After 95 days it may be time to throw in the towel, with the sun shining, above 40 degree days coming the shoreline can get pretty torn up in a very short time. Dusty has one or two more guide trips and I’m sure is ready to get back home to his family. I’ll get out as the snow melts to collect our road markers and any other things I may find. I did see a tip up frozen into the ice but might not be able to get that out in one piece only time will tell. Back in the crappie boom we were water skipping to get on good ice man to be young again there is no way I would attempt that anymore, but the pull of the elusive but still catchable upper red lake crappie can almost possess a person. I’ve witnessed many many times. They are just a one-of-a-kind fish you just do not see anywhere else. The colors are amazing if you hold them in the sunlight. The thickness as thick as a 2by4. Almost everyone over 13 inches shaped like a cast-iron pan
The memories are just too many to list. It’s always fun to look at my archives and read some of the stories. There is so much I have not shared do to trying to be politicly correct, or not stir the pot makes me want to write a book.
A huge thank you goes out from my heart to all the customers over these years, with any luck I will have many more years to come. As long as I can walk, I will give my best to be on this grand lake during the ice season. My memory is nothing like it used to be but were still making new memories, the belly laughs just keep coming, the thrill of the chase, the smile on customers faces, meeting new customers making new friends, seeing returning customers, having plan A turn to plan B or C makes me feel we have been doing something right.
All the help I’ve had over the years we could not have done any of this without you. Darrin building blue thunder one, Bill building blue thunder 2. cousin Pete being my mentor selling me the red baron. Big Tony covering my back, Dan helping us move houses, Mel feeding us, the Greek pitching in to get started. My brother Warren for making all this happen, Jonny boy for all the hard work having bigger dreams then I ever had. Ashly and Justin for stepping up and helping. The biggest thank you has to go to the Hammer to put up with me for 48 years and counting.
The last 14 days of fishing has been all over the board with California having the magic moment of catching his 10 in the house, there still schools of fish that can come under the house at any time just ask Mel. All the guides have been killing them this year. They put in the work drilling 100s of holes a day looking for the motherlode. Then being rewarded with giving customers what could be the best fishing of their life’s.
Jake was up and caught over 15 in north Dakota he still hoping to make one more trip.
I took a drive out there today everything I saw on the ice is still in great shape. The main berms from the main roads are the biggest concern do not do not try to cross them they have sank from the weight of the snow one to the north of our road the other south of hillmans road if you want to be out further to the north you have to go beyond the end of the main roads. There was a very active crack around 6 miles west again an area not to cross even if you see someone’s tracks it’s still a bad idea to cross. There are still hard drifts and bare ice on the lake you can pick and choose your way out or follow the main tracks next to the old road. Soon the sun will soften the snow then it feels like you’re driving through mash potato’s. Once the shoreline softens up, we will shut her down to save our landing getting torn up. Another great season on a grand lake that owes us nothing is coming to a end