"Early Ice Location and Spoon Tactics for Upper Red Lake Walleye" New Video December 29, 2021
Red Lake is well known for its shallow water walleye bite during the early ice fishing season, but this famous bite also brings a bucket load of anglers and overwhelming fishing pressure.
Watch Jon Thelen reveal how he locates and targets active walleye in high traffic areas on Red Lake!
View Video and Learn More >> Early Ice Location and Spoon Tactics for Upper Red Lake Walleye
News Release November 3, 2021 "Lake Mille Lacs, Upper Red Lake Winter Walleye Regulations Announced"
"Ice anglers on Mille Lacs and Upper Red lakes can harvest walleye on both lakes this winter season.
A four-walleye bag limit, with only one walleye longer than 17 inches allowed, went into effect on Upper Red Lake on Monday, Nov. 1.
Effective Wednesday, Dec. 1, through Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, winter anglers on Mille Lacs may keep one walleye between 21-23 inches or one fish longer than 28 inches.
The new regulation on Upper Red increases the possession limit from ..." Learn More >> Lake Mille Lacs, Upper Red Lake Winter Walleye Regulations Announced
Jeff Sundin June 9, 2021 "Scrounging Out an Upper Red Lake Report"
The best way to report about Upper Red Lake this morning is to say that it was “okay” yesterday and that I think it will be “more okay” when the weather settles back down.
Early Tuesday, during the wee hours of morning, there was a line of strong thunderstorms rolling through the north central Minnesota. Checking the weather forecast and seeing calm seas and sunshine in the forecast, I reasoned that my best bet was to head for Red Lake. Based on our good fishing experience up there last weekend, I guessed that even if the fishing was affected by the storms, we’d still be able to scrounge out some walleyes.
That was exactly how the day turned out, 4 people fishing, 4 limits caught, 12th fish dropped into the livewell at about 4:50 PM. Those 12 fish represented about 90% of what we caught during the entire trip. Except for one crappie, one goldeye, a couple of pike and 3 or 4 other small walleyes, those 12 fish were about all we caught.
The surface water was 72 degrees when we arrived and warmed steadily throughout the day. Based on temperature alone, spinners should have been good, but they weren't. Except for the crappies and some missed strikes, we could not drum up anything on spinners yesterday. We caught everything else using 1/8-ounce Lindy Live Bait Jigs tipped with minnows, a mix of fatheads, shiners and rainbows. Some of the fish were on rocks, some were on the breaklines in 10 to 11 feet of water and some of them were caught on mid-lake structure. The fish were scattered, probably the result of the overnight storms.
Toward the end of our day, fish were becoming easier to spot on the Humminbird and when spotted, easier to coax into striking. During the last 45 minutes of fishing is when we caught most of the smaller, throw back size walleyes. That was a signal, I think, that the action will pick back up as the lake shakes of the effects of unsettled weather; that’s the good news.
The bad news is that apparently, today will be another one of those un-settled days. The winds are supposed to be gusting, maybe into the 20 MPH range, I don’t think that another turnover will help, but I could be wrong. Either way, I’ll wait it out and find lakes closer to home until Red Lake has a couple of days rest after the turbulence. 
— Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL
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Jeff Sundin June 5, 2021 "Fun with Dick and Paul on Upper Red Lake"
Mostly, I can do whatever I want whenever Fun with Dick and Paul is in session. Still, there are a couple of assumptions that I make before every fishing trip. One of them, maybe the most important, is that the boys do expect to bring home their limits of walleyes. Gathering 6 walleyes each isn’t a lot to expect for a 5-day fishing trip, but it does tend to focus my attention on visiting at least 1 “walleye-or-die” fishing lake each season.
Upper Red Lake has provided a day like that more than once, and it did again yesterday (Friday 6-4).
Typically, I would have already fished Red Lake a time or two, by this point in the season. This year I hadn’t though, cold, turbulent weather kept me away earlier this year and then my schedule shifted focus toward other lakes that were closer to home. If it weren’t for a heads up from a great friend, I may still not have gone there this time, but luckily when he called, I took his advice and made my first trip of 2021 up to the big lake.
