It’s been another year of delayed ice formation, which has become more of the norm than the exception. So the first ice fishing trip of the year was executed by doing what many other Minnesotans do — heading north and making their way to Upper Red Lake, where the typical December walleye bite is better than almost anywhere else.

Upper Red’s shallow water and northern latitude make for quick freezing, in years where snow or wind don’t interrupt ice formation. This year there were some windy days but within a few weeks of Thanksgiving, anglers did start venturing out and finding walleye. Bog-stained and productive, Upper Red Lake is a factory for eating-sized walleye. A typical trip in early ice usually produces the lake’s state-imposed three or four walleye bag limit with year-to-year length regulations, typically a one-over-a-certain-length rule. While filling a daily walleye bag limit, anglers have a chance to encounter yellow perch, northern pike, black crappie, goldeye and burbot. Most of the action is typically walleye.

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It’s hard to match the excellent walleye fishing on Upper Red. An amazing river bite, a hotspot on a local lake, or getting the early ice jump on a publicly accessible walleye rearing pond are a few ways to do so, but like fishing in general, those can be hit or miss, feast or famine. Upper Red seems to be the most consistent early ice walleye bite for thousands of anglers who venture up and spread across the state’s portion of the lake and its nearly 48,000 acres.

Because Red is so flat and shallow, finding any sort of depth change or substrate change amounts to a tremendous structural element. Anglers crowd river and stream inlets, the first breakline, deep water mud, and rockpiles hoping to be on some sort of fish magnet. Many days, staying away from other anglers and the noise they generate, or searching for cracks or piled up snow above the ice that may translate to different light levels below the ice are potential keys for finding schools of active fish.

A noisy bait to call fish in works well in the lake’s dirty water and setting a minnow on a hook or jig near the bottom helps seal the deal once a walleye is lured within range. Red Lake’s walleyes are active day and night, so rattle reels are a great option if you plan to spend the night on the ice. Just be warned, if you want to get some quality sleep, you might be pulling your baits to avoid the constant sound of rattles and bells at all hours of the night. What a problem to have!

For first ice fishing, for a typically strong and aggressive bite, or to get a mess of fish for the table, Upper Red Lake is hard to beat at first ice. If you can venture out safely and you follow the rules of your outfitter, guide, or access operator, you can usually have fantastic fishing. Every year, there are horror stories about people stuck on ice floes, dropping ATVs through the ice, or even drownings. Be aware of conditions, venture carefully, and you can stay safe and catch fish.

This is the opinion of outdoors columnist Scott Mackenthun, an outdoors enthusiast who has been writing about hunting and fishing since 2005. You can follow him on Instagram @scottmackenthun and on Twitter @ScottyMack31.