Where’s Cookie????

The last hurrah for the year has arrived. Its been close to 100 days I have had the houses on the lake. Looking for the mother load of crappies has been a blast. Its been a long week since I set the houses up with Marty and Wayne’s help last Sunday. The farmer I work for Gary went out of town and I have been doing the morning and afternoon chores in between my time spent on the lake. Wednesday I was escorting Charlie out on the lake with the red baron when I hit a soft spot on the white ice. I was not going that fast but hit it just right to cause the v-plow to go up in the air and with a whiplash effect I broke the v-plow basically right off the red baron. I snapped it clean as a whistle and it came crashing down onto the ice. Bummer not a good deal at all. After studying the situation I determined as long as I had it down I could still drive her so off we went to get Charlie set up for the evening bite. I had punched 8 holes earlier in the day and pre fished them. I caught a couple small walleyes which I liked to see and lost a couple of fish. I also marked fish in all the holes. I expected we were going to do very well after dark. Limping the red baron off the lake to go do evening chores I had to improvise away to raise the plow and hold it in place to go up Hillmens driveway and down the road. With two chains and my block and tackle I was able to run the chain from the tip of the plow over the hood and windshield, over the roof and all the way back to the tow bar where I was able to hoist her up just enough to get it off the ground. Just like that and my plowing for the season has came to a end.
Monday night I set Jason up in Montana where he landed a few elusive upper red lake crappies. He kept 6 for a meal for his family and released at least that many more. The bite was excellent but did not start tell well after dark? Wednesday eve when I got back out there Charlie had a big fat zero where I had set him up. I fished outside with him for a bit and never marked a fish in all 8 holes I had drilled earlier in the day really weird. Charlie packed it up and headed home while I went over to check on Jake, Jenny, Gabrial and Lakken. Yes Jake could not stand it and came back Wednesday afternoon. Kellie the hammer and I had dinner on the ice in old Minnesota the last couple of nights . We have landed a few elusive upper red lake crappies but have not had that magical mother load. Kellie did loose what she figured may have been her biggest crappie while I was outside. She had it by the lips for a second and it squirmed out of her hand and gave her a tail splash as it headed back down the hole. Even I yes I have landed a couple elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies. Lonnie and Craig moved after I talked to them Tuesday and went from zero to 12 in one night with many more lost. I met Randy Ermin out on the lake and they packed it in with only one Wednesday night. I set up Al ,Rick and Dan in there portables Wednesday and they were happy Thursday morning with a few fish. Diehards for sure as they fished all night. Sounds like Al and I will be doing a little summer fishing as he lives in Hibbing and has that true passion for fishing. Jake has been bouncing around all over the lake like a pinball looking for the mother load. He has landed a few fish and sounded like last night at 10pm he may of had a magical moment. When I talked to him all he said was I live for this and Jenny was enjoying watching him catch fish. .I will know more today after chores. Todd rolled in yesterday with a custom fish house and I’m looking forward to stopping in when I get back and checking it out as its a monster of a fish house. He took good direction and I truly expect that they had good fishing. Labs and Hunter were spending the night in Montana and I sure hope they landed a couple at least. The daughter is coming up with all the grand kids this weekend and we will be closing out the season with family and great friends on as Dave said “A Grand Lake and I could not agree more.

Hey Cookie,
Sounds like quite the harrowing experience (with the plow blade). Glad you were able to get it off. Is that something an experienced welder can fix or are you completely out-of-luck?

Question for you: given your time spent on the lake and the coming forcast, do you predict that we will have safe ice that far north next weekend? I am planning a trip a bit further north to the BWCA and am trying to determine if it will be safe enough to get out on the ice (by foot). I will be up there by myself so if there is any question, I would rather not chance it. I will be monitoring the situation as closely as possible over the next week, but as I will be starting to organize my gear (and have to hike in by foot) I am trying to figure out what to pack. Should I bring laker gear for the ice or my 4-piece rod and lighter gear to fish current and open water from the shore?

Well all I can really say is amazing just amazing. Labs and his son Hunter managed to catch a few elusive upper red lake crappies. Old Minnesota also produced a couple more elusive upper red lake crappies for The Hammer and I. Jake has some outstanding fishing and landed 17 out of florida. After Jake landed 17 in Florida he wanted me to move the house. It took me about a minute if that to decide to move all three deluxe houses one more time so even the grand kids and daughter would have a fresh spot to fish. The last couple days have been a blur so I may not have all this is the right order. We got jake reset up in his new spot and with out a plow each house had to be hand banked for the end of the season just like the beginning of the season. While Jake was at shore getting propane Nicole and Joel showed up and I pointed them in the right direction with help from Jake over the phone. Jake came back and got settled in and I headed home as I had afternoon chores for Gary the farmer I work for. I ecpected the kids to arrive around 10 pm Friday night but they got a late start and would not be arriving tell after midnight so Montana and old Minnesota would be unfished Friday night. Joel and Nicole landed on the mother load and were tickled pink as they land many many fish Friday night. Todd arrived with his custom house and what a house it was they landed 11 the first night. Duke also arrived Thursday and had some good action. Shawn arrived friday for north Carolina and had slow fishing .Jake was doing a lot of bouncing around out in the area we were fishing .Looking for the mother load I guess? He had great fishing in my book Friday night but ask if I could move florida one more time as they wanted to hang with Joel and Nicole , fish and have a couple beers together saturday night. Jake made a outstanding move and sent the girls out hole hopping around the houses where they proccedded to put the hammer down and catch a few fish outside while the guys watched the kids. They bonded and now have become good fishing buddies as both there husbands live there life’s around fishing. How cool is that. Its very cool. Wayne came up Saturday afternoon to help me weld the v-plow back on the red baron. I got the daughter Missy, Eric, Matty my grand son and Jacob another of my grandsons set up in old Minnesota. Kellie the hammer and I would be joining them later in the day. What a beautiful day it was Saturday ,Unbeleavble would be the best way to describe it.. To be continued

