As Upper Red Lake changes by the hour I will do my best to keep the reports coming as the ice pack solidifies and locks down for the year. The last few cold days and even colder nights have accelerated this process ten fold and my daily reports are outdated by the time I complete them but it will be the latest info on the big pond. Today I was greeted with thicker ice in most spots, slightly cleaner water and even a few more of those nighttime fish.
Ice thickness still vary across the lake as Upper Red Lake is no farm pond or 900 acre lake, we are talking about ten miles wide and twenty-four miles long 108,000 acres of moving, shifting and just plain temperamental ice that will do just as it pleases. Just think of a ice sheet that goes from Plymouth MN all the way across the Metro to Oakdale, MN and covers everything in-between 494 on the south side and 694 on the north side, basicly the size of the metro! So variances in thickness, massive cracks and jack in the box pressure ridges are to expected as is everyone’s safety consciousness, she is a big mean hunk of frozen water that wants nothing more then to show us just how insignificant we are.
Best ice I found today was coming in at 6.5 inches and the worst spot was just a shade over 3 with a 5 inch average. I am seeing a fairly stable ice pack on the eastern shore all the way from Beacon Harbor (Hudec’s) all the way down past Hillmans and onto Westwinds Resort, south of that point I have not personally checked and can not clarify on the ice conditions on the southern side of things. What I can do is tell you the north shore is a mess, I crossed three pressure ridges and two severe cracks just to get to one of my closer waypoints only to encounter lesser ice thicknesses. For this weekend I do recommend that everyone stick to the eastern and southern shores until that extreme north side has a few days to heal up and see how bad the warming temps will make it buckle this weekend. I have also received word that WestWinds and Hillmans are letting ATVs out at their own risk of course. Check your own ice and don’t take anything for granted.
As for the bite it has been great after dark, typical of this time of the year. Glow presentations accompanied with sounds such as rattles and vibes are out producing when it comes to directing those late night walleyes to there targets. Stick to depths of six to seven feet for the best bite even if it does not come until 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening it is well worth the wait. Just remember your LIVE BAIT (preferably from ma and pop shops), lights, glow chargers and way back to shore and you should see some great fishing this weekend.
