cookies upper red lake report from the shores of upper red lake

[glenn57]

HEY COOKIE...................... I just got a text from a friend who is currently up at LOTW's and thought i'd give you a heads up. she said 4 ATV's went thru sat on the rainy river, she is staying at Arensons resort and they shut down to truck traffic on the lake. only ATV  and snowmobile traffic out for them. i'd call up and find out from whomever your going out of to be prepared. she said it rained up there all day sunday!!!!!!!!!!

[snow1]

Hey Glenn,can't send youa PM,shoot me a pm,for some reason I can't send.

[glenn57]

did ya get it????

[Boar]

yeah avery who might wanna venture up there. should reconsider. thers at least 7 trucks.that have went thu and a.few atvs and sled. let it go guys, its just a fish.

[glenn57]

yeah avery who might wanna venture up there. should reconsider. thers at least 7 trucks.that have went thu and a.few atvs and sled. let it go guys, its just a fish.

at least they didn't loose there keys!!!!!!!!!

[glenn57]

Hey Cookie how is the ice up there? Boar put pontoons on his castle to stay afloat??

Seriously just curious. Was a bout an hour south east of you Easter weekend and the small lake we were at had 12 inches of pretty good ice yet.

[cookie]

This years opener was a eye opener as mother nature decided to unleash some strong winds out of the north north west with bone chilling temps . Getting on the lake was possible but it had to be miserable if you were out there. Frank and the crew did well in the river and landed enough fish to feed there group two big fish fries for the weekend. They have been coming for years and taking home fish is not a big goal but getting enough for there fish fry and fish boil is what its all about.
Wayne, Jonny boy my son and I did go out sunday as I wanted to send john home with 3 fish. It was not the best weather to fish but we managed to land a 15 fish in the couple hours we fished before we ran out of minnows. Our boat Imagine That needed a new battery this year as the original one finely gave out after 12 years of service. All the family are coming up memorial weekend. Other then that our cabins are wide open this year. I'm a little surprised as I expected we would have quite a few calls this year. jake was up last week Monday and part of Tuesday. We had to battle mother nature a bit but did manage to land 8 elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies. Jake did not keep any and I kept 3 for the hammer and I to have a fresh fish dinner.
On a side note getting on the lake with our 20 foot tyee is was manageable in the wind on sunday but I did bottom out twice and that always drives me crazy. I'm not sure why the markers are so close together as there not even a channel there. Coming in with the wind I ended up going on the right side of the markers with no problem. I would not go to the right of the markers going out though as I be leave there are some rocks scatter about to the north

[Boar]

good to hear froam ya cookie, thope yer summer is a good one, thanks for the report!!

[LPS]

I just looked at Cookies website.  It would be fun to rent one of his cabins for a few days.  Maybe a long weekend.  I wonder if there is a dock by the cabins?  Do you know Boar?  Funny thing, when we moved up to Baudette almost 11 years ago we of course had to go through Washkish many times and we saw the Cookies sign.  We for years thought it was someone who made and sold great cookies.  lol  I was imagining chocolate chip cookies in packages of a dozen or so.  We almost stopped too.  I thought it would be some sweet little ol lady selling them. 

[Boar]

i guess i ccouldnt tell ya lps, give him a shout hed be glad to talk

[glenn57]

i guess i ccouldnt tell ya lps, give him a shout hed be glad to talk

yea LPS, he sure can talk!!!!!!!!!!!! and he puts up with boar most the winter so you shouldn't have a problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LPS]

You just earned yourself a + Smurfy...

[Boar]

and a smite.....

[cookie]

well its back to the grind for me as I head to baudett. Oak harbor golf course .  For your question I do have a dock across the street on the river. Imagine That takes up most of the dock but I have had other boats there that were able to improvise . You can not see the boat from the cabin but I have never had a problem Knock on wood. I do get a little anxiety when I go to check on it though as one time I went over to check the greek's boat and it was gone. It had broken loose and floated away. I found it down river past hillmens on the other side of the river

[LPS]

I heard that the fishing was pretty good over the weekend. 

[Fawkinnae]

 

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[cookie]

Was back to the grind yesterday as I started at the golf course is baudett. Oak harbor golf course.  The guys in the grey cabin got there nine fish Tuesday. Yesterday they only managed to catch 6 fish as mother nature roared in and chased them off the lake. They are going to fish a bit this morning before packing up. Bob and crew arrive friday for a the weekend. A lot of people thought it would be a lot busier around here with the Milacs deal but I think its been one of the slower years ? The access have been full on weekends but not overwhelmed? I'm not sure where all the boats come from on weekends for the day? Are they staying at other resorts in blackduck, grand rapids, thief river? They sure are not driving from the cities and driving back home the same day. As far as lodging here in waskish  there not a ton of places to stay. Starting from the north you have beacon harbor, then big bog camp grounds, hillmens has camping. I have our two cabins and very limited camping, bear paw has some lodging and westwinds has the premier resort  here in waskish. I do not think I'm forgetting any.


