A good weekend

[cookie]

Well it turned out to be a pretty good weekend. Norm and his crew went home with fish and enjoyed eating a few while they were here. Jake and Jenny managed to catch enough to take kellie and I out to dinner after fishing from 2 to 6 saturday night. Jake said the rattle wheels went off every hour all night long with the biggest fish a 22 .
I hung out with Jake part of yesterday and every where we set up I measured 13 inches of ice. All three spots we tried produced atleast 1 walleye. Jake came in around 6 and cleaned fish and had westwind cook up a batch to go so we had fresh walleye for dinner two nights in a row. He will help me move california before they leave today .
The rest of the day I plan on pulling the houses out of the woods and getting them staged to hit the ice.

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Jake Jenny and Gabrial headed home yesterday .They had a nice run of fish after 10pm on the rattle wheels .Jake finaly had to pull them up to get some sleep. He called last night and is already itching to get back up here.
I set up california  in a new spot and Dave and Dave spent the night out there. I also got our first deluxe house out of the woods and got that out in front of our place as a couple of guys are going to use it tonight after fishing portables through out the day. Today the paln is to get the other houses out of the woods

[The General]

Well I know a few guys who can't wait to get up there in January.  Hopefully the fishing will be just as good.

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Not even one week in to the season and I have moved california twice and florida once. Yesterday Mike and his crew were up to nine when I checked in with them .They were spose to call me so I had a idea if there was a evning bite  in the spot they were fishing. I have not talked to the guys in the cabin to see how there fared yesterday.
Bobby and here crew roll in today and have three of my four houses so I set them up in a triangle with in shouting distance so they should have a good time. Next week its get real busy then slows way down with open house over new years and every weekend in jan.except the 18th and 19th.
As the ice thickens I will migrate to new areas but as of now we should be good
 

[cookie]

A big dissapointment last night when I went out to check on Bobby and her crew. The dead sea? I expected much better with california just 1oo yards away. So today evem though all three houses have not been fished 24 hrs I will be spending the morning move all three.

[JohnWester]

thanks for the updates cookie. i'll be up this weekend and long next weekend.  but we'll be on the south side.  maybe swing up one evening. i'll give you a call.

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With Bobby's crew all helping the move went really well. All three deluxe house's were moved a mile further out blocked,banked and augered in less then 3 hours. The fishing improved  right away with Ron catching a bonus  elusive upper red lake crappie out of his potable. Kellie and I visitted Daral and Bobby while Ann and Ron  cooked up a fresh fish fry in old minnesota..
Yogi and Jim checked into california and then headed off in there portable. They had 5 when I checked in on them last night.
Josh,Blake,Chris and angela stayed in the cabin two nights and took there wheelers off my place and headed south. They had good fishing and said they would deffintly come back again. Man they sure cleaned up the cabin as you would of never known any one stayed in there Thanks guys.

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Bobby"s crew of 7 ended up with 25 total keepers so it was not great but what I would consider good.The boys had one two many and they awoke saturday morning with all there lines  tangled . Jim and yogi went home with 8 and seemed satisfied.
Chuck and deb checked into florida and John and Angie checked into minnesota. Neither house was doing much last night so today may again be moving day.

[cookie]

Yesterday after church I headed out on the lake to see how chuck and Deb did. The fish started to bite around 10pm and kept Chuck from getting a good nights sleep. I had told them I would move the house if they were game. Chuck wanted me to put the house where they bite from 3pm to 10 pm? I guess I'm not sure how to do that but I did move the house out a little deeper and a lettle further from the main road. John and Angie stayed put and for the second time someone has proposed in old minnesota?  She said yes so both my boys proposed to there true loves yesterday. Wow and they did not even know.
We have everything booked dec 25th through the 29th then we have somthing open every weekend at this time.
Everyone have a merry christmas and safe new year

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[cookie]

Weekend two.
All the customers showed up yesterday and are now fishing. Florida with Brian, Trent and Tom had the hot house but they rolled in around 520 am yesterday. Brian has lost two fishing rods one while I was visiting. Man did Tom think that was funny I reminded him that Brian drove,he paused for a second then laughed again.
Cory and his family Abby, Cole and Jack  also had some action in montana.
Ken and his two girls Maddiason and Mekenzie were not doing  that wel in old  minnesota. John and his gal had fished it for two days prior to Ken and his girls so I plan on moving them and california with Nick and his buddy.

