stfcatfish, reply to your question

[Guest]

Hi Cat,
Under the heading of Duluth Fishermen, you asked how deep in Kimballs for the crappie. I thought I would post it here under a new topic, the other one is getting pretty long. Look for 13, to 15 feet. The fish we got were not very active, they were hugging the bottom. Sometimes when they are feeding good, they will suspend up to about 5 feet off the bottom. I was using a small spoon at first, with just a minnow head. They were having no part of that, so I switched to a very small Gemini Jig, blue and glo, with a minnow hooked through the back. They bit on that, and on a plain hook and sinker/bobber set up better. I'll be out there tomorrow on a walleye search. If I can't find 'em, I'll go crappie fishing. Will let you know how I do.

Set the Hook!!

Lundman

[Steve Foss]

Thanks Lundman.

It was the same was at McClure's when I was there. Had one rig with crappie minnow backhooked on small glow jig under bobber and one jigging spoon or small jigging Rapala with minnow head. Caught almost all the perch on the actively jigged rig, and all the crappies on the bobber setup. That was in 9 feet, the deepest water the map shows for that inlet. My pike tip-up with smelt went ignored all day, which surprised me.
What's the best access to Kimballs, by the way?

Tomorrow I'll be fishing Beltrami or one of the lakes around it. Turtle and Blackduck are supposed to be sporting solid evening walleye bites.
Then on to Upper Red Saturday and another Bemidji-area lake (don't know which) on Sunday. I'll let you know how it goes.

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Steve ([email protected])

[Mnfisher]

For Your Information, a friend was fishing Red lake last weekend and did fantastic. Caught big crappies and limits. He was losing them til his buddy drilled 10"holes! Good Luck!

[Guest]

Catfish,

The best way to get to Kimballs is the access off Badger Drive. Go to the 28th street landing,(the bay where everybody pike fishes, and all the permanant houses are at) and just drive right past it. You'll wind around a few curves and come to Badger Drive. Hang a right, and around the corner a little ways, there's a parking area on the left side of the road. Park there, and take the trail in onto Kimballs Bay.
I tried my luck on Thursday. Started out in Kinlner, little bay around the corner from Kimballs. Saw fish, but no biters. Talked to a guy on Kimballs that had been there for two hours and had one crappie. Went from there to Mclures. Saw fish constant on the Vex, but very few biters, got a half dozen perch, two of which I kept, and promptly gave away before heading to one of my walleye spots. There's a depression in the flat way out by the shipping canal that can only be found by GPS in the winter. I fished there for the last hour and a half and was able to tease up three bites, on of which I hooked and caught a nice eye. That was pretty much the whole day. There were fish at every spot I tried, but the biters were few and far between. Hopefully, next time out will be more productive. Good luck, hope you had a good time up north this weekend.

Set the Hook!!

Lundman

[Steve Foss]

Hey Lundman:

Thanks for the additional info. It all goes in the hopper.

We did really well at Upper Red. Came home with our limits, as well as some whitefish and pike. Saw lots of walleyes, too. Can't wait to get out there when that opens back up.

Don't have GPS, but that's next on my list. I don't even call it a toy anymore. There are too many humps and sunken islands and reefs on the waters I normally fish to be without GPS. Not to mention spots like the one you mentioned. Got any recommendations? My budget says lower end, and I'm lookig at a Garmin. There are a couple in the $150 to $200 range.

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Steve ([email protected])

[Steve Foss]

Hey Lundman:

Thanks for the additional info. It all goes in the hopper.

We did really well at Upper Red. Came home with our limits, as well as some whitefish and pike. Saw lots of walleyes, too. Can't wait to get out there when that opens back up.

Don't have GPS, but that's next on my list. I don't even call it a toy anymore. There are too many humps and sunken islands and reefs on the waters I normally fish to be without GPS. Not to mention spots like the one you mentioned. Got any recommendations? My budget says lower end, and I'm lookig at a Garmin. There are a couple in the $150 to $200 range.

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Steve ([email protected])

[Guest]

Hi Cat,
Sounds like you had a good time on Red. I saw mixed reports, but the general consensus is fishing has been pretty good. As far as the GPS goes, they are all pretty good. Just make sure you get a 12 channel, and your good to go. Get the best one that your budget allows. One thing, do some reading if you can on ease of operation. Usually, when you need to remember how to do a certain thing, you are in a hurry, or are on the water and don't want to waste time cruising through the manual. I took mine around with me in the truck a lot when I first got it just playing with it, practicing, if you will, so I knew enough about it that when it came time to use it, I knew how. Garmin, Lowrance, Eagle, it doesn't really matter, but some are easier to operate than others. Good luck, you'll have a blast with it. It can be a really handy tool for being able to backtrack if you lose your way on a big body of water, or, if the fog rolls in, or, well, you get the picture.

Set the Hook!!

Lundman