Where’s Cookie????

I guess that accu weather is struggling with getting there prediction right. Yesterday when I hit the lake with the red baron the winds had finally diminished. I dropped the vplow and off I went throwing snow to the south. When I got to the end of the road I cut a new trail to florida so Russell and Gary could get back on the road. We said our goodbyes and they were taking home there 6 fish. back on Hillmens highway for more plowing. That crazy 454 gets horrible gas mileage. It was burning about a 1/4 tank every 16 miles that’s about 5 miles to the gallon. Granted I’m plowing snow. My third trip out and Andrew called with his buddies Dan and Luke. perfect I had Andrew stop by the house and get blue thunder as I would be needed both trucks on the lake. I forgot to tell Andrew to hit the toggle switch for the heater and he had a nice cold ride 8 miles out. When they arrive I then recruited Luke to become the designated v plow driver and I gave him a little training as we headed back to shore for more gas. Coming back on the lake and it was Luke’s turn to clip along throwing snow to the south. Once we arrived back to the houses I used the red baron to cut a couple path to north Dakota and old Minnesota I then turned Luke loose to continue v plowing as I recruited the other two to help move north dakota and florida. I have my procedures and with a little orders we had both houses on the main road in no time. Luke arrived back with the red baron and I cut a hole new trail all the way out to montana . A little time making the new road and again with there help we took both houses down the new road in a fishy area to ruin. I had them all set up and fishing by 3 pm and finished the night prepping florida for today. I headed back on the lake around 8pm and they had enough fish for a meal and also caught a couple scufits. I totally forgot to tell them that’s a good sign for the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie? I have just a little more v plowing to do on Buddy Hillmens highway this morning and again she is in great shape. It just amazes me how nice of a road Buddy makes. I have a passion for golf,billards,and working on the lake taking care of customers. Buddy has a passion for making his road and you sure can tell by the time he puts in to it. Its a pleasure to be part of such a long tradition. The red baron has two mounts for the v plow and I think I need to take out the pins and raise the back as the tip of the plow is not quite touching the ice. I will have to wait for Marty to return as the new modification made you need a second person to hook it backup. Off road travel is now a thing of the past in my eyes. As the snow has crusted over trucks with wheel houses are defiantly going to have more trouble going off road. There is a secret to traveling with them but its a secret . If you have a wheel house I would plan on tracking down a v plow or straight blade to cut you a path. Also leave the plastic shovel at home and bring a number 2 spade shovel. It gets old picking up broken plastic shovels. Yesterday was another grand day on such a grand lake . The sun was shining all day and you could see for miles. With snow plumes to the west, east, and south all the operations spent the day opening up all the roads. Today I plan on digging old Minnesota and north Carolina out and getting them into new areas to ruin. Stu and his crew have florida rented today and tomorrow. That means Friday I will have to put florida on a fresh spot for Leroy and family. They have been coming for quite a few years and rented the cabin the first time I met them .

Well what can I say I guess I worked Andrew, Danny and Luke to hard. There plan was to hit some way points that Jake sent them. The fishing for them in the new spot we set up produced 14 fish and two fishing rods down the holes with one retrieved and one gone to the fish gods. A wheel house moved in just to the south of them around 6pm and they had not caught a fish all night. After checking in on them I was off to finish up a little more plowing on hillmens highway. Once that was done it was back to shore too gather a few more supply’s and head back out to move old Minnesota down by montana for the up and coming weekend. I arrived back out to North Dakota and the boys were having a beer and all still in there pajama bottoms. I guess it was just to cold for them to hit any of those way points. Oh well at least they are having a grand time on a grand lake. I headed over to old Minnesota and started the process of digging her out. About 50 feet away another wheel house was set up next to old minnesota. every thing went well as I worked up a good sweat, its hard work but so enjoyable being out in the fresh air . I had the perfect plan after getting old Minnesota set up and checking in Stu and Trevor into florida, Kellie the hammer and I would be having a nice dinner and fishing in old Minnesota. Arriving back to Minnesota around 5pm we were unpacking when a truck pulls up. It was the guys fishing next to old Minnesota in its old spot. They had caught nothing and said they watched me move and wonder if the dog always ran behind me when I towed houses. They assumed I knew where the fish were as they also had caught nothing. I guess I was caught by surprise as one of them called me the fish guy? and I must know where there biting .Would it be ok if they moved down and fished in between old Minnesota and florida. I guess after busting butt all day. Working on the lake 43 straight days I told them to stick it out for the evening as old Minnesota had caught fish there in the evening and if they had bad fishing there was all sorts of areas to move to. I would rather if they would not move down by me. I have always looked at all the fishermen out there as potential customers. In hind site they caught me at the wrong time as I was trying to get the hammer and I set up for the evening. I will see how they did today and if they decide they want to move I can cut them a trail with the v plow. Now for the horrible fishing report. The hammer marked a couple fish and I lost one small scuffit at the hole. We had a supreme dinner, watched a movie and relaxed. I did not climb up on the top bunk of old Minnesota as I know I would of fallen a sleep right away, as I love taking a nap up there. We headed in with a quick stop at florida and north Dakota where the fishing was poor with a few lookers and no takers. Today I plan on taking north Carolina to a completely different area. Wayne will be using old minnesota this weekend and we will talk about moving old Minnesota after he fishes a day or two. Florida and north Dakota will also have to be moved and reset up for the up and coming weekend.

Wow looking at the calender and the walleye fishing is winding down. 17 days that’s all that left. This weekend is going to be a grind. Andrew, Dan and Luke headed home with there nine and ate a few fish so that was a good thing. Trevor and Stu had much better fishing last night and had a few in the bucket with two dandy perch to boot. I on the other hand I had another busy but satisfying day on the lake. I checked on Preston in his giant ice castle . They had slow fishing but Preston did land a trophy. A elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie and is going to get it mounted. Well over 16 inches. Goose and the gang are up and I plowed a area for them .I was wrong about cross country travel to a point as the goose off roaded to his spot. Bryce on the other hand pulled in just at sunset and attempted to make a loop around off the path I plowed and last I saw was digging out his shovel. The goose said he lives for this and loves the adventure so I headed home with out giving them a tug. I on the other hand spent a little time in ‘old Minnesota detailing it for the up and coming weekend for Wayne. Old Minnesota came from Milac’s back in the crappie day and is Wayne’s baby. All though Kellie the hammer and I love it and is our favorite house. I did plow a couple off shoots for wheel houses to give them a couple options. Then there are a few roads that were made after the big blow sunday, monday to retrieve houses. I found a spot to set up north Carolina as Mike is bringing his own generator. I then moved north Dakota on to its new spot. Blue thunders power steering belt is worn out and it has been a bear banking houses with the crusted snow pack. I need to move and bank florida this morning then she can be addressed. Knock on wood. I have been leaving blue thunder out on the lake where she feels right at home as I need both trucks out there so that’s the best way without my good friend and helper Marty. He should roll in some time today with his wife and dad for a little r@r and fishing. Sunday 3 of the houses are re rented so more then likely they will all have to be moved on to fresh ice as I can not stand checking in new customers in to a pre fished house unless the fishing had been fantastic. The third night never seems good ? All though for some goofy reason I have seen the fourth night have good to better then good fishing. I will never figure that out. Kevin and his crew have north Dakota Sunday, Monday and are bringing there own generator so I will have to prep a new location for them. My good friends and hunting buddies will be also coming Sunday for north Carolina. Jason and his gal will be coming for Florida.. Then Monday Dave is coming for Florida and Jason and Whitney will move into Montana so both those will have to be reset. Tuesday and Wednesday we will regroup as we again have a full house starting Thursday. Looking back through out the season so far it has been a bit of a grind trying to find great fishing and I would not change it for the world as I just Love be out there on such a grand lake

Some highlights and some not so highlights of the weekend. First thing I’m looking for my second wind. Thursday I was out on the lake working by my self. I hit a wall about 4pm and wanted to call it a night but knowing we had some cold weather coming Friday morning I kept grinding and got north Dakota moved , blocked, banked before the sun went down. Friday morning would just leave florida to be moved before Leroy and the gangs arrival. Marty rolled back in to town with is wife and father around 11am and would help me prep florida after he got his wife Shelly and dad Les all set up. While we were moving florida Goose called and said swing over for a French dip. One of my favorite sandwiches. I told them I would be over shortly. Not only did they have a French dip but Mellisa, Bryces wife had a fresh piece of apple pie for me and man was that delicious. Thanks guys as that hit the spot. I then gave a couple guys a quick tug as they had gotten stuck with there wheel house. By then Marty had Florida buttoned up and all the houses were ready for the weekend. I forgot to mention with the temps and wind it was absolutely brutal out there and I had to where a face mask as the wind chill had to be -30.

