My buddy and I are taking our yearly destination trip to Red this year and hit that early bite (hopefully). Any tips for that body of water or anyone else planning to be up there around that same time that wants to team up or doesnt mind if a couple guys tag along. Have all our own equipment and know how to fish. Just looking to be pointed in the right direction for the weekend!
LOL Simple up there I hate to say it, just need to find the right color combo that works.
Find the depth range usually around 10ft give or take and the biggest secret is to stay away from the crowds. Boom Fish on lol.
It seems like its a tough deal to screw up. Just trying to get some research and info done before we go! Everything I have ever heard and seen makes it seem like you have to try to not catch fish.
Go out of the south shore just past the last bunch of houses and catch fish. The morning and afternoon bite is best. Stay away from everyone else.
No wrong location as long as the ice is thick enough, the fish move constantly, and stay away from crowds. Shallower can be really good in low light periods.
Ya as others have said dont overthink it. In my experiences on red it’s harder to not catch fish than it is to catch em
The way things are going early December won’t be considered early ice. I was up there today and dropped my wheelhouse off. They already have 5 to 6 inches almost 2 miles out. Sounds like atv’s and utv’s should be allowed this coming weekend from most resorts. but that is pending a bit of a warming trend towards the end of the week and pressure ridges could play into it.
This is the view as of today. I seen someone about a mile or more out on a snowmobile or wheeler I couldn’t tell which. I think it was someone from one of the resorts checking the ice depth.
wow very nice!!
Hike straight out from any resort. Houses tend to stack up, my goal is usually atleast a few hundred yards in any direction outside of that. Drill a bunch of holes and hole hopping will pick up enough fish. Saw a few guys the last time I was up there set up 4 tip ups shaping a diamond as if each tip up was a base on a baseball field. They appeared to have way more action than anyone else in the area. If jigging, gold/silver slenders with Red or green have always produced bites for me.
Just make sure to stop into the resort before you leave for direction and a map of ice thickness reports. If you’re hiking out, you probably wont run into any issues but it never hurts to be a little extra careful.
Rattles were the key last year in late-November. Spoons or Rippin Raps.
My advice would be to walk out from a resort. It may be a half-mile, it may be a full mile, and find a spot where you’re a couple hundred yards away from any cluster of houses or people.
Being quiet is very important because you’re right on top of the fish. 11′ isn’t very deep if you think about it. Fish can hear/feel you.
Drill 20-30 holes over an area the size of a football field. Hop around and find the fish. Red is not a lake where you’re looking for little breaks or rock/gravel/sand seams. It’s a big boring sandy bowl where a ‘hole’ is 6″ deeper than adjacent areas. My dad found a hole like that last season, parked for three straight day-long trips, and crushed them while I drilled and hopped around, doing just okay.
Trust the spot and find the school, or wait for it to come to you. There are masses of mid-sized walleyes up there, and they’re unusually dumb. That’s why people love Red. When the school comes, you’ll be unable to fish a rod and a tip-up. The tip up will be laying on its side and you’ll be smashing fish on the first drop with ice cold, wet hands. Or else you’ll entirely miss the school and think it’s a Dead Sea, but that’s rare. That’s been my experience.
I may not be able to hit Red in November this season. It’s a very short window when the fish are shallow.
The way things are going early December won’t be considered early ice. I was up there today and dropped my wheelhouse off. They already have 5 to 6 inches almost 2 miles out. Sounds like atv’s and utv’s should be allowed this coming weekend from most resorts. but that is pending a bit of a warming trend towards the end of the week and pressure ridges could play into it.
This is the view as of today. I seen someone about a mile or more out on a snowmobile or wheeler I couldn’t tell which. I think it was someone from one of the resorts checking the ice depth.
So are you thinking that first weekend in December might be a miss for us? Or do you still think we have the potential to have good luck. We are hoping to hit that red lake bite you always hear about. Last year we were about 10 days behind the unreal bite on mille lacs so dont want to be a week late again.
You say equipment. Does this include a wheeler and/or sled? If so, I would say get there as early as you can. As soon as trucks are allowed, I think fishing gets a littler tougher (still very good, just not always that bite you hear about). I would say the weekend of November 23-24 will be the best this year as the water will have a chance to settle down and clear up a bit but it should still be early enough to where the trucks and large wheelhouses are not everywhere.
You will catch fish whenever you go but earlier is better.
I would think that early December the bite will still be good. He’s just saying that we’re getting good ice earlier this year than normal. It can be dead slow in February but you should be plenty good in December
Yep, the way this year is going, assuming it continues, trucks will be out before December.
I would think that early December the bite will still be good. He’s just saying that we’re getting good ice earlier this year than normal. It can be dead slow in February but you should be plenty good in December
Yes exactly what I meant thanks for clarifying. Didn’t mean to rain on you’re parade Carter you should do fine in early December. Just ask around the resort you go out of and they should be able to point you in a direction and then follow the advice by others given here.
I’m going next weekend and hope to be hitting that epic bite you hear about.
I’ll be up 11/29-12/2 Ice Cap so would love to hear your report. Good luck! 
I’ll be up 11/29-12/2 Ice Cap so would love to hear your report. Good luck!
I will post results good or bad! Really hoping I can get the side by side out so we can cover some ground.
Heading up the day after Thanksgiving as well. Going out of West Wind. Who knows, cars and small trucks might be a go by then.