Good morning the story continues. Jacob my grandson caught his first upper red lake crappie as well as my daughter missy. Old Minnesota was on a new spot but never turned on like I had hoped. Jakes move over by Joel paid off big time and they all caught the elusive yet catchable upper red lake crappies into the evening until they went to bed. Jake had his magical moment at 5 30 am when he started catching them as fast as he could get his minnow down. I think he said he caught 17 in a row, since he was releasing them all it well could of been the same fish over and over? Sunday afternoon I moved old Minnesota one more time so Marty,Kellie and I could spend the night out there for the final night. We had a great toco dinner, caught just a couple elusive upper red lake crappies and had a couple of drinks as we reminisced about such a great season on such a grand lake. We stayed up way to late waiting for the mother load and Marty headed over to florida around 3 am. Marty started catching fish as soon as he walked into the house and never went to bed. I set up my bobber line and my dangler with the line going through a can it would fall into the hole and wake me up. I woke up at 5 am 2 hours later and both cans were floating in the holes. I grabbed the cans re lized my bobber was gone and started reeling it in and had a fish on. I bounced the fish off the bottom of the ice and snagged the lure a small rattle flyer on the bottom of the ice. I set that rod down and reeled in the other line with no minnow. I put on a minnow dropped it down and a fish came charging up. Yes it was a elusive upper red lake crappie. As I was removing the hook there was another big red line down there. I re baited and sent it down and Bam here came another. 2 in a row and another red line on the vex at the bottom. Now I was excited and ran my minnow down and wham again another as that fish was clearing the hole another would fill in the void. I said honey wake up and caught another, and another and another, I was not even counting as it was one after the other as fast as I could get the line down . Then I lost a fish with my blue phelps jig. The vex was still showing fish down there so I grabbed the hammers rod and reel with a blood line demon put on a minnow and ran it down and wham another fish. The next one was my big one and when I landed it I said honey wake up dangling my trophy in front of her. She set up, rubbed her eyes and turned on her vex and said where’s my rod there’s one down there. I handed her rod all baited up and she dropped it down, now I had no rod and reel set up. I started to try and un hook my flyer with my back to her when she said Crappie. I grabbed the fish threw it in the cooler as we wanted to take a couple home for dinner Tuesday night. I re baited her line and thought oh the rattle wheel it has waxies on it . I rolled it up, peeled off the waxies and put on a minnow as I ran the line down the hammer again said crappie. I dropped the line went to land her fish and the rattle wheel just kept ringing as a crappie hit it on the way down. I landed that crappie threw it in the cooler. By then the hammer had re baited and had another fish on. I grabbed her fish re baited the rattle wheel and ran it down while my sweetheart caught another and another. I landed another one on the rattle wheel as she kept catching fish . Then just like that they were gone. She caught atleast 7 in a row and I have no idea how many I caught. All I can say is Wow what a treat, Truly amazing ,all that hard work looking for the mother load for the houses and it happens the last morning old Minnesota and Florida would be on the lake.. It was bitter sweet as we packed up as I had to go do chores at the farm. Marty stayed out on the lake and cleaned up florida for the move home then went and fished in old Minnesota where he landed 5 more elusive upper red lake crappie’s during the day while I was gone. We ended up keeping 11 fish for a fish fry last night for Ole, Marty, the hammer and I. I cooked up 6 fish 12 fillets ,kept my trophy and Marty is taking two home and I have 3 fish in the freezer for another dinner for Kellie and I