The fishing reports that evening were not to good with only a few fish caught. A lot of fish marked but they refused to bite. Boar rolled in around 9pm and I v plowed him a spot north east of the area I was fishing then a couple guys waved me down and wanted me to cut them a trail to there house as there buddy showed up with a van. I cut them a trail and they offered me a 20. They scraped another 20 together and commented the casino took a chunk of there change on the way up. I never did see how they did as they were just south west of us. Goose and his crew did pretty good and went for a fish fry Saturday afternoon. Boar had 4 Saturday morning as well as north Dakota. Florida had only 3. Mike and his wife in north Carolina did the best of the houses and landed one small but still catchable elusive upper red lake crappie and they did go home with there nine. Old Minnesota and montana just plain stunk. Bradly and the crew in North Dakota did land a 36 inch pike and a 20 inch walleye on a sucker minnow and tip up. They also managed to catch enough fish for 6 to go to west winds for a fish fry saturday eve. Heading off the lake Saturday eve around midnight and again my new generator was not running. I think I’m going to take it to acme this week and throw it through there picture window. A trip to shore to get our back up which is so heavy I had to have wayne in old Minnesota come help me. I get back out there and even though I had it running a month ago to get familiar with it we get it unloaded and it refuses to start. Ok plan B fire up the new one again and this time it fires right up and again runs all night with no issues? Sunday morning and Marty wife’s car will not start. We set it up with a torpedo and blankets to warm the engine and unplug the power to montana as the torpedo needs power to run the blower. Marty and I are over moving Florida and North Dakota to a new area as I have not ruined but destroyed the area were fishing. Next thing you know the front clip of Shelly’s car is on fire. The generator had ran out of gas and with out the blower running on the torpedo she got hot and burst in to flames . Wayne ran over and with the fire extinguisher from Montana and was able to put it out. Her car needs to be towed off the lake this morning.

It was a very tough weekend to say the least. I do believe all things happen for a reason, I’m just not sure why sometimes. I will be heading out shortly to retrieve shell’s car and then have old Minnesota and montana will have to be moved, plus Hillmens Highway has 5 inches of powdered snow to remove. Just another busy day on such a grand lake

The elusive yet still catchable upper red lake walleye? Yes you read that right.The walleye fishing this year has not been any thing like I expected. I’ve pretty much done what I have done every year but for some reason this year the bite has been much tougher. No matter how bad the bite is here on upper red lake some one is always hammering them? Makes you wonder if a some of them reports are fiction? How many times I have heard we caught 50 we caught a 100 in two days. I have been doing this for 13 years, I pretty much move my house’s at least once or even twice a week all year long. Lets just say once a week. 5 houses 10 weeks. That’s 50 spots and that’s way on the low side. 13 years that’s 650 spots if I’m doing the math right. Andy and Andy had a weekend where they figured they caught 75 fish. There’s been some 50 fish weekends for sure. 100 fish in two nights on the same spot I don’t think has ever happened in one of our houses since the crappie days. As my good buddy Wayne always says if we caught them all there would not be any left. Mother nature always steps in, be it summer, winter, spring or fall. Its fishing not catching. If you think about it were catching a fish out of a 8 inch hole on how many acres. Its amazing we even catch one fish. Now for a report. Jason and his wife were in florida Sunday, Monday on a new spot . They only caught a couple fish the first day. They did eat a couple for dinner . The second night the rattle wheels went crazy around midnight and Jason got up and landed numerous fish. Wayne, Kellie the hammer and I fished old Minnesota and only caught a few fish, better then the old spot but not what I expected. The second night and the rattles wheels kept Wayne awake from midnight tell 1 30 am in old Minnesota. Last night we had dinner out there and prime time, the bewitching hour we never landed a fish? Montana on a new spot had Jim and Dave. They had limited action ,I moved then to florida yesterday and they had much better fishing and that would of been the third night on the same spot? North Dakota had Luke, Kevin, Tina and Kristy. They caught fish with a couple bigger pike on tip ups plus one of the girls landed a 36 inch pike on her rod and reel. Yesterday I spent part of the day finishing up plowing hillmens highway. I said goodbye to Kevin and his crew and Jason and his wife. I spent part of the day just hanging out with wayne and not moving any thing. I got a little rest and may of found my second wind. Today its back to the grind as I plan on again having all 5 houses on fresh ice. Shell chick and Jeff roll in tomorrow for old Minnesota and Dan and Andrea are in florida. Mike and Neil are in Montana Friday and Mike and his crew are in north Dakota. North Carolina is open but I will still be moving that house as it was fished two day last weekend. I did set up a wheel house in the area where Goose was and they caught a few with a 36 inch pike on a rod and reel at 10 o’clock pm. Crazy pike. Rodger and Rich showed up Monday night and have only caught one walleye and one pike in there personal hard house. Oh well its called fishing not catching. I will attempt to catch a few elusive yet still catchable walleyes starting tomorrow

Another fun weekend is about to begin. With the hammers sister and two brothers coming up I will be prepping all the house’s for the weekend. Dan plays the guitar and sings will be entertaining us with some good old country music. I started a new road to the north and piled into some sheets of broken refrozen ice. I would assume its the table size sheets of ice Jon captured on his camera this last dec as it broke up and refroze. If it does not get smoother its going to be a little tougher banking the houses and I may have to use the red baron instead of blue thunder for banking. I like to bank the snow 2 to 3 feet high around the houses to keep any drafts from entering the houses. Its quite a lot more work but that’s what I like . Marty is home in the cites trying to find a new car for his wife after are car- bu- cue as wayne coined it. I guess you have to laugh and at least no one got hurt. I set up Chris and ken next to florida and the first 24 hours they only landed 5 walleyes . I talked to Ken last night and they were now over twenty fish so it has picked up a bit but they are biting very lite. a small bare hook and split shot on a dead stick has been about the only thing that has been working. I also had Gary and his wife Kay fishing in florida on the same spot for the 5th day in a row? While I was visiting during the bewitching hour Kay landed one nice keeper, missed two on the rattle wheel and Gary missed one on his bobber set up with his duck shaped jig stick. Kay had a bobber on the size of a quarter and I watched it go down two inches and it was still a swing and a miss as it seems they are just chomping down on the tail of the minnow. I mentioned to bear paw last week that I think the bigger fish are in close to shore and yesterday I had to rub my eyes as there’s 3 of his biggest houses out in front of my place and his, fishing the break line in 8 feet of water? Should be a great evening bite and early morning. Not sure about the day bite but it sure can not be any worse then 8 miles out. Wayne fished old Minnesota hard and had great action two nights in a row around midnight. Again the bite was extremely lite and if you jigged the minnow at all they were gone like a rocket. He did get to go home with three quality fish. We had a hoot as he was here 5 days and is one of my best friends. The hammer raked in a bundle of ones playing poker and yesterday morning Wayne and I had a couple great games of texas hold em. Fun Fun Fun. I was also able to put him to work as he helped detail the houses. He even washed the picture windows. We also added a couple more trinkets to the walls of old Minnesota and montana. Jeff is bringing up a new furnace for montana as after 10 solid years the Orbis went kapoot. A brand new empire 35000 btu . I think its a little over board but that’s what the gas man recommended for the square footage. Its going take up a little floor space and a shelf will have to be moved. Florida and old Minnesota will also be getting up graded in the near future. Lee will be arriving with two young guys in his wheel house and I will be plowing him a spot well off the beaten path into a completely un fished area. Randy and Tammy are also coming up. Randy talked about setting up close to shore but with the wife’s family coming up I hope they set up out by us so they can enjoy the music and company of the hammers family. My old helper and muscle Tony boy is also coming up with his wife and will be bunking with Ken. It will be good to see him as its been a while. I expect shell chick will be making French dips as she does every year and it is one of my favorite sandwiches. I also hope to do a little tip up fishing with Jeff as we target a few big pike. All the houses will be set up on fresh ice and no matter how they do I will not be moving any houses if the fishing is not good. Since north Carolina is not rented I’m going to set it up in a completely different area miles away from the other houses and see what happens there. I also have to remember to put on the extension on my augur as I measured 29 inches of ice where were at and with the houses blocked up I just made it through last time I augured. Moving onto that broken ice and it could be a lot thicker. Should be a great time this weekend and such a grand lake.