You say equipment. Does this include a wheeler and/or sled? If so, I would say get there as early as you can. As soon as trucks are allowed, I think fishing gets a littler tougher (still very good, just not always that bite you hear about). I would say the weekend of November 23-24 will be the best this year as the water will have a chance to settle down and clear up a bit but it should still be early enough to where the trucks and large wheelhouses are not everywhere.
You will catch fish whenever you go but earlier is better.
Yes we will have a couple wheelers we will be bringing regardless if we can drive trucks out or not. Hoping that it continues to make good ice but not so good trucks can be on yet!! HA! thanks for all the info guys its greatly appreciated.
Yep, the way this year is going, assuming it continues, trucks will be out before December.
Just saw Roger’s post that the wind is raising h#ll with the ice today and breaking it up. Apparently there are people trapped off of West Wind as well.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Charlie W wrote:</div>
Yep, the way this year is going, assuming it continues, trucks will be out before December.Just saw Roger’s post that the wind is raising h#ll with the ice today and breaking it up. Apparently there are people trapped off of West Wind as well.
In all seriousness, I hope everyone gets off safely. However, I cannot say I am shocked in the least bit.
5-7″ of ice is NOTHING when talking about what the wind can do. This isn’t a 500-1000 acre lake where wind has a minimal impact. A miscalculation of winds from 5-10mph to gusts at 15+mph can open up ice in a hurry on big, shallow bodies of water. It’s crazy the money people will spend and risks they will take for some 1-2# walleyes.
In all seriousness, I hope everyone gets off safely. However, I cannot say I am shocked in the least bit.
5-7″ of ice is NOTHING when talking about what the wind can do. This isn’t a 500-1000 acre lake where wind has a minimal impact. A miscalculation of winds from 5-10mph to gusts at 15+mph can open up ice in a hurry on big, shallow bodies of water. It’s crazy the money people will spend and risks they will take for some walleyes.
100% agree. Early ice on Red is great, but every year people push further and further to be the first and it’s dangerous. Also am I the only one that notices people aren’t racing up there with their boats right up until ice up? It’s a good bite, but it’s not worth the risk at first ice.
Not good about the ice breaking up. Hope everyone gets to dry land ok.
Regarding the original question, I went there for the 1st time last year around December 15th. They were letting pickups and single axle ice houses out. I think there was 12 to 15 inches of ice.
To me, it was the perfect time to be there on my ATV. I went off the roads and away from crowds, and felt reasonably comfortable doing it. I did treat pressure ridges with respect and I still didn’t drive 10 miles out, but being on an ATV on that much ice let me carefully push past the trucks and ice shack towns to get by myself without much worry.
My experience was I caught fish everywhere, literally. I had my 4 fish limit from the very 1st hole I drilled on day 1 at 3:30 pm after having never set foot on the lake. It only took maybe 30 minutes tops. As night fell the bite got crazy for an hour or so before dark then slowed about 6 or 6:30 pm. For the most part I got maybe 300 to 500 yards from the closest cluster of people and looked for 10 to 12 feet. I did try to look for subtle depth changes on the map and fish around them. Not sure it made a difference, but I literally did not drill a hole that I didn’t catch fish from. Best depth on my trip seemed to be about 10 feet but I did catch them slightly deeper.
I’m often a hole driller and spot hopper but found I didn’t really need to. I’d usually drill 3 to 5 holes. Most spots found me enough fish to keep interested but I’d usually move a handful of times just to see if it was better somewhere else.
I always caught a couple over 17, with most of my fish being about 16 inches. Never got into numbers of over 20s like some people have. Maybe getting out further or finding a little gravel pile would help getting into that. But for a first timer, I had fun catching 30 to 50 decent walleyes in the middle of the day with very little effort. It really was quite simple and I realized that before my trip I was over thinking it. Get away from people and find a good depth and you should catch fish. I mostly used a glow red buckshot spoon with head from a fathead and ran a deadstick with fathead. Caught a few more on the deadstick but had plenty jigging. Caught fish on most any jig I tried also, though Rippin raps were a little tougher to convert fish into biting.
Overall pretty simple and impressive fishery.
Good luck and stay safe.
Tucker
From today
Screenshot_20191112-194405_Chrome-1.jpg
Screenshot_20191112-194405_Chrome.jpg
And after seeing all the reports on the book, obviously it didn’t continue the way it was going… I hope everyone is okay. There is no safe assumption regarding ice.
LOL! Looking at the photo is that snowmobile stuck on the wrong side of the crack. Couldn’t have just skipped over the crack.
is that snowmobile stuck on the wrong side of the crack. Couldn’t have just skipped over the crack.
Nope, the posts states the photo was taken from the wrong side.
I’m hoping to go Friday-Saturday if an access is allowing foot traffic.
Bringing a life jacket and cold water immersion suit so I don’t make the news 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Charles wrote:</div>
is that snowmobile stuck on the wrong side of the crack. Couldn’t have just skipped over the crack.Nope, the posts states the photo was taken from the wrong side.
Yes, the sled is on the “wrong” side of the crack, as in out past the open water. That shot is looking towards shore near Westwinds resort.
I actually saw a FB post of a guy who was one of the folks brought back over the opening, who said he was going back out later because they figured that they could walk around the opening and get back out to where they had been fishing…… wow, just wow
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