well I hope everyone is enjoying some of the pictures of such a magical season on as Dave said” A GRAND LAKE! A GRAND LAKE! THAT OWES HIM NOTHING! NOTHING” It was full of emotion as he set there in in old Minnesota that evening jigging not being able to see as he had lost his vision from a stroke. He had a small resort on the other side of the river and use to have Viking players up from the Bud Grant days as he was a security guard for the team and tried to keep them out of trouble as he traveled with the team.
Ole, Marty and I spent Wednesday and part of Thursday fishing lake of the woods for pike out of warrod. We did see a 42 caught but we did not do well at all. We could of fished a lot harder but it was more about spending time together in the outdoors with good friends. Ole has a 20 pounder on his wall from low and a 25 pounder from red lake. He is now looking for a 30 pounder and knows that may never happen. He did have some bad news while we were fishing. Someone broke into his building in Alaska and stold his custom boat that he built that took him 3 summers. It had two Honda motors on it and was over 20 feet long. They also stold another Honda motor. They had some other stuff but it looked like they may of planned on coming back for it. They had to have a big truck and had to move a car, a wheeler and a 3 wheeler plus brake open two giant sliding doors. He hopes they find it as its a known boat in the area. He has such a great attitude. He is up set but is very thankful for his health and all the adventures he has lived and all the trophy’s he has taken fishing and hunting. He loves the big woods of northen Minnesota and will be back next fall to spend some time chasing his favorite critter the white tail deer.
Now for the fishing report here on the shore of upper red lake. Buddy hillmen was not letting wheel house off his access this weekend. The access is open but no wheel houses. marty and I escorted Ole out to the fish eye where we punch 4 holes for ole to fish. He fished out of his truck and threw in the towel at 7 30 or so with no elusive upper red lake crappies. Lon and his two boys stayed here on shore in the comfort of our 1 bedroom cabin. I gave them direction to the honey hole and they managed five elusive upper red lake crappies Thursday evening. From talking to him yesterday it sounded like they needed to go west just a bit. They enjoyed a late dinner Thursday night in the cabin, showered up and rested before heading out yesterday around 4 pm. Lon followed direction very well and took my advice and went a little further west where they landed on the mother load at dusk. It reminded Lon of the hey days as you could not run two lines at a time. They ended up pulling the plug at 8 30 pm with there limit of 30 fish to take home. The cabin is wide open if any fishermen want to make a last trip up. We were making ice last night as its 7 degrees this morning. The shore line should be in excellent condition. You can travel almost anywhere on the north shoe as long as you stay away from the pressure ridges. The mother load is out there and I have no problem at all pointing fishermen in the right direction. It would be nice if you play more catch and release but its not the end of the world if you take a few fish home as there are more then enough to share in my eyes. Kellie the hammer and I talked last night about taking old Minnesota back out for one more night? I’m thinking about it but its such a nice feeling having the houses just out from our property waiting for some warmer weather to melt all the snow so I can get them to shore. Plus I need to check the weather as the last thing I need is to be 8 miles out and deal with a march snow storm. We have caught enough fish for one season and had that magical moment less then a week ago. Next year, same time, same location the fish will be a little bit bigger and a little bit more educated.
Marty and I spent a better part of yesterday repairing the runner on florida as the welds failed and I lost a runner when I made the final turn towards our property. My welds lasted 10 years. When we built Florida and Montana we tried to build them to last at least 20 years. I expect they will last 30 with a little adjustments on the runners as my welding skills were not that good when I made the frames 10 years ago. We also have the materials ordered for our new addition next season North Dakota. Jake will be up mid April to start building it. Life is good and I thank god every day for such a wonderful wife and friends

I made the decision not to take old Minnesota out. I did escort Steve and his two buddies out to where we fished last week. Steve called last night to tell me they got a big fat zero as the elusive upper red lake crappies proved again how elusive they can be. I talked to Buddy Hillmen for a bit as he was fishing in one of his skid houses. There were a couple fishermen on the lake but not many. I also talked to Paul and Todd they live around Shotly area and were brothers of Mike that use too own dr. tackle. They caught a few the night before. I said I just need to know how many is a few? They whoed and they hawwed and said 12. The next truck, also with them said they got a few also. I again asked how many and they reluctantly said 13. So nothing has changed. A couple is more then two and a few is more then 3 and some is more then one and pretty good is limited out. I also picked up enough logs and wood to have a nice fire in our fire pit today as I clean up the yard. I wish I could find every piece of wood out there as I would hate to hit any thing with the boat this spring. I checked the area I worked hard earlier this winter and found one 2×4. Some ones bag of crap that must of been fishing by me. I’ll be taking a cruise out there again today looking for more liter to pick up plus maybe I will get lucky and find my spud bar I lost early in the season.
She is a bit nippy out there this morning at 18 degrees,11 degrees warmer then yesterday morning. I expect Gary the farmer I work for will ask me if I want to work this week when were at church. I know there’s a small window to get rid of manure before every thing gets to soft. The ditches were really flowing last week but have now turned into a trickle compared to last week. Kellie and I played a few games of cribbage last night as it was the first Saturday since sometime in Dec. that I was not on the lake Saturday evening making the rounds. I wanted to play scrabble but she got her way again. I have not decided yet but I may go hunt for the mother load towards evening tonight as I expect I may have all 48 thousand acres all to my self? I ran into Borch and they had also not done very well. The first hole he augered Friday produced a elusive upper red lake crappie and then that was that. I never met him before but he had plenty of holes drilled and was outside fishing in the cold in a lumber jack flannel and no gloves. Wow it was cold out there, a true diehard of a fishermen. It was nice putting a face and body to his name. I also looked for the holes that Lon, Dylan and Derek did so well in Friday night. I had given them directions and then had them go a bit more west Friday as they only got 5 Thursday night. I never found there holes. Its like looking for a needle in a hay stack. yesterday morning they were talking some snow tonight so I will have to check the weather. Maybe the bite will be on with some kind of storm approaching?