Yesterday went really well. Going back to just taking your time and not being in a hurry taught to me by cousin Pete, my mentor. First stop was to stop and get my gas can from Rodger as he needed gas when he arrived Monday night. He also gave me a 20 for auguring 8 holes after we added on a extension. That’s 2.50 a hole. I also gave him a good ask chewing about the liter I found where his house was last year. He said he could not figure out how that could of happened. I was a little harsh and then it flip flopped and I felt bad? Oh well I do not think there will be any liter by his house this year. My second stop was opening up a road to a area I have had my eye on. Again cutting a trail with the red baron was like cutting butter with a butter knife. Slow and easy taking care of my equipment, next stop was cutting another trail through that pile of broken sheet ice. I think it sounds worse then it is as your slowly moving along and the v plow is cracking and crunching, the plow itself is jamming, hopping , binding but crunching through with next to no effort. My trans temp gauge is on the blink so I have to be carful as I do not want to burn up the tranny for the 4rth time. The plan was to set the house up on this sheet ice but after driving two cites blocks I hit smoother ice . A quick hole drilled to check the depth and I had found a nice area to set the gang up. After a half tank of prep work I was off to dig out and move florida and old Minnesota. Every thing went smooth other then the snow was quite wet and heavy. As I banked the houses when I would back away the snow would be shaped like the front of boss plow. I really piled on the banking. I then retrieved montana which was just sitting on the road. Once I had her blocked and banked I prepped a area for north Dakota and hauled her into place. That plan also changed a bit but I still think it may be a very fishy area. Ken and Chris had good fishing but are going to move over by us for the weekend. Ken decided to wait for tony boy to help move the house today. He was like do you know how hard it is to move a house on your own? I moved 4 houses yesterday, banked and blocked 3 and augured two. I thought it was kinda funny? I had Lee set up fairly close to where florida did so well 4 of 5 nights on the same spot? There’s only a handful of times they get fished in the same spot more then a couple days and it was interesting to see fish caught. For some reason that little area is very fishy. We got shell chick and the gang checked in last night around 10 30 pm. A little reorganizing things this morning and I’m off to enjoy another day on such a grand lake

Thanks for all of your reports! I really enjoy the read!

Being a perfectionist has some draw backs. I have our houses dialed in as the way I like them when I check in customers. I have come to the conclusion and reality that having great fishing every time is impossible and something I just have to except. Mother nature has such a huge roll and I can not beat her. Be leave me I have tried out there. A perfect example, I set up Montana facing old Minnesota and Florida. Banking all the houses on the clean sheet of ice left little snow cover around the houses. Mother nature rolls around and turns the snow into mush. Now 24 hours later and there’s standing water on glare ice all around the houses. Bad planning? Its really just the way it is, Jeff forgot his boots so he got wet feet yesterday. I went out side of old Minnesota to snap a pic of the sunset and was warring shell chicks boots and they were not water proof. OOPS ! I attempted to have the perfect set up. All most but mother nature had to throw a wrench in things. Oh well I’ll try again . On a side note, the snow has turned to mush and it is so fun to drive threw. The only way I can describe it. Its like driving through mashed potato’s. Last night you could drive right through a 2 foot snow bank. There’s also plenty of standing water on the ice. Buddy Hillmens highway will be in great shape as its now down to glare ice and when it get cold again any snow with wind will blow right across. For some reason the areas that have white ice seem to soften up more and causes some rutting and pot holes. I have no clue what causes theses areas of white ice. Now when the temps drop again all those old snow banks will become rock hard. Mother nature at work again. now for a quick fishing report. Dan and Andraea had some good action in florida and had 6 nice keepers on the ice by 8pm. They also landed some really dandy perch. the hammer and I fished with shell chick and jeff in old Minnesota. The hammer was marking fish that refused to bite. Jeffs rattle wheel went down and with a good hook set the line broke. 15 seconds later and shell chicks rattle wheels line moved across the hole. I reached behind me as she stood up to come check it .I felt a fish and set the hook landing a nice keeper. Sorry shell it was just instinct. the shell chick set the hook and landed a smaller one. Mike and Neil rolled in just after dark for montana ,they caught a few right away once they were set up. I then went to check on north Dakota and they had only landed one 19 incher. so far. I was positive they would have fantastic fishing. I have 8 different wheel houses out there and will be seeing what kind of action they have had the last 16 hours or so. Not much has changed. Its just been a grind to land on any big numbers of fish. If you fish hard you can get your limits. Oh well every season is different and this year is again completely different then last year. Who knows maybe the rattle wheels went nuts last night as we have had some good action after midnight in the area just to the south of where were at now

The old adage time flies by when your having fun could not be any truer. Just 7 days of the game fish season left. Wow where did it go? Man did the fishing flip flop from Friday to Saturday. North Dakota only landed the one 19 incher when I checked on them saturday morning. old Minnesota and florida had there keepers. Mike, Neil and Kayla had 7 .Mikes plan was to eat them all so they could try for a limit to take home. Randy and his crew in there wheel house did really well. It sounds like Randy is going to come up this summer and let me take him and his wife fishing in” Imagine That” our 20 foot tyee. The greek named the boat . Grandma use to say uuu EEEmadgen dat in that strong Swedish accent.

Lee and his crew in there wheel house did not do that great and moved down a little closer to where we were. They only had a little better fishing Saturday in to the evening . I plowed a spot for Matt, Jeromy and Matts dad and they did not do well at all Saturday night? Randy just 100 yards away did well all day into the evening. That’s twice this year that Randy as done real well and I’m thinking he may be one of them blessed fishermen that just has a nact for catching fish. I set up Chuck and Kathy to the east of us and they had there 6 by 8;30 pm and went to bed. Chucks son came up with his portable Saturday and they only scratched out 5 more fish un tell the called it a day. Chuck and Kathy got 2 yesterday morning and I will see how they did last night later today. That will be the third night on the same spot as he did not want to do a cookie shuffle and move 25 yards on to fresh ice. Lonnie and family with there wheel house went to where we had gotten a total of 14 elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies earlier in the year. When I talked to him they were moving as they had only landed two walleyes. I also talked to another guy that was fishing in the same area and he said they pounded the fish Friday but Saturday was not very good, No elusive upper red lake crappies. I did ask him if he caught any small walleye scufitts and he said they sure did? Adam landed on 5 keepers Friday night into Saturday morning and packed up to move out by us where they did real well just east of us with Justin landing a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie sunday morning. Lonnie called sunday morning to say where they moved to was not that good and they only landed two keepers. He did say that quite a few elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies were caught in the area with a portable landing 15 or so? Turns out they new some one in a rental and fished by them so there families could hang out. Tammy, Tanner, Taylor and Randy tried in very shallow as I had a hunch a few weeks ago that that’s where the bigger fish are hanging out. They had action all weekend missing quite a few fish. Randy said there was no night bite at all. I expected that’s when it would of been the best. Stupid fish. They did take home 7 with 4 over 17. I would love to have all my houses in that area but its so close to shore fishermen think there getting ripped off when the road goes out 10 miles. If the fishing is good then you look like the hero but if its not there like why are all those houses out there? That happen earlier this year when I was out a mile and half and we had poor fishing.

