Upper Red Lake at -20 Below!

[hanson]

Early Friday morning, I was watching KARE11 to try and get a weather report when Jonathon Yuhas came on to say today would be the coldest day in over two years. Guess what, I'm packing to go ice fishing!

Being a native to northern Minnesota, I've experienced my fair share of -20, -30, and -40 degree days so this was going to be nothing new to me. However, when it is -20 outside with a stiff northwest wind, being mobile while icefishing is completely out of the picture. So mother nature through us a big curveball and we were going to make the best of it.

My fishing partners for the weekend were FishingMinnesota ProStaff Joel Nelson and his dad Francis. I struck a deal with Joel over a year ago to take me turkey hunting and I was going to return the favor with an Upper Red Lake crappie trip. It was going to be a tall order to repay the favor to Joel since I shot a 22 1/2lb gobbler three hours into our hunt. Crappie fishing isn't THAT easy, especially at -20 below.

Our plan upon arriving at URL was to split up, Joel & his dad would fish in the hardside house and I was going to go scout a few spots to see if I could find fish. I bundled up in every piece of cold weather gear I owned including my ski goggles and braved the cold.

We were out on Hillman's Rd and I found an area that was reasonably away from most people. The cold got to me after I augered 5 pairs of holes and had to set my Otter Den up. I made the rounds to all my holes checking depth and looking for fish with my LX-3. I marked fish in one set of holes and set up there. On my very first drop, that same mark on my screen rose 2' off the bottom and smacked my bait before I got my bail closed and I had crappie #1 on the ice. Crappie #2 & #3 were on the ice just as quickly.

Noticing that the crappies were acting very aggressively, I swiched up to using plastics only and managed to finish out my limit while losing 3 more fish near the hole. The reason for the switch to plastic was to be able to fish faster. I was marking 3-4 fish at a time on my Marcum and they were very aggressive. Not having to rebait after catching a fish would let me pull one more out of the school before they moved on. The crappies I ran into were cruising and they would come and go.

I made it back to the shack to see how Joel & Francis were doing and they hadn't caught a crappie yet. We gameplanned a little and decided to move the hardside in the morning to where I caught fish.

It was a good idea because Joel's dad landed this one not too long after making the move.

By the way, it was his first URL crappie. He's going to be hooked for life now.

About a half hour later, I pulled this beauty in and took a couple photos.

Custom Jigs & Spins Ratfinkee w/ a crappie minnow fooled this guy.

Are two daytime crappies an indicator of things to come? You bet! Just like the previous night, they started about the same time and were very aggressive once again. As the night progressed however, the aggressive bite disappeared and we were faced with many, many fish looking. When all was said and done, we had 29 crappies total and another 10 perch that were almost 10". Not too bad for -20 below!

It was fun to spend the weekend with a couple more great guys! Joel is an awesome turkey hunter and a pretty darn good ice angler as well. Thanks for the fun you two!!

For those of you looking to get into some URL crappie fishing, I'm hosting the URL Slabfest 2006 out of Roger's Campground this upcoming weekend. Fun, Friends, & Fishing is what its all about. No contest, no entry fee, no pressure! Just a way to get together with fellow anglers!

Click Here For More Information on Slabfest - URL Slabfest 2006 Info

Click Here For Roll Call - Slabfest Roll Call

[blue_healer_guy]

That's what it's all about, being with some buddies and catchin fish. Wish I could have been with ya.

[Dan Thiem]

Hey Chris and Joel! I've been waiting for this report! I'm glad you guys got into them.

[Rick]

Hey Chris,

we got into some nice crappies today as well.

12.5" Crappie

Of course it wasn't -20 and it was a southern MN lake this little mama came from.

We threw everything at em and those Custom Jigs and Spins Demons and Jigging Demons were the ticket today.

[tightlines]

Nice trip Chris.Hope we have the same 1st of March. Was wondering what plastic you were using when the bite was fast and furious. Thanks

[SCUMFROG]

We got on the lake at about 7 friday moning and left at about 5. We also were on hillman's road. The only fish we caught were 2 small perch. I will not waste my time with that lake again.

[hanson]

Quote:

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Was wondering what plastic you were using when the bite was fast and furious.

