Need Advice for ice fishing Red Lake

[husker68]

Hi fellow ice fishermen & fisherwomen,

I am from Nebraska and will be making my first trip to Upper Red Lake next week to experience Minnesota Ice Fishing. I have ice fished for 40 years in the Nebraska sandhills but I know nothing about what to use in Minnesota at Red Lake. I would appreciate any advice regarding lures, bait, line wt, before we head up north.

Thanks

Husker 68

[broman]

4lb test or lighter on your reels

bait of choice is rainbow chubs

red hooks and small split shots on dead sticks or rattle reels

hot pink swedish pimple worked well for me last time up

keep the extra noise down while fishing and move around to find fish

[traveler]

Just got back from my 5th trip this year:)

med weight spinning rods, 6 or 8 lb test. Pretty much all of your fishing will be in 8-13 ft. Red is stained water, so jigging accounts for a lot of fish; Lindy Rattlin flyers are my fav, but many jigging spoons are used, with spoons with rattles often working best. I usually jig a flyer on one rod and deadstick a jig of some sort on the other; lindy slick jigs are a fav of mine, but demons and pretty much any midsize jig are all good. Lots of gus will run a plain hook/minnow, often with a red or glow hook. Colors for spoons, Red on Red is a good place to start:) , but any glow colors are good, and I like silver shiner patterns a lot.

Red is a basin with less structure than than most; talk to the road operator where you go on and ask about the latest best areas. And hopefully you'll have a mobile setup. It's not unusual for me to move 3-4 times a day. A (very) loose pattern for me would be to start in a little shallower, move deeper during the day and back shallow late, but that often goes out the door.

There are roads off the south and east shores, all are good. less traffic on the east north end, and staying away from the crowds has always served me well.

any ?'s...ask. I'm sure others will chime in here...

[husker68]

Broman,

Thanks for the information. What size of red hooks do you use? 6,8??

we use 8s in Nebraska for pan fish. Do you guys ever use wax worms and tear drops or is that just for perch and bluegill? We were planning to use JRs Ice Houses. Are they a pretty good source?

[husker68]

Thanks Traveler, very helpful. If you ever come down to Nebraska and want some pointers on where to go, give me a holler. We're heading up next Sunday. Looks like the weather will be okay so far.

[broman]

I don't use wax worms. I find that they are too fragile and only last for a few bites. Red Euro larvae are my preference. I used them on Red Lake once, but I think they are better for perch and crappies. But putting them on along with a rainbow minnow head on your jig (Rattlin flyer or swedish pimple) work well for me on Mille Lacs.

I like a #6 hook, red in color with a large red bead on the line just above the hook. Split shot weight about 8 inches above the hook and bead.

[bturck]

Check out the upper red lake forum as well. Good info there on presentation and kures

[Freedom81]

Welcome to HSO Husker! My father-in-law is from Nebraska!

This question will probably get more responses in the Upper Red Lake forum under Minnesota heading.

I use 6 lbs test line. Fathead minnows. Gold and glow red demons are my go-to lures. I've had great success with a plain red hook with split shot a foot above it. Chubby Darters, rattlin flyers, and stop signs are all good too.

I fished Upper Red mid December and slayed 'em. Drove 13 hours round-trip to fish 8 hours(young and dumb, or hard-core fisher?) Caught 14 walleyes between 14"-19", One 22" walleye, a nice jumbo perch, and a 36" 13-14 lbs northern! Brought home 4 walleyes and 1 perch!

Hope this helps, Good luck Husker!

[husker68]

Thank you Freedom 81

Appreciate the good thoughts and info. I am totally new to this HSOforum and not sure how to navigate it. How would I go about getting to the Red Lake Forum? I guess I sort of thought this was it.

Thanks

Husker68

[laportian]

I fish the lake weekly and you can't go wrong with what everyone else said. I too run 6 to 8 pound test with medium action rods. You can even go with high vis stuff, which helps alot with retying during low light. During the day I like gold and silver and in low light I definitly switch up to glows and recharge often. Stay away from others as this is a shallow lake and being quiet will help. Watch the weather and hope for some stable days. Dont be afraid to move, but dont get too caught up in it. Fish here are on the move and if your marking fish say put they will have to bite. Been good night bites when the moon is up too. But as a rule of thumb right now I'd fish hardest at sun up and sundown. Good luck and be safe.

[husker68]

laportian,

Thank you for the reply.

Husker68

[laportian]

Another thing to try, if the weather is cruddy, is to go smaller with the minnows. Nuetral fish will react better to something sitting still up here. Seems like i have to be will subtle with the sniffers if the bite is slow. Jigging seems to scare them off when they aren't biting. The old one two will get though. Jig em up and hhave a dead stick in the next hole.

[traveler]

Yup, the one two punch for sure. Usually with 2 of us we'll each start with a jig rod with different color flyers, and one of us will have a plain hook/minnow and the other a slick jig.

Adjust as needed:)

[tracker x-2]

Hey Husker,

I'll be heading up to red this coming Sunday as well. We have a house with Kelly and Johnny!

[bturck]

Husker : once you go to the main page instead of clicking on ice fishing keep scrolling down. It will take you to the minnesota forum starting with Alexandria. Keep scrolling down until you see the upper red lake forum click on that. The forum is set up by region but red lake is a forum of its own. I see laportian had a post back to you. He is Native American from the red lake reservation region. He has a lot of good info for this area, as he has fished it all of his life, all 36 years.....lol. You are welcome laportian .....enjoy these sites and I hope you enjoy your trip to minneaota

[husker68]

Thank you for all of the good advice! See you on the ice!

Husker68