cookies upper red lake report from the shores of upper red lake

[Boar]

hey cookie, good to hear from ya, thanks for the report!! seeya soon!!

[glenn57]

aint you supposed to be working!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Boar]

ahem.. and just WTF are you doing sir nuthindone

[glenn57]

heck I gotz lotz done. posted about 10 grand in dues. made up meeting schedules for the year..........and harasses you!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cookie]

Dayton and Dave rolled in Friday afternoon after checking into the cabin they headed out for the evening bite. They had no problem finding some fish which is what I expected. They hit the same spot Saturday and had a good bite at 9am. They came off the lake Saturday eve with there limit and had a nice fish fry at the cabin. They heard through the grape vine of a lake with ice that had a crappie bite and were going to hit that on there way home sunday.
My good friend Wayne came up Friday and spent the weekend. We got a couple things done around here and also got the plow back on blue thunder. The weather was perfect over the weekend for all the portables out there highs in the 30s and no wind. today we have some stronger winds. Dennis and his gal Shelly rolled in yesterday afternoon and headed out to find good fishing also. Dennis brought up his wilcraft which is a portable fish house on wheels with a motor and was designed for early and late ice. It has been years since I saw Dennis as he use to come up during the crappie boom. Dennis is staying a couple days then tom and his crew are arriving Thursday.

[snow1]

I see they have a rescue operation going on right now out of rogers resort,the lake is breaking up and folks are floating,crazy sheet,BIG water/thin ice and big wind is a recioe for deasater.

RED LAKE, Minn. (Valley News Live) -  The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirms with Valley News Live they are involved in a rescue on Red Lake.

Lt. Phil Seefeldt with the DNR says his department, along with fire crews, are rescuing several people stuck on a sheet of ice that broke away from the shore on the south side of the lake.

An airboat was being sent to the lake to assist in the rescue. No word on how many people were being rescued.

[cookie]

well we had a little excitement yesterday down on the south shore. Rodgers on red has the whole story  just the way it  happened. I talked to BJ HIllmen last night and they are in good shape with buddy's road marked out to a large crack 3 to 4 miles out. I have not been out there but would assume that crack is marked off where it crosses the road and common sense would say stay on this side of it, Also check in with hillmens when you get your road pass for current conditions as they can change hour to hour minute to minute. I will check with   Buddy later to day but last I heard wheelers were open for travel.
We could get some unwanted snow. They are saying? From the predicted temps I expect it to be a wet snow. Lets all hope it just clips or misses us as snow cover will have such a effect on making ice once that cold temps hit Thursday night.
Dennis and Shell came off the lake a bit after dark driving his wilcraft. They found good fishing pretty close to shore and did not travel that far out.
 Gassed up blue thunder yesterday and could here a low growl or squeak coming from the left front so will have to keep a eye on that. I drove down to the lake and inspecting all the mounting points on plow I noticed a pin was missing its cotter pin. I drove up to the garage, got a cotter pin, went to put it in and the pin had fallen out when I drove back up to the house. I walked down to the lake and with some good luck found it laying on the ground instead of buried in the snow.

[cookie]

Talk to Buddy Hillmen and his access is open to wheeler's. He is asking that you do not venture out over a mile and half. There is a large crack with open water 4 miles out crossing his staked road. Tom and his crew canceled for the cabin this weekend with the forecast of snow starting tonight. Dennis and Shelly headed home after going out this morning and getting the 6 fish limit

[cookie]

well we ended up with 3 1/2 inches of snow . Better then the predicted 7 or 8 but more then we wanted. The temps have dropped and we are now truly making a little bit more ice. I would think we will gain a inch or two by Sunday witch will bring us up to around 8 to 9. Mike and his crew caught fish yesterday. I think they are going to stay another night? Darrin and his crew went home with there 9. I fired up blue thunder yesterday to plow and the noise coming from the left front does not sound to good. I be leave its the u joint and needs to be addressed asap. I plowed down at the lake to give the ground a chance to freeze better and clear out a area for Adam and his crew to camp with there wheel houses this weekend.
I talked to Jake and he will be up Friday to button up our new house North Dakota. We may try and move it down to the lake sunday. I'm a little concerned about that u joint  though . The plan is to get the houses out of the woods sometime next week and that can really put torque on the 4 wheel drive. One of the fishing sites has a satellite pic of the lake on dec. 13th and you can see the big crack that runs through the center of the lake..

[Boar]

thanks cookie, no doubt we'll be up asap to hang out, have a good time and take in all that red lake has to ofe on that grand lake. thanks so much for your reports.

