Luke,
Here are some of the pics from this weekend up on RED. Sorry the IDA banner blew away in the wind as we were taking the pics. I also got my wife got for the first time and she got a few walleyes!
Sorry boys no crappies to report but the pike fishing is the best I have ever seen!!
The pike are a 40″ and a 39″
more pics
DA WIFE!
nice snakes 
one more
WOWZA them are some nice PIKE Wish i was there 
John?
One question…why are you holding “Da Wife’s” pike in the pictures?
Were you using those tippy up things or rods?
Either way…Nice Fish!
Thanks for the pics! Brings back great memories when crappies were almost non exsistent though they were around. The pike were in the cattails and the walleyes were in mass.
Curious where you are going out of? We were west of washkish on the north side. Still have the old cabin there to boot.
Nice Pike! I hope they lived to grow up real nice and big!
As I have read the slot is not yet in place. But next fishing season, I believe that the slot will be 30″ to 40″ goes back in the water!! Not good but oh well you can allways take pictures.
I was tip up fishing out of Rogers. And sorry but only one made it back in the lake. When you are a taxidermist you tend to mount your catches and kills to advertise your work.
And my wife did not get these 
I beat her to the flag 
You know how it is when your fishing tip ups??? You run like a _____ 
Currently,
There are no slot restrictions specific to Upper Red.
With that said, the state wide restrictions apply of 1 fish over 30 inchs.
Klink;
Your wife caught the other one, right? Yep, I thought so, I thought she caught the other one. And all of your other fish were under 30 inches too, right!!!
Good!!!
End of the questions!!!
By the way;
NICE FISH!!!!!!!
I don’t know about everyone else, but seeing those big (big, not huge) pike killed makes me 
Sorry to upset you but they tasted good boiled with butter and salt and pepper plus they will be forever remembered on my wall. Like I said before I am a taxidermist and sometimes I take a trophy to mount for my self. I would challenge poeple to put back the all the trophys we have caught in out lifes. It is like hunting when you have a clean kill shot are you going to let a 180 class buck walk by or take a picture??
As my buddy Tedd Nuggent has said “kill it and grill it”
“long live the beast the beast is dead”
I guess I am sure that the largest inland lake in MN can afford to lose a couple Pike. How many crappies have come out of RED in the past??????? Look at in now. I only kept 2 when I caught 5 and released them.
Everyone deserves a trophy. Just keep in mind the resource first. I cringe everytime I see a large fish on a stringer etc. I hope they are not kept for meat. They are very valuable to the lake.
That’s the beauty of fishing, you can choose to release a hooked fish. Also, I would not quite equate a 39 or 40″ Pike to a 180 class buck. Maybe a nice 8 point 120’s?
Again, nice fish looked like a fun day!
Same basic princible. A trophy is a trophy based on the person. I think there are some PETA people hiding on this site and it is getting old. I guess I do not hug trees in my spare time.
My motto “You gut and We stuff it”
Not sure about anyone else but there is nothing better then reaching in your freezer compared to running to Cub.
The only PETA I can fess up to is People Eating Tasty Animals! Had vension Friday and Wally/Perch sunday. I just think we’ve learned to much about how valuable a big fish is to the resource, reproduction you know. Passing on those good genetics. I wonder what Red would be like if the people who netted it bone dry the first go around would have would cared about the resource a little and not their personal needs first?
Colklink-The people who view things differently than you are not PETA people. They are people who have respect and concern for our resources 
None of us are saying you don’t have the right to keep or kill what you want, because in the end, it is your decision. How long does it take and how many pike do you see on a regular basis that are true hogs? Not many in my opinion. Crappie and other panfish are more prolific and really can’t be compared on the same scale.
As far as eating fish, why not eat the smaller ones? Do they taste any different? I think that is what the folks on here are saying. It is the same with walleyes. Since more and more people have caught on to catch and release, most walleye fisheries have greatly improved for overall size and numbers. Same goes for passing on smaller bucks and harvesting does for the freezer.
I can see you wanting something decent sized for taxidermy work to show off to customers. But, I can tell from a 20″ fish the quality of your work. I as well as many others don’t need to see a 40″ pike or a 200″ buck to know whether your work is good or mediocre.