[cookie]

Pat, Rich,Ryan,Todd and Shawn rolled in friday afternoon. It was nice seeing them again and Pat again beat me a cribbage.
The first day minnesota out fished ryan and rich in montana. !4 to 2. When I got out there to move them I decided at the last minute to make a smaller move as the area seemed pretty fishy. After 2 hours with help from chase both houses were moved onto fresh ice. It paid off and the guys made a nice come back with both houses getting around 25 fish. California was used as a day house with the guys not doing all that well.The second day was a little better and they were happy to have a fish fry.
Brian,Todd and Trent had good success in florida. Every time I stopped in to check in on them the lights were down the radio was low and they were very content. After the second night I moved them.  Again just a small move but that was all that was needed as they started catching fish again.
Shelly, Chase and Chasity   are now fishing florida .We spent some time with them last night and it was slow. I hope to move minnesota and florida today. 
Pat and his buddy were in the cabin last night . I sent them to an area and they were very pleased with the results ,Now I have to decide if thats where I should put a house.
John and his group also did well where I sent them .
Wild Bill did real well where I sent them but must of gave the position out to friends as there has been portables there all three days since they fished there

[cookie]

Moving Shelly, Chase and Chasity did not pay off as Kellie and I spent the new year fishing with them with limited success. Pat and Mike did well in montana so yesterday I moved minnesota and california out further to that area. Today I plan on moving florida and then getting Minnesota ready for ben amd shawna on thursday.
I still have two of my 4 houses open for the up and coming weekend jan 4, 5. California and montana.
Matt, Kyle and Ashly spent the night in california and I will be checking with them this morning.
It sure would be nice to have them rented 4 days a week then I would never have to turn the heat off.

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Tuesday night I only had one group in california. Two younger guys matt and kyle and there gals ashley and kyletta. They had some great fishing. They had some tip ups set for walleyes and landed some fish in the house. When I stopped to say goodbye mattt was releasing a 22 incher I was able to take a pic before they released her
Yesterday I moved florida and got minnesota set up for ben and shawna. Pat and Mike did well in montana so we will keep that there for atleast one night. I also will leave california where it is for one night.

[cookie]

Making the rounds last night just as the sun was going down and the sunset was spectacular. Ben and Shawna were having action as well as Jake and his crew in montana. Headed out in a bit to get another outfitters houses ready as he is a no show due to vechicle problems. Ryan and his dad roll in this afteernoon for florida with california open untell tomorrow.

[cookie]

Everyone headed home today. It was nice seeing Ben and Shawna. They managed to ice 30 fish for the weekend . Ben was happy saying they did  good considering they did not fish that hard.
Montan had Jake and his crew they did all right but only took home 10.In hindsite I should of moved them yesterday.
Florida had Ryan and his dad Terry. They enjoyed the house and also caught a round 30 fish give or take.
California was a little slow but they caught some fish .
I will be moving all the houses again this week with florida the first one to move this afternoon as les and his crew roll in tomorrow.
I have not talked much about the trucks blue thunder and the red baron as I do not want to jinxe them. The dodge prospector has turned into a pretty good truck as well

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I again will be moving the houses for the up and coming weekend. Yesterday I moved montana and today I will move california, Minnesota is still open this weekend so  will be the last one to move. Hoagie will be up today so I imagine I will have to move florida friday after they leave as I still have a problem with a house being in the same place for more then 3 days of fishing.  There's nothing worse then telling the customers the guys that were here yesterday did not do very well. 
We got some more snow last night, and it will be getting harder to move the houses with out plowing first. Blue thunder  again is the work horse of the fleet. The red barons v-plow needs a little work before it hits the ice and the dodge prospector has became the new scoutting truck.
The fishing has been deccent  but the area I'm at has been pounded pretty hard and I will be looking for a new area the next couple of days.  Duey and his better half the fish whisper will be here friday. They have been coming for years and its funny to look back and remember how duey was so concerned the first time he rented from us he has a million questions. Should be another fun weekend.

