fish we caught and released were 14-15 inches. So plenty of eaters to be had.  On Saturday when the wind was light, we used the trolling motor to move around but found better fishing when anchored.  We figured out early that the slower you could fish the better.  Once anchored, fan cast, then drag the jig on the bottom as slow as you can.  Once you get a bite/fish, cast right back to that spot.  There were many times I caught fish on successive casts to the same spot. I guess the bottom line is that if you are not catching fish, be open to new tactics and do something different until you find something that makes them bite.