North Shore Lake Conditions

Minus 33 degrees here at 6am. today according to Weather.Com for Garrison.

Officially minus 48 wind chill early this morning!

ALL is good on the northern front! Lake travel, off road, is still possible via 4×4 SUV and pick-up, with some drfting to have to deal with. The crack is still open that crosses the southern end of the Bombeck flat, running E-SE to NW from shore to shore. So using the bridge is a must! All roads and driveways are good to go for the weekend, barring any new snow and wind, as usual.

Fishing reports, despite the cold temps, are not that bad and actually for some, are pretty good. Reports from early today were fairly active on the perch and walleye end of things, especially from the 28-30ft. water along shore, even at 34 below zero to start the day. Some walleyes are being caught along with plenty of tullibees on and off the edges of the various mudflats too.

All is well after the extreme cold and wind over the weekend. Ice travel cross country is still good to go for all 4×4’s, ATV’s and snowmobiles, with some small drifts to deal with. Wheel-houses are still able to go off road fine as long as you avoid the older plowed roads and deep drifts where other houses have been the past few weeks.

Fishing reports were fair over the weekend with rental houses catching enough for on ice fish fries each day or more. As usual, reports were good and slow. Best perch action was in 28ft.- 30ft. along shore.

The big warm up will mean ice crack movements so make sure you use the bridges to cross any of the major ice heaves. Stop before venturing out and ask for ice and bridge updates.

A no wind, no snow weekend! Ice travel is still fine off road with any form of 4×4. However, the road banks are now hard and unless you choose a very low spot to jump off road, and hit the bank fairly hard as you break out, it is easy to get high centered. Also, be careful off road in areas perm fish houses have been the past few weeks. Left-over drifting can be deeper than it looks.

Fishing reports are fair with some reporting 6-8 walleyes on Saturday(tops of mudflats), others reporting a dozen or more good perch(28-30ft. along shore) and many reporting from off the deep mudflat edges, good numbers of Tullibees.

If you have a perm with us, it is always best to call a day ahead and make sure you are on a list of driveways that need plowing–especially if you come up during the week. Most driveways are only plowed on Fridays unless we hear otherwise.

I am planning on coming up next weekend for a day of fishing, just wondering if you think i could get on and off the lake with a car or would i be better off leaving the car on shore and getting a ride on and off with the other guys coming up?

In most cases, the driveways should be okay for cars to the perm houses, but sometimes wind and snow will change things while your out there, so a ride out in a friends 4×4 could be better. Stop in at the office and check on conditions before you leave shore and you will be fine.

What time does the office open up on Saturday? Group of us coming up for the day, thinking 6:00am where driving out. Any of the flats producing walleyes?

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What time does the office open up on Saturday? Group of us coming up for the day, thinking 6:00am where driving out. Any of the flats producing walleyes?

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The office opens at 7 am. Understanding that some want to get out earlier, go ahead, good luck fishing, and stop at the office as you leave.

Reports the past couple days from Pantry and Fish House have been pretty good on the walleye front. Also Fletcher.

BIG wind the past few days has us scrambling to get driveways open for the weekend. If yours will NOT be used this weekend, let us know and we will put it down the list. We’ll get them all done Friday but just sayin’…..

The main roads to all areas and mudflats are just fine and open in all directions.

On another note, we are VERY happy to welcome veteran Lake Mille Lacs guru, Bob Carlson to our Red Door staff. Bob is working on the ice these days and will be onboard year around. Bob brings a wealth of local experience to our efforts as we always strive to be the best of the best. Welcome aboard Bob!

And finally, fishing reports continue to vary from house to house, report to report, angler to angler. Between perch, a few walleyes and lots of Tullibees, most are having some action! 4 lady anglers in one of our rentals iced 22 Tullibees this afternoon. “Put some waxies on something that shines and start jigging” is how the ladies said they did it today!

Awesome news about Bobby! Class act for sure!!

way to go Bobber!

Do you think the fishing will be good with this warmer weather for the weekend? Tossed between coming out your resort , or Hunters in search of Eyes theirs about 5 of us coming up,we will have portables. Any info?

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Do you think the fishing will be good with this warmer weather for the weekend? Tossed between coming out your resort , or Hunters in search of Eyes theirs about 5 of us coming up,we will have portables. Any info?

