Upper Red Lake, MN – First day out on the ice!

I was finally able to fire up the very old but extremely trusted Panther, hook up to the new Otter sled and make my way across the ice of Upper Red Lake as I have done every year since I was strong enough to pull the rope on that Panther, twenty five years ago.

It was nostalgic to roll onto the shore looking out over the great expanse of ice and think “I have been able to have this ritual for a quarter of a century”. I thought back to first ice plans and years past as I pointed the old sled north and rumbled my way across endless miles of rough and wind piled ice with smooth as glass pockets mixed in between all while coming up with a plan for the first few holes to be cut into the ice pack this year only to be startled by the sound of water under the track, never a good feeling even if it was only three feet deep. I squeezed the throttle tight and the brand new Otter had its first bath, a nice mix of water, ice chunks and slush now caked the front of the my new portable as I felt the track grab the edge and bounce back onto the ice sheet. I had just crossed open water and truly think the forward attack angle of the Otter sled played a large part in me getting across safely, they have it dead on for creating very little resistance and I thank them greatly for it. “Whew, that was close”.

Red lake is always interesting with its mass of ice, constantly moving sheets along the endless rumble of ice quakes and fault lines exploding from the pressure of the days heat only to retract back to open water voids in the cool of the night but this year I feel we are going to have an experience like no other on the North side of the lake. The ice pack from the mouth of the Tamarac River and South looked great and all of my ice checks where showing good safe ice with Buddy Hillman creeping out farther and farther across the lake with his drag but once I crossed the river things changed in a hurry. One was the large crack that starts north of the Tamarac and headed Northwest into the distance to what looked to be mirages of something on the horizon as we see on Upper Red Lake so often. I then checked ice all the way up to the old Hudec’s or what is now to be Beacon Harbor and I found ice just safe enough to walk on with some cracks, slush and a few spots that just had that bad feeling about them but definitely a fishable area for some one foot and a chisel checking as they go.

The next several hours where very disheartening as I made my way tucked tightly to the sand on the north shore. The farther west I traveled along the north shore the worse it got. From Ditch #5 (Moose Creek on the Lakemaster map) all the way to the infamous Rocky Point was cut with pressure ridges, large cracks, slush fields the size of the Metrodome, pie shaped cracks or “trap doors” as we call them and those mirages on the horizon where not mirages at all but large piles of crushed ice ramming back in forth in pockets of thin ice. Ice thicknesses on the north shore at the last break or sandbar came in with the thickest maybe hitting three inches and few the chisel never stopped with the first strike. I spent several hours unsuccessfully trying to get out to a few of my shallow north shore waypoints and fathom just where are the roads going to transverse this war zone I was looking at through the spotting scope.

For the first time in many years I had to abandon the north shore and head back east with my tail tucked, it will be a few weeks before I visit any of Great Grandpa’s spots if at all this year.

Now the great thing about Red is the fact opportunity is always available with a little info and thought. I remembered a small rock reef/spine coming of the last sandbar and hooking around to a small rock pile all under safe ice on the eastern shore. After some scouting around with the Marcum camera and the auger I was able to pin point where the east/west rocks met the north south sandbar and set up in the corner like a pike waiting in the weeds and it was awesome! (yes I just said awesome) Soon after settling in and letting the noise of me moving in subside the LX-5 lit up like a Christmas tree, but nothing would bite. A quick look with the camera and I was surrounded by juvenile perch that had been hiding in the rocks, this was perfect! Rock line meets sand bar with an excellent food source for larger predators such as the pike and walleye. After a long day of picking around the lake and feeling discourage that plan “A” failed I was able stop and think it through and put myself on some great fishing. I ended up catching six walleyes with two slot protected and four that made it home , two in Pyrex baking dish with a citrus marinade and two for my grandfather to fry up.

I did find that the walleyes where targeting small baits once you got them interested. How this was accomplished was violently running a blade bait crashing it into rocks below all while creating that hum only blade baits can then stopping only to gently jig the glowing panfish sized spoon tipped with a minnow head. It was a one two punch that worked like a charm. Simply put yourself in six-seven feet of water with safe ice under your feet and you should catch some dandy walleye and maybe a few tanker sized pike. No need to go ripping across the lake as the best fishing and safest travel is going to be directly out from the eastern or southern shore.

So those of you heading to Upper Red Lake bring some blade baits, a good chisel and make sure to put you smart hat on when it comes to ice safety. We may be froze over but old Red is going to show her teeth for awhile until the ice pack locks up for the year and it is far from doing that on the north side.