[cookie]

good morning to all. Talked to Budddy Hillmen yesterday around 10 am. He did not agree with me as I figured we would gain 2 inches of ice by sunday evening. He said with the snow cover and ice he highly doubted we will make that much ice. He then headed out to start dragging his super highway a mile out with his Dakota pickup. His mechanic Kelly ask if I wanted to open the next mile of road with blue thunder. I told them I did not have the kahunas to do it. Mother nature reared her ugly side yesterday and I was thank full the houses are still tucked in the woods as it was white out conditions.  If the houses were on the lake they would of had some major drifts around them.
The guys in the cabin headed out around 1pm yesterday and that had to be a wicked walk out of westwinds straight into those west winds howling to beat the band.   I can just imagine how tough it had to be to put up a portable. I spent a hour plowing down at the lake to keep it open when the time comes to get the houses out of the woods. I have a couple wheel houses camping down there this weekend also. I will head down there in a bit and plow again as the snow was piling up pretty good down there yesterday. I did pick up a new front u joint for blue thunder and that will be addressed this weekend.
Thanks Boar we will see you later this winter

[cookie]

Ryan and Dan rolled in around 3 yesterday, They got on the lake and only fished a couple hours and beers and managed 10 with another 10 swing and a miss. Adam and his crew found another spot to camp with the ice house and were a no show. Jake and I need to head to Bemidji to pick up a few more pieces of trim to button up north Dakota. Wow is it nice. It will be a non smoking house  apon Jakes request. It will also be our biggest house . I have two guys staying in there ice castle on my river lot and will see how they do tonight. I got the left front u joint fixed on blue thunder so that's a relief, it was nice to fix it before it broke and created more damage.  Wow is there a lot of fishermen on the lake, I hope they save some fish for our houses once they get on the lake. Being with the limited lodging here in waskish I would assume there's a lot of fishermen here just for the day as the lake is peppered with portables. Were hoping by new years to have the houses on the ice but only mother nature will allow us to get out there. I'm looking for at least 14 inches every where before I take them out of the woods. My plans are again to go out of hillmen's and help with the road . I do not run a road off my property even though I have access to the lake

[cookie]

Just sitting here adding my reports enjoying in depth outdoor and fox Love the show and watch it every sunday morning.The cold snapped made a little ice and I have heard a lot of 8 inches here in Waskish on the north east corner of the lake. The further out the less ice. Dan And Mark went out of westwind and had real good fishing. Mark liked the river lot and commented that it was nice and quiet. Adam and his cousin found another spot to camp with there wheel houses  and also did real well. Ryan and Dan in the cabin measured 8 inch of ice and had real good fishing  after they moved from there first spot.  Again the be witching hour was the best fishing for all of them.
Hey Kieth I was not able to get a Moog u joint with a zerk . I had to take what they had  and could not wait for one to  order.
All the worry about moving North Dakota was a waist of time as she moved like  a dream. She jacks up nice and will block up nicely. Jake ran behind the house when I towed it down to the lake and was so excited. Hands shakes and high fives abound. Its a great addition to our fleet and fits right into our theme.
Brian and his crew roll in around noon for a couple of days and then it will be Christmas just like that

[Boar]

Merry chkrstmas cookie! see ya new years!!

[cookie]

Mitch, Brian and Ross did not do to well yesterday. There staying one more night in the cabin so they have today to redeem them self's. I also heard from a couple others that found slower fishing then expected. I swung into hillmens access and Buddy Hillmens road looks to be in great shape. Lets hope the snow for casted skirts us. It went from 3 to 10 predicted  to 1 to 3 so  will see what happens in the next couple days. The less snow the better. Were making some ice at 19 degrees but not much. It looks like starting new years we will be getting lows in the single digits through out Jan. I spent part of yesterday getting the dodge prospector out of the woods. Putting two wheels back on it was a bit of a chore as them wheels are not lite. A little gas in the carb and she fired right up, the gas line just beyond the filter was spewing gas, Re leaved it did not start a fire a 20 minute fix and she was ready to go. All three trucks are gassed up and  ready to go. The generators all have fresh oil the  houses have been wiped down one final time. Its just a waiting game for mother nature to make us a little more ice. I have had the houses on 12 inches of ice but would prefer at least 14.. All my reservation between Christmas and the 30th have been canceled or rescheduled. I'm hoping to have Minnesota, south Carolina and Florida on the ice dec. 31rst. Every year is different and by the looks of it I will be searching for fish a little closer to shore to start the season.  In the past about the time I get the houses out the shallow  bite has slowed and the houses do not get fished very long before there on the move to deeper water. This year they may get fished a bit more and it will be interesting to see how they do. I expect pretty good fishing with a great night bite so time will tell.
I was surprised how many portables were out there again today for a Monday. It seems we see more and more early season portables every year. The guys in the cabin said Westwinds was packed last night.