Sounds like the cities got pounded with snow. Here on the shores of upper red lake it could not of been a more picture perfect. The sun was shining with just the slightest of a breeze out of the se. Its was nice meeting you Borch. Got a kick of your statement about the crowds? Not sure what you meant. The guys in the white vechicel struck out in the hot spot last week. I spent a couple hours on the lake policing the lake for liter as its much easier to get it now then when its floating in the water. I reminisced as I drove to each area I had worked over and ruined. I was pretty satisfied with what I found, just a 2×4 or two and a plastic water bottle and a wheel house’s trash that must of been fishing in the area. I checked the last place that Rodger fished and was not to happy to find a pair of jeans, 3 tee shirts, a pair of sweat pants and two sweat shirts. Did he leave his laundry? I will ask him next time I talk to or see him. There was also a few other pieces of liter. I also was a little nosey and checked where a couple locals fished this year. Wow what a difference. One you would of never known he was there? The other both spots were well marked lets say. I picked the areas up and will bite my tongue for now. Its was a enjoyable ride on the lake as I tooled around. The area I took Steave too Saturday was well punched with 20 holes at least. They either left the area or the guys did not stay late enough. Jakes magic moment ,mine and Kellies all happen at 5 am to 6 30 am. Ole’s happened in a wind storm/white out at 8 pm. I again did not find where Lon and his two boys landed on the mother load but that was from sunset to 8 30 pm. Fins and feathers spot produced the whole time they were here and that area was peppered with Steave’s holes. Leaving that area I found numeruse places to wet a line if there headed in the line I picked . I also found a couple real fishy looking areas and plan on augering a couple holes there today as I again tool around the lake. This is the time of year you should be able to catch them all day long. Coming off the lake it looked like the dump trucks driving on the lake to haul the sand from the channel may of caused a couple cracks to come from the mouth of the river right across Buddy Hillmens road? We will have to keep a eye on them as the ice starts to melt and shift with the winds and temps. I have had no calls since I took Steave out there Saturday so it looks like she is winding down. Buddy Hillmen got the rentals he had on the lake this weekend back to shore. Frank and Jana at North Country food and fuel added a new set of tanks for bait as he is gearing up for opener. I would assume with 4 tanks he will have a bigger variety this summer of live bait. Got a email from the Herbeck’s and they canceled there reservation for the cabins for the second weekend after opener as Steave said it was not worth coming up for two fish. Frank and his crew are all still coming up as they just want to be able to have a fish fry and hardly ever take fish home with them. Its sounds like my brother Warren from Chicago will be up for opener and maybe my cusin Stanly plus I mentioned it to Bob.

After spending the morning policing the lake monday afternoon I was off to the farm to haul manure. I see a pattern here. yesterday again I headed out on the lake with blue thunder to check the crack that had crossed Buddy Hillmens road. All was good and it looks like it locked up and has had no movement. I then headed west and again had to stop for a couple pieces of trash. Please if your going to fish red lake in the winter take your time to check the area before you leave, its a little ridicules . I total under stand that some things get lost or accidently frozen in the lake. A christmas tree? With 3 6 foot 2x4s? Ohh well sorry about the rant.
I only had a little time on the lake and never made it more then 3 miles out before I had to come home and go to the dreaded tax man. Well at least that’s done. Today I plan on checking the ice by augering a few holes to see how soft or hard the ice is. I be leave it also decays from the bottom up. I all ready know where I want to start and plan on not forgetting the vex this time. Buddy Hillmen’s access has re frozen up nice with the colder weather. There was a pick up parked on the ice yesterday and must of went out with a wheeler. Who ever he was he had 48,000 acres all to him self. I wonder if he is fishing where I was going to go? Not sure if I want to get any minnows or just use waxie’s. Jake says just use waxie’s, I’m going to pick up a scoop of minnows as the fish are hungry. Waiting to here from Marty as we have to repair my dock before the ice goes off the river, not sure how were going to get the 24 feet of dock back down the bank but with a little ingenuty it can be done. Been staring at the boat and looking forward to prepping it for the up and coming fishing season. I have a little research to do on the prop set up. Its cloudy today with a slight breeze and snow fluuries should be a awesome day to wet a line. The biggest problem I’m having is the liter I can not just drive by it. Oh well maybe I will fish at each spot I stop to pick something up. that sound like a good plan. Sorry if it sound like I’m being a dink about the trash but thats the way the cookie crumbles. Have a grand day. I know I will on a grand lake looking for the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie

Keep b*tching about the trash. Maybe someone will read it and remember to look before they leave. Thanks for being a good steward of the lake! RR

Any walleye’s left after this winter? I see it’s 2 small fish again for boat opener.