Like I said, in the end it is your decision. Seems there are some things people will never agree with or refuse to objectively listen to others ideas.
Thanks Chili Cheese for seeing my point. No harm intended but some folks need it spelled out a little more detailed.
I here your cluckin boys. I told you I released 3 pike the same size! I kept 2. This was the first time I have posted a picture on here and I got slammed by some sally who is not happy that I kept these fish. I did not even get a chance to be proud of my luck.
And do they tatse the same?? Of course they do. But there is more to go around. I also said I am mounting these. In fact they are drying right now. So I am respecting the fish permently. Unlike some other people who will toss a good hide I take the time to use everything possible!!
So no I do not need to have it spelled out more clearly. But thanks for the offer.
And I do understand that we need to put em back for the future. That is why I kept only two.
No harm intended but some people just need to keep their comments to themselves. My god people get over it.
Say what you will but good grief…………………. 
colklink, you said in another post that you keep what the law allows. The law allowed you to keep 2. You released three because you had to, right?
Anyway, I’m confused because your post above says only one made it back to the lake.
Question: do you offer reproduction mounts through your taxidermy business? If you don’t, you should consider it.
Glad you ate the meat from the two pike you kept.
John
I made a mistake when I was typing. I kept the 2 biggest and released the other 3. I could keep 2 because I was with my wife. No I would not keep all 5 if I could. I only wanted a couple to mount and eat so that is what I did.
This weekend I got a 36″ 2 (38″) and 2 (40″) and caught to many walleyes to count which all went back after get shot with the camera.
I do offer reproductions. Not to many people get them done based on $ very exspensive so I focus on skin mounts.
Thanks for your opinions that is what makes the country great 
Well colklink83 this has angered enough people in the esox fishing family, that I have heard about it and as you can see by my post count I do not frequent IDA very often. I heard about it word of mouth from the Musky and Pike fishing community.
I feel that you have shown great disrespect for the waters that I grew up on and I truly hope that I do not have to deal with you or people of your “kill em all” mentality in my future guiding, you would be exiled from my boat indefinetly.
I also think there may be sufficient evidence that this may be a little gray around the legal edges. I would like to see a pic of your wife with the one of the pike over 30″.
Please remember that I DO NOT want to hear the whining when Upper Red has no more trophy pike.
Added with edit~ I also want you to know that in my sixteen years of Guiding, professinal fishing, writing and posting about Muskie and pike this is the first time I have been offended enough to put anger in text, and I have seen some doozies through the years.
Sorry to all the true sportsmen that had to see this.
I think that Kooty and I saw you on Sugar this past summer 
WACK EM AND STACK EM….CAUSE NOTHING TASTES LIKE A TROPHY!!
Bob- are you being sarcastic about killing trophy fish? Or are you being serious?
Quote:
I here your cluckin boys. I told you I released 3 pike the same size! I kept 2.
Why would you want to keep beautiful fish that size? I won’t mount a pike unless its a true trophy. I caught a 44″ pike this year that went right back. If i catch a 45″ pike its on the wall no question, but come on, 38-40″ class is not trophy class imo. Especially when you look at the lake you are on. you are a taxidermest, don’t you have enough fish mounts in your house already anyway?
Also, saying I only kept 2 fish is more like saying: i only killed a few thousand pike. Think about it. Those pike are nice, don’t get me wrong but they are (would) be laying tons of eggs this spring to replenish the population. IMO, go ahead and keep all the 30″ pike you want, but any more than that is starting to push it. I agree with wats, you can come across a 9-1/2 inch gill easily, but those pike are not everywhere, and that is why you keep smaller fish!
Well colklink83 you can call me a sally or PETA or what ever you wish BUT as a lifelong resident of the shores of URL I feel that I have a say about this.
I feel sadness. The URLAA (Upper Red Lake Area Association) has a very good Catch and Release Program for Northern Pike. Take a picture, release the fish and fill out a short form that is available at all the area business’s and you can get a replica at a VERY reduced rate.
If we keep killing off these big spawners soon we will all be catching 1 1/2 pound hammer handles, and very few of them.
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