Red Lake Is A Mess

Went fishing on Sunday and after all the snow saw most trucks that ventured off the roads shoveling. First to set up their houses then to get back to the road....many stuck trucks. Hillman's is doing a great jobs of making more offshoot roads to aid in access but snow depth is not the only problem......slush and water flooding out of the holes as soon as you drill them will make fishing tough the rest of the year.

BTW only one crappie caught but had a nice peaceful day. To get away from the crowds was hard but I was able to find quiet spots to fish.

Those fisherman venturing out be careful to have a good exit back to the main roads, being stuck on a lake is no fun. I will take a break from Red Lake and see if the conditions improve....Best of luck all.

Steelheader

FISHING DURING THE STORM..AND HOPFULLY GETTING BETTER AT THIS BLOGGING

Yesterday I went fishing before the big storm that hit in N. Minnesota, or more correctly we fished during it. We caught fish and had a great time while fishing about 4 hours. Below are some pictures that show my vexilar fl8 and how you can use it to indicate if there are fish in the neiborhood. For the experienced this is old hat. Hopefully a few novice fisherman visit my blog and this should be informative and let you know that YES you can use your depth finder to locate fish. I also realize that this blog is probably getting to be boring, I have found that this is harder than I first realized. If your are a regular visitor and have suggestions that would make Fish House Chronicles more interesting to you please feel free to comment and I'll try to answer your question or show items that may excite you. The snow condition on Red lake are getting nasty so be careful and always carry a shovel because chances are you will get stuck. Great fishing and I'll Talk to you SOON. Steelheader

This is the normal look of the vexilar fl8 screen. The wide red band at about the 11 and a half foot mark represents bottom. The green mark above this is my jig and bait.

This shows you the wide red mark around the area on the vexilar screen where my line should be. This usually indicates a fish in the area and hopefully looking at your bait deciding if this is lunch.

The result of the wide red mark that was where my line is was this nice walleye. Also note the 2 off color marks on its gill plate, these are like warts that you and I get. They can be common on fish in some lakes and I have seen them as big as quarters and as many as 6 on the side of a fish.

Fishing before the big chill

Well I went fishing Last wednesday with the Mickman. More to move the fishhouse but we caught fish as a bonus. Take a look at his 15" crappie, but few others were around. The walleyes wouldn't leave us alone, hard to complain but we had to put all of them back. Probabably caught 20 or so walleyes.I hope to fish again soon I'll keep you posted , but things have slowed alittle.

Steelheader

A smile would be nice Mickman, not many guys can boast catching a 15"+ crappie. Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary. 

Had a great fishing trip today with DJ and Austin . Lost the pictures so I can't share them with you. Had a fair day with 18 crappies and 4 walleyes caught, not bad for 4 hours. A great day with great company.

Steelheader

FISHING ALONE

There is something to be said about only having to count on yourself, let me explain. I now have time and the days off to go fishing. Years earlier when my time was limited the people I fished with would call and expect me to go, no…. was not an acceptable answer. These same guys have kids in school and other responsibilities and I have a hard time getting them to fish once a year. Well I guess when the roles reverse the ones that had “ you can always count on me” attitude now run for the nearest excuse.

Tomorrow I’m going fishing with DJ and Austin I think I can count on those two. The word is the crappies are still on a good bite at Red Lake. We’re getting an early start so I may give you a report tomorrow evening.

To a successful trip,

Steelheader

IT WAS REALLY COLD THIS MORNING the temperature at sunrise was -20 degrees below zero. I set up and turned on the heater and had a comfortable and peaceful morning. The fish were around but not biting, the walleye below was returned to the lake. I guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching. Another day another adventure...always looking forward to the next time. 

It was -20 below this morning with the sunflower heater wide open the inside temperature in my portable was about 45 degrees. Comfortable fishing with the right cloths. 

The waiting game of watching the bobber swim around the hole. Be ready when it goes down tho.....set and catch if your lucky. 

A nice Red Lake walleye about to be sent back into the hole. Walleye isn't for anpther year....Sporting catch tho. 

RED LAKE IS STILL PRODUCING

Went fishing with the Mickman and we found fish again, but it was a long cold night. The fish were very picky they wanted only small jigs and moving the bait seemed to scare them off. Every night is different and a challenge.

Hillman’s plowed a great road after all the snow and drifting from the weekend storm. They’re very accommodating people and they will tell you like it is out on the lake.

Fishing for me is a time to relax and unwind. I like to sit and stare at my bobbers and clear my mind of all the clutter( actually that’s quite easy for me because there isn’t much of importance up there). Yesterday I was battling a raspy throat and it hurt to talk, and when I had too it usually produced a cough. Consider sitting next to a motor mouth who never shut-up and expected answers to all his ramblings. He’s been told before but next time I may be rude….SHUT THE _ _ _ _- UP AND FISH.

This detracted from the day but we caught nice fish and even a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work!! Tomorrow I’m going by myself, listen to some tunes and kick back and a fish will be a bonus.

Take the time and get out…there seems to be a good bite going on.
BTW…called half dozen friends and couldn’t find one that was free to fish. HMMMMMMM.

Anyway…Catch and release is good too,

Steelheader

QUIET TIMES

Upon returning from a fishing trip with my brother, the fish we caught made for an exciting trip. Reflecting back to the spans of time when there were no fish to be had I find that those moments are important. Let me back track for a minute, usually our ice fishing trip in December is with 2 or 3 friends and it can get quite loud and the word DRUNK comes to mind. This year it was just the 2 of us and there were extended periods of time when nothing was said. These were very important times for me as I sit here writing.

At times a word, phrase, or gesture from my brother took me back to vivid childhood memories. I like to think that I’m a person that lives in the present and I really don’t dwell on past events in my life, but those memories that were evoked may have been lost to me forever if not for the time we spent together.

What does this have to do with fishing, in some ways nothing, but it may be the reason to take time to do things with a parent, sibling, spouse, or special friend. NOT in a group but one-on-one. Depending on the time in your life it may be just an outing, but it may be something that might last forever.

Try it and you may find that the time it took for the outing may bring you a lifetime of memories.

Keep the gas in your auger fresh and good fishing.

Steelheader