Weekend report

[Scoot]

We put in at Birchdale on Sat morning. There were four other boats there and not much to report. We fished for three hours and caught two suckers! Didn't see another fish landed.
Goofy weather and huge winds didn't help matters. We also were stuck near the access as our motor wasn't running great. I'd imagine if you could chase a little bit and got the weather to cooperate a little more, you'll find fish. Good luck to all who go!!! Fishing will likely be good this week with the nice weather on the way.

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Scoot

So I got dat goin’ for me… which is nice.

[BDR]

Thanks for the report Scoot. I will be up on wens. morning hopefully the fish start to turn on.

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See ya on the water!

Brian Rogers

[Dr. Bob]

Hey Scoot -

The lake was not much better. Man that must of been rough out there in a boat Saturday morning. It was bad enough going by snowmachine and using a portable!

[EXTREME]

Was one of the boats out there on Friday...I think we were the first to venture out of Birchdale for the year....anyway we ended up landing 10 walleyes and a sucker. The fishing was fast for about an hour when the sun came out...then it died. Breezy and chilly for the most part...but it was fishing on open water. I would also like to warn everyone that the ice was thin on the edge but no problems. This week looks promising.

[Guest]

Fishing was good friday and slow saturday did manage to catch 1 28" walleye saturday were u staying in tent at birchdale brrrrrrrrr didn't envy that crew I fished where wind wasn't such a factor like it is at birchdale
srr

[muddywaters]

Randy,anybody that would sleep in a tent in northern Minnesota in March is a true die-hard fisherman.You have my respect.You probally shovel snow in a T-shirt!!!

[Scoot]

Saulty,

No, I was definitely NOT one of the people in the tents on Sat. I'm pretty die hard, but not that much. One guy we talked to said of the tent he was not staying in, "those guys have it good, they have a woods burning stove in their tent. We only have a summer tent to sleep in." I don't really think of summer tenting until the end of June! I hope those guys each got a nice fish for their very extreme efforts. I also encourage them to give me a call- I think I can refer them to a good shirnk.

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Scoot

So I got dat goin’ for me… which is nice.

[seekingwalleye]

I have gone the last two years and tented it at Birchdale with snow on the ground... its not so bad.. you need a cot to get up in the air. We had one of those buddy heaters and that heated the tent to at least 60 degrees and that was just a plain old summer tent. I actually enjoyed it.. and it sure is nice to get up and have the river right there.. doing it again this weekend... looks like it will be a little warmer this year

[trophyhunter]

Just got back from fishing Monday and Tuesday. Monday was very windy. Big rollers coming right down the river..opposite the currrent. It made boat control a little tough. There were only five or six boats total. Tuesday the river was froze over with a thin layer of ice. Had to break it with the boat. It was cold but there was no wind which made it nice. Had to fish around ice chunks until about 2:00. Two of us caught 30 walleyes the first day and 61 the second with 25 inches being the biggest. Not the numbers or size that we are used to but still a lot of fun.
We brought a 1750 Fish Hawk with a 90 horse. There was some shore ice. We dropped the boat on the edge of the ice and pushed it in. When we landed we drove it on the ice and cranked it on the trailer. We had no problems. There were a few other big boats and we did not see how they did it. We were always the last boat off the river.
They have a lot of snow up there. We drove into Frontier landing to see the river and had to back up the whole way to the hiway because it was a one lane road with high snow banks on both sides. There was not enough room to turn around at the end by the landing. Hopefully the county will come and clear out the parking and the landing otherwise there will be no where to park there.
There was quite a bit of current(more than last year). With the warmer temps forcasted the river should go fast now.
We will be back up the weekend of the 3rd for 4 days. Can't wait. Didn't want to leave.
Good luck to all!!

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"A trophy is in the eye of the beholder"

[MJCatfish]

TH,
Thanks for the updated report. I see you noticed the current seemed a little stronger than last year. What size jig seemed to work the best for you? We're heading up in a week, so it could be totally different by then, but I'm a curious soul.

Thanks!
MJ

[trophyhunter]

We used 1/4 but mostly 3/8. I like to stay as verticle as possible.

[bigeyes]

which landing did you use, how deep did you fish and most of all how do you like the 1750?

[trophyhunter]

The only landing that you could use was Birchdale. The ice was just starting to open up at Frontier. We caught most of our fish in 14 to 18 feet. I really like my Crestliner. It has been a good boat for me.

[swampbuck]

trophy hunter, how far on to the ice did you have to back the truck? I am going to try to go thrus, but I have a 202 tournamnet series. I will need to get the bunks really close to the ice edge to get her on and off. based on what you saw will I be able to get close?

[trophyhunter]

You will be able to get the trailer close to the edge of the water. As of yesterday you will not be able to get the trailer in the water. I don't quite know how you are going to push your boat off a bunk trailer though. Some people think I am crazy to put my boat in the way we do. I have done this a number of times and have never done damage to my boat. When you are dealing with a river with current and shore ice anything can happen. They are still not recommending bigger boats. Getting it back on the bunks may also be harder than cranking it up on a roller trailer.
Sandy at Clementson Resort does a great job of checking the landings and letting you know the conditions of the landings. Check out her web site.
Hope this helps!

[Wiskers]

Well lets hope that the county clears the landing by this weekend.. there is a good chance of that..

If you got bunks.. make sure you pour some water on the bunks before you try to load it.. it will go much easier.. Mine has bunks also.. where there is a will there is a way...

counting the days till Sat.....

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Wiskers Guiding Service
Red River, Red Lake River & Minnesota River,for Channel Cats, Flatheads & Walleyes
Crookston, MN
[email protected]

218-280-0442