Theres 14 million walleyes in the lake. We have reached what were aloud to take to keep the lake healthy and the agreement the dnr has made

As it quiets down around here my reports are sure to get shorter and shorter. My big plans for fishing yesterday changed a bit. I dilly dallied all morning enjoying watching the snow come straight down in giant flakes . Did a little spring cleaning and listened too a radio interview of David Shankle out of Chicago. My brother warren is the lead singer and they just cut a new cd. DSG is the name of the group . Its heavy metal?
Around 10 pm I noticed the snow had quit, rats it would of been very relaxing wetting a line out there . I stepped out of the house around noon to feel the rush of a 30 degree day with the winds howling 30 miles a hour out of the north a should of been out there 6 hours earlier. Foiled by mother nature. Oh well with the snow cover I was still determined to wet a line . I thought great I will not see any liter and can focus on fishing. Buddy Hillmens landing was still in great shape and its very cold here this morning with snow flurries. As I drove out on the lake with blue thunder darn if I did not find some more crap oh well no big deal better picked up now then later. I zigged and zagged all the way out to the two spots I had marked. With the north wind and a little blowing snow I thought it sure would be nice to have some out here with me for safety reason. Oh well on I went .Number one auger fired right up and that happens when you do not have bad gas in it. I punched two holes with ease and could tell the ice is a changing. I took a pic of the auger over half way down but I can take off the extension if a want. I dropped a bobber set up down one hole and a small rattling flyer on the other with 3 waxies. It was brutal out there to say the least .After jigging around 15 minutes with out a mark it was time to move. The next spot was the same. Nothing not even a mark. The second spot I got rid of the waxies and went with a minnow. Very bad timing on my part and I headed home skunked. Oh well it was not a good day weather wise to be out there. I’m hoping Marty and I will wet a line tonight as this will most likely be the last trip on the ice with blue thunder for the season. working on the dock this morning ,Hauling manure this afternoon and fishing with my good friend Marty. I’m sure he will also enjoy getting out on the ice one more time

cookie wrote:

Theres 14 million walleyes in the lake. We have reached what were aloud to take to keep the lake healthy and the agreement the dnr has made

Weather permitting I’m sure we’ll have fun catching them on opener!

At 5 degrees this morning are we making ice. Sure gotta think so. I know its froze up Buddy Hillmen’s landing real solid. I Talked to Buddy and the access is open this weekend day to day. I do not see any problems getting out there one last weekend. Marty and I hit the lake around 6:45 pm. Of course I found some more garbage so we had to make a few stops on our way. There was one place I knew I needed to tend to so I made sure we stopped there and cleaned up there mess. When we got closer to our fishing area there was a lone truck out there. I thought! Rats now I would have to share 48,000 acres. I stopped to see how they were doing ,but no elusive upper red lake crappies. They were right in a spot that produced well over 30 elusive upper red lake crappies the last weekend of walleye season. I had a hunch and wanted to try a completely new spot. It was real close to where I had north Carolina when Jakes crew were up. We punched 4 holes and got our lines down just as the sun hit the horizon. I then punched 3 more holes walking south west. After the third hole I had enough as auger # 1 seems a little dull all ready. With the extension on, standing on flat ice, its a little trickier to handle for me. When I came back to my rattling flyer tipped with a minnow it was fish on, but wrong kind. I re baited got my line down and my bobber just kept going down. I set the hook on some thing real small. It was a scuffit of a walleye 6 to 8 inches, Perfect spot I thought! That pumped me up. Just after dark I stepped around the truck and Marty says fish on. My bobber! I said take him and he landed our first and only elusive upper red lake crappie of the evening. He got off at the hole and I swooped down to scoop him up and soaked my cotton glove. Of course it was comical as I lost him and had to swoop at him again. I scooped him out of the hole and he darn near went down the next hole over. It was not long after and my hand was cold as the temp was in the twentys and my sleeve of my jacket was wet. Oh well it was a blast as we stared at the stars enjoying our time on such a magnifcant lake. Heading in we stopped to talk to Ethen ,Mack and Rich. The spot they were set up had not produced one elusive upper red lake crappie. I told them to try and stick it out as late as possible and headed for home sweet home. I think that may of been my last trip out with blue thunder. If your out there this weekend please spend a minute or two picking up any trash you may notice . Even the little round blocks of wood some one used to block up houses.

Jake just stopped by on his way to the rainy river going after sturgeon his favorite
fishing trip of the year? I thought his trips up here were his favorite. Oh well! Marty and I repaired our dock on the tamarac river Thursday and part of Friday. Lon arrived around 2 to try and find the mother load one last time. I was in a hurry and was not able to remember the boys name Sorry guys. I talked to Lon later just after dark and they were looking forward to catching a elusive upper red lake crappie or two. When I talked to Lon Saturday they had managed to land 18 for there one night trip. Well done. I have no clue where they were fishing as I never found there holes from last week. I know they were in the area but not the spot on the spot. I was out of town and have no idea what the ice is like at this time. I have some nice projects to work on here at the house and cabins so I will keep busy with that for now. I expect there will also be some farming in the next few days.