[cookie]

Wow looking at the weather, red lake and mother nature are about to show her ugly side. As a local told me with all the emotion a guy could have its a "grand lake and it owes me nothing" Trying to plan for this one may be tough. Since the wife is under the weather maybe we should hunker down in old minnesota so were out there with the customers.
Today will be a extra busy day as I try and prepair for white out conditions

[cookie]

Amazing I think the temp hit 50 yesterday. I did drive along the pressure ridge out of hillmens around 3 and it looked the same.
Hoagie and Don did real well as  of last night they had caught over 20 some to small but still fun to catch. They also lost a few fish. Remember  a few is in the high teens back in the crappie days. A couple is over ten and some is two or three.
Scott and his buddie had some, I did not get his buddies  name  but I did miss one when I stopped and his buddie lost one while I was there. Yesterday I spent part of the day moving minnesota and putting new propane on all 4 houses for the up and coming cold snap. I also had to run the sweety to town, When we got back home I helped buddy on the road for a bit  .The temps  wiped out 70% of the snow if not more. Banking the house with nice wet slush will be interesting. Minnnesota is open for the weekend so the plan is just to bank it once the temps drop and we get some snow cover. I may move florida this morning before Duey and the horse whisper/Sue arrive. all though as well as Hoagie and don did it would be interesting to see how it does its third time fished?. I also have caifornia open as Tom decided he did not want to drive all the way from Iowa in to this weather. I have always looked at it as it's minnesota people move about but coming home from mpls thanksgiving night? What one long white knuckle drive that took 7 and half hours

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Its been a challenging week here on upper red lake. Not sure where the week went. Dave and his crew pulled out yesterday morning. After cleaning all the houses"I still get a kick out of vacuming them" it was again time to move. With this cold blast on the way my plans were to get all 4 houses out of there perches/nests/spots. The red baron made her first trip on the ice with out the v-plow. Today i will be able to pick new spots as there all staged and ready to move. Minnesota still gave me problems and It looks like I need a bigger jack or I will be battling her evertime I mave. Andy will be coming for montana so the pressure is on as he always has such high expectations. Wayne and phil are coming for minnesota and it will be nice to visit with wayne as he has not been here in a couple of years. The absolute funnest time I ever had in a fish house was with him, dave,my brother warren and I playing wee bowling for dollars. 6 hours of laughing, laughing and more laughing what a hoot it was. Tony coming for california and Cody from another fishing site will be coming for the first time.
Dave aand his crew did not pound on them but with 7 guys and 3 nights they managed to eat fish two of the 3 nights and take home a couple of limits. Jason and his family sue, megan and megans friend jake enjoyed there stay and said they would be back next year. My goal has and always willl be to treat my customers the way I would like to be treated. All my repeat cutomers have kept us going through the rougher economical times and I thank you.
Moving the houses.All 4 shacks will be on fresh ice tomorrow morning.Ther are times I will not move a house and this weeknd will be one of those times as the are predicting 30 below .If the temps are below 0 with winds I will not move a house If theres no wind i will go as far as 10 below but thats the cut off. I will not move a house in the dark,in a blizzard or white out conditions. I enjoy moving the houses as its part of the job and I love my job. A few guest over the years have rode in them while we moved I guess its quite the ride. With the cold snap this weekend I will be busy just keeping the vechicles up and running. More then likly its going to cost me a couple tanks of gas but thats better then trying to get them running in the extream cold.

[cookie]

All four house are now on new spots. Minnesota still needs to go a couple more miles but it got dark on me last night so i called it quits. Busy morning today as all 4 house need the holes punched out 28 holes times over 2 feet of ice Thats 56 feet of ice I have to auger this morning.I better get busy
 

[cookie]

Crazy lake is all I can say. Another fishing site has a guy that caught 12 crappies. How sweet is that. All 4 houses were on new spots for my customers. Andy and Andy had the hot house with over 30 fish caught the last I had talked to them, California was holding its own while minnesota and florida were a little slower then expected.
Wayne in old minnesota is a old dear friend back from my auto painting days and as of now the plan is to move them this morning. Tehn the plan is hang out with wayne and Phil untell the wind picks up.
 

