So What’s U Red Lake going to be like this year?

What an amazing lake. Fished out…pig crappies for what, 15 years and now the eyes are back.

Are the mile long schools of crappies still up there?

i head up to low for a few times each ice season. red is always in the back of my mind because whenever it is slow at low, red has been good to us. low just has a better feel being up there than red, but fishing has always been good to us up there. i will be hitting it for sure!

those pesty eyes are unreal for count this year, this falls DNR net reported that the crappie count was near its level of average yet, the perch count was down and the gator count up with more large ones,I have been on that lake the past 8 years (for 3 months out of the year living in my sleeper on the ice) I have so many stories to share I cant type fast enough, stories like – we didnt need bait,limits in 15 minutes,tossing back 16-17 inch crappies,2 lb crappies,drilling one hole getting 6 limits in less than 1 hour out of it- last year was the tough year for every lake, Low to Brainerd, this year were expecting a grand year

There still are plenty of crappies. If you havent been there yet, you need to experience it. Its a once in a lifetime type of deal. Just imagine sitting in a rental with 4 lines down and all bobbers are down at the same time and you and the wife pull up 4 15 inch crappies.

Not to mention earlier in the day, walleyes, perch and monter pike. All out of the same rental..

I’m beting that this year will blow last year away .Last year was just urine poor out on URL ,There were tons of eye’s to be had but C&R only,The slabs seemed to be extinct at times and the one’s we caught had zoo planton? in there guts.
This year just has to be better,now we can keep a few eyes

After fishing URL this summer, my question for ice season is where do you fish? The first break? In the cribs? There was very little structure on that lake.

Or do you just drill a hole and wait for the school to come by?

You keep drilling until you find them. Some time it takes all day to find slabs. If you aren’t that ambitious, then you get set up for the Morning and Evening bites and let them come to you. If you are happy with the chance at some fish, the second method is the best. If you want to catch them hand over fist, you go look for them.

That is how I do it every time. Sometimes others on the lake have them located for you, but those bites don’t last long.

By far the best bite for numbers is finding them during the day. If you can find them during the day, you have a GREAT spot. However, they generally don’t bite in the same spot during the day as they do at night.

Or you get a rental from Kelly P.

Nothing quite like the nuisance 22″ walleyes that keep hitting the tip up’s. URL produces a gorgeous walleye and the first crappie up the hole always amazes me. It will be nice to slide a walleye sandwich in between those crappie sandwiches with hashbrowns.Man, I’m getting hungry. Think cold.

The walleye fishing was great for us last year; to bad we were looking for slabs . The walleyes would hit anything that moved: minnow, waxy, and gulp! Not complaining at all, but glad to be able to keep a couple eyes this year.

I’ve never been to URL..drove by it a coulpe times.

Since I can’t get the FW to carry the auger…well, she will but she can’t keep up with my wheeler…

If I rented a house is there generally “some” kind of action all day?

I would like to fish LOTW’s then stop at URL on the way back.

Scott has been there enough times to understand-its fishing- you do have to work for them- certain areas hold them for awhile but they move, day bite to morning to night- Im a firm believer that if you hit them during the day ;-night or morning;- they will be there over a period of time period and close to the same time- its really odd how one end of the lake turns on then the other end, then the middle or visa versa!! now thats a challenge-

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Or you get a rental from Kelly P.

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Better call quick, I’m his son and I’m having a tough time getting in. Lots of folks going after those walleyes this winter.

Upper Red has been trying to make ice but with the wind the last few days it has pushed it near shore- they still have a light skiff of snow on the ground which is great for deer hunting- one good thing is that when the busted chunks freeze they are sometimes the most safe ice to be on as it welds together, the bad part is it makes it hard on tires and plows till its broke down

Wow!! Amazing!!

When is the time to go URL and what rentals should we get??

