First Trip to URL…

  • fish_any_time
    Champlin, MN
    Posts: 2097
    #1290200

    Well, I guess it’s not totally true as I did fish during the crappie boom. All I ever used then was a glo-red demon with a minnow and it was game on.

    I am spending three nights between Christman and New Years. I assume we’ll be on the south side as we are going out of Rogers.

    SO the big question…….What are the go to lures, size and colors?

    I plan to employ a bobber setup with either a plain or colored/glo hook. I just need to know what spoons/lures and colors to pick up for our second line.

    SO let me know your go to and secondaries are.

    Thanks

    happycampin
    New Richmond, WI
    Posts: 667
    #822310

    I’ve had my best luck up there with just a plain old red hook and a tail hooked fat head on a florro leader.

    Ryan

    Joel Nelson
    Moderator
    Southeast MN
    Posts: 3137
    #822375

    I’m assuming you’re fishing walleyes, but the strategy would likely be different if targeting pike or perch. Both species have made anglers take note in recent years.

    No doubt about it, a plain hook and minnow can get negative fish to feed out there. However, this strategy is often clumsy and un-necessary when the bite is really on out there, esp. during low-light periods. Jigging spoons of almost any variety, tipped with a minnow head will coax more active fish into biting, with less re-baiting. More importantly, they will draw fish in from distance. While Jonny P already hinted to it in his URL Early Ice Report, the lake has a stained quality to it, and calling fish from a distance with several methods is in order. His second picture really lets the cat out of the bag, as there’s been a handful of us over the years that have used this technique to “call” fish to our other offerings in lakes all over MN/WI. When the fish are agressive enough, they hit the blade-bait. If they ignore it, set it in the rod holder and dead-stick it. While they might hit it, they’re more likely to be looking over your other offerings.

    If you’re running blades on Red, make sure you have a rod/reel/line combination capable enough to tackle a trophy pike.

    If there were ever a lake where drilling lots of holes is beneficial, it would be URL. Think hundreds, not tens. Especially if you’re after crappies. The nice part is that this is one of the easiest ways to continually track down active walleyes. Don’t fish a hole unless you read fish in it, or its the only hole in the area and is isolated.

    Minor bottom depth and content changes are a big deal out there!

    Joel

    jonny p
    Waskish, MN
    Posts: 668
    #822383

    Well I see my old URL fishing buddy Joel was working on a answer at the same time I was.

    Mines better because, well I’m cooler then Joel Nelson, hands down.

    ———————————-

    It is more then just color on Red.

    More often then not a multiple presentation will outshine any one single style set up. You want to approach it with two main objectives 1) Get their attention in the stained red waters with its limited visibility. 2) You need to match the mood for the best hook ups on whether they are negative, neutral or looking to smash anything in front of them.

    How I normally approach it is one jig rod making all the noise and flash possible. Some great baits for this are a various assortment of rattle type spoons such as the Buckshot spoon, Lindy Flyer and the irresistible flutter of the Slender spoon, also look at the BFT blade baits with that low end hum that calls in fish from long distances. The more flash and dash the better, golds, silvers, whites and other long range colors will work great to get them turned around and looking for the chow.

    Now that you have them turned and aggressive look at your glow colors such as red, green and white applied to smaller jigs with a rocking motion such as grub style jigs, Rockers and Demons in a smaller size. Hold steady as fish come into the screen of your flasher investigating the noise and flash from your aggressive jig hand only to reject that offering 9 times out of 10 before moving onto the live bait presentation with its limited motion and allure that only live bait can produce.

    Call them in with flashy metallic with rattles and seal the deal with small and subtle glow jigs, unless they are on fire hot. Then bust out glowing spoons and minnow heads with an aggressive bottom pounding and hang on because you have just become an all-star fish flipping angler.

    Now for those extremely tough bites you can’t beat a super sensitive bobber rig and a plain hook. Set the rig so the bobber just barely holds the bait and don’t touch it! You will want to touch it, jig it, maybe even just twitch it a little…don’t touch it. Often time when Red goes negative we have learned from the Marcum cameras that the walleye will not make forward motion towards their target, period. By a simple opening of the mouth and a puff of the gills and they suck in a large amount of water and draw the bait in all while never moving a millimeter. They then sit and hold the bait sometimes for several minutes before deciding to either move on or consume your offering, one twitch, movement or heavy bobber pull they will spit it back out as quickly as they pulled it in. This is where your bobber rig needs to be ultra sensitive and as light as possible, it will pay huge dividends when the going gets tough. And remember don’t touch it!

    jonny p
    Waskish, MN
    Posts: 668
    #822388

    Quote:


    If you’re running blades on Red, make sure you have a rod/reel/line combination capable enough to tackle a trophy pike.

    Joel


    No doubt about that, pike absolutely smash those blade baits, even late into the night.

    cdn
    West Central, MN
    Posts: 338
    #822671

    Quote:


    Now for those extremely tough bites you can’t beat a super sensitive bobber rig and a plain hook. Set the rig so the bobber just barely holds the bait and don’t touch it! You will want to touch it, jig it, maybe even just twitch it a little…don’t touch it. Often time when Red goes negative we have learned from the Marcum cameras that the walleye will not make forward motion towards their target, period. By a simple opening of the mouth and a puff of the gills and they suck in a large amount of water and draw the bait in all while never moving a millimeter. They then sit and hold the bait sometimes for several minutes before deciding to either move on or consume your offering, one twitch, movement or heavy bobber pull they will spit it back out as quickly as they pulled it in. This is where your bobber rig needs to be ultra sensitive and as light as possible, it will pay huge dividends when the going gets tough. And remember don’t touch it!


    A preferred method for the Rock N Reel! Can be deadly!!

    Joel Nelson
    Moderator
    Southeast MN
    Posts: 3137
    #822866

    Cooler? Yes I agree. Our geographic location is typically a few degrees warmer.

    As for the fishing, I have no problem in letting folks know that almost everything I know regarding Upper Red Lake was put in my brain by Jonny, for better or worse.

    We’ll be fishin’ in a few days!

    Joel

    jonny p
    Waskish, MN
    Posts: 668
    #822905

    Quote:


    almost everything I know regarding Upper Red Lake was put in my brain by Jonny

    Joel


    Dude thats not good…

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