Ken, Tony boy, Chris and Leah also moved down by us to the north Friday. They had horrible fishing and moved to the other side of old Minnesota where they only landed 5 more fish Saturday. Mike, Neil and Kayla ate all 7 of there fish and went home with zero as they could not buy a fish Saturday night. Crazy. Dan and Adrea had good fishing all weekend in florida 200 feet away. Tony Boy helped me moved North Dakota over towards us for Mike and his crew and they were a 100 yards from Randy’s crew doing well and they hardly caught any thing. All though Mike did catch something lol. All and all not to bad of a weekend, spent some quality time with family, had a ton of fun and didn’t have to work to hard. Today its back to work as the hammer is going to drive the red baron out so I can have both trucks to move florida for Dave and his crew arriving later today. I did have four locals from blackduck fish florida yesterday into the evening where it was a little slow. Forth night on the same spot. Ron did land a elusive yet still catchable 15 inch upper red lake crappie his biggest ever and his first walleye through the ice. I was really hoping to see a few more elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies as I have shifted gears and am on the hunt for the mother load, with walleyes now the secondary fish. I have a huge area to shift all the houses to for the up and coming week. With two caught the mother load could be just a few 100 yards away. Right now my plans are to hunt them down and spend some quality time in old minneosta with the hammer. Jake and his crew will be up march 10th 11th as well as Don and his crew. They will all be bringing portables and enjoying there evenings relaxing in the house’s and who knows maybe even catching a few elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies out of the houses. It happened last year, there should be no reason we cant doing it again. I assume Buddy Hillmen will also have some houses available the next few weeks. The stores number is 218 647 8504. I’m never ready for the season to end as its so much fun and I so much enjoy working out there. As most of the resorts start pulling house off to the east,, there I am every year? towing houses to the northwest.

The hammer, the trooper. Yesterday morning needing the red baron and blue thunder on the lake I recruited the sweet hart to drive blue thunder out. She could relax in old Minnesota and watch a movie and do a little fishing while I moved Florida for Dave and his crew arriving later in the day. Dave rolled In around 2 and I checked them in and we headed off the lake as we had to be in Bemidji before 4 30. I forgot to hit the toggle switch for the heat on blue thunder and the hammer got a little cold driving in. The same thing happened to Andrew earlier this year when I had him bring blue thunder out on the ice. OOPS! I have to remember that when I let some one drive her. We arrived home fairly late and I was not able to go out and Check on Dave . I did shoot him a text and he said 2 perch and 2 scuffit walleyes. I just do not get it. Chuck and Kathy got there limit sunday a couple hours after dark and headed home. I moved florida just a bit beyond where randy did well friday and Saturday, and Chuck and Kathy did well the first night and the third night. Just like that and the area is fished out? Oh well the hammer did mark a couple of fish while I was working but did not land anything. Old minnesota had good fishing the first night and slower the second with fishing it during the day the third time not producing anything. Will see how Dave and the boys did this morning and maybe I will have to move even further with the houses for the up and coming final weekend of game fish. If the weather man is right it should be a glorious day on such a grand lake that as the old timer Dave said” It owes me nothing! nothing! The plans are to take my time and dig all 3 houses out of there icy tombs and stage them for the next big move. Florida will have to be moved again after Dave leaves tomorrow. Montana will be set up today then be moved after Rick leaves Friday morning. The hammer and I will be fishing old Minnesota off and on all week and will be moved on fresh ice before Friday, but I want to see what happens if its fished a couple more nights on the same spot. All them fish are becoming very elusive?

Crazy Fish is all I can say. When I arrived out to Florida the boys had kept 7 nice keepers over night. I had to ask Dave in Florida a favor? If he would give me a ride to shore to get the red baron. It was snowing like a banshee. I did not see that coming. Accu weather said flurries. Heading in and it was coming down so hard you could not even see the southern berm? Then just like that heading back out and the snow tapered off with a cool north breeze. I dropped a line in old Minnesota while I made my plan and darn if I did not get a nice keeper on a new pinkish rattling flyer at 10 30 am. The hammers dinner. Digging out Montana and north Dakota went real well and are now staged for the next move. After the hammer and I had dinner in old Minnesota last night I will be moving old Minnesota today. I wanted to see if the fishing could or would get better? We were set up at the bewitching hour and had a nice run of keeper perch landing 5 as the sun went down. Then one small scuffitt walleye and not another bite. The hammer did mark a couple fish but would not bite? We headed in around 8pm. A quick stop at Florida and the guys hammered the fish just after dark. They even landed two pike a 30 and 40 after the sun set. A wheel house set up to the south west of us and I heard they had 5 before dark. A very fishy area to end the game fish season. How sweet is that. I was hoping to see at least a couple more elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies in the area so I could fine tune where they may be hiding. Kimmy Joy and Tim also rolled in with there wheel house around 7pm and I set them up right in line where the two elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies were caught sunday morning and sunday evening. So far we have only caught 16 for the season out of the houses and every single one has been at the crack of dawn or just after sunset? At this time I must have 3 square miles of un fished area to try and find them. The red baron will be getting a good workout as I plow every which way I want? I guess I will be the rouge plower. Tyler was out there yesterday looking for a few fish and said he augured 140 holes and only found one elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. He also said I was real close to where we pounded them years ago when I introduced him to Spence as his gps said Spence and cookie. I remember the first time I met him and his dad. Spencer was playing high school hockey . Now he is out of collage and a full time guide all over the Midwest. Tyler and him have become very good friends.
I have a couple wheel houses coming up this weekend and will be plowing them a few trails looking for the mother load. Casey in North Dakota is going to pound the ice looking for the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie and be using the house as a home base? This is not the first time I have heard this and once they check in its like you know its kinda cold out and were awful comfortable right here so we will see. Maybe if I pay them as scouts? I’m going to set up Tammy and Randy where we got the 14 elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies earlier this year. There is a wheel house in the area and he came back after taking his grandson home. I did talk to him and he is having action with quite a few small scuffit walleyes? Again a very fishy area. Florida had such good fishing I would like to leave it where its at but I can not have it set up the way I like if its not on fresh ice so it will be moved today once the boys leave. Rick King is coming up today and I’m still not sure what house I want him in. Even though it will just be him I will more then likely have to move it Friday morning . I can tell him not to fish it hard but that does not make a whole lot of sense lol. I want all the houses on fresh ice for the final game fish season so that will be the plan.
All the house will be moved after sunday even though none are rented un tell our crappie get together on the 11th and 12th of march. I will be vacationing out there looking for the mother load enjoying all the comforts of home in our favorite house old Minnesota. Any fishermen out there looking for a little more fishing time give me a shout. Who knows,last year we had some magical moments after the game fish season ended. I would love to see that happen again.

