sleeper houses on upper red lake

[hohn]

looking for resorts with sleeper houses on upper red lake. also, what is the limit for crappies on url, is it worth the sleeper, how is the night bite?

[hanson]

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looking for resorts with sleeper houses on upper red lake.

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I believe they all pretty much run sleeper houses. I would check in the Upper Red Lake Forum.

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Also, what is the limit for crappies on url?

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10, the same as the rest of the state.

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Is it worth the sleeper?

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My opinion... YES!!

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How is the night bite?

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Typically very good!!

I have my own permanent sleeper shack up there in the winter. Generally, they don't start biting until the sun sets. Sometimes we'll pick up a few in the middle of the night. And sometimes the early morning sunrise bite is very good. In my opinion, an on-ice sleeper is the way to go. The area hotels (there aren't many) fill up very fast and can be a decent drive from the lake also.

[Crestliner-fever]

hohn--- personally mey feeling about red lake, is it SUCK's i would not waste my time driving all the way up to the lake that suppose to be the capital of crappie's of the world, that's Bull---- there lake's around the metro & southern mn lakes that you can go any time & catch fish like that. why spend the GAS!!!!!

[icehousebob]

Crestliner, I'm not sure what lakes you're fishing around the cities, but I've fished for almost fifty years and I have never seen Crappie fishing that comes close to Red Lake. Our last trip up last winter, we ran out of minnows twice and we were throwing back honest 15 inch fish. We had trouble picking out which ones to get mounted and the taxidermist even asked to have one of ours to put on his own wall. Of course, I've also been up a couple times when I couldn't catch a cold. Not having structure to key on takes a bit of getting used to.

[Chris_Wallace]

Red Lake: Land of the Slab Crappie

In case you haven’t heard, we have had a boom in trophy crappie fishing here in Minnesota, and it goes by the name of Upper Red Lake. This boom has been going on five years now and the word is out. Red lake is the largest lake within Minnesota’s borders. Thousands of anglers flock here every weekend and the numbers reach into the thousands each and every winter. These anglers make the trek to Upper Red Lake for the search and possibly the catch of a fourteen plus inch crappie. Upper Red lake is the Crappie Mecca of Minnesota and probably even the Midwest. Some people even say it rivals other famous crappie destinations like Bull Shoals, Sam Rayburn and Lake Fork, just to name a few. The big difference… none of those lakes caters to the ice angler.

Red lake was decimated in the early nineties from over harvesting, which was due to commercial and tribal gill netting. Resorts and local towns, who once flourished on the Upper Red Lake phenomenon, were then closing their doors. With the lack of predators and fishing pressure, combined with ideal spawning conditions and habitat, the crappies fought back, had a banner year in 95 and than again in 97.

The lake is a basin, of what remains of glacial Lake Aquassiz, which even spanned into the Dakotas at one point. The maximum depth is fourteen feet of water with very little structure to target when looking at a map. The Red Lake Band controls over 60% of Upper and Lower Red Lake and fishing is prohibited on their water. The resorts plow roads out to the deepest parts of the basin and from there anglers set up and begin their hunt for an aggressive school of fish. The access fees are cheap and the resort owners work overtime to make sure the roads are open.

Preparing for a trip to Upper Red Lake is relatively easy. First, get a good quality rod with a fast tip and a stiff backbone. An option would be St. Croix’s new line of Avid, Premier and Legend Elites in a medium light action, which works great with a bobber, deadsticking or for jigging. These are great rods produced from Wisconsin and their name has a solid reputation in the fishing industry. These rods make a great pair when they are coupled with a Tica Cetus reel and two pound Berkley Micro Ice. Having some sort of electronics is also a must. The LX-3 by MarCum Technologies is a great flasher and very user friendly.

For tackle you are going to want to grab a couple Ice Buster Bobbers for you set lines. For you jigging rods, you want a wide variety of jigging spoons in the 1/8 to 1/16th ounce range. Some examples of productive jigging spoons are Northland’s new panfish size Buckshot Rattle spoons, Lindy’s Frostees’ and Scenic Tackle’s Angel Eyes. Your deadsticking arsenal should consist of #6 Mega Glow Demons from Custom Jigs and Spins. Their new cool blue and red colors are outstanding that have some incredible glow. Also try a few Bro Bugs from Northland Tackle. For bait you’re going to need a scoop of crappie minnows and some waxies. Now, you’re ready to hit the ice.

When you’re on the ice working over an area, you want to start by working a foot off the bottom. Watch your LX- 3 to help indicate if there are fish underneath you. Also pay close attention to the fish’s behavior. Use your flasher as a mood indicator and adjust accordingly. Downsize if fish seem finicky and maybe even upsize if fish are aggressively attacking the bait.

Catching your limit can be common on Upper Red Lake and the average crappie ranges somewhere between 12 and 13 inches in length. 14 inch fish are also common and the chance of landing true 15 is out there as well. The prime bites occur during the golden hours of every day, which consists of sunrise and sunset. Moving around with a run and gun style approach will also help you locate them throughout the day.

Upper Red Lake is also a success story of the Minnesota DNR. Over five years ago they imposed a moratorium on the lake stating that no walleyes shall be taken from the waters. With a jumpstart in stocking and a lot of man hours from the nearby communities, this lake will once again be restored to the trophy class fishery it once was. It is absolutely awesome to complain to your buddy about 18 to 24 inch walleyes being a nuisance to your fishing, such a wonderful problem, and many people cannot wait until spring of 2006 when the walleye season will open on Upper Red Lake.

If you ever get the chance, try to target the lake’s northern pike population. There are plenty of these toothy critters underneath the ice, with many that reach the 40 inch class. Please practice CPR often too… catch, photo and release.

Now that the hardwater has come and gone, it is now time to start preparing for next year. It's just around the corner!

[Swimmer]

Very well written piece Wallace. My choice is Hillman's out of Washkish on Upper Red...they seems to have the nicest houses...and since they all charge about the same they are a no-brainer for me.

[PierBridge]

WOW great post Chris....That should be a sticky in the Uper Red Lake forum.

Thanks Chris that should help many newbies and veterans looking for URL info.

[Chris_Wallace]

Thanks for the responses guys, that article was written for the Sportsmen's Warehouse newspaper. I am glad you guys appreciated it, wasn't quite sure if this was the appropriate thread to post it.

If the Administration would like to use it in any way shape or form they are more than welcome to.

If you guys would ever like to talk about fishing Upper Red or anything about ice fishing, look me up online or swing into Sportsmen's Warehouse in Coon Rapids, I always have time to talk!

[hanson]

Chris-

Seeing that we both spend about half the winter on Red We'll be able to meet up for pizza this winter eh?

[Chris_Wallace]

Hopefully Hanson, I will have to tell the crappies when I get up there that I can't get 10 before saturday morning so I don't have to head to Lake of the woods again.