Day 32 January 17, 2009

Day 32,
Jake headed home Thursday morning with his three walleyes. We moved California twice looking for a hot bite. Jake liked the new spot so we will see how Tony and Nells do this weekend.
Dale, Elaine, Tammy and Zorro fished Montana 3 nights with very limited success. We eve moved Montana the third day. Florida was also on a new spot for Jr and his two buddies. They caught over 25 fish and went home with there 3 a piece.
Dennis and his crew arrived early yesterday morning. They did not mention they were also bringing a wheel house so we had to wait until later in the day to plow them a spot.
When I checked in with them last night they had just got back from Westwind. Two were passed out and they had one line in at prime time? I wonder how many fish they will catch.
Susy, Wayne and their two boys had all caught one fish and had two in the bucket when I stopped in last night. Pat and Todd two of my best customers had landed four. Todd has graphs and charts of all the fish they have caught over the years and it is quite interesting to see the trends. They plan on taking advantage of Westwind deal on cooking fish and plan on going in for a fresh fish fry today.
Bummer the guys in Utah never showed what a shame as we had many calls for this weekend. Jordon and his crew roll in for Montana and Tony was going to pre-fish it last night on its new spot. We are fishing in an area that has small rocks and boulders
it seems if you get to far away from them the fishing really slows down. Tony is out 8 miles and we will see how they do in the muck bottom later today.
It’s nice to wake up with the temps above 0 but now we will be dealing with snow and wind. It’s amazing how much another person helping makes things run smoother. I will be scouting out a few new areas where they may be a crappie or two hiding so we will see if that pans out. The guys in the cabin may need a fish house if the weather turns bad. So we will move New York our day house further out. Mike and his crew will be rolling in at 7 and I have an area all picked out for them. Then John and his family will also be rolling in and need a spot plowed. Another busy day ahead.

Day 28 January 13, 2009

Brrrrr -38 this morning was a little to much for blue thunder. I’ll hopefully get it running a bit later.
Jake and Tony have been here since Sunday helping me and what a treat to get everything moved on fresh spot before this cold snap. They also have pre-fished two houses with good walleye action and a 30 inch pike.
I do have a couple of couples coming today.
I now have the houses spread out a bit more and we will see if that helps get more action.
We again have a full house coming this weekend and our goal is to keep everything running which I already dropped the ball on blue thunder.
With the guys help I may even fish a bit more this week.

Day 22, January 7, 2009

Day 22 and it’s impossible to ever take a day off which is fine with me. I’m always a day behind though and there’s always something that’s unplanned to deal with. Hopefully Bruce, Tubby and Brian caught some fish in Montana and I do not have to worry about letting them fish in another house. It’s always been a problem of mine putting fishermen in a house that may be burned out. If we could have the houses on some sort of structure I think the houses would stay fishy longer.
The way the snow is piling up I would suggest guys bring portables if they would like a better chance at crappies.
I sent a few guy out of Hillmen’s last weekend. Mitch and his two buddies caught 4, Keith got 3 or more. Another guy hammered the walleyes. So they are still a few to catch. Hillmen’s is still your best bet to get into the best crappie grounds although I will keep scouting for them. We managed to catch a few stragglers at 3.7 miles out of Agassiz but never any numbers. Not sure why its just one here or there wish I could figure it out.

I should have all the houses out of that area by the end of the day and there’re trails all over the place from the Red Baron. Who knows maybe there’s a school in that area and I never landed on top of them. The lure of Upper Red Lake is in my blood. Kellie the wife will be tickled pink to land a couple this year. She gets so mad when I can not put the house on a crappie for her. Well I have plenty to do before light so I better get busy.

Day 21, January 6, 2009

I earned my money today. After opening up a trail to California and Minnesota I was back home to meet Bruce and his two friends and get them checked into Montana then off to get California. When I pulled it into that spot last Thursday I had a heck of a time and paid for it today as she was froze in pretty good. It took quite the doing but as the sun went down I was on the road heading to a new area.
I still have not had time to retrieve my sled and it sounds like Kelly P may have ploughed out to it. With so much going on all I can do is hope its safe until I can get out there. It’s not abandoned just broken and stranded at the time. I think it was much safer before a road was ploughed to it but how was he supposed to know.
Tomorrow is another super busy day as Pat and his crew will be rolling in Thursday for 4 houses and my goal was to have them all on new spots. Then Friday Idaho and California have customers. Plus we have New York rented Saturday and again Sunday. Then let’s not forget Mother Nature lurking to do her damage.