This may be a little long so bear with me. Just like that and the game fish season has came to a end. One big thanks goes out to all my customers again this year. Thank you and I hope to see you again next year. Mother nature was a little kinder to us this year when it came to the weather. 13 years of doing this and every year is different. The biggest snow fall so far was maybe 5 inches. I would guess we have had a total of 15 inches for the season so far. The first year I was up here and there was no snow on the lake most of the season. Two years ago and it seemed like it was 20 below every day with 3 feet of snow.
Getting all the houses ready for the final weekend was a little hectic as Rick and Yobee pulled out Friday morning . They fished Montana for two days and did fairly well. Thursday I checked Casey and his crew into North Dakota and Tim and Bradon in to Florida. Wayne also rolled in for old Minnesota late Thursday night. Friday morning after saying good bye to Rick and Bradon Wayne detailed Montana for me while I prepped her for a short move. Chris would be arriving later in the day. Chris won a free night I gave away on Minnesota Outdoorsman MNO. They have a winter and summer fishing contest every year . Its free to sign up as long as you post 10 times in a certain amount of time. I will be signing up for there summer contest as last year I tied for biggest fish and won 40 dollars worth of cabellas gift cards. I also had a few wheel houses coming out to the area I was fishing. My hope was to find a few more elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies. The area had all ready produced a few in the last 10 days. I set up Goose, Bryce and Gary to the east of us right in line with the few that had been caught. Old Minnesota and North Dakota were also in line while florida and montana were to the south west a bit. Chuck and Kathy set up real close to where they had good fishing last weekend. Preston with his 30 foot ice castle set up just to the west of where florida had such good fishing last sunday and Monday. 3 wheel house set up just west of where we got 2 elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies last sunday and they were the big winners landing five for the weekend. Lonnie was just south of them and they also had a group of 3 wheel houses and landed 2. For some crazy reason that little area has produced every single one with none coming south or north 50 yards away.
Florida had good fishing all three days. They were fishing very small jigs tipped with fatheads a inch off the bottom. Montana with Paul, Chris, Danial and Heather just to the west of florida had so so fishing but they were having a good time. North Dakota caught walleyes the whole weekend While the hammer, Wayne and I struggled to land a fish all weekend. Wayne did have a nice run Friday afternoon when he landed a 22 and two 16s in a matter of 5 minutes.
Wayne loves small planes and Jrs corner was having there second annual fly in so we drove down there Saturday to check it out. I never new Wayne new so much about small planes but it turns out he was full of knowledge. I on the other hand. I know nothing about them. I would highly recommend checking it out next year as all those different colored planes sitting on the white back ground of the lake were quite the sight. Looking in them up close I was surprised how small the seating is. It was also cool to watch them land one after the other and taxi into position. I wished we would of stayed longer to watch then take off and I hope next year we can do that. Very cool.
Goose, Gary and Bryce did not do that well where they were at .Goose’s house did the best of the 3. I did see where Bryce landed a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie to the area they moved to sunday for there last night on the lake.
I set Randy, Tammy and Randy’s dad up where we landed the 16 eluisive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies weeks ago Randy’s dad Rich did land one late Friday afternoon but that was it. That area is also a little fishy and I think Randy said they ended up catching 14 walleyes for the weekend. Randy said he will be back for our crappie get together on the 11th of march. As far as I know at this time Buddy Hillmens Highway will be open and he will have a few rentals out there as will I. Tyler at bear paw is also chasing the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies this year and has some type of guiding deal going on. If you want to increase your odds of finding a few you could also give him a call. Carson, Franks nephew found 14 this past weekend. I also talked to a wheel house that landed 10. Casey on his hunt landed a total of 7 for the weekend. I will be moving all the houses this week a little closer to shore as I’m out over 9 miles at this time. I will be working on the lake every day ,but there will be quite a bit of r and r in old minnesota as its has been a long season

My good friend Wayne decided to stay for the final evening sunday night. After 3 nights of horrible fishing I suggested I move old Minnesota to the corner where we have found a few crappies the last 10 days. He was like for get that its to much work just leave it here. The hammer and I would be joining him for another evning of fishing, card playing, dinner,music and just having fun. With 6 lines down and the hammer working her vexlar a few fish showed off the bottom but it was again terrible fishing. I had a tip up set with a sucker for all most a day and then switched to a huge golden shiner and never had a flag. Around 10 pm it started to snow and the hammer had to work in the morning so we called it a night. I was driving the red baron while kellie was driving her trail blazer. Not a mile in to the trip off the lake and its was a full blown blizzard. With the way my plow lights are aimed and the giant snow flakes It was like driving with your high beams on in a snow storm. I could not see 2 feet in front of me. Keeping to the northern edge of hillmens highway just out my drivers window with the window down we made our way home. I tried crossing over to the southern edge thinking I could see the snow bank better? Nope with the way the snow was drifting at a angle you could not see that edge at all. After a very slow ride I called kellie and told her to come up a long side of me to see if that would help. I then tried with my lights off? Nope no good. We them finished our trip home side by side. The hammer was again a trooper. Its amazing how much comfortable she has become on the lake considering years ago she was all most petrified to even ride on a lake. The 10 mile trip took us close to a hour to get home and I’m not kidding we pulled into the drive way and the snow quit? Monday morning and there was not a stitch of snow on either vechicle. Mean while back in old Minnesota while we were driving away the crazy fish decided they were hungry. Using the golden shiners that the Goose had left us Wayne caught fish after fish for over 3 hours. Just like that he got his final 3 for the season. He also had two line snappers. He said once the snow stopped the wind came out of the nw like a freight train and the fish kept biting. Every time he tried to lay down the rattle wheel would go off. Then he could not sleep as with the high winds the window screen was banging ,the stove pipe was making all sorts of crazy sounds and the wind was that whistling sound . When he did get to sleep around 5am once the wind laid down he got a few hours of sleep. he awoke around 10am when I arrived. About two hours later he realized his fishing pole was gone? To funny. He thinks he remembers a splashing sound and he looked around and fell back a sleep.
We only got a quick 1/2 inch of snow but with them high winds there’s plenty of plowing to do the next couple of days as we re clear Hillmens highway. The one nice thing is the snow was a very light fluffy snow in stead of a warm wet type. I have 4 foot drifts around the houses but its not a huge deal as the snow is very light and moves out of the way pretty easy at this time. The plan today will be to move all the drifts away from the house’s and start getting them out of there nest as Buddy hillmen call them. Then a big move as I start my journey looking for the mother load of the elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies. At this time all the houses are wide open and un rented un tell the 10th of march. I should have them all set and ready to fish by the weekend in traditional crappie grounds. Once old Minnesota is set the hammer and I will be spending quite a bit of time out there the next 10 days as that is my vacation again this year. Yes its a working vacation but still its a vacation

Well it was back to work yesterday. Buddy Hillmen’s highway is again wide open 10 miles out after a day of dragging and plowing. I talked to Buddy briefly and he plans on pulling two more of his houses to shore as just like that and the phone calls have all most came to a end. I ‘m never ready to pull the plug when those beautiful elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies are starting to put on there feed bags. The best report I have heard so far is 22 fish landed by a group of 4. With one person landing on the honey hole and reeling in 14 of the 22. The area I just left had a little corner of around 20 acres that produced a few over the last two weeks. Remember a few? A few in fishing lingo is 12 to 16. Not the mother load by any means but just landing one of these very elusive fish you get the feeling you landed a trophy. And that my friends is a good feeling. Looking for them on the other hand can be a tremendous amount of work on such a big body of water. If you get just one there’s a reason he or she was there and as we all know crappies travel in schools? The crappie highway is still out there and still very active in my book. That’s where I’m headed.
Yesterday after plowing for two hours I was off to the area I have ruined, With the wheel houses I set up we managed to ruin at least 100 acres of 48,000. We did manage to get a 7 elusive upper red lake crappies though out the weekend. Plus numerous walleyes, perch and a couple big pike .
Buddy said he thinks some pike have moved in to the area he was working as the elusive upper red lake all of a sudden became very elusive? If anyone can find them again it would be Buddy. I tried to get a hold of Tyler from bear paw as he can also find these very elusive fish. No answer though? Glad it was not a emergency. Yesterday after taking care of the road I was off to start the manual labor of digging out the houses. Florida was only sitting on 19 inches of ice where I had it and the water had oozed out and made quite the mess of things. Montana and North Dakota were sitting on well over two feet of ice? Those three house are now staged for there next destination. I will be heading out to dig out old Minnesota later this morning. I did wet a line a couple times while I was out there yesterday. When I dropped a forage minnow tipped with a minnow a big wide red line came charging up from the depths only to hit the breaks three feet off the bottom and slowly drift back to the bottom. My first thought seeing such a wide line was here we go a elusive upper red lake crappie. I may never know what it was though as it took a couple more looks and then it was gone. I’ll drop a line when I first get out there this morning while I prep old Minnesota for its journey. Jake is pretty excited about getting up here on the 9th of march and is chomping at the bit. The passion he has for fishing is second to none , If he is not fishing he is watching fishing ,reading about fishing, talking about fishing, getting a fish tattoo, pretending he is fishing and in general wishing he was fishing. Tyler also has that passion and that’s all they do if hunt and fish. Buddy Hillmens another one, when the ice leaves the lake he will be heading to Alaska where he is going fishing. Its fishing for a living but its still fishing. Wayne is another. He is a little different though as he has caught so many fish it really does not matter its more about the relaxation it produces for him. Its just tranquil to him, it reminds him of all the time spent fishing with his dad. Now me I love the comradery of fishing, I want to fish with people and catch the biggest? Not the most just the biggest. I find it hard to fish by my self. All though once I get the line wet I’m fine . Taking out the boat by my self can be a chore ,but once I’m out there its very relaxing. Pre fishing for a guided trip ? I have been catching fish on this lake since I was 6 years old puking out the side of the boat with my dad egging me on. I still think he did it on purpose ? The greek was born to fish. If I could paint pictures one that stands out in my mind is a year I talked the greek into leaving his boat on the water un tell the last day possible. We had to pull a boat and a pontoon at the last minute as a big storm was coming with below zero temps to follow. I was standing at the end of the dock with the wind blowing 20 miles a hours out of the north east. With white caps in the back ground and that little boat bouncing off the dock the greek jumps in and was leaned over pulling the rip cord to start it. Giant snow flakes were going down his open collar with his jacket un zipped, waves splashing over the boat and he was right at home . Yes I would love to paint that picture. Where is the greek now? Spending time living on a boat in florida un tell he heads back to Alaska to do what? Time to get to work as I’m on a mission. The hammer wants to fish tonight and if any one can catch a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie out of old minnesota it is her.

