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Posted

I'm pasting a portion of an article from today's (1-06) Brainerd Daily Dispatch, as long as so many of us are trying to figure out whether or not they're gone, while we wait for colder weather and thicker ice. The rest of the article can be found on their website. They're referring to Pat Brown, fisheries biologist for the Red Lake Band.

"The crappie population on Upper Red exploded in the 1990s due to the absence of walleyes. But the boom is nearing an end, according to Brown. Fish from the huge year classes of 1994 and 1995 have been hammered by thousands of ice anglers who keep every crappie they catch.

"The huge pulls are gone," Brown said. "A 10-year-old crappie is an old fish. Their cycle is bound to end soon."

On Lower Red, perch are targeted by band members who ice fish. An average weekend will find about 40 guys scattered across the 167,000-acre lake, Brown said. "We have a lot of 8- to 10-inch perch. You don't see as many of those on Upper Red," Brown said.

Lower Red has an average depth of 22 feet while Upper Red averages 12 feet. Perch migrate to the deeper basin in the winter.

There still are plenty of big crappies in both lakes, along with dandy perch and northern pike. Slowly, the walleyes are taking over, as nature intended.

"This is a walleye factory just like Mille Lacs," Brown said. "All it needed was a chance."

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