Red Lake June 13-14

My wife & I spent another weekend at Big Bog State Park. The bite continues to be great. It was more difficult to find fish under 17″ for eating than 2 weeks ago. A nearby camper told me they had kept track and caught 27 out of their boat Saturday, only two were keepers. We caught very few under 17″ near the Tamarack River. Sunday morning we took advantage of the calm winds to boat to the south shore in the area of the old Kansas City Resort. There we caught many walleyes, perhaps 1 of 3 below the 17″ mark. Casting jigs, Lindy rigging, slip bobbers, it all worked if there was a minnow on the end. Nearly all the boats were working the 4-9 fow break line. Seemed everyone was catching fish. Today the slot changes to 20″, it should be easy to get limits of those chunky 18″ to 20″ fish. This situation amazes me. When we went to Red Lake in the mid 80’s it was know as a “cigar” lake, it was rare that we caught one much over 14″. We also caught a half dozen sheephead. I saw some people were still catching fish off the docks in the river.

I have heard the same thing. Years ago it was small eye water. I wonder if its different gentics introduced when they heavily stocked it after the crash?

great report Don– Kansas City sometimes gets over looked!!

In the 80’s when I started to go there with my wifes family the “conventional wisdom” on why only small walleyes was those are the only ones that make it thru the native’s gill nets. This did not make sense to me, perhaps it would explain it if we seldom caught big ones, but we never caught bigger walleyes, I cannot remember a walleye over 15″. I asked a CO doing a check at the Kansas City Resort. He told me the reason was that there was no deep water anywhere in the Upper Red. As soon as they got to any size they went south to the Lower Red where the water was deeper. The entire portion open to the non-native sport angler was essentially a large rearing pond. That made sense at the time but now we are catching them up to 23″. I hear the Red Lake Band will start netting again, is this true? If so it will be interesting to note weather the average size declines.

Yes Don, they are going to start netting Red Lake again. Another one of great blunders within the state government. Don’t quote me on this, but I think their quota is around 800,000.00 pounds this year.