Red Lake River?

Hey guys, I know this is not the Red Lake River forum (there isn’t one) but I thought I’d see if anyone had insight into this river after reading BK’s post about the mighty Red.

My dad is from Crookston and was just up there this week. He was talking with a DNR officer (he is trying to donate some wetlands he owns) and asked about the fishing on the Red Lake River since the dam in Crookston has been removed. I guess now it is just rocks, which allows fish to move freely up and downstream. The DNR officer says they hope it will improve the fishery.

He remembers catching big cats just below the dam when he was a kid in the 1950s and 1960s. I was wondering if anyone fishes this river and knows anything about the condition of the fishery or has any stories.

Thats my home water!

Well….spill your guts!

That’s also my hometown.I used to live about 70 feet from the Red down on Pine street. people from Iowa would camp in our backyard and catch big cats below our house. when red lake flooded a few years ago some of those crappies got in the river alot of them have been caught in this stretch of the river maybe all over it.I’ve always caught big eyes out of it . My father (now passed )caught 2 waleyes in the same spot same day over 12lbs on a bamboo pole got his pics in the local paper.The river has alot of big smallies in it also.Alot of good fishing on the Red. If any one wants to contact me I can give you some spots to try. the last cat I caught was a19lb channel. thanks for bringing up the Red.Gene Reese

Thats the river I fished as a kid. I would drive my bike with rod in hand and a pocket full of nuts that I used for sinkers. I remember catching frogs along the shore and used those for fishing. Walleye fishing can be great of the Red Lake, once while fishing with my father we landed three over five pounds with the biggest running around seven. The biggest cat I have hauled out the there was just over twenty poinds. This river is very shallow and has some great holes that hold fish. I like float fish it with a small boat with maybe a 5hp motor. I like to float from Crookston to Fisher with is an all day trip. You can catch Walleye, Pike, Muskie, Catfish, Smallmouth Bass, this river holds alot of different fish. Hope this is what your looking for.

This is exactly what I am looking for.

Does anyone notice a difference without the old dam there?

There are some that just can’t seem to find the fish since the dam was removed. They are saying that all the work scared the fish away, but to be honest the fish have moved above the dam. If your going to fish the river now you have got to know how to read a river and fish different area not just behind a dam that is stoping the fish from moving upstream.

True that sir. I was just wondering if the removal of the artificial boundary had made for better or more visible new structure.

Have you heard/seen anything about this?

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True that sir. I was just wondering if the removal of the artificial boundary had made for better or more visible new structure.

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There is not much difference other than fish are not stopped by the dam anymore. They move through and from people I’ve talked with, the fishing was much better above the dam last summer. For some reason, the fishing was really good up towards Thief River Falls last summer, not sure if that is a result of the dam being modified or just coincidence.

What has changed below the dam is the big sandbar on the police station side is much different. The eddy currents and the deep hole on the hospital side have also been drastically altered.

It will be interesting to see how the fishing is this spring/summer when no work is going on with the dam. The river has had a chance to settle down and the fish will be adjusting their patterns accordingly.

Ice Fishing was very good on the river this winter too. Nobody ever ice fished the river before and they were climbing over each other to get out there this winter. Walleyes & saugers were biting good with some big fish too!