Some days things do not click as you would expect. Old Minnesota was the last house I had to dig out. I have a system that works pretty good as long as you do not try and take short cuts. I can uu bank which ever side I’m towing from and one side of the house. In a pinch I can hook up and give it a good jerk/tug and she will break loose. The better way is to jack up the end I’m towing from dig out a small opening over half way under both sides and stand a 2×4 on its edge on both sides. For some reason I guess I got lazy and only put a 2×4 under one side. As you lower the house back down it cause a titter todder effect and the weight of the house breaks the other end loose. Then its just back up, hook up the chains and off we go. Old Minnesota is our heaviest house but with this procedure she comes out of the hole pretty easy. When I’m working alone once I pull out I stop and go retrieve the blocks and any other things that may of gotten left under the house. I walk back chip out the blocks and turn around and to my surprise the snow packed around the rack for the propane holding tank has half way torn out of the wall and also ripped the bottom 2x4s off and there are the 100 lb tanks held up off the ice by the lines. I quickly turned off the propane and evaluated the situation. I was able to stack a few 2x4s underneath the tanks to take the pressure off the lines and remove the lines and tanks. It was a little tough lifting them straight up though as they are heavy. I was then able to repair the rack with a good old hammer and re install the tanks. No its not quite over though. As I said it was one of those days. I go to grab my phone and darn if I can not find it? After spending quite a bit of time looking for it in both trucks ,kicking the snow around and I just could not find it. What a crappy feeling when you loose your phone. back to the project at hand and off I went towing old Minnesota to its new area. I would come back for the red baron later in the day. Once I arrived to the new area I had to un hook the house and prep a area with blue thunder instead of the red barons v plow. Then back to retrieve old Minnesota and pull it in to its spot. As I was blocking it up joel came over to see if I needed a hand. I said no I got it but I could use a ride back to the red baron as I had forgotten to grab the auger. I had transferred it into the red baron after I had opened up the edge of Buddy hillmens highway Tuesday. It was caked with snow when I put it in there and I had planned on bringing it in the shop to dry it off . When we arrived joel called my phone but we could not here it ringing and it did not go to voice mail so I new it had to still be somewhere warm. Once back to old Minnesota we again rang my phone, still could not here it. I then walked in to old Minnesota and there it was laying on the bed. What a relief. I prepped the house for auguring the holes and warmed up the augur and luckily I started where two holes go side by side because as I finished the first hole Number two augur kept running at full speed. Trying to handle a raging auger with a 18 inch extension can be a handful. I was able to get it back down on the ice and let it start drilling the second hole so I could turn it off. Wow what a day. I then headed home to pack up our gear for a night of relaxation fishing with the hammer and preparing a nice meal. Cornish game hens, mixed veggies and pasta. We watched a couple movies, lost a few fish that I think may of been elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies? I think I fell a sleep around 10 pm . The rattle wheels went off every couple hours all night long with a couple misses and a couple walleye landed. While making coffee Thursday morning just as the sun was coming up and the hammer landed a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. We had to pack it up soon after as I had some business in Bemidji. Tammy and Randy arrived out there yesterday afternoon as well as Duke last evening so I will see how they have done as I haul the rest of the fleet into the area. I’ll need both trucks out there again so I will see if Randy can give me a ride back to shore. Nothing is rented un till Monday but the hammer and I will be having dinner and movies out there every night all weekend long looking for the mother load

Trolling with old Minnesota? I told the hammer I will be moving old Minnesota on to fresh ice today. Tammy and Randy were up to 7 elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies. Duke was up to 5. Another group got 3 last night out of the same hole. Other then that there were less then a dozen fishermen hunting for these very elusive fish. Yesterday on my working vacation I headed out on the lake with blue thunder.to bring the rest of the fleet down the mile road I made to get to the area I wanted to fish. The reflection of the sun causes the one side of the shacks to melt into the ice a bit. each house had to be broken loose but that was not a big deal. As it started to snow. Every thing went smooth and I had them all over there in short order. I then ask randy if he could give me a ride to shore to get the red baron as both trucks are required to prep areas. The snow had picked up quite a bit. It had to be coming down more then a inch a hour. When we arrived onto Hillmens highway it was a full blown white out. Realizing it was dangerous and impossible to see we quickly turned around and headed back where I would be taking a nap in old Minnesota while wetting a line. Duke and his buddy were going out searching for the mother load and stopped by but they said I was sleeping like a baby. I did not sleep long and the rattle wheel awoke me. A couple misses and another elusive yet all most catchable upper red lake crappie was lost at the hole. Educated another one. It was then time to get back to work. Once I arrived back to old minnesota with the hammer I got back to work prepping a new area for montana as Marty and his sweetie shell are headed up this morning. Once I had montana blocked banked and all set up I headed back for another evening of movie watching, cooking dinner and maybe catching a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. When I stepped in the house the hammer was not happy as a fish got her new 6 dollar lure. She tried the rest of the evening to re catch that fish and get her lure back with no avail. Once marty arrives we will be heading out to augur out a couple holes in montana and I will sniff out a new spot for the hammer and I to enjoy another evening of fishing with friends on such a grand lake.