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If we could predict the answer for you, we would! The warmer temps will allow you to do a better job of fishing and with that, you should do better than in the very cold using the portables. 4×4 driving off road is still okay, as long as you stay away from big drifts caused by old roads and fish houses that have been moved recently. Choose a lower bank to jump off road also. Be careful where you stop as it is best to go past your fishing spot and circle around back to your fishing spot, creating a track out from your spot from a dead stop. If you are in doubt, wave down one of our plows and he will make an opening in the road bank for you if you ask(easier than pulling you out after getting stuck)when he has time. Your choice of lake access will be determined on where and what you want to fish. Our main roads go to 7 mudflats (Weimer, Bombeck, Pantry, Fletcher, Resort , Fish House and Eileens)and also spans over a mile of 25ft. to 30ft. shoreline areas. Tullibee action and some walleye action has been best off the deep sides of most muflats. Perch action has been best along the 27 to 30 ft. shoreline areas. Good luck!!!

Congrats Bobber and Red Door !!!

Yep…..Bobbys gonna be playin in da mud
See ya on the ice!!!

Cool.
See ya up there.

Travel conditions, off road, continue to be fine with 4×4 Trucks, SUV’s, snowmobiles and 4×4 ATV’s. The only slushy areas are around some of the big drifted in area’s adjacent to perm houses and road banks. Stopping in the wrong place in those area’s could be reason to have a shovel close by. The ice crack and bridge are still a must use leading out past the Bombeck flat. If you are in doubt as to where you can pull off the road, through the main road banks, flag down a plow truck and ask for a quick shot at the bank.

Fishing reports, with credit being given to the warm front, were pretty good for most this past weekend. Good reports of keeper perch and tullibees made up most of the catch with a few walleyes mixed in. The bottom of the mudflat edges (deeper than 30ft) and the 28-30ft. depths along shore were the best action spots. With a warm front moving in for the weekend again, we hope for the same successful reports next week at this time. Small, flashy spoons with waxies or small minnow heads are the best baits. Fresh bait often will add to your odds.

THANK YOU to all for making Red Door your access point to the Mille Lacs ice!

That Bobber is a great guy and guide!!!

Mark

What little snow pack on the lake is now settled down to very little due to the warm temps. With freezing at night, road banks, although smaller, will be hard as a rock.

The extreme temp change the past few days has also created quite a bit of ice movement on the main crack(s). Our road system has a major detour to follow in order to get to the flats south of Bombeck or Weimer. It is MUST to stop in at the office if want to navigate our road to the outer flats. The bridge that was on the south tip of Bombeck is no longer there. A detour to the northwest is the ONLY way to get out to Resort, Fletcher, Pantry and Eileen…and beyond.

Generally, ice travel is just fine. Just a few “curves” in the road.

With exception of what’s left of road banks and drifts around the houses, the snow on the lake is gone. Many houses have several inches of water surrounding them. Our access is in fine shape and with some road detours, all areas of the lake are open for travel.

Colder temps coming by the weekdend will freeze the puddles over and maybe freeze in some fish houses if they are not blocked up out of the water by at least Saturday.

Planning on coming out if your resort tomorrow morning about 6:00am.Can you recommend a certain
Flat to try for some walleyes?

Issued by The National Weather Service
Duluth, MN
Thu, Feb 17, 2011, 11:00 PM CST
… WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.

* TIMING AND LOCATION: SNOW WILL DEVELOP SATURDAY NIGHT… AND INCREASE IN INTENSITY SUNDAY. THE AREA MOST LIKELY TO SEE HEAVY SNOW WILL BE FROM THE BRAINERD LAKES… EAST TO HINCKLEY AND PINE CITY… THROUGH SIREN… HAYWARD… PHILLIPS AND PARK FALLS. CONFIDENCE IS LOWER FOR AREAS NORTH OF THERE… INCLUDING THE SOUTH SHORE COUNTIES… BACK INTO THE TWIN PORTS.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR ACCUMULATIONS OF SIX INCHES OR MORE. MOST OF THE SNOW WILL FALL ON SUNDAY INTO EARLY SUNDAY EVENING.

* WINDS AND VISIBILITY: GUSTY EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY SUNDAY… ESPECIALLY AROUND LAKE SUPERIOR. BLOWING AND DRIFTING WILL DEVELOP AS THE SNOW STARTS TO PILE UP. VISIBILITIES IN BOTH BLOWING AND FALLING SNOW WILL DROP TO A QUARTER MILE IN SPOTS.

* MAIN IMPACT: SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY ROADS ALONG WITH LOW VISIBILITIES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

THIS WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION OF SNOW THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL AND COMMERCE.

More Information
… WINTER STORM TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF THE NORTHLAND LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY NIGHT…

.A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES THIS WEEKEND… AND SPREAD SNOW INTO THE REGION LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THERE IS STILL UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE TRACK OF THE LOW… BUT SIGNIFICANT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER MAINLY THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE NORTHLAND… FROM THE BRAINERD LAKES… EAST TO HINCKLEY AND PINE CITY… TO PHILLIPS AND PARK FALLS. EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL CAUSE SOME LAKE EFFECT SNOW AS WELL… SO THE SOUTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR INTO THE TWIN PORTS MAY SEE SNOW ACCUMULATION AS WELL.