When we arrived, the surface water temperature was over 70 degrees. There was a moderate algae bloom, water visibility was maybe 3 feet, give or take. In the morning, the breeze was light and there wasn’t more than a ripple on the surface. That was a lucky break for me, because it allowed us to figure out where there were some fish before the wind picked up. By the time waves started getting un-manageable, we already had a nice head start on bagging some keepers.
Little Joe Spinners tipped with minnows were responsible for the fish we caught while it was calm. Trolling the breakline at water depths of 5 to 7 feet at about 1.2 MPH worked very well. While we were trolling, we saw folks using a variety of other presentations, but most of the ones who were catching good numbers of fish, were doing so by trolling.
The arrival of the strong wind changed our approach though. Trolling into the waves wasn’t that difficult, but it did affect my speed control. I would get the boat going at the target 1.2 MPH, then a big roller would slap into the back of the boat and stop us dead for a second. It appeared to me that the fish wanted consistency, once the boat speed became erratic, the fish stopped loving us. What happened next proved that point.
We moved upwind to prepare for drift, rigged up the drift bag, switched over to jigs and minnows and began drifting back. The action started right back up, the same fish that were snubbing our trolling presentation smacked the jigs with authority. The boys used 1/8 ounce Lindy Live Bait jigs tipped with fatheads and had steady action. I experimented, trying several types of plastic action tails and on this day, plastic did not work, period. I do not recall catching a single walleye using the artificial lures. I caught 2 sheepsheads on them and they were the only 2 that we caught all day long.
The reason my buddy called the other night was because Upper Red had not been getting a lot of “good press”, this summer. He knew from earlier conversations that I hadn’t been there yet and wanted to let me in on his good experience. This goes to show how much luck plays into fishing. First, I was lucky to get the phone call and then I was lucky to find fish before the wind started ripping and then I was super-lucky when the fish kept biting in the big whitecaps.
We knocked off a little early, headed for the Gosh Dam Place, where they did a perfect job of cooking them for us; what more could we have asked for?
By the way, I need to mention that we had a great experience with the DNR Conservation Officer at the landing. I’m not sure if it’s proper to share his name, but in my opinion, he should be cloned so that anglers in every region of the state can experience total and complete professionalism! Don’t worry, he was thorough, he checked our fishing licenses, measured our fish and a inquired about details of our trip. The whole time, he was courteous, disarming and professional, keeping us honest, without making us feel like we were in his cross hairs.
If I can mention his name, I will, but if you’re fishing on Upper Red Lake, you’ll probably find out soon enough anyway. Like Dick told him yesterday, “this is the 3rd time that I’ve fished on Upper Red Lake and I’ve been checked by a game warden every single time.” Dick isn’t alone, it has been my experience too, I almost always get checked when I am there, so there is a good chance you will meet him if you fish there.
It looks a hot one for today, day 4 of Fun with Dick and Paul. I would really love to find some crappies, or maybe some smallmouth bass or possible some perch. I’m still scratching my head about which way to go with that, but whenever I know, you will too. Good Luck and DRINK YOUR WATER! — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL
Reader Comments Shared With Permission May 19, 2021 Upper Red Lake Report
"Jim Jurvelin wrote; "I was on Red Lake yesterday with my brother and one of his friends and the bite was tough. I caught one walleye between 8:30 and noon and that was it for the entire boat!
My brothers friend threw out a dead shiner on a plain hook, with a stinger hook in the tail and let it sit there as we were stopped in one spot where I marked fish on the side scan. We were spot locked and rigging up to see if we could them to bite on slip bobbers and a jig when he caught 2 fish with his dead shiner rig. We all switched over to that setup and we boated 35 walleyes between noon and 5:00.
A bunch of the fish were caught on the stinger hook as they were just so finicky. I haven’t fished with that type of presentation since I was a kid, soaking dead smelt for lake trout. Who would have thought! Just goes to show that you just never know what bizarre things might work! A good learning lesson for me! Tight lines!"
News Release April 21, 2021: MN DNR Announces Upper Red Lake Walleye Regulation For 2021
"Anglers fishing during the summer season on Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota will have a three-walleye bag limit, with only one walleye longer than 17 inches allowed, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Anglers had an excellent winter season, harvesting 143,000 pounds of walleye. The annual harvest by state anglers is anticipated to fall within 120,000-240,000 pounds.