Just like that and another season is in the books. 79 days and nights on such a grand lake. Every year is different and again this year was different. With the late ice watching all the outfitters and resorts coming up with plan bees to accommodate there clients was very interesting. I had to start right in front of my place as that’s the only place I could find over 14 inches of ice. That shallow water bite can be fantastic and we did have a few nights of great fishing in 7 to 8 feet of water. Getting the houses out to buddy Hillmens highway was a challenge, but with my good friend Marty,s help we were able to improvise and get them over there with out going through Buddys southern berm. From there it was off to find the mother lode. Finding a good late night bite was brutal. Being we rent sleepers I would like the rattle wheels going off all night . We had some nights that the rattle wheels had to be pulled up but not what I have become accustomed to? I found some good fishy areas and the fish would refuse to bite? We slowly migrated out to deeper water driving over millions of fish to catch a few? The sunrises and sunsets never get old and again my phone is full of morning and evening pictures. The red barons v plow got a whole new face lift and was much needed as I demolished it last year chasing the very elusive but still catchable upper red lake crappie. Blue thunder two’s 2nd year on the lake and I could not be happier with its performance. What a great truck.” knock on wood” I expect to get a good ten more years out of her if not more. My good friend Wayne was able to come up every other weekend and we had some good laughs and epic cards games. Mother nature was very kind to us this year as every year is different. The houses flooded just about every ware we set up. Working on the lake everyday was a joy. there were a few cuss words now and then but that’s nothing new. I again met some great people that will or have become life long friends. My goal has always been to have repeat customers .That has worked out real fine as it sure is nice to see them year after year. I never stop learning new things on the lake and Buddy Hillmen taught me a few more things about running a ice road. Helping with Hillmens highway is a treat for me and its sure is nice being part of the team. I had a couple brain farts? One that really sticks out was when I pulled a truck out of the southern berm and then gave the guy my new tow strap and told him to drop it off at hillmens store when he was done with it. I learned a lesson there and will never offer my strap to another fishermen un less they ask. Marty has helped me two years in a row now and still has not experienced the wrath the red lake can produce. She sure can be a eye opener as Randy can attest to when we tried to get off the lake in a white out. We made the right decision and went back to the houses where we hunkered down. Wayne was totally amazed at the wife Kellie” the Hammer ” as she could come out to the houses day or night with all the confidence of a seasoned professional . My working vacation was just that as I went on the search for the mother load of the very elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. Randy and Tammy ended up getting 14 which was pretty darn good. All the houses managed to get a few here and there as I kept moving them . I never managed to land on the mother load like last year when the hammer and I got 27 in a hour and a half the last night old Minnesota was on the lake. Oh well there is always next year. This year I changed up gears and kept my mouth shut in preparation for my crappie hunt. The crew were all rolling in last Thursday and I did not want to be over whelmed with fishermen like last year. It could not of worked out better as the fishing was outstanding with over a hundred elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies caught and released to fight another year. Jake and Gabrial kept 4 for a meal. Ole kept 5 to take home. The hammer and I kept 7 total since the end of walleye season. Brady, Shawn, Wes, Joff kept a couple for a fish fry Saturday night. Florida, North Dakota and Montana all caught some elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappies after dark which was great to see. Old Minnesota had Don and his buddy and even after moving it Saturday it still did not produce a elusive upper red lake crappie. Don did land a dandy pike on his rod and reel and that may of been the reason there were no elusive upper red lake crappies under the house. Adam / Ginger ended up with only 4 and is still looking for that wall hanger. Tim and his son Leon managed to get 11. The guys in the white ice castle got 6 after I talked to them and gave the suggestion to move. Randy fished the exact same holes he fished where they got the 14 and got skunked. It sounded like Buddy Hillmen found the mother load with some clients / friends and caught 70 while his other group got 45 Saturday into the evening. Yesterday morning I headed out to bring the fleet home. The timing could not of been any better and it is such a relief to have them home and on shore. I slept like a baby last night as all the worries associated with having the houses and fishermen out there were gone for another year. The liter I picked up last year has been nothing like this year. Thank you fishermen as the word has got out that it will not be tolerated. All the outfitters and resorts are on board and not afraid to make a phone call if need be. It may sound kinda of funny but I’m hoping I can spend a few more days out there in blue thunder policing the lake for liter. There is nothing worse then seeing that crap floating in the water and washing up on the beach. I huge thank you goes out to all my customers as with out you I would have nothing to write about . As Dave the old timer said it a GRAND LAKE AND It Owes Me NOTHING! NOTHING!

Ole ,Marty and I are headed off to low to do some pike fishing tomorrow. Wish us luck

Thanks for all the effort doing the reports. Makes for interesting reading. I just don’t understand what slobs some people can be. Why would they spend money to go to a lake and then treat it like a dump? I just don’t get it.

I’ll look for more reports next year.

Great reports Cookie, I enjoyed reading every one of them. Our family had a blast in Florida this year, and we’ll see you again next year.

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.

Fall is in the air that’s for sure. Fall fishing for me here on upper red lake has not been the great fishing you always here about. I guess I have to think about pulling the boat and getting here put away for the year. I have been bow hunting this year after skipping a couple years here and there. I was treated to a rare occasion as this weekend I had 3 of my best friends here. The greek came up for a couple days. He moved to Alaska a few years back and started a new business. If you ever want to go to Alaska near Homer give me a shout as he is a outstanding host. From here he is headed to Florida where him and his sweet pie spend the next 5 months living on a 30 boat he purchased last year. Bob and the greek were high school friends and I have known them both for 39 years. Bob will be up for deer hunting next weekend as we prepped our hunting spots this weekend. Wayne comes up just about every other weekend. I have known him since the mid 80s when I painted cars. He is one of the best fishermen I know. He’s not into hunting at all. I had two good nights hunting out of my new used ground blind that the greek gave me this weekend. There’s good sign where I’m hunting so time will tell as I try and stick one with my recurve bow. The reservation books are starting to fill up which is always a relief. Having return customers has always been my goal so looking forward of seeing some of them again this year.

Are you still renting houses this year, Cookie?

Just like that and we now have ice here on the shores of upper red lake. I’ve walked out on the lake Friday to look at some ice that had piled up in front of our place. It in real shallow there and I should be able to plow right through it. With the snow that drifted around it was not frozen underneath at all. There is also quite a bit of it in front of Hillmen’s we will have to smash and move that asap as it will catch snow all year and just keep making a mess. Buddy has the road started and has been dragging it since Thursday. He all ready has it staked out quite a ways. I have not talked to him but I will assume wheelers will be aloud out this week. Adam was up yesterday with a few buddies and they only went home with 7 fish. I would guess there were 20 portables out there Saturday. Sounded like there were quite a few fishermen out of jrs. I stopped in westwind yesterday to check out the new bait shop. Wow its huge they sure know how to keep upgrading there resort. I guess that’s what makes them the premier resort here on the shores of upper red lake. Chris the owner of Rodgers also keeps upgrading and have put in a restraunt. I’m pretty sure they will be frying your catch and will be looking forward to having them cook up my catch .
Two of our trucks blue thunder and the red baron are ready to go once we can drive on the lake. Of course there are a few bugs to work out. I started blue thunder and moved it a half dozen times this summer. Fired up every time. 5 below Thursday morning hit the key and click nothing. Bad/dirty connection I would assume. We rewired the plow lights yesterday and I cleaned up the battery connections so we will see if that was the problem……….
I’ll be putting fresh propane’s on all the houses this week and getting them ready to come out of the woods. We have some guys coming for the cabin Friday, Saturday. I also expect Jake to be coming up with in the next ten days . With the cold weather sticking around were looking real good here on the shores of upper red lake.
I also have tried to create another face book page so check it out. cookies on upper red lake. Maybe this time it will work

I guess its the old adage careful want you wish for. We wanted cold and got -10 this morning. Mother nature reared her ugly side yesterday. The winds picked up out of the west and a few times it was white out conditions out there. From the looks of it winds out of the west and nw for the next 5 days at least. With the way the ice is building I expect I will be getting the houses on the lake with in the next 7 days. I guess I better put the golf clubs away. !0 below this morning and blue thunder clicked for just a sec and fired right up. The red baron also fired right up so those are good things for sure. I’ll be spending the day putting propane on all the houses, Old Minnesota, North Dakota, Florida, Montana and North Carolina. Still have openings in Jan. and Feb. has plenty of weekend dates open. I think I’m ready for all the hard work and Fun, Fun, Fun, on such a grand lake. I Know Wayne can not wait to play some poker in old Minnesota while on the lake and The hammer not only fishes well but is a darn good poker player. I’m looking forward to seeing my repeat customers and meeting new ones.
I also want to run the generators again and fire up number one and two augers.

Still trying to find my groove but had a pretty good day yesterday. I’m haunted with being a perfectionist so I fired up the heat in a florida and old Minnesota so I could give them another once over. Today I will do the same for the other 3 houses so there warm for tomorrows agenda. Man did the winds blow yesterday and accu weather is saying gust to 32 today. Zoiks is all I can say and happy the houses are still tuck in the woods at this time. 80 percent if not more of the snow on the lake is now on the shores of upper red lake. I expect there is some massive drifting around the stacked ice out there. sounds like a few fish are being caught but theres no way I would of wanted to be out there yesterday. Still trying to dial in our Cookie’s on upper red lake page so if you have time check it out and feel free to leave a comment so I can see if its working Thanks everyone and have a great day

Thanks I do enjoy sharing them,

Still working on the new face book page. I guess its a work in progress.
Yesterday after the bug blow for 30 or more house I spent 2 hours helping Buddy Hillmen clean up his landing. A good work out for blue thunder and the red baron. Had a little panic type attack as I was finishing with the v plow/red baron. It felt like I was over revving it and the tranny was slipping? Zoiks. I jumped out but everything looked good other then 5oo pounds of snow was stuck on the plow . I got her on the highway and everything shifted and felt fine so it must of been all that snow.
I then spent the next couple hours doing some work in old Minnesota and running my new generator from last year hooked up to the extra 5 gallon berg system? After 4 hours she stopped running? ERR. It fired right back up and I loosened the cap on the generator. I left it running and when I went down there at 8 pm it again was not running. Err again. Today I’m going to loosen the cap on the berg and again run it all day and night. If it dies again I will try raising the tank above the generator. If that does not work I may take it to acme and throw it through there window? just kidding but frustrating to say the least.
Put a new 32 inch tv in old Minnesota so that’s a nice upgrade. With this cold weather coming tonight and tomorrow the plan is to heat all the houses and make sure everything performs before there on the lake for the season. Were counting down the days and if everything goes as planned they will be coming out of the woods and onto the lake starting Monday morning. Then the real fun will begins as I come and go off this grand lake for the next 100 days or so.
I have heard of a few better fishing report from 2 very reliable friends? The first time I drop a line in, I will be in the comfort of old Minnesota if everything goes as planned.
Last night Westwind the premier resort on the shore of upper red lake had there customer appreciation. It was nice wishing a lot of locals merry Christmas and the drinks and appetizers were awesome. I have a couple friends and fishermen coming up to day brave the elements and do a little scouting for me to boot.

