Big Fish 2010

The excitement is building as the 2011 fishing season approaches. We're less than a month away and patiently waiting on the ice to melt in the Great White North. This year isn't going to be a repeat of the record setting ice out we experienced a year ago. Hugh Carlson from Viking Outpost measured only 15" of ice remaining in front of his place on April 21st. We're expecting the ice out to occur in mid-May this year.

We're making preparations for our departure in a few days and thought this would be a great time to review the BIG fish caught & released during the 2010 season.



Lake Trout
36.5" David Wein (pictured above)
24" Kari Marquardt

We didn't have too many people fish for lake trout in 2010 although many big lunkers still reside in the lake. You can still fish for them with single barbless hooks and no live bait and they remain catch & release only.




Walleye
29.5" Dennis Meyer
28.5" Mary-Jane Owen (pictured above)
28" Jeff Zwieg
27.5" Dave Mertes
27.5" Micke Juillerat
27" Grant Peterson
27" Grant Peterson
27" Dave Swan
27" George Matykowski
27" Travis Mack

Numbers of fish were great once again although 2010 was a little down for what I would consider really really BIG fish. Considering the number of total fish caught especially in the 20" - 26" range really has me looking forward to what this summer will bring.




Smallmouth Bass
18" Jared Oehrke (pictured above)

You won't find smallmouth bass listed as a species in the Red Lake system in any of the guides. But here's all the proof you need. Albeit this one was the only one caught.




Northern Pike
47"* Hays Griswold
45" Larry Andris
44" Jeff Zwieg
43.5" Randy Modra (pictured above)
42.5" Carson Mack
42" Bob Gouge
42" Andy Zwieg
42" Grant Peterson
41.75" Larry Andris
41" Kevin Smith
41" Jack Hughes

Alright...time to explain the asterisk. While Hays did catch & release a 47" Northern it wasn't by rod and reel. He happened upon a fish struggling on the surface near the boat. No evidence of disease or propeller marks was visible, but considering they were able to boat and measure the fish with ease I'm guessing this fish either ate an extra large meal and was having some digestion trouble or was close to succumbing of old age. Neat to see fish this big in the system though.

Rock Bass
9" Luke Nelson

Congrats to Luke for the biggest rock bass of the year! These little guys are capable of a great fight and I love hooking into them.

I'm hope you are as excited about the 2011 season as we are. See you soon!

New Exploration Site

This summer check out the West Red Lake Mining Museum. We found out about the site last fall from our friends Dan & Brenda at Bow Narrows Camp. It's definitely worth a visit if you find yourself fishing the west end of Red Lake.

Directly after traveling west through the West Narrows, hang a left and you'll see the museum with its own dock. The musuem is actually a cabin from the 1920s gold rush that was a part of Bow Narrows Camp at one time. Volunteers took it apart, moved the pieces, and reassembled the cabin at its present location. It is free to visit and features some very interesting pieces about the gold rush on the west end of Red Lake. There is also a huge glacial erratic behind the cabin.



The Heritage Center is also an interesting stop in the town of Red Lake, but it doesn't focus much on the history of the west end of the lake. Hundreds of people once inhabited the west end of Red Lake at the height of the gold rush. The cabin that now serves as the museum was even the home of the postmaster for the western population. The west end of the lake is one of the rare areas that once was bustling with activity and now has been largely reclaimed by nature. The scenery is gorgeous and it's well worth the trip!

Some people may wonder why I'm always popping up in the photos on the blog and you don't see too many of Carrie. She may be somewhat camera shy, but she is excellent as a photographer and certainly beats me trying to do self-portraits.

How to Fish Lindy Rigs

Now that you've built your lindy rigs, you're ready for tactics on the water this season. On Red Lake early in the season, you'll find many walleye in 6-12 feet of water in the bays along weedlines, points, rock piles, breaks, or other structure. Depth finders are very handy to have for all of the fishing you will do and even an inexpensive one can lead to a much more successful fishing trip. There are several areas on Parker Lake that will hold fish in the 6-12 feet depth range all summer. For this time of the year I would select a 1/4 oz. or 3/8 oz. sinker for your rig. Later in the season on Red Lake you may need to add some weight to get your bait down to the bottom since you will be fishing deeper water. Now you're ready to select your bait.

Now what to use - night crawler, minnow, or leech? All have proven successful and it's really a matter of your preference. Most of the time I back troll or drift lindy rigs. For this type of fishing I insert the 1st hook on a night crawler through the "collar" and the 2nd hook where it rests on the crawler. If your bait is spinning in the water, adjust one of the hooks to take some of the slack out of the crawler to achieve a more natural presentation. I would also encourage you to try inflating crawlers with a Lindy Worm Blower. This will float your bait above your sinker helping to reduce snags and make the crawler more lively. Hook minnows just behind both lips from below so the hook point is on top. This keeps the minnow alive and improves your presentation to the fish. Hook leeches through the sucker. For minnows and leeches, I either use one hook rigs or allow the 2nd hook to dangle behind.



A slow presentation is key to lindy rigging. Once you have selected an area to try fishing, start by back trolling your boat at an idle speed. Let out enough line until you can feel the sinker bouncing along the bottom. At that point reel in just enough line so you can see slack line or feel your sinker start bouncing again if you point your rod tip down toward your bait. I usually start trolling into the wind to slow the boat down even more. If the wind is strong enough, I'll let the boat drift back across a stretch of water that was producing bites and then back troll across into the wind again. Don't forget to vary your speed by shifting into neutral occasionally. Another trick is to raise your rod a couple feet and gradually let the line ease back into the water.

Inevitably you'll find walleye using this technique. When you feel a tap on the line or see the rod tip twitch, feed line back to the fish and slowly count to 5. This allows the fish to grab the bait and prevents you from pulling it out of its mouth. For this reason I usually keep my bail open with my finger on the spool to hold the line in place while trolling. It makes it easier to quickly feed line back to the fish. After your 5 count, give a good hook set and get ready to battle your fish.

Lindy rigging is a very effective way to catch walleye and many other species of fish for that matter. I mainly use lindy rigging as a technique for locating fish and then I enjoy switching to jigs when I've found a nice school. Many guests find lindy rigging so successful they will primarily fish lindy rigs during their entire stay. Whatever method you choose you're bound to have a great week of fishing. See you this summer!