Don't mind the term cidiot and will refer to myself with this term at times. When used in this tone however, I hope you don't care if we remind you jackpine savages who helps drive your economy. Brainerd being south of Hwy 2 IS considered metro (ie cidiot) to alot of the residents of this great lake.

Hey cidiot (brainard is a city, right) -- the whole river is no wake and is clearly posted --- if you're on plane for that small stretch of the channel with the deeper hole then you're throwing a wake into the no wake zone. And what about the safety issue --- just because boats are crowding the channel markers and the no fishing line doesn't mean you should run through there on plane, especially as narrow as that channel is. Actually, if you're under power and moving then the boats that are fishing have the right of way and you need to be careful of them.

I would very much like to see the no fishing zone extended farther out of the mouth of the river, and farther off to the sides of the boat channel. There really is no need to have those boats there, but they do have the right to be there.

The best way to get out of that channel is to get on plane and it has been for a long time. Most people with any sense do it that way, and there are no no wake signs there.

My boat, like most larger boats, leaves almost no wake on plane anyway. Doesn't matter where you are from.

That picture says it all - might as well put a net at the mouth of the river - will we never learn??

"That picture says it all - might as well put a net at the mouth of the river - will we never learn??"

You are kidding right?

How many fish can you keep? What size?

It is not the keeping of the three fish it is the handling of the seventy fish that is hard on them.

If people were trusted to do what is best, then there wouldn't need to be any laws at all.

They can't be expected to steer clear of the spot that holds the greatest number of fish. That's what they are there to do, catch fish.
If there is any danger of all those fish dying, then the real people the anger should be directed to is the DNR for allowing fishing there in the first place.

Also it would interesting to see how many of those boats are locals and how many are "citiots".

The term "cidiot" was derived while refering to those who live in or around the immediate Twin Cities area (ie Shakopee). The no wake zone starts and ends at the last corners of shoreline along Red Lake, thats where the two signs are. The dredged channel leading to the main lake is fair game. Any idiot like me can figure out that a boat going at, lets say, 5 mph causes more wave-like intrusions upon the surface of the water than a boat going 25 mph. At slow speeds, the rear end of the boat is jutting into the water while the front sticks up in the air and , consequently, creating larger wake. On the other hand, when the boat is planed, it sits evenly on the water and creates little wake. Red Lake is a big lake with many a fish in it. Having fifteen boats and twice as many lines at the mouth of a major spawning river shouldnt be allowed. So, therefore, the argument of boats being congested at the confluence of the river and lake shouldnt even be made, as the boats shouldn't have been their in the first place. Having it be a "right" doesnt change the fact that it is a privelege. It shouldnt be taken advantage of. I do agree with you on the extending of the no fishing zone though.

I am not interested in an arguement but I think you are wrong that that is such a great place to fish in the first place. The reason those boats are there, is because the boats are there, if you know what I mean. I actually think you can go through more fish in other areas. I went by that pack of boats today and went out to a place by myself. I went through about 20 fish and kept three 16 3/4 inchers in about an hour and a half. When I went back through that pack of boats they were still there. Apparently I was in a better spot.

If the hooking mortality is the problem, (which by the way it is) then they should change the stupid law and let you keep fish over 17 inches. We complain that they are going through a lot of fish, and they are because they HAVE to in order to get their limit of fish under 17. People are going to keep a limit of fish if they can get them, that's the way it is and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not their fault, it's the fault of those who made the law. The fishery should be managed for maximum sustainable yeild, but it is not, it is managed by politics.

Am I the only one that sees a problem with tossing back a deep-hooked 20-incher that is going to die? It is called state sanctioned wanton waste. And it is a bad policy.

Sadly the DNR has little power in changing or amending laws such as fish consumption on a slot lake, extending no fishing areas or even to define what is and was is not a right of way water way. Most of these decisions are made in St. Paul based off of DNR recommendations and often times shot down by a few reps that I can only wonder what there true agenda is. Don't think this was heavily discussed after last years pictures of the same deal along with one of the boats playing "walleye slow pitch" for the camera, the DNR is doing whatever they can to protect the stocking and recovery efforts but often meets harsh opposition from St. Paul.


Where the real frustration lies is with the lack of knowledge or respect of what happened to the Red Lakes. Take yourself for example DTRO you are somewhat new to the fishing scene and very new to Upper Red, I think you have been here once? Correct? You did not see the collapse, your family did not starve out, you did not see the families that homesteaded in Waskish in 1900's forced to leave the only home they ever knew, you where not forced to move in search of employment , you did not watch your hometown wither into a ghost town when the collapse happened. This is the reason so many do take what you say is "That's what they are there to do, catch fish." to heart. It is really an insult to the poeple that suffered the hardships or performed the many great tasks and still do everything they can to protect their lake, their families and way of life. The lake is a great resource and we are very happy to have the people come to town but when it gets out of hand all we can see is the horror of our past starting all over again.