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Wow where to begin. Cold, Cold, Cold! Mother nature reared her head and cost me a little Christmas/ start up money as most of my fishermen and friends bailed at the last minute. I can’t blame them ther’e no way I would be out there 28 below with out transportation and a warm cozyhouse. Looking back though the greek and I suffered the wrath of mother nature a few times over our hunting and fishing when we were younger. Getting older either your wiser or its just to much work. I did have 3 guys show up. Gus, Joe and Dan stayed down at the lake. Younger guys and very nice. They have a buddie that has a hard house out of jrs and since it was not out they did the portable thing. Friday they did not fair well but Joe said they had a Blast and found some fish saturday eve. when it was 20 below to boot. Dan and his group were going to stay on the river lot so I got that all plowed and then they canceled. I think they were able to get there ice castle towed out on the lake. Just as I expected the fishing reports were much better, but that should be expected when there’s well over 2000 fishermen on the lake. I did hook up with ty tish and did a short video with him. If I was computer savvy I could put a link on here. T TISH Outdoors on facebook. Great guy and I get a kick out of his reports. I gave the generators a good work out and got them dialed in a both ran the houses all weekend with a load on them in the elements with no issue. I had to go back to what worked last year a blanket tucked around them, exhaust down wind and The burg system thrown in the shed for now. I went out side at 2:30 am when it was 28 below and fired up blue thunder. I left it running until 730am. The red baron must have 2 weak batteries as she did not start. I guess it should be a he since its the red baron. I put the trickle charger on it and di d not try and start it until late in the afternoon yesterday when he fired right up. So I put 2 batteries are on the Bemidji list.
The good news is all our deluxe houses are full for the weekends of januray . Our 2 man North Carolina is not rented much but will becoming out of the woods today and be the first one on the lake 3 years in a row. Then it will be florida, montana, north Dakota and following up the rear our heaviest house old Minnesota. I’m going to have to pace my self the next few days as my mentor cousin Pete taught me do not be in a hurry, be patient. My back is also bothering me and I’m looking for a helper for the season. They will be fishing a lot in the evening and morning as they have to float around in the houses through out the winter. They do get weekends off though. If any one knows a young buck that would like that give me a call and we can talk. Some of the duties. Driving the red baron ,auguring, holes, cleaning and vacuuming houses. moving the houses etc. knowing how to operate a shovel is huge lol. That’s about it other then still farting around with the new facebook page. Cookie’s on Upper Red Lake I also will be talking to Buddy Hillmen later today. I expect 3/4 tons out by this Wednesday or Thursday but we will see what he has to say. I know he has rentals out and may have some houses still open the weekdays after christmas

Busy Busy Busy! It took two days but all the houses are now on the lake. The few mishaps were to be expected but I guess it is like riding a bike. Dropped the front wheel of the red baron into the ice in 6 inches of water. The thing about it was I all ready had my route. But I wanted to see if it froze where I had cleared some of the snow that had drifted there? Had to have the hammer come down with Blue thunder and drive while I pulled her /him out. After I got Florida out there and checked one lite bulb had vibrated loose and was shattered on the carpet. North Dakota could of maybe came out a little easier but it was sitting in a small depression. Blue thunder never revved over 3500 rpm so no big deal there, Some times you have to give its a little power.
I had a taker on looking for a helper. He is showed up yesterday morning. I Real nice Kid. His name is Jim but he might end up with a nick name if he stays around to long. I put him on probation and told him we would be in training all day. Things went well and we came off the lake just at sunset..” A Tid Bit” He pounded on the fish the night before.
I did have a cancelation for one of our houses. Jan 6th ,7th for old Minnesota 2 double beds.
Today we have Cody and his buddies fishing in north Dakota for 2 nights and Jess and his crew in florida. A good friend Pat may also show up to do a little fishing and give me a helping hand if need be. Nice to have good friends. I will be pre fishing old Minnesota. Its something I do not do to often but Wayne is coming and he does not care. I don’t like fishing In a house before the customers arrive. Some time it does happen but I go out of my way to not let it happen. Funny
I’ll be touching base with Buddy Hillmen and get the scoop on vehicle traffic this morning. Gotta go its time to auger 9 holes and do a final prep before the guys arrive. Itching to get out there on a grand day on a “Grand lake that owes me nothing”

Well sorry that its been a couple days since I have been able to blog. Still spending to much time when I get on facebook. Getting distracted I guess, plus trying to dial it in. It says I’m not getting any hits on our web page Cookiesonupperredlake.com so trying to figure that out. Plus allot of plusses here .
Every thing went pretty smooth Wednesday as I prepped for Jess and his buddie, They just stayed in florida one night. Not so good though as they only landed two fish. They did cook them up so at least they got to have a fresh fish dinner. Cody and his crew arrived right on time and I escorted them out to north Dakota .After getting them taken care of is was off to old Minnesota to prep for the hammer as we were going fishing. As I was coming off the lake just at sunset I drove through a slush pocket on hillmen”s highway. I turned around to check it out and drove through another one off the road? Very weird as there was no snow drift, or rough ice? I decided to clean the slush off the road and that turned into a can of worms as the snow slush was so wet it just turned into a big rolling ball of wet snow .I spent 20 minutes cleaning it up so it would freeze down . It work perfect as it was froze down the next morning. The ice had a brownish look to it?
The hammer and I had a great first night fishing and having dinner in old Minnesota. Just as I set down to eat the rattle wheel went off. I’m now one up on her as I did land the only fish of the evening. We called her quits and I checked on the guys as we headed in. Both houses were slow but every body was comfortable. I never heard from pat so I assumed he was a no show. When we pulled in he was sitting in the driveway napping. He had called the house but did not know it was not my cell. He had a rear wheel come off on the way up and he said it went sailing / rolling off the road through the ditch across a frozen field and stopped in the woods in a bunch of thick brush. I got him out to motana and got back home well after 11 when I planned on being in bed by 10.
Jess and Zax headed home early, they said they enjoyed the house and may try and make it back again . North Dakota was also slow so I told them we would be moving the house at 1. Pat had better fishing and landed 4 or 5 with a 34 inch pike around 10 am on a rattle wheel. He said last night that made the trip. He also helped me move north Dakota for a nice discount which was great as it goes soo much quicker with help. I guess I’m out of practice a bit though as when I came out of the hole I lost my momentum and spun the tires. When hat happens it digs a hole in the ice and your done. After unhooking and moving over a foot we were off again. Stopping in last night and they were up to 6 so the move paid off. Another busy day today as Wayne will be up to hold down the fort in old minnesota while the hammer and I go down to the cities to see the kids for Christmas. I also took a few minutes to go see my old customer / friend Kirk. He jumped ship years ago and got hooked up with steve and tyler from bear paw. I always go track him down when he is here to say hi and shake his hand I always know when he is here because he reports on lake state fishings forum. He loves upper red lake and plans on spending a lot more time here when he retires in 16 months on such a grand lake. Its a busy day again here as I need to get a better lay of the lake as if we get this snow they are predicting all the rough ice will be hiding out there. Buddy Hillmen is allowing 3/4 trucks but no diesels. Please drive slow on the lake and do not go beyond the orange cones, there there for a reason Every one have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and do a no snow dance for upper red lake