Day 18, January 05, 2009

Man oh man – 23 this morning. Is it just me or is Mother Nature giving me the smack down? The morning will be spent getting all the equipment up and running. I will have to wait for the weather to warm before we do any serious work today.
Jake had a few buddies show up yesterday so it was like hey guys if you want you can fish in Idaho. Being a new house it needs to be seasoned and catch some fish. After taking a peek inside they were all over that and kicked back, caught some fish and for a little bonus enjoyed the or “how you look at it” not enjoyed the Vikings game. It would have been nice if the Vikings could have won while they were fishing.
I have a few things Jake will be taking care of today that I never seem to have time to do. We have a big crew coming Thursday and again I would like all the houses on fresh ice.
The rocket needs to be rescued to get that off my mind. California will take some doing to dig out as we vacate that area. There was just enough crappie out in that area to keep me interested but its time to go to better fishing grounds.
The area we have Montana, Utah, and Idaho has been pretty good but in the back of my mind I wonder if it’s going to burn out. I think there’s plenty of room to make my way west from there as east has only produced bigger fish.
While Wayne was here we were able to play the game Wii, what a hoot. Kellie was undefeated in bowling going 5 and 0
I was able to spank Wayne in one round of golf but the fun game was tennis man did I ever laugh. I stubbed my toe twice in Old Minnesota on a chair before I had the common sense to throw the chair out of the fish house. It would be real fun to play the Greek as he loves tennis. Well I have paper work to do so better get busy.

Day 16, January 03, 2009

Man oh man was it nice having help yesterday. We hit the lake at 8am as the sun was coming up. Our first plan of attack was to plow out the people I had set up before the big blow on Thursday and prep a new area for at least 3 houses. What a beautiful morning we were rewarded with. As the Greek cut us a new trail he marveled at the beauty of the pristine day. The snow we stirred up created an awesome rainbow and the Greek loved life driving the Red Baron.
With a plan in our head I grabbed Utah while the Greek prepped our new fishy area. Once we finished Utah we went to retrieve Montana and check on the guys in California and Wayne in Old Minnesota. While we were prepping Montana Wayne caught another crappie. Darn the luck, as I was ready to vacate that area. After finishing Montana I decided I would just put Minnesota on a new spot as Kellie and I were going to fish with Wayne and Kellie loves having a chance at a crappie and can care less about a bottom feeding walleye.
As We met Andy and his crew of 6 and Pete and his crew of 4 I escorted them to there houses as the Greek went to the end of the road to plow a spot for Chuck and his buddies and there hard houses. I then met the Greek and we cut a new trail to New York.
I told Pete and his crew I would move the house today if the action did not pick up. We may of paid for that glorious day yesterday as they are predicting some more nasty weather today.
While we were prepping Montana for the move and the Greek wanted to bust through the snow bank to the north to get into some favorite area’s but I told him that may be a bad idea as it looks as though it has sank.
I sent a couple of groups out of Hillmens and one group caught 2 crappies while the others caught at least 3. Just like last year there were quite a few smaller walleye 10 inches living with the crappies. It is very frustrating not being able to fish out there.

Day 15, January 2, 2009

As I headed out on the lake yesterday I stopped at all the spots I had people fishing. Thad was in the closest and had limited action with 4 keepers in the bucket. Joe Jenson rolled in late and had a nice flurry in the morning but only landed one keeper. Phil and his wife son did the best with 5 keepers. Brian’s spot was not very good at all. I fished with Wayne for a bit last night and landed one just under 17 and Wayne lost another at the hole. We also were marking fish which was a god sign.
Rob and the guys in California were not doing well even after I put them on a fresh spot. They did have some action though and were marking fish that would not bite.
Mother Nature slapped me in the face yesterday. After prepping three areas to move Minnesota, Montana and California I headed in to get blue thunder, About the time I arrived back the wind and light snow was playing havoc on the areas I prepped. I was not a happy camper as I struggled to get California to its new location. What normally takes under two hours turned into over three hours. I had no choice but to throw in the towel and coma home after I got Rob and his crew in California. Joe and his group are drifted in as well as Phil and his wife and kid. I will be heading out at day light to open up a new trail for them and then do my best to get Montana, Utah and old Minnesota into new areas.
I placed Utah close to the road so I could grab it on the way in. That turned into a hassle as that trail had drifted in. I open up a new spot and left it there and when I came back later that trail was also drifted in, very frustrating to say the least. Oh well today is another day. The Greek will be helping me today, so at least I will have both Blue Thunder and The Red Baron at my disposal at the same time.

