Mille Lacs current conditions 1-5-05

I just visited with George at Hunters Point Resort on the eastside of Mille Lacs. He said the lake roads busted up near shore last night. They are working on moving some bridges and trying to get some vehicles off the lake. He told me that as of right now only ATV and Snowmoblies will be allowed out untill things change. I also know that Fishers have shut down their access to vehicles as of this morning.

Plan on bringing up the atv or sled if you are coming up to Mille Lacs in the next couple of days. Also I would suggest a call to your resort that you are planning to access from for the most current lake conditions.

Lets all hope for some colder temperatures!!! Teens are in the forecast for the evening overnite temperatures…..that’s an improvement!

It was the cold weather that did that last night. Several Pressure ridges NW side heaved a little last night also. That is going to happen when you get a change in temperature.

We are very lucky this year to have the stable ice we have had. The good news is the fish are still biting

thanks for the report. Are they the same spots that have been causing problems all year again, or new ones?

I don’t know about the East side but the West and NW it is the same old spots. Some didn’t move last night and some heaved up more. When you get a drop in temp the ice heaves and when it warms up, they contract. It is this movement that keeps the water open in a pressure ridge. I really hate dealing with pressure ridges but that is part of fishing Mille Lacs.

Man! Not what I wanted to hear.
I have a shack at George’s place there and
was planning on putting out this weekend.

Thanks for the report.

My Brother just talked to George at Hunters he said a truck just went through half way, in front by his bridges. I just talked to him and he said snowmobiles and 4 wheelers can still go out. sounds like he was driving where he wasn’t supposed to be. Just need to be carefull, and follow the roads.

That is usually the case when someone goes it. There are still trucks running all over the mud today. I just checked on the guys I have out fishing.

Scott, how are they getting out to the mud?

Marty just shut down Liberty’s access as well ….also heard Fishers is closed.

Wheelers and sleds only til further notice.

From the NW side, you have your choice of lake roads over there. As of yesterday they were all open still. I am not on the ice this AM so I can’t tell you if anything changed or not.

Myr Mar closed their’s to atv/sled only. Garrison sports closed to atv/sled only. Twin pines – open to trucks but no pull behind houses. Terry’s boat harbor open to everything.

where is everyone lauching out of to get to some of the southern mud flats? thats where i’m going tonight, and would rather not make the trip all the way from Terry’s boat harbor. i will be driving and pulling a shack.

I’ve been saying it in other posts and I’ll keep on it. If you’re going off the plowed roads a ways, don,t do it in your truck no matter how big your tires are I saw numerous vehicles plowing through 12 inches of slush and I’m surprised he still had his shroud. Saw two guys get buried pulling their houses. Its just not a good idea. Wheelers and sleds will get you anywhere you want on the lake safely as of yesterday.

We went out of Fisher’s with the truck today. They have roads out about 5-6 miles but nothing to the center reefs.

I just got home from the pond and am glad to report that the lake actually made ice last night!!

All resorts with open roads are still posting 10 MPH speed limits on their roads.

I also heard that there are several (3) trucks sitting on the bottom of the lake out from Hunters today!! First one went thru earlier this week, second one went thru when he drove thru the posted area not paying attention to the stakes, and the third went thru trying to recover the second one!

Until we get some colder weather, stay on the open roads or only travel by ATV or sled. NO FISH IS WORTH YOUR LIFE!!!

Went out of Hunters on Sunday. As posted above George did have a truck go in earlier in the week. Unfortunatly the tow truck went in while pulling him out a couple days later. It’s now sitting in 10ft of water.

It is still atv or snow mobile only until they get the new cracks to heal. Be sure to check in before you head out. As of yesterday AM they had a couple roads closed to all traffic.

Returned from Mille Lacs yesterday. Accessed the lake at Hunter’s Point. Fishing was slow but productive. It appeared a truck had tried to cross the pressure ridge off the marked road and bridge. It was a costly decision for the driver. Other anglers said that his truck went in the drink.

We had a good 12″ of solid ice at about 1 mile out. We accessed on sleds and felt very safe at this thickness. Be safe and be smart. Drive slow and stay on the roads.