Tuesday they had a meeting up here to address the garbage left on the lake last year. All the road access have dumpsters for garbage so please use them. There were a few fishermen on the lake this week and it sounded like the fishing was a decent. We had rain most of yesterday that turned into a wet sticky snow towards evening that has stuck to every tree branch. It looks like we will start making some more ice and the snow we got is here to stay. Dayton and his crew are headed up today so will see how they do this weekend. I need to get the plow back on blue thunder and it can be a little tricky as I tweaked the frame work years ago. The damage I created last year has been repaired. the red baron also had some plow issues and now has new cutting blades for the up and coming season. All the houses have been wiped down and vacuumed and I think we will have to look at new carpet next year. Are new house north Dakota is 95 % done. Jake will be up towards Christmas to button it up. She’s a big house and is a nice addition to the fleet

Dayton and Dave rolled in Friday afternoon after checking into the cabin they headed out for the evening bite. They had no problem finding some fish which is what I expected. They hit the same spot Saturday and had a good bite at 9am. They came off the lake Saturday eve with there limit and had a nice fish fry at the cabin. They heard through the grape vine of a lake with ice that had a crappie bite and were going to hit that on there way home sunday.
My good friend Wayne came up Friday and spent the weekend. We got a couple things done around here and also got the plow back on blue thunder. The weather was perfect over the weekend for all the portables out there highs in the 30s and no wind. today we have some stronger winds. Dennis and his gal Shelly rolled in yesterday afternoon and headed out to find good fishing also. Dennis brought up his wilcraft which is a portable fish house on wheels with a motor and was designed for early and late ice. It has been years since I saw Dennis as he use to come up during the crappie boom. Dennis is staying a couple days then tom and his crew are arriving Thursday.

well we had a little excitement yesterday down on the south shore. Rodgers on red has the whole story just the way it happened. I talked to BJ HIllmen last night and they are in good shape with buddy’s road marked out to a large crack 3 to 4 miles out. I have not been out there but would assume that crack is marked off where it crosses the road and common sense would say stay on this side of it, Also check in with hillmens when you get your road pass for current conditions as they can change hour to hour minute to minute. I will check with Buddy later to day but last I heard wheelers were open for travel.
We could get some unwanted snow. They are saying? From the predicted temps I expect it to be a wet snow. Lets all hope it just clips or misses us as snow cover will have such a effect on making ice once that cold temps hit Thursday night.
Dennis and Shell came off the lake a bit after dark driving his wilcraft. They found good fishing pretty close to shore and did not travel that far out.
Gassed up blue thunder yesterday and could here a low growl or squeak coming from the left front so will have to keep a eye on that. I drove down to the lake and inspecting all the mounting points on plow I noticed a pin was missing its cotter pin. I drove up to the garage, got a cotter pin, went to put it in and the pin had fallen out when I drove back up to the house. I walked down to the lake and with some good luck found it laying on the ground instead of buried in the snow.

Talk to Buddy Hillmen and his access is open to wheeler’s. He is asking that you do not venture out over a mile and half. There is a large crack with open water 4 miles out crossing his staked road. Tom and his crew canceled for the cabin this weekend with the forecast of snow starting tonight. Dennis and Shelly headed home after going out this morning and getting the 6 fish limit

well we ended up with 3 1/2 inches of snow . Better then the predicted 7 or 8 but more then we wanted. The temps have dropped and we are now truly making a little bit more ice. I would think we will gain a inch or two by Sunday witch will bring us up to around 8 to 9. Mike and his crew caught fish yesterday. I think they are going to stay another night? Darrin and his crew went home with there 9. I fired up blue thunder yesterday to plow and the noise coming from the left front does not sound to good. I be leave its the u joint and needs to be addressed asap. I plowed down at the lake to give the ground a chance to freeze better and clear out a area for Adam and his crew to camp with there wheel houses this weekend.
I talked to Jake and he will be up Friday to button up our new house North Dakota. We may try and move it down to the lake sunday. I’m a little concerned about that u joint though . The plan is to get the houses out of the woods sometime next week and that can really put torque on the 4 wheel drive. One of the fishing sites has a satellite pic of the lake on dec. 13th and you can see the big crack that runs through the center of the lake..

good morning to all. Talked to Budddy Hillmen yesterday around 10 am. He did not agree with me as I figured we would gain 2 inches of ice by sunday evening. He said with the snow cover and ice he highly doubted we will make that much ice. He then headed out to start dragging his super highway a mile out with his Dakota pickup. His mechanic Kelly ask if I wanted to open the next mile of road with blue thunder. I told them I did not have the kahunas to do it. Mother nature reared her ugly side yesterday and I was thank full the houses are still tucked in the woods as it was white out conditions. If the houses were on the lake they would of had some major drifts around them.
The guys in the cabin headed out around 1pm yesterday and that had to be a wicked walk out of westwinds straight into those west winds howling to beat the band. I can just imagine how tough it had to be to put up a portable. I spent a hour plowing down at the lake to keep it open when the time comes to get the houses out of the woods. I have a couple wheel houses camping down there this weekend also. I will head down there in a bit and plow again as the snow was piling up pretty good down there yesterday. I did pick up a new front u joint for blue thunder and that will be addressed this weekend

Ryan and Dan rolled in around 3 yesterday, They got on the lake and only fished a couple hours and beers and managed 10 with another 10 swing and a miss. Adam and his crew found another spot to camp with the ice house and were a no show. Jake and I need to head to Bemidji to pick up a few more pieces of trim to button up north Dakota. Wow is it nice. It will be a non smoking house apon Jakes request. It will also be our biggest house . I have two guys staying in there ice castle on my river lot and will see how they do tonight. I got the left front u joint fixed on blue thunder so that’s a relief, it was nice to fix it before it broke and created more damage. Wow is there a lot of fishermen on the lake, I hope they save some fish for our houses once they get on the lake. Being with the limited lodging here in waskish I would assume there’s a lot of fishermen here just for the day as the lake is peppered with portables. Were hoping by new years to have the houses on the ice but only mother nature will allow us to get out there. I’m looking for at least 14 inches every where before I take them out of the woods. My plans are again to go out of hillmen’s and help with the road . I do not run a road off my property even though I have access to the lake