The hammer and I plan to check out a few crappie spots again this weekend as she loves catching them. I have not caught a pure black one yet but expect if we get any this weekend they will be.

[cookie]

yesterday while mowing the ball fields here in waskish I came home for lunch and got a call from a good friend Chris. He was in blackduck and wanted to know if I would take it out fishing . I hoed and hummed about 10 seconds and said sure. Pick up some crappie minnows and meet me here at the house around 6 pm and we would go look for the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. Arriving to the spot there were 3 boats working a half mile stretch. We pulled in started fishing and listening to some jonny cash. The first bobber down was a pesty walleye. Oh well he would be a good eater. A few walleyes later and Chris landed the one and only elusive crappie of the evening. With the water temp at 63 I expected we would do better?  I guess why that's why they are so elusive. We did manage to get 6 very nice walleyes with two coming in just over 18 inches. I made a deal with Chris and he fillet the fish plus I had him cut out all the cheeks. Yum Yum Yum fresh fish for dinner tonight

[Boar]

nice cookie, man I gota get over there.

[cookie]

Well it was not to bad of a weekend. Bob, Dennis and Greg staying  in the grey cabin arrived to late Friday evening to get out. While they were unpacking I noticed they brought there golf clubs. Greg said they planned on getting a round in, I dropped the ball and should of steered them up to Oak Harbor Golf course where I work. They ended up going to blackduck sunday afternoon when the winds blew them off the lake. I'm thinking they may of walk the course as one of them commented it seemed like it was all up hill. Any way back to fishing .They did come in Saturday late afternoon with there limit for a fish fry. I was hoping for some very calm weather to try for the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie but the wind never layed down to my liking. I do have plenty of projects to keep me busy here though. Living in waskish you learn to fix quite a few things yourself. For instance the dryer needs a new hub bearing so that has been taking apart and a couple parts ordered. The bravado  has a antifreeze leak on the intake manifold so I have that half apart with quite a bit more to go before I know what parts I need.  The john deer lawn tractor broke its hydro drive belt I had to remove the deck and lift the thing off the ground to pull a pully to install the new belt plus I had to remove the carb and clean it. I finished making my drag and had to go over to Davids and torch a couple pieces of metal to length. I have some painting to do this summer /fall. I also have a couple trees that need to come down but I do not do chain saws so I'm trying to barter for that. So the last week I have been a small engine mechanic, a car mechanic, a appliance repairman, a carpenter/fabricator.


Any way back to fishing it sounds like the fish are starting to scatter a bit. I may get out later today as its looks like its going to be a gorgeous day here. The grey cabin is open for the weekend at this time and both cabins are open the rest of the summer   

[Boar]

thanks cookie, say what kinda presentation are people using, slip boobers, jigging, drifting harnesses? Fatherday weeken Ill be camping onyur shoreline, ya sold me with that beutifull sunset picture, beautifully peacefull. I'm there buddy.

[cookie]

wow its been all most 20 days since I last posted a fishing report. I guess I will share one of the reasons my reports are far and few between? When we went to a 4 fish limit on the 14th  it was a windy day so there was not much action at the public landing . However on the 15th it looked like opener. I was up mowing at the park/public landing and there were areas I could not mow as there were trailers parked on the grass. Again please do not be offended but where do they all come from? yes some stop and have breakfast or lunch at westwind, or buy bait in town. But most come for the day and never spend a penny in town. I realize that it is a fishing destination with no other activities golf, water park etc.  I do not think I have ever seen a boat in tow stop at Sandys little antique store at the edge of town.  Its never a bad idea to stop and buy a gift for the sweetie for letting you go fishing.  I also realize that they are spending hard earned money to get here so there helping the economy somewhere. Sandys and north country sell locally grown wild rice. Hillmens ,westwind, north country all sell bait and tackle.


I had Ken and his two daughters here for a week from fathers day until the 24th . They have been coming for quite a few years staying in the grey cabin. Ken likes pulling crankbaits and they caught fish every day they went out. They brought the bicycles and went for a couple bikes rides. I never did see the girls go down to the lake and swim though. They had a couple fish fries and went home with there 12. Pat came up with Nate and Nate for a couple days Monday through Wednesday and stayed in the little green cabin. The wind was a factor in there fishing. I did take them out in my boat "Imagine That" after work on Tuesday. We headed into the wind to the north shore and were able to get out of the four foot rollers and do some trolling with spinners. Nate got to catch his first ever walleye which was nice. We only caught a few fish but did have some action. They headed out to the same area Wednesday and did much better as the wind had finally laid down. Marty and wayne were up on the 10th and 11th We all went fishing. I had to run the big motor with the wind conditions but we did real well trolling spinners. I had the hot hand and out fished both of them. I would guess we caught 50 fish for sure. We used up 3 generous scoops of minnows for the day. I had to stop in westwind harbor to get gas. When I was coming back on the lake I was just about to the last channel marker when a boat came from behind me full speed I never saw him coming ,He did not hit his horn that he was passing and man am I glad I did not turn left as I never saw him coming. Not sure why he was in such a hurry.  Must of heard they were biting good? Who knows? Wild Bill was up also with his wife and daughter. They camped down at the lake for a couple days. They caught fish everyday drifting  with leaches. Both cabins set open last weekend. I did go down to Rodgers Saturday  and picked up a family Paul, Amanda, Br ady and Cody. they were friends of Joe Flak a old customer. They were camping there. He did not have room  in his boat for everyone so I took then fishing. We drifted a area I like and had at least one bite or landed a fish every drift. I'm sure Joe marked that spot as he said it was not on his lakemaster chip? Oh well I better get off to work sounds like The golf course Oak harbor got quite a bit of rain Saturday. Both cabins are still wide open the rest of the summer.

