Red Lake Open Water Report from 6.9.2013

After an awesome weekend of fishing on Upper Red Lake it is hard to come back to reality, work and the real world.  Six of us headed up after work on Thursday 6.6.13 for some superior walleye fishing.  We camped at West Wind Resort, which I highly recommend.  Beautiful on the water campsites, fire rings, full hook up, docks and harbor protected from the lake.  They have bait, a fish cleaning house, cabins, a restaurant/bar and it is all very nicely kept. 

Friday was overcast for most of the day, but fishing produced.  We were catching fish in that 4-5' range, on jigs and spot tail shiners.  The fun of it is catching those bigger, release walleyes.  What a fight in shallow water! We also caught a limit, had a fish fry, sat by the fire, told stories and made a plan of attack for the next day.

Saturday was a sunny day.  The fish were a bit harder to find right away.  We did not do very well in the morning.  We headed North, past the Tamarack River, using the wind factor.  It had been blowing from SE into that north shore for a couple days.  We did not have as much luck as when we were farther South on the lake.  Hence, a short boat ride back to the south, and the feeding frenzy had begun. 

In my experience, which is not; by any means a professional fisherman level, Red Lake is a better lake in the afternoon/evening.  We had a lot better luck after lunch and into evening.  What was the most fun was after catching our limit of walleyes, taking out the big boy trolling rods and trolling around the break, hunting for those big Red Lake northerns! Now THAT, is a fun filled day, my friends!  Take it from a hobby fisherman that does not have time to chase walleyes every day and have a guide to get lessons from, heading to Red Lake is a nice way to catch some awesome Walleyes! No matter how long the drive, it is an awesome experience. 

Bring the kiddos too! West Wind has a nice park/playground, a beautiful beach for playing, AND, if you lack a boat, you can wade out in waders to that range of where we were catching fish and fish from your feet!

Whatever you do, please respect the regulations and morals of fishing.  It is an awesome experience that should stay that way for years to come if everyone follows the rules.