---

The Little-Atom Nuggie in pink color. Little Atom is one of our newer sponsors at FM and that was my first time using the Nuggie plastics. They are a scented plastic which makes them a little different from most on the market. I like them so far. I was even able to get a few perch to commit to them as well.

Rick- Nice fish! I see your using the Legend spring bobber. I love that rod! I've iced way more fish since I've started using it.

[Hotspotter]

Hanson:

Thanks for the good time. My old man talked about the trip the whole rest of the way home. Thanks for posting the photos too. Fishing with both our dads made the weekend a fun one.

Slabfest is coming up next weekend, and for those of you who haven't fished with Chris, take the opportunity when it comes your way! It'll be a great time, and odds are that it won't be nearly as cold.

Good luck,

Joel

[rosspj59]

Nice slabs there Hanson!

[tightlines]

Can never have too much tackle. LOL Where can I get my hands on some? Thanks BTW

[Ritz]

Nice fishes, but looks like typical metro crappies though... I thought RED LAKe was known for MONSTER crappies??? Ive never been up there fishing yet.... So I always thought crappies up there are HUGE, since there is soo much hype about Red Lake crappies these past 5 years or so... If crappies are only that size, I think I would pass on the long drive there just to fish for crappies.... My 2 cents..

[hanson]

Where are you fishing in the metro?

These crappies are all between 13-1/2" & 14 1/2". We didn't get into any 15 inchers but they are there no doubt. Typical 14 1/4 incher on my digital rapala scale weighs about 1 pound, 7 ounces or so. Darn near 1-1/2lbs. My biggest out of Red is only a 14 3/4" fish that weighed a tad over 1 3/4 pounds. All my measurements are on a bump board with the mouth shut & tail pinched. Open mouth on a crappie can give you a big extra 1/2".

Medicine Lake's "typical" crappie is 8"-10". You're lucky to get a 10" out of Medicine. Rush Lake crappies run in the 11-12" range when you find the big ones.

I'll keep driving up there.

[CraigM]

Hanson, I wish I had been fishing near you. My son and I got up there Friday evening and went out of Hillmans. Only 2 Craps in 2 days there. I wasn't as brave as you though, stayed in my sleeper. Didn't even bring the portable due to the cold. Moved back over to Mort's Sunday (I keep my house there). Got good reports from guys on the lake from previous day. I think I'm jinxed this year. Only picked up 2 more Craps. Tons of nice Wallys though. Maybe better luck next weekend.

[croixeyes]

Dont let a picture of a Redlake crappie fool you,Those are some monsters.They are usually very thick and when they come through the hole you cant help but be impressed.Fillin the bucket is fun but if thats your whole reason for going ya might as well hang around the metro lakes...Nice fish guys..

[Jim Hudson]

Nice report Chris!! And some dandy URL crappies for sure...

[metrojoe]

-20 below..oooh man. I can feel the pain in my fingers just thinking about it. I stayed home and gave my DVD player a work out.

Thanks for the report Chris. Those look like some dandy slabs.

[Borch]

Those Red Lake crappies have some heft to them. We didn't get into the number that Hanson did but my wife did touch the 15" mark with her biggest one Sunday night. The smallest one we caught was a 13 3/4" runt.

You guys should have some fun at slabfest! I doubt it will be even close to as cold as it was last weekend. There are crappies out there that are willing to bite. If a person has some decent weather and is willing to go into search mode away from the crowds you'll likely find them eventually.

BTW, bring your extensions. We were very close to not getting through on several holes and actually came up short on a couple without the extension.

[so haaad]

Hanson,

20 below zero...and yet there you are without gloves and a winter hat!

[fishing tech]

Here is how to gauge how big those fish are. 3 or 4 years ago when the limit was still 15 a friend and myself filled a (I believe) 6 gallon Frabil bucket with 28 crappies. It was a 4 day trip and we had are limit in about 1 hour. Fish # 27 and 28 were above the top of the bucket. Put 28 of your local monsters in a bucket and see how full it is. We were so amazed at the size we traced 2 of the biggest ones on card board from the side of a case of beer. The 1st one I caught I thought it was a bass. I have fished metro lakes with 5-7 other guy and 40 fish barely hits 1/2 a bucket. I would go back if I had time. We did eat a few so we could fish again and then drove up to LOW for a day. Go if you get the chance.