Most ice fishing, early ice is the best and it slowly goes down hill from there. URL is much different!! Early ice can be good, but it gets better as the year goes by. Those big slabs stack up on “our” side as the year gets later. A lot of the crappie spawn happens in the River and shorelines on the East side of URL. It is natural migration for the fish to filter into this area. Even if there is a poor bite during Dec & January..Feb-March can be excellent. It is a very unique fishery. The walleye numbers will take a big beating this winter, but that is not all bad in my opinion. The DNR has errored on the side of caution and must be nearing the carrying capacity of the lake in terms of numbers of small walleye. Those little guys are eating machines, and the fisherman will have a GREAT time this winter. Good catching and good eating

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one good thing is that when the busted chunks freeze they are sometimes the most safe ice to be on as it welds together,

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Whoa, carefull the rough ice does a couple of things making it sketchy;

1) When the rough ice stacks and freezes it holds and contains many air pockets and packs slush in and around the chunks when they float together before frezing and slush never freezes to any quality. Also ice with air pockets is very “mushy” and does not transfer energy well. This ice will fail to dispurse the energy or weight of a vehicle, you’re gonna get wet or dead.

2) The rough ice chunks or shards will stick up above the the surrounding area forming a snow drift…a big insulating snow drift. Ice under snow drifts is not as thick, softer and normally will have a slush pocket involved due to the weight of the snow pushing down. Now you are stopped or stuck on some of the worst ice on the lake, once again you are going to get wet or dead.

3) Rough ice likes tires and tracks. Mother nature does a nice job stacking those shards at many different angles and hieghts before letting the wind sharpen them up, if you think puling your portable across a highway is bad take a look underneath after traveling rough ice on Red.

Steer clear of the rough stuff until you can safely check the ice conditions. Black smooth ice is the best, white is iffy and yellow or gray tint/color should be veiwed from a distance.

If we could just get that wind to quit even for a couple days and nights I think we would have a great start anyway.

The wind is definetly the culprit with the ice. If it would lay down for a couple of days with a cold snap it would make for some nice smooth ice conditions this year.

I like your report on ice-

I’ll be giving those La Dredge Reel Weeds a try this year on Red.

The Ladrege weeds do work or help hold baitfish but you have to be aware of a few things. If you are fishing from a rental house most rental house owners frown on them due to all of the holes drilled around the house, make sure to ask them before popping in a bunch of holes and flooding the rental.

Put your tip-ups for pike far away from the Ladrege weeds. Around and around they go. What a mess that was.

What is surprising to me is I only know of four weed patches on the whole lake outside of the last break, other then that the lake is void of any veggies over 3″ high. So do the crappies even know how to relate to standing weeds or do they spook fish? I know it sounds odd but I look at it the same as someone dropping a tree in the middle of the interstate. “What the heck is that? I should go around it to be safe.”

Pike are always looking for a good ambush spot, a patch of weeds would be perfect. I like to take a look around every so often with the Marcum camera and make sure I don’t have a pike chasing crappies away from the weeds.

Last year was the best year for our group up on Red! We went 11 times from the cities. We did not hit them good everytime but the %’s were in our favor! We did a lot of tip up fishing during the day and did well! There are some of the prettiest looking Pike around. And man they are HUGE! The biggest we caught had to have a walleye in it’s belly that would have been close to 12″!!

Mornings and nights were spent trying for Crappies. We only got 17 for 11 trips but it was well worth it. The eyes kept us busy. They would hit a 6″ sucker minnow and some how the treble’s would get in their mouth.

I can’t wait for this year! If the wind will let the lake get a good solid base of black ice it should be a decent year for the ice. Last year it was chunked up all over the place. It made for a rough road no matter where you went.

Hopefully mother nature will give us another year to look forward to!

Good Luck and be safe

If you want the best trip of your life on Red

Call Kelly P

Who is this Kelly P?

inside joke?

I kinda know him.

I think he made a couple post on IDA, something about a couple of dead pike.

Guy holding two dead Trophy class Red Lake Pike…

…another inside joke.

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Guy holding two dead Trophy class Red Lake Pike…

another inside joke.

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Yeah I get that part went through that last year…….

Hope I am not the only guy with some huge fish on the wall……..

Funny how that works………..trophies that is. A “guy” takes one and so does his buddy to mount and look out………..to be judged by his “peers”……..

Johnny,

What’s the slot size for pike this year.

Those big fish need to be protected or they wont be around for long.

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A “guy” takes one and so does his buddy to mount

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that’s cool, now that you got a trophy on the wall, you won’t feel the pressure to keep any others.

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A “guy” takes one and so does his buddy to mount

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that’s cool, now that you got a trophy on the wall, you won’t feel the pressure to keep any others.

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Thank you.

That is how I see it……………………….