Oh and by the way I did walk down to the shore to take a close look and not one boat was a local. Locals don't fish from Rangers, Skeeters or other fiberglass glitter. The only bigger boats in town is guide boats and neither one of us would fish that mess. Although one boat was a "Upper Red Lake Guide" from Brainerd that shows up for the first two weeks of season, as he stated himself "I'll hit Red when its easy".

Now as for the water way I will clarify that mess so it is fully understood. The canal leaving the mouth of the river is just that, a canal. A canal that is dredged so boats can get onto the lake. Now this canal is just wide enough for two boats to meet. Outside of this canal is to shallow to operate or even float a boat in. So when it gets jammed up with anglers boats looking to access the lake are stuck. The anglers won't move out of the canal because they cannot get out of it to the north or south and the traveling boat can not go around those boats for the same reason. The canal at the mouth of the river is dredged for travel and travel only. It is not dredged as a "fish corral" to make the catching of spawning walleye easy.

All in all I think it would be a good idea to have some understanding of what the effects of gray area ethics have on a fishery and the poeple connected to such fishery. Some need to take the time and think about it past "Do whatever it takes to fill the livewell today"

And as a parting statement lets try not to use name calling such "citiots" or "Jack Pine Savages" etc etc. It all boils down to ethical and unethical.

I grew up in Northern Minnesota for the first 23 years of my life and have lived in the metro now for 5 years because of lack of work up north. I am starting to take offense to the term "Cidiot". Some people on this site need to show a little bit of class. I have seen life from both sides of the state. I agree some of the clowns down here don't have a clue about fishing etiquette. For a person like myself who has fished his entire life it is easy for me to spot a so-called "Cidiot". Lets just have a little more class and respect for people and remember who boosts that economy up their. Some of the resorts if not all would not float up their if it weren't for metro folks. Take West Winds for example. They opened in 2000 roughly? Look at how much there business has grown in the last 8 years. It's not because of the locals going into the bar and buying 2 dollar tap beer and a burger.

I was shaking my head more than once as well this last weekend on Red. I was up for opener again this year and witnessed the circus. I agree with everyone else in saying I would be totally embarrassed and ashamed to be those boats anchored up next to the mouth of the river. Get out and find your own [PoorWordUsage] spot. Look how big the lake is. Talk about abusing the system. It was quite bothersome. Some idiot decided to put a marker out on the North Shore Sunday. You should have seen the boats circling this marker. Two guys came in and literally circled the marker for ten mintues. They then had the balls and anchored up 10 yards from it and casted out there bobbers. No fishing etiquette what so ever.

They do not HAVE to go through a large number of fish to get their fish under 17 inches. Most Red Lake female walleyes start spawning when they are about 18 inches. Why sit in a bunch of 18+ inch spawning fish when you are looking for fish under 17 inches? Just go out into the lake and look for the walleyes under 17 inches that are not in the spawning run.

edit
"Also it would interesting to see how many of those boats are locals and how many are "citiots"."

One thing to remember "dtro" is that the "locals" on URL went through the shock of the walleyes being gone. Packed their fishing rods in the back of closet for 6 years and hoped and prayed that we would be able to fish walleyes again someday. Every time we looked out across the lake and saw zero fishermen we wondered if the walleyes would be able to come back. We wondered what it would be like if the walleyes never recovered. Mother Nature taught us a harsh lesson and we learned from it. One of the things we learned is that a spawning walleye is of great value and needs to be respected.

Let me just say that I never claimed to know anything about past history of Red Lake. It's safe to say that bad stuff has happened everywhere in the state at one point or another.

Whether or not I've been to Red 1 time or 100 times has no bearing on state law.

Did the DNR not close the river for fishing? If so then they also should have to power to close off a bigger section?

Maybe the lake should just be closed to fishing altogether, and then there could be a lottery system so only a chosen few get to fish there.

As far as seeing my home town become a ghost town and have to move to find employment.........ever heard of the Iron Range?

There's a lot of urban people who's rural roots go much deeper than it may appear.

A real good way to get people diverted away from a hot spot is to set out a "marker". I love seeing people go from on plane to pulling the throttle back so hard they almost throw the guy in front out when they see the floater... ha hah ha, whew!

Anyways, yall gotta quit worrying about everyone else and give em a big wave if they give you the finger. Lifes too short to worry... and sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt you

Donk you should come up for the "Marker Challenge" How it works is paint up the brightest marker I can find. Then me an my buddies will take a non-guide looking boat and place the marker within visable distance of a crowd. Then its bets on for how many boats in hours time crowd the marker. Normally it hits four-five but last year I put one out from the guide boat that pulled twenty three boats into casting range within thirty minutes, the sports writer that was with me thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen and he thought he had seen all the craziness he could on Pool 3/4. Somewhat of a new Waskish pastime.