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well well it looks like the temps are minus 20 this morning with a high of minus 2 today. Going to be tough moving all the shacks  for the up and coming weekend. Thursday more snow is predicted. I clocked it out and as of last night it is 7 miles to the door step of montana. Dave and Sarha rolled in around 9 pm last night. They brought me barbque from market barbque. Yummy and thanks. After checking them in I stopped to check on Brett and Melony. They had good fishing and had just finished walleye for dinner, They offered the left over fish so Bell the blueberry eating dog and I had a nice snack on the way in.
I still have not figuered out why the dodge prospector will not start and that needs to go on the to do list.
Hillmens road is in great shape. I spent some time friday night and saturday morning  plowing

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I could not be happier about the bite right now. Brett and Melony have done real well in old minnesota. Dave and Sarah said last night they had the best fishing ever yesterday. They had me bring them oil and shore lunch when I came out to check on them and more minnows.
Today I will be moving california and florida out deeper as that's where the better fishing has been. Old minnesota will also be moved and montana will be moved tomorrow after dave and sarah leave. Even though minnesota and montana are still producing fish I can not help but putting them on fresh ice for the up and coming weekend.
Jake, Jenny and Gabrial will be coming up this weekend along with all the grand kids mathew jakob,jason,ashly and brittnie and daughter Melisa.
I think I will put a prize on who can catch the most fish that should keep the kids entertained. Should be a fun weekend as kellie and I miss the kids.

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Due to mother nature I have not been able to put the houses on fresh spots. I hope to move california today. Minnesota,montana and florida may have to stay where there at untell friday or saturday. Montana and minnesota have been catching fish so thats a plus, all though I still would prefer them being on new spots. Jake is going to fish florida tonight and then he will help move  tomorrow,I may have to recruit him to help with the other two as it goes so much smoother with two people.
Dave and Sarah were napping when I swung in last night so I did not get to visit with them. I hope he has started his truck while they were here or we may be dealing with that this morning. Brrr 20 below right now

[cookie]

You would think i could put the kids on good fishing once in a while. I had a solid plan to get out  after lunch and spend the beautiful afteernoon on the lake. I had also built a snow slide in the yard. After lunch the kids all played on the slide . Foiled again we would go fishing after dinner. With the red baron packed with Kellie,me,Missy,Autum,Ashly,Brittnie,jason,jacob and matty. Crossing the bridge freaked them all out. After getting everyone set matty was a handful. The fishing was horrible with just a couple small dinks caught. Coming in when we went over the bridge they really freaked out as there was close to two feet of standing water hiding the metal plates. It even had me a little nervous.
For the weekend the houses did well again which was great to see. jacob,jenny and gabrial caught over 30 fish, Mike and his family also caught over 30 and maybe closer to 50. I moved california for Dale and his crew and they squekled out a limit by 1130 pm and called it a night. Rick,jason and matt were hitting the road this morning. Matt managed to catch a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie yesterdayis morning to move montana as it has produced well over 150 fish and it bound to burn out. I may just make a small move as dave rolls in around noon. California has only been fished from 2pm tell 1130 pm so i will plan on leaving it there for mark tomorrow

[cookie]

Thanks Mike you sure had a nice family. It was my pleasure to take care of you.
 Yesterday I moved  montana as I could not see it catching anymore fish. Wow what a great spot that was. I should learn how to  mark those spots with a gps. Oh well I did not move it to far and if anything I did not move it far enough. Dave and his wife Sandy rolled in around noon, After traveling over half way out Sandy was having some second thoughts, I felt bad for her but the best thing to do was get them off the lake as she was just not comfortable.
Hoagies son Mark roll in today and I have them in california for one night, That house has not been fished a straight 24 hours so I left it where it was. Old minnesota is next on the move list followed by california.
Chasing crappies is not on my to do list,Even though there are reports of a few being caught I will keep concentrating on walleye fishing at this time. If any one catches a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie we will consider it a bonus fish.
The trucks sure are getting a work out now as I'm 7 miles from home. The snow just keeps coming it only take a trace when the wind blows to make a mess of things. Oh well I love being out there so thats a plus. Blue thunder is ready for a new set of plugs and that is on the to do list this morning. She's backfirinfg pretty bad and missig on atleast one if not two cylinders. Driving out to move montana i thought for sure I was going to break down  but she got me home gotta love those chevy's.
Kellie's step mom and brother are coming up today to spend a few days and lokking forward to catching a few fish with them. Kellie wantted to know why we do not fish in minnesota but if its rented not much I can do unless we fish with the customers. We wlll have a nice dinner out there with them one night as we spend some quality family time with them. maybe I can even get linda to play a game of scrabble.