1/19 - 1/20 North Shore Report

[shakey legs 2]

On Friday we were out 7 1/2 miles no one around us for about 1/2 mile and we picked up 7 crappies and several walleyes ( 2 men).  We thought we good do better so we moved back toward the group that was 6 1/2 - 7 miles out and only picked up two crappies and some walleyes.  We were too close to the main group and with hindsight, should have stayed where we were on Friday and punched some holes until we located an active area.  Nobody to blame but ourselves.  Sometimes I wonder if we are getting spoiled with a wheel house.  It seems like we were more active with portables but maybe that's just an excuse for getting older and lazy.  I might have to invest in a flip over portable to scout with and use the hard house for the main base until the fish are located.  Demon jigs with a red stripe caught most of the crappies and walleyes.  Learned a good lesson even though I have heard the advice many, many times - stay away from the crowds or at least be on the outer fringe away from the main concentration.  It is different on metro lakes where most of the fish are structure related.  On Red they are spread out and with the big schools depleted from years past, the remaining fish in a school can get caught pretty quick so you might only pick up a few stragglers here and there unless you are very lucky or have gps spots (which we don't) from previous years to mark inside turns or some other subtle structure on transition areas.  Good luck to all.