Resort suggestions please.

Hello all. I hope this finds you all happy and well. Looking for resort recommendations for myself and a group of other older Firefighters and Medics. Fishing experience and capability will vary. Boat rentals are going to be a must for some, at least I believe so. Looking for fertile waters in Wisconsin or MN probably, not opposed to MI, but do not want to go as far north as the U.P.. Travel distance not really that big of a deal probably. Lake or Chain of Lakes, easy to navigate for the novices. Fish should include panfish (gills/sunnies/ringers/maybe crappies), bass, walters, etc.. Not looking for really “Big Water” like Mill Lacs, etc.. Nice quiet old school resort would be great. Cabins, bar on site would be great, kitchens, Air conditioning etc. Not looking to break the bank, does not have to be fancy. Docks for boats, power at or near docks. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to know. Thank you all.

Depending how big of a group and what kind of boats you wanna rent. Any resorts on vermilion meet that need. Look at the bars on the lake, spring bay resort, head of the lakes are close to one. Steve at SB has the best rental fleet, IMO. Vermilion dam lodge will treat you well with wolf bay right next door. Guides are a plenty on the lake if needed.

PM sent.

Whitefish chain, woman lake, big sandy, otter tail, osakis, there are so so many.

After selling our camper. We have just gotten back into Resorting it. So not familiar with many. But I would recommend not waiting. January boat shows fill dates very quickly. Friend of mine waited a few years to get a week on Kabetogama. Think someone finally died. Hopefully Canada opening will loosen things up a little. We booked May and September this year. When we left last September. And we go offseason.

I normally go northeast of Ely to Snowbank Lake with a group. Looking to not drive quite that far and try something different with this group. More fertile waters, more panfish. May go to Snowbank also, it is absolutely beautiful and full of cool wildlife. We had a bear run through our Cabin area and had a Bobcat outside our Cabin there a few years ago. And holy Grouse! In the 1980’s my Mom and another single Mother would take all us kids up by Hayward to Reel Livin’ Resort. Each family would have their own cabin. It was awesome. Bar on site. Game room for kids. Pan fishing for us kids was great. I googled it and it is still in operation. Prices are consistent with all the other places. Boat rentals are available for those who do not have one. And judging by the pics, it does not look too much different than what it was in days past. May go that route.

Did you notice Teal, Lost and Ghost are quiet lakes. 10 hp limit with no jetskis or waterskiing. We stayed on Ghost 2 years ago. Fishing wasn’t great. But beautiful and quiet. Go check out bar at Ghost Lake Lodge. Lodge has really cool old school Wisconsin feel. We gave thought going back to try Teal or Lost. Bait shop said they are better fishing. Lakes are shallow with lots of weeds. Lots of other lakes close by.

Thanks Steve! Im ok with quiet lake thing. As long as I can idle with my boat, I am good by this. I believe I will be able to find a fish or two. Sounds like Lost Lake is a good Musky lake, I personally hope that I do not catch a single one. lol. I always end up bleeding one way or another. Illinois has stocked them in most public lakes. I do not fish for them. My ex F.I.L. and I caught 11 one day when fishing a fun bass tournament. None were big. Got them in the boat and they played possum for about a minute, then they went wacko, like having the Tasmanian Devil loose in the bottom of the boat. LOL. Another day on another State Lake bass fishing in April with a friend who was not a bass guy, I caught multiple muskies. My buddy was miffed. Finally I saw one stationed off of a down fall and told him to cast there. He could not see the fish, probably not wearing polarized sunglasses. He cast his bass sized spinnerbait where I told him and the fish struck. It jumped multiple times next to the boat, but did not come unbuttoned. We were both drenched due to the fish jumping. We landed the fish, 48 inches! He was super happy. I just wanted to get back to bass fishing, it was prespawn and we were catching some good ones, 6 lbs. I will say he got lucky, using an Ugly Stick I lent him with 10 lb test. My channel cat rig. lol. He did not know how to cast a baitcaster. lol. There were some Musky guys on the lake that day, casting huge Musky baits. 2 of the boats approached us and asked what we were throwing. I showed them our rigs, typical 3/8 oz spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits. Both boats called us liars and left. lol. We did not even have rods or reels in my boat capable of casting their baits. Tunnel vision ruined their day. lol. I was even catching Muskys on texas rigged tubes and 1/4 oz bass jigs. They wanted small that day. We still giggle about that.

There’s a ton of options, but you will likely run into booking issues if you are looking for next summer. A lot of these Mom and Pop places get the same people back for the same week every year. Royal Starr Resort is very nice on 5th and 6th Crow Wing, no bar, but close to Nevis and Park Rapids which have lots of food options. There’s a ton of other options in the Park Rapids area, and it’s a tough area to beat!

I loved the Quiet Lake concept. Wish they would do it on more lakes. We visited the other 2 lakes. Honestly the motor thing is not an issue. On Ghost, you could leave the dock with a trolling motor and fish all day. I have a 9.9 kicker I used. But a guy fishing off the dock did better than I did one day out of my boat.

Hub’s Riverbend Inn in Trego has good food on the way or back from Hayward. Or little road trip while your there.

stevenoak wrote:

Hub’s Riverbend Inn in Trego has good food on the way or back from Hayward. Or little road trip while your there.