Just sitting here adding my reports enjoying in depth outdoor and fox Love the show and watch it every sunday morning.The cold snapped made a little ice and I have heard a lot of 8 inches here in Waskish on the north east corner of the lake. The further out the less ice. Dan And Mark went out of westwind and had real good fishing. Mark liked the river lot and commented that it was nice and quiet. Adam and his cousin found another spot to camp with there wheel houses and also did real well. Ryan and Dan in the cabin measured 8 inch of ice and had real good fishing after they moved from there first spot. Again the be witching hour was the best fishing for all of them.
Hey Kieth I was not able to get a Moog u joint with a zerk . I had to take what they had and could not wait for one to order.
All the worry about moving North Dakota was a waist of time as she moved like a dream. She jacks up nice and will block up nicely. Jake ran behind the house when I towed it down to the lake and was so excited. Hands shakes and high fives abound. Its a great addition to our fleet and fits right into our theme.
Brian and his crew roll in around noon for a couple of days and then it will be Christmas just like that

Good morning to all. Just enjoying the morning watching in depth outdoors. There fishing oak island and I was digging the air boat they used to get on safe ice.
Here on the northeast end of the lake saw a lot of traffic yesterday. I figure there were about 300 portable and wheel houses within view. Fired up the heat in montana yesterday and the ceiling fan stopped working so that will need to be addressed today. We made it to 6 below this morning so I imagine we have gained a inch in the last 24 hours.
Jake and his buddy had slow fishing yesterday. They moved 4 times through out the day. They did manage to get there limit but they had to work for them. The guys in the cabin were going to walk off our property but must of came up with a plan b as there trucks were gone all day and they were not down at the lake. At this time it looks promising to take the houses out of the woods and on to the lake Wednesday. I will be starting the season close to shore and expect good fishing so time will tell

The excitement is building as were just a couple days a way from getting the houses out of the woods and on to the lake. I spent a little time yesterday plowing out on to the lake to prepare for the move. I have some more plowing to do today as blue thunder is starting to get a good workout. Marty will be up later today and be helping me prep the houses for the move.
Jake and Rory finally found better fishing and said they really turned on at 3 pm yesterday. Blong, chang, natila a shang did not have very good fishing. They never did walk out in front of my place and were a little worn out from all the walking and dragging out there equipment onto the lake. It sounds like they will be back in a couple weeks when they can drive onto the lake. There were not quite as many fishermen on the lake yesterday but there were quite a few. I have Andy and his crew camping on the river lot starting today and Kyle and his crew coming for the cabin later today. Buddy Hillmens road is in great shape just like every other year. I be leave he is asking fishermen to stay with in 2 miles of shore at this time as a crack came across his road Christmas eve.

•Well we’ve been busy the last couple days. Marty rolled in late Monday night with his young neighbor Dylan in tow. I had a list of things we needed done before we pulled the houses onto the lake for the up and coming season. I did have a few fishermen here and with there portables in tow they all seemed to find a few fish. Andy and his crew camped with there ice castle on the river and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Kyle and his crew were in the cabin. I set two of them up to fish north Carolina but they never did make it out there. Yesterday was the big moving day as we broke all the houses loose and headed on to the lake. Do to the ice condition this year I had no choice but to start out in front of my place just off the last break in 8 to 9 feet of water. There should be no reason we will not catch fish there with most coming after dark. I augured a few test holes and found 13 inch of ice close to shore. I then started walking to the west auguring holes every 25 steps. Checking the ice with a tape measure I was a little disappointed to find 11 inches not 50 feet from 13 inches . The next 6 holes all showed 10 inches. We are just not having the super cold weather that makes ice. Every year is different and this year is no exception. Last year we were driving 6 miles out at this time with well over 20 inches of ice. Right now as it stands I will have to stick it out close to shore un tell the ice conditions improve .When the time is right I will head north and get all the houses on to buddy hillmens road. The lake has been a very busy place the last couple days as all the outfitters and resorts are trying to get houses out to fishable waters. Last I heard Hillmens would only be allowing 16 foot and under ice houses on to the lake towed by wheelers and side by sides. I have no idea what westwind is allowing at this time. Eva and Matt will be fishing our new house North Dakota starting today. They are here for two days and then the house is open Saturday. They will be the first to land a fish in our newest addition. I had Marty and Dylan in montana last night so will see how they did later this morning . Rick and his crew roll in for Minnesota Friday, Cory and his family also arrive for florida. Mitch cancelled montana and Travis and his wife will be using it Friday night. Pat will be bedding down in north carolina Saturday eve. Its nice to be on the lake . She’s a grand lake and as David the old timer up here told me its a grand lake and it owes us nothing.

