Walleye Heaven
Spider Johnson was a contractor and local businessman when he decided to chuck it all and head to Upper Red Lake. Some friends of his were opening the brand new West Wind Resort near Waskish, Minn. He wanted to be part of the fun, so he became a fishing guide.
The year was 2000, and Upper Red Lake's crappie population was booming. Its walleye population was on the mend after all but disappearing in the 1990s due to over-fishing.
Officials shut down the lake to walleye fishing there in 1999. The crappies exploded in size and number without predators to eat them or competition for food. The specks proved to be a powerful magnet for anglers while the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa launched walleye restocking efforts. Walleye fishing reopened in 2003.
"The crappie fishing brought us up here," Johnson said. "But, I'm a walleye man. The DNR has brought it back up to where it was 20 years ago when Red Lake was a family destination. The walleye fishing now is just fabulous. It's unbelievable."
Ted and Spider had walleye outings with 100-fish days last summer. In fact, Ted told a Midwest Outdoors television audience he would shave off his beard if the two of them didn't catch at least 20 walleyes within the first hour of fishing. They wound up with more than 30. The whiskers were saved.
Red Lake consists of two basins. Lower Red Lake is 152,000 acres. Upper Red Lake is 108,000 acres with all but 48,000 acres lying within the boundaries of the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Public fishing is done within the 48,000 acres.
By this past December, MDNR announced a tentative plan to raise the daily walleye limit from three to four in Upper Red Lake beginning May 9. The only condition was that ice anglers wouldn't reach the maximum harvest level, a possibility that MDNR officials thought was unlikely.
MDNR also plans to lighten up on the slot limit, which is currently 17 to 26 inches. The new, protected slot would be 20 to 26 inches as of June 15. Letting anglers take more fish may help reduce competition for food and allow walleyes to grow faster and reach trophy sizes, which are scarce now. The more restrictive 17 to 26 inch protected slot would go back into effect in time for the 2009-2010 ice fishing season.
Expect walleye action to continue to improve over the years. Gary Barnard, who is the MDNR area fisheries supervisor, told the Grand Forks Herald the walleyes have had five years of very good natural reproduction.
The Crappie fishing is still pretty good, Johnson said. Those fish are reaching 15 inches and more. Fourteen-inch crappies are common.
With so many walleyes, Johnson said Upper Red Lake is a perfect place to practice a variety of fishing tactics. You can slip jig in the river that flows into it. You can cast lures and jigs or use any one of a number of walleye rigs, including Lindy rigs and slip bobbers.
Winter walleye fishing has also been phenomenal, said Johnson, who operates a chain of day cabins and sleepers of his own and manages several more for West Wind Resort. Twenty to 30 fish a day is normal, he said. Many are just under the 17-inch mark so they are perfect candidates for the frying pan, he said. But, another huge year class is in the range of 20 inches and more, and although they can't be kept, they provide wonderful cold-weather fun, he said.
Upper Red Lake has some isolated rock piles that draw fish along with a few sand bars that feature rocks, according to Johnson. But, fishermen primarily focus on the mud where walleyes roam "like buffalo" feeding on insects.
"You can catch a 20-inch walleye and it will look like a football," he said.
The upper lake, and more specifically the northeast corner which is not far from West Wind Resort, is located where walleyes and crappies mass before spawning.
The rentable sleepers "are like being in your living room, but you're pulling fish through the floor," joked Johnson. "I guess that means it's a little better than your living room."
Two primary ice fishing methods are used, jigging and set lines. The jigging set-up uses a medium-action rod, 4 to 6 pound line and a jig, like a Lindy Max Gap, ranging in size from 1/16th to 1/4 ounce. The basin is shallow, usually 15 feet or so. Dressed with a minnow head, jigging is deadly. But, here's the key. Use glow jigs in Techni-Glo colors like red and chartreuse. The water can be murky with schooling fish rooting around in the silt searching for insects. And, make sure you fire the glow paint with a Tazer at least every 10 minutes. Spoons, like a Rattl'n Flyer Spoon, are another great choice.
"Keep it moving, from 2 inches to no more than a foot off the bottom," Johnson said.
The set lines consist of a number 4 or 6 hook tipped with a lively fathead minnow under a Thill Mini-Stealth slip float. Experiment with the size of the bait to what the walleyes prefer. Match their mood.
Walleyes and bonus crappies are on the move. Sonar units and fish cams can be rented at the resorts bait shop if you don't have your own.
February is a great month for ice fishing, he said. The winter season closes at the end of the month.
Call West Wind Resort at (218) 647-8998. Reach Johnson through the resort or directly at (320) 304-1617. Visit http://www.westwindwaskish.com for more.