The three-walleye bag limit, with one over 17 inch size restriction, is intended to keep annual harvest within the target harvest range. Last summer, anglers harvested 131,000 pounds with a four-fish limit with one over 17 inches.
“Anglers need to remember to bring a good measuring device along with them on their trip to Upper Red Lake,” said Andy Thompson, Bemidji area fisheries supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Many walleye will measure just above, or just under, the 17-inch size restriction.”
The Red Lake Nation and the Minnesota DNR manage walleye harvest on Red Lake under a joint harvest plan that the Red Lakes Fisheries Technical Committee revised in 2015.
The DNR will determine the 2021-2022 winter harvest regulations after the summer fishing season and the completion of fall assessment netting.
An Upper Red Lake Citizen Advisory Committee reviews walleye harvest totals and regulation options and provides recommendations for the state waters of Upper Red Lake.
Fishing regulations, along with more exgtensive information unique to Upper Red Lake are available on the >> Minnesota DNR Lakefinder Upper Red Lake Page"
Wired2Fish April 21, 2021 "How to Bass Fish with Weightless Tubes | Deadly Spring Trick‼️"
"Weightless soft plastics are highly efficient lures in super shallow water. They stay up near the surface and closely mimic bass forage seeking shallow, warmer water in spring. At this time, bass are looking to bulk up but are not yet expending a great deal of energy. Targeting these lethargic bass with a buoyant soft plastic tube fits the bill.
As a kid, Wired2fish's McKeon Roberts would wade the shallows of local lakes armed with only a bag of brightly colored tubes and a package of EWG hooks. Years late, he still falls back on this time-tested technique when the conditions are right.
Akin to a weightless fluke, weightless tubes ..." View Video to Learn More >> How to Bass Fish with Weightless Tubes | Deadly Spring Trick‼
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From The Red Lake Archives • Upper Red Lake 2019 • Upper Red Lake 2020 • Upper Red Lake 2021
Reader Comments January 1, 2021 "Remembering The Foo Flyer"
In the December 30, 2020 Upper Red Lake Report, I mentioned using Lindy's Foo Flyer to coax in neutral to neagtive walleyes.
After reading the article, Brad Slye wrote; "Hi Jeff, I've been fishing up on Upper Red and remembered picking up some Foo Flyers when you were demonstrating them at the Lindy booth at the St Paul Ice Show several years ago.
I've been fishing with them because I think they have a great natural swimming action that attracts fish and also I've had a number of walleyes bite when the jig is just sitting still also. Fred's Bait still had 3 of them last weekend and I picked up 2 of them from Bill.
I'll have to go online to find some more leftover ones. I haven't tried the smaller Foo Flyer on crappies yet but intend to do so in the next month. Thanks again for all your advice and information you provide! You've made a huge difference in my fishing ability and I have used it to take a lot of other people fishing and catch fish that don't do a lot of fishing. Blessings and thanks again!" Brad Slye
Reader Comments January 1, 2021 "Dead Sticking Better Than Jigging On Upper Red Lake"
Also referencing the December 30, 2020 Upper Red Lake Report, Luke Lucas emailed with comments about his recent experiences on Upper Red Lake.
"My party of 3 stayed in a sleeper rented from an outfitter based out of Waskish the night of Dec 28, 2020. From noon until 6:00 pm we did not get a bite. The outfitter checked on us and said his closest two sleepers caught 5 and 6 within the last 45 minutes using plain hooks and lively whole minnows. His parting words were “you’ll get em”.
Between 6:00-9:00 we caught 4 walleyes and between 9:00 pm and 5:30 am the next morning, we had 50 plus bites and caught about two thirds of the fish that bit. The moon was full and the skies were clear which probably contributed to the all night bite. Our house was in 13 feet of water.
Before the outfitter stopped by, I was using Lindy rattlin flyers, northland buckshots, northland macho minnows, and northland buckshot flutter spoons, all tipped with minnow heads. Fished looked (at the jigging baits) but would not bite.
I switched both rods to small, single hooked frostie type spoons with whole minnows. That did the trick. We put those baits on rattle reels and caught fish all night long. Other baits probably would have worked during the night bite, but we did not try any.
Keep up the fantastic reports. Thank you very much. Happy New Year!!" Luke Lucas