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Planning on coming out if your resort tomorrow morning about 6:00am.Can you recommend a certain
Flat to try for some walleyes?

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LOL Copied and pasted from the last time your were here–but will add Weimer Flat to that list.

The office opens at 7 am. Understanding that some want to get out earlier, go ahead, good luck fishing, and stop at the office as you leave.

Reports the past couple days from Pantry and Fish House have been pretty good on the walleye front. Also Fletcher.

The roads are detoured now though, right? Last time we out to pantry & had to cross the bridge out their.

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The roads are detoured now though, right? Last time we out to pantry & had to cross the bridge out their.

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Yes, the road to Pantry and flats to the south and west are reached via a detour. The ice heave got too bad to bridge so we have a road that heads to the west, getting around the big crack, and then back southeast to the main road that you used south of the bridge in the past weeks.

In other words, leaving from shore, you go south on the main road all the way to the north end of Bombeck/Weimer flat. On the north end of those two flats, you will see a high orange marker in the right(west) road bank. Turn right there and it will take you to a standing propane tank with “flats” in orange lettering on it. Veer to the left there and you will get to the main roads you used to Pantry etc. all winter. Yes, it is more complex and a longer ride than all of this past winter but the big warm up blew up the bridged area and travel options led us to this route only. So—if you are still in question–wait until the office opens and they will give you a current map showing the detour. Also, we should have a plow driver on the ice looking over the system by 6:30 or thereabouts and you can ask him for directions.

Good luck fishing!!

The present forecast looks better for us but who knows……time will tell. 3-to 6 is beter than a foot though!

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SUNDAY TO 6 AM CST MONDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SUNDAY TO 6 AM CST MONDAY.

* TIMING AND LOCATION: SNOW WILL DEVELOP EARLY SUNDAY MORNING… AND CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT ACROSS SOUTHERN CASS… CROW WING AND SOUTHERN AITKIN COUNTIES.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: SNOWFALL OF 3 TO 6 INCHES IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE ADVISORY AREA.

* WINDS AND VISIBILITY: GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY SUNDAY AS WELL. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL DEVELOP AS THE SNOW STARTS TO PILE UP. VISIBILITIES IN BOTH BLOWING AND FALLING SNOW MAY DROP TO A QUARTER MILE OR LESS IN SPOTS.

* MAIN IMPACT: SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY ROADS ALONG WITH LOW VISIBILITIES WILL MAKE DRIVING CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MEANS THAT VISIBILITIES WILL BE LIMITED DUE TO A COMBINATION OF FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW. USE CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING… ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS THAT ARE MORE EXPOSED TO THE WIND. ROADS MAY BE SLICK AND HAZARDOUS… SO ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION.

It’s hard to tell how much snow we got because of the big wind with it, but it is at least 6 inches. White out conditions have persisted all day.

We will have a more detailed update later tomorrow.

The last of ALL of our houses, rentals and private houses, came off the lake today.

Our access will be open for at least the rest of this week–through the weekend. We have a bridge in place over a newly formed crack along shore. Our road system is now limited to the deep water along shore to the east and west, and out to the Weimer and Bombeck flats.

Off road travel with 4×4 trucks is still a go but the latest heavy snow and wind did drift things up pretty good. Watching where you stop is key and also avoiding old fish house drifts and old roads banks is key. Bring a shovel or two.

We will keep you updated if conditions have the access closed or limited even more. The office will have updated info in that reagrd if you call ahead.

Fishing reports from many this past weekend were pretty good. Some not so good. Many houses reported 20-30 nice perch for the weekend efforts.

THANK YOU so much to everyone who ventured out from the Red Door this winter!!

The access is good to go with the wide bridge in place, so wheel houses should be okay crossing the crack close to shore. Roads are being plowed and are open to the east and west in that 25ft. to 30ft. range and also to the Weimer and Bombeck flats. We have openings in the road banks for access to off road travel and setting up to fish. Off road travel with 4×4 trucks/larger SUV’s is not bad. ATV off road should be fine too as long as you don’t stop in a bigger drift. Sleds now have enough snow also. Look for plowed openings and go from there. Without any perm houses in place, the playing field is wide open.

Several good reports on perch came in from the past weekend, both from the deep water off the flats(Weimer was very good for some) and the 28ft. to 30ft. water along shore.

Good luck!!