Bow Narrows angler Terry Matson sent this awesome evening photo of his son, Neil, fishing just a couple hundred yards from camp in early June a couple of years ago.
Not only is it an incredibly beautiful scene -- it could easily win a photo contest -- it also illustrates how late the sun goes down at Red Lake in June. Terry remembers the photo was taken between 9 and 10 p.m.
Even after the sun sets there is twilight for probably another 45 minutes. And at the night's darkest, say 1 a.m., if you look toward the north you can see a glow that resembles northern lights that are over the horizon. Actually, it is just the sun, barely hidden by the top of the Earth.
I'm sure I speak for everybody when I say we can't wait for summer scenes like the one above to come again. Winter has been long and hard and it isn't going away quietly. We just got eight inches of snow in Nolalu. Some places in Northwestern Ontario got a foot.
There is still three feet of ice on the lakes! Last year by this time, or at least by April 20, the ice had melted off Red Lake! We open for business May 21 this year and that is probably going to be just after ice-out. I'll go out on a limb and predict May 15 as the breakup date.
The one thing we always have going for us is the sun. Every day it stays in the sky longer and throws more heat than the day before. Even if the temperatures aren't as warm as we would like, the sun warms the water under the ice and continues the melting process.
What will a late ice-out on Red Lake, Ont., do to the fishing?
It is absolutely the best scenario for northern pike and lake trout. Our anglers who always fish the first week of the season love it when there is still some ice floating in the lake. This is when the dead bait system works wonders for huge pike. If you are booked for the first or second week of the season this year and haven't tried dead bait fishing, read up on it here in the blog. Just put "dead bait" in the little search window at the top of the blog and hit the magnifying glass symbol.
Lake trout will be right on the surface and will be voracious. Although all of our trout must be immediately released, they give you the fight of your life and are a ball to catch. Just remember that when targeting lake trout you must have lures with single, barbless hooks. This basically comes down to salmon spoons which mostly come with single hooks, and jigs. You can't use bait when fishing for lake trout in Red Lake, even dead bait, but the truth is you cannot help but hook some lakers when fishing for northern pike with dead bait. Take our advice and use 5/0 circle hooks. These always hook the fish in the corner of the mouth making it easy to release them unharmed.
Normally, a late ice-out doesn't make the best walleye fishing at first. They can still be spawning. But walleye fishing in Red Lake isn't normal right now. There is a walleye explosion happening. I expect to see our fishermen tying into lots of walleyes right from the start. Walleyes are everywhere and they will be hungry.
All we need is for that ice to melt.
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