Thanks Steve. Appreciate this. There used to a place up there, with a lumberjack theme I believe. All you can eat fried chicken and the fixens served family style. Ring a bell? May not even still be in existance.

BigWerm wrote:

There’s a ton of options, but you will likely run into booking issues if you are looking for next summer. A lot of these Mom and Pop places get the same people back for the same week every year. Royal Starr Resort is very nice on 5th and 6th Crow Wing, no bar, but close to Nevis and Park Rapids which have lots of food options. There’s a ton of other options in the Park Rapids area, and it’s a tough area to beat!

Appreciate this! I have not made any decisions yet. Will look into the Park River Rapids area though. Is it in WI?

stevenoak wrote:

Did you notice Teal, Lost and Ghost are quiet lakes. 10 hp limit with no jetskis or waterskiing. We stayed on Ghost 2 years ago. Fishing wasn’t great. But beautiful and quiet. Go check out bar at Ghost Lake Lodge. Lodge has really cool old school Wisconsin feel. We gave thought going back to try Teal or Lost. Bait shop said they are better fishing. Lakes are shallow with lots of weeds. Lots of other lakes close by.

stevenoak wrote:

Did you notice Teal, Lost and Ghost are quiet lakes. 10 hp limit with no jetskis or waterskiing. We stayed on Ghost 2 years ago. Fishing wasn’t great. But beautiful and quiet. Go check out bar at Ghost Lake Lodge. Lodge has really cool old school Wisconsin feel. We gave thought going back to try Teal or Lost. Bait shop said they are better fishing. Lakes are shallow with lots of weeds. Lots of other lakes close by.

Steve, is it 10 HP or 10 MPH?

robby wrote:

Appreciate this! I have not made any decisions yet. Will look into the Park River Rapids area though. Is it in WI?

Nope Northern MN, about an 8 hour drive from the Quad Cities.

robby wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>stevenoak wrote:</div>
Hub’s Riverbend Inn in Trego has good food on the way or back from Hayward. Or little road trip while your there.

Thanks Steve. Appreciate this. There used to a place up there, with a lumberjack theme I believe. All you can eat fried chicken and the fixens served family style. Ring a bell? May not even still be in existance.

You might be thinking of Pine Ridge on Lake Sissabagama, just south of Hayward.
There is no longer a resort (cabins were all sold off), but the restaurant is still going strong. Only restaurant I’ve ever seen people tailgate in the parking lot while waiting to get in. And the food is worth the wait. All you can eat fish fry on both Friday and Sunday because they can’t get enough people in just one night. $16.50 for all you can eat of some of the best fish (fried or broiled), broasted chicken (which is amazing), choice of potato, cole slaw and fry bread, as well as one complimentary glass of wine, yes, it’s served family style. They have a full menu other days, which is supposed to be excellent also, but I’ve never made the trip for anything other than the fish fry. Definitely in my top 3 restaurants of ALL TIME.

I used my 9.9. But it seemed some other boat ran bigger motors at no wake. Just looked it up. It is a 10mph limit. Buddy has a cabin in Trego. Think it takes him about 7 hours not pulling a boat. Lakes are about another 20 or 30 minutes as I remember. Also below the Hub is a tube and kayak rental on the river. Interesting watching all the folks coming and going.

carver wrote:

Depending how big of a group and what kind of boats you wanna rent. Any resorts on vermilion meet that need. Look at the bars on the lake, spring bay resort, head of the lakes are close to one. Steve at SB has the best rental fleet, IMO. Vermilion dam lodge will treat you well with wolf bay right next door. Guides are a plenty on the lake if needed.

Appreciate this. I think we are looking for smaller water, with most everything right on site at the home Resort. We will cook most of our meals. Fishing will be part of this trip, and the better the fishing the better. But, good friends, good food, decent fishing, relaxation. Some of the guys going have never been hard core fishermen, but like to fish. Some others have fished tournaments for various species etc.. Some days get up early and fish, some days no. Some days stay out fishing late or at night, some not. Just however it rolls. Appreciate your insights though. Great suggestion if I were bringing a different group.

This place I remember, looking back 40 years. lol. We all ate at community tables, like picnic tables. It was fairly loud. Depending on where you were seated, you might eat next to a stranger. No mind for me. We are all there for the same thing. It was a fairly big joint. Long tables, maybe even picnic style tables. Anyways, if this sounds familiar let me know. Please. Carry on.

Zups Resort is a very cool experience … go to Crane Lake, get on a launch then onto an island where a bus takes you 4 wheeling across a portage to another launch that takes you to the resort on an island at Lac LaCroix. Indian guides are there to put you on fish … trophy or just eaters. Walleyes, SMB, crappies, pike and Lake Trout. I haven’t been there for a couple decades, but it was the trip of a lifetime that I did 4 or five times and never regretted it. Accomodeations are not plush, just kinda old-style fish camp, but plenty of good food and friendly folks that know what you are there for … catch fish!

zupsresort.com

Sure sounds like Pine Ridge. As I mentioned previously, it’s no longer a resort, just a restaurant. It’s on Lake Sissabagama, near Stone Lake, south of Hayward.

There is one pic of the old portion of the restaurant that shows the picnic table seating near the stone fireplace.

pineridgewi.com is the website

Thanks all!