[LPS]

Hi Cookie.  We went to Red last Wed and brought 3 kids.  We got minnows at Westwind by the way.  :-)  We anchored in about 8' of water and caught 7 walleyes, 3 perch and 4 sheepies.  We all had a great time.  That is the first time I have fished Red in a boat.  Really liked it.  I would like to troll some cranks there sometime.  So can a guy still catch some crappies there?  That would be fun for a changeup.  I would love to see one of those real big ones if they still exist. 

[cookie]

The best chance is during the winter  ice fishing late ice, also spring. the best we did this spring was only 8.

[cookie]

Here"s the deal stay two nights here and I can get you 2 free passes with cart to Oak Harbor golf course. The course is 52 miles away one way from the shores of upper red lake. I have not gotten out but I here there still biting pretty good

[cookie]

Well she been a little quiet around here as of late. My buddy Wayne made it up for the weekend of the 15th.  We did get out and do a little fishing but after all those days of wind the bite was a little tough for sure. We only managed to land 4 small walleye with the biggest just over 15. I was a little surprised as we hit a couple of my go to spots. I spose there's plenty of food for them to eat out there this time of year so maybe trying some leeches may be the ticket. Sunday Wayne was not feeling to well so we skipped the fishing. We did go  check out a few blueberry patches, I ended up picking about two quarts. Wayne is possessed with those small wild strawberry and was on the hunt for those. We did stumble on to a  juneberry tree that had so much fruit on it, it was bent over all most touching the ground.  Tuesday I got out fishing by my self and with leeches managed to get 4 for dinner but it was tough. Friday Boar and his wife Laura camped down at the lake. Boar and I went out Saturday morning and again managed to keep 4. Jeff did loose 3 fish and I missed a couple bites so the fishing was quite a bit better. Sounds like Boar will be up again this weekend and we plan to wet a line. Were also going too do a little scouting as he may come up and do a little hunting this fall. Lee and Nick came up Sunday and the wind kept them off the lake. They had a very small boat, but they had a plan B and brought the golf clubs so they headed to Blackduck where the played 27 holes. Marty and Shelly showed up late Saturday as they were at a wedding in grand rapids. we all set down at the lake for the sunset and then set in Boar and Laura's Clam screen house when the skeeters came out. Wow is that thing nice and goes up easy peasy. Sunday we all set down at the lake and just chilled. Jeff and I went for a swim  while Kellie and Laura got a little to much sun.  Monday Nick and Lee got out fishing .Again the wind got the best of them and they showed up at Oak harbor golf course where I work to play another 18. I told them we could go fishing in my boat Tuesday morning so they just pulled there boat Monday evening and we went out  early morning where again we managed to catch a few fish. Lee left me two jars of home made maple syrup .Thanks Leo.


This weekend is Hillmens 31rst annul Billy Hillmen  softball tournament, with festivities starting Friday evening. There still looking for more teams. Saturday after softball they play a mean game of 4 man tackle football in the mud pit and its always a big turn out. August 6th Westwind is having a 32 team Kornhole tournament, You can check out there website for details. 


Paul and his two boys are coming up fishing this weekend and Jeff, Wayne and I plan on wetting a line also

[cookie]

It was such a beautiful morning today. I decided on the spur of the moment to wet a line. I never have my plan until I pass the last marker buoy. I decided to fish for  some pike. I started with a bucktail. With nothing to show for I switched up to a jointed salmo, again nothing then I switched to one of my favorite lures and bam 3 fish in a row with in a few minutes of each other. Fun Fun Fun. One 37, One 38 and a 28. roughly. My tape measure was not in the boat so I had to use my 20 inch walleye board

[glenn57]

nice!!!!!!!!!!! so did you keep them to hook on boars line when he comes up this weekend?????????

[cookie]

Nope protected  slot all released to fight another day

[glenn57]

Nope protected  slot all released to fight another day

LOL!!!!!! I new they were slots..........but I know how boar fishes and whines!!!!!!