Anglers who fish Upper Red Lake now may keep larger walleye, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials. A protected slot limit requiring all walleye from 17 to 26 inches. In state waters, for the first time since walleye fishing on Upper Red Lake reopened in May 2006, the Department of Natural Resources has relaxed the protected slot limit during the winter season. Sauteed Walleye with Tarragon Roland Hill 2020-07-16T16:37:28-06:00 July 2nd, 2019 2 Comments Directions: Pat the fish fillets dry with a paper towel and season them on. Walleye: Beginning November 1, 2020, the daily and possession limit is three. Only one over 17' allowed in possession. Those portions of Red Lake located within the Red Lake Indian Reservation are closed to non-band members except by special authorization of the tribal council. Anglers fishing during the winter season on Upper Red Lake will have a four-walleye bag limit, with only one walleye longer than 17 inches allowed. The regulations, which become effective Sunday, Dec. 1, are the same as those of last winter but more restrictive than during 2019 open water fishing.

Jeff Sundin December 30, 2020 'Upper Red; The Remoter The Better'

As of December 30, 2020, resorts and rental operators are allowing ALL BUT THE LARGEST vehicles access to the lake on their plowed roads. Take Mort's Dock for example, they request that you leave your big diesel truck on shore, otherwise you can drive anything you want.

That means that the crowds are large, and the rental operators are hustling to keep their units in fresh territory. If you were to poll 100 anglers about the fishing action on Red Lake right now, 30 of them would say that the action is great. Another 30 would report that the fishing completely stinks and the remaining 40 would shrug their shoulders and say that it is 'so-so'. This is fairly typical of Red Lake, once the hot rush of early ice passes, catching fish consistently requires creativity.

Most anglers fishing the lake advise getting out and away from the crowds for best fishing action. That advice is easy to give out, but if your travel is limited by the constraints of large wheelhouses and big pickup trucks, not so easy to follow. Most folks who depend on finding a parking spot for their wheelhouse are also hip to the idea that there's a tradeoff between fishing in comfort and fishing 'away from the crowd'.

From my perspective, you could have both, if you want to. The ultimate ice fishing trip on large lakes like Upper Red, I think, is to use a sleeper house as headquarters and snowmobile back and forth to the better, more remote fishing areas. Except for those who have the cash to shell out for a Sno Bear, there is no way to be more efficient than using snowmobile and pull behind ice shelter. This is as close as you can get to duplicating the efficiency of fishing from a boat.

A few years back, we filmed some video on Red Lake using the system and it was great. Having the rental sleeper that was put in place by a seasoned pro, meant that we could fish that crucial, first light bite before venturing out. As soon as the action faded, we jumped on the snow machines and fished subtle structures out and away from the crowds.

With access to Canadian waters still closed, this might be a good winter for all of us snowmobilers to take a second look at Upper Red. The fish, in my opinion, run nicer in size than they do in a lot of other places, so even a moderately good fishing day results in catching enough fish for a good feast.

If you’re thinking about Red for this weekend, the better reports are coming from anglers targeting water depths of 10 to 11 feet. Fishing with jigging spoons on one rod and dead sticking with blade baits or plain red hooks on a 2nd rod helps trigger a few extra fish when they’re in a neutral mood. Pink, red and gold are always good colors on Red Lake. Lately, I’ve enjoyed the Pink Glow Spoons a lot, but the old reliable Red-Glow Rattl’n’ Flyer Spoon is always a good choice on Red too.

If you can still find some, Foo Flyers will trigger those neutral fish really well too. A super effective lure, the Foo Flyer was under-rated by the masses and eventually discontinued. I hung on to as many as I could find and still use them when I see fish on my graph that won’t strike many of the more aggressive jigging lures.

Walleye Slot Limit On Upper Red Lake Charles

I do my best to stay on top of reports from Upper Red, but resorters and rental operators up there are extremely busy, and it can be tough to contact them on short notice. I know that a lot of folks believe that facebook posts get to everybody, but many of them don’t.

What I’m saying is that I can use all the help I can get. If you’ve been fishing on Upper Red Lake, or any other lake for that matter, your reports are always welcome.

Upper Red Lake Walleye Regulations

You do not need to share your secrets and you don’t have to write a book either. Be as protective as you like, sometimes all it takes is a few words about ice conditions, fishing trends or lures that worked well for you. Help your fellow anglers and they will eventually help you, so drop us a line and share a few words. — Jeff Sundin 218-245-9858 or EMAIL