I’m Happy to report all the houses had some action with Wade and Matt landing a 36 inch pike this morning. Cory and his family Cole, Vada, Cash and Abby started getting bites around 3 yesterday afternoon in Florida. Cole shot his first deer with a bow this year and he is only 12. Way to go Cole. I’m not going to say how old I was when I got my first deer with a bow or how many years it took. Rick and his crew in Minnesota have missed quite a few and have a couple in the bucket. There going to take it easy today and play some board games. I’m bringing them out a old book shelf game of mine called rail baron they should have a lot of fun playing that. Travis and Cristy only landed 3 in montana but should of had there 6 they were only here for one night. Eva, Matt and Leigh had to go home a day early do to a family issue. I think they enjoyed the new house North Dakota and are scheduled to come back towards the end of the month. I’m relieved the houses all had action with most of the bites coming after 3pm. Tim and Jake are in the cabin and did really well in 10 feet of water yesterday. They were headed back in to the general area again today.

Tim and Jake hit the same spot they went to the day before. They still had decent fishing but only landed 19 for the day. Jake has some work at home to get done so they are taking off a day earlier then planned. My good friend Wayne and I played a little cards with them last night. Jake was the big winner and I told him next time I would be bringing the ringer my sweety ,Kellie the Hammer.
When I went to check on every one last night and top off the generators every one was bedded down or had the lights low so I did not find out how any of them did. Cory text this morning to give me a heads up the generator had quit for the second time this weekend. Turns out she is worn out and going through some oil. Last year the other 2500 generators charging system went out so it looks like Marty and I will be making two generators into one. She had a good life and both lasted 8 to 10 years respectively. I will be purchasing a used or new eu 2000 this week. Any one out there with a good used eu 2000 for sale give me a shout. Today after saying good bye to Cory and his family I will be moving Florida on to fresh ice for Brian and his crew tomorrow. Should be interesting out there today watching all the wheel leave the lake being towed by wheelers.
I will be checking some ice thickness the next few days as I prepare to get the houses to the north side of buddy hillmens road. At this time only sleds, wheelers and side by sides are allowed access to the road.

Got a great pic of Cory and his family yesterday with there 13 walleye and one eel pout. They enjoyed them self and Cory said maybe he will come back in march and chase a few crappies with us. Pat and Mike spent the night in North Carolina after fishing outside all day. They did have some action and went home with there 6. Travis and Christy spent one night in montana and had a few in the bucket.. When I stopped last night to check on Rick, Matt and Mike in Minnesota they were doing up some fish and had 3 in the bucket so they were getting more action the third night. They were taking off early this morning so I will never know how they did over night. Rick comes back in a few weeks for a couple more nights. I prepped all the houses yesterday for there next move which looks like will be more of the cookie shuffle at this time with the ice conditions the way they are. I’m in a fishy area for now with a solid 14 inches of ice under each house. I put off moving Florida un tell this morning so will be heading out in a bit to get that done before Brian and his crew arrive. I thought it would be fun to try and keep track of how many holes I punch this year and after today I will be up to 53 after I prep florida. All the houses were blocked up before we augured them as with only 14 inches office they do flood. The water seeps out from underneath the house and slowly freezes making it a little nasty for walking and working around the house. It also absorbs into the banking and there will be some ice chipping going on this morning. I should be able to have florida moved in less then a hour depending on how much chipping there is. I’m hoping its not to much as we have 4 more houses to move this week.

As of now Hillmens road is still closed to vehicle’s. wheelers, side by side and sleds towing wheel houses are allowed. If you saw vehicles running his road this weekend they were accessing the lake some where else then jumping onto buddies road

•Its been interesting to see how each resort and outfitter has been able to improvise a solution to the ice conditions this year to get customers and houses onto the lake. I would guess and this is a guess that were average 11 inches of ice. Marty and I will be scouting some new areas and measuring ice thickness at each hole we augur . I have a board with a lip on the bottom that catches the bottom of the ice and has a tape attached to it so its dead on. No guessing. I like to see at least 14 inch for my houses. I have had them on 12 but prefer 14.
Yesterday I did get too say good bye to Rick, Matt and Mike . They had planned to leave early but the rattle wheels kept them up half the night. That’s a good thing to here.
Moving florida went real well and I had her moved, banked and augured in less then a hour. Brian and his crew Patty Josh and Jake rolled in around noon and I was able to escort them out to the house and get them set up. Then it was off to Bemidji to purchase a new addition to the operation. No more lugging them 2500 generators around. Thinking back, wow did they see some harsh condition out there over the last 10 years. Money well spent. I did have a little surprise last night when I went to the station to gas the new 2000 up. For some goofy reason the have a bigger cap and a smaller filler tube, Ridicules, I will get a better look at it today to see if it can be modified a bit . Marty was rolling in late and would be using when he arrived.
Checked On Brian and the crew ,they went to westwind for dinner and were playing some cribbage. They had a few on the ice ,Brian said they started biting around 4. They had also missed some fish so that’s some more good news.
Dennis and his wife were out in the wilcraft and did not fair to well. They did go out quite a ways out and Dennis said the ice was about this thick and held up his hands. I had ask him if he would measure the ice where ever he augured, too funny. Marty and I will be shuffling all the houses today and making our plans for the up and coming weekend. Thanks to all that have came up so far this year. Its been a great start to the season in my book on such a grand lake.