Day 14, Wow

It has been quite a interesting few days. The fishing has not been spectacular and I was a little disappointed in the action since Sunday. With one big group in Florida and California for two days they figured they each caught 6 fish. There were two crappie caught with the second one escaping down the hole. I did move Utah for the guys and the fishing picked up a bit for them with fresh holes with another bonus crappie caught. Pat lost his glasses down a hole. Rob and his buddy were in Minnesota for two days and only caught a couple of fish. They also headed out on a adventure one day but did not fair well out deeper either. Kellie said they called and wanted to say thanks again they had a awesome time.
Kevin and his family were in Montana on Sunday and they also had slow fishing.. Kirk and Bob were in Florida last night and Kirk called to say they had 2 keepers and another bonus crappie.
I have Thad and DJ fishing in shallow, Phil and his family out a little further, Joe Jenson out just past a mile and Brian just past 2 miles. I will be checking in with all them to see if there is a better area to start moving the fleet.
It has been a very busy for me. The little dusting of snow we had Sunday turned into 4 inches and threw a wrench in all my plans. Blue thundered developed a antifreeze leak and in the process of repairing it I had a antifreeze shower. Yesterday we woke up to 28 below.
I now have the v-plow on the red baron and will be cutting some new trails, just do not know which way at this time. We are limited to going to the north with the giant snow berm. That only leaves us to head west or southwest at this time.
We have also added a new deluxe house to the fleet Idaho.
It is a very heavy house but has some nice amenities. Brian, Dean and Matt are working out the bugs and I will start booking it as the phone calls come in.
As far as I know it will have satellite TV for the football fans with two TVs, and running water, but I may not mess with that. We will see. Four single beds and it is 10×18. It has a two burner cooker, 8 holes, indoor biffy, ceiling fan, lights and electricity. Well it’s time to hit the lake as I prepare to move all the houses in the next 24 hours. Let’s hope the fishing gets a little better.

Day 12, December 29, 2008

I have been on the lake 12 days in a row now. Old Minnesota, California, Florida and Montana were all moved Friday and Saturday. I kept Utah on the same spot just to see if the fishing would die out there or still be good as the house had only been fished on the 19 and 20th and they did rather well.
Chris, Gordy and Phil rolled in Friday afternoon and fished at the end of Agassiz road. They did not have much luck there even though the grandkids and Phil we 20 yards away fishing in New York catching a couple of fish.
John Weston fished by Utah with his dad Jim and his son. They had on and off action both days and went home with there 9 fish plus ate a couple. Chris and his crew moved over behind Utah and headed home with there 15 as there were five of them. Lee and Sherry were up just for Saturday and fished Utah. They did not do to well as they just could not hook them. Lee said they marked a lot of fish but they were lookers?
Jerald and his crew are here for 3 nights and I told them we will move Utah today if they did not do well last night.
Pat, Ryan and Steve are in Old Minnesota they also showed up Saturday afternoon .When I checked with them Sunday morning they had caught 20 walleyes and two yes two bonus crappies Sunday morning.
With all the houses occupied last night when I made the rounds it was a little slow? It seems to be a fishy area so not sure what happened. I guess that’s fishing. Johnny boy, Big Tony and Joel fished New York at the end of the road and got 6 keepers late Saturday afternoon. Joel said it shut down at dark. Big Tony wants to come up and help me out this winter. He’s a big guy and would be a lot of help.
California had a furnace problem and we had to put on a new regulator and thermostat in it. Blue Thunder has been acting up in the transfer case. I will have to do some research on that. It felt good moving the houses Friday and Saturday. It went fairly well but there may have been a cuss word here or there as it is still hard work.

December 18, 2008

Today was another busy day. I had to pick the Red Baron up as I had the lock outs rebuilt and a cooling sensor had gone out. I then packed up a few things and took Utah out to a secret spot. Again it was a busy day but all five sleepers Old Minnesota, Montana, Florida, California and Utah are ready to go. Frank and his crew will be arriving around 10 am with Barb and her husband pulling in around 2 pm. Then it will be a late night when Adam and his crew roll in around 10 pm. I also would like to get both of our day houses New York and Colorado on the lake Saturday. Still not sure about bringing out Alaska but I have a feeling it will be on the lake sometime after Jan.1rst. It was quite busy out there today as rentals were going out on the lake most of the day.
I will have a great fishing report this weekend as we host close to 30 fishermen over the weekend. Let the fun begin.