  I like to wish all a Merry Christmas
cookie

[Boar]

Merry Christmas Cookie!!

[cookie]

Good morning to all. Just enjoying the morning watching in depth outdoors. There fishing oak island and I was digging the air boat they used to get on safe ice.
 Here on the northeast end of the lake saw a lot of traffic yesterday. I figure there were about 300 portable and wheel houses within view. Fired up the heat in montana yesterday and the ceiling fan stopped working so that will need to be addressed today. We made it to 6 below this morning so I imagine we have gained a inch in the last 24 hours.
 Jake and his buddy had slow fishing yesterday. They moved 4 times through out the day. They did manage to get there limit but they had to work for them. The guys in the cabin were going to walk off our property but must of came up with a plan b as there trucks were gone all day and they were not down at the lake. At this time it looks promising to take the houses out of the woods and on to the lake Wednesday. I will be starting the season close to shore and expect good fishing so time will tell

[cookie]

The excitement is building as were just a couple days a way from getting the houses out of the woods and on to the lake. I spent a little time yesterday plowing out on to the lake to prepare for the move. I have some more plowing to do today as blue thunder is starting to get a good workout. Marty will be up later today and be helping me prep the houses for the move.
Jake and Rory finally found better fishing and said they really turned on at 3 pm yesterday. Blong, chang, natila a shang did not have very good fishing. They never did walk out in front of my place and were a little worn out from all the walking and dragging out there equipment onto the lake. It sounds like they will be back in a couple weeks when they can drive onto the lake. There were not quite as many fishermen on the lake yesterday but there were quite a few.  I have Andy and his crew camping on the river lot starting today and Kyle and his crew coming for the cabin later today. Buddy Hillmens road is in great shape just like every other year. I be leave he is asking fishermen to stay with in 2 miles of shore at this time as a crack came across his road Christmas eve.

[cookie]

Well we’ve been busy the last couple days. Marty rolled in late Monday night with his young neighbor Dylan in tow. I had a list of things we needed done before we pulled the houses onto the lake for the up and coming season. I did have a few fishermen here and with there portables in tow they all seemed to find a few fish. Andy and his crew camped with there ice castle on the river and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Kyle and his crew were in the cabin. I set two of them up to fish north Carolina but they never did make it out there. Yesterday was the big moving day as we broke all the houses loose and headed on to the lake. Do to the ice condition this year I had no choice but to start out in front of my place just off the last break in 8 to 9 feet of water. There should be no reason we will not catch fish there with most coming after dark. I augured a few test holes and found 13 inch of ice close to shore. I then started walking to the west auguring holes every 25 steps. Checking the ice with a tape measure I was a little disappointed to find 11 inches not 50 feet from 13 inches . The next 6 holes all showed 10 inches. We are just not having the super cold weather that makes ice. Every year is different and this year is no exception. Last year we were driving 6 miles out at this time with well over 20 inches of ice. Right now as it stands I will have to stick it out close to shore un tell the ice conditions improve .When the time is right I will head north and get all the houses on to buddy hillmens road. The lake has been a very busy place the last couple days as all the outfitters and resorts are trying to get houses out to fishable waters. Last I heard Hillmens would only be allowing 16 foot and under ice houses on to the lake towed by wheelers and side by sides. I have no idea what westwind is allowing at this time. Eva and Matt will be fishing our new house North Dakota starting today. They are here for two days and then the house is open Saturday. They will be the first to land a fish in our newest addition. I had Marty and Dylan in montana last night so will see how they did later this morning . Rick and his crew roll in for Minnesota Friday, Cory and his family also arrive for florida. Mitch cancelled montana and Travis and his wife will be using it Friday night. Pat will be bedding down in north carolina Saturday eve. Its nice to be on the lake . She’s a grand lake and as David the old timer up here told me its a grand lake and it owes us nothing.
 
Posted on December 31, 2015Author cookie   Edit   

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I'm Happy to report all the houses had some action with Wade and Matt landing a 36 inch pike this morning. Cory and his family Cole, Vada, Cash and Abby started getting bites around 3 yesterday afternoon in Florida. Cole shot his first deer with a bow  this year and he is only 12. Way to go Cole. I'm not going to say how old I was when I got my first deer with a bow or how many years it took. Rick and his crew in Minnesota have missed quite a few and have a couple in the bucket. There going to take it easy today and play some board games. I'm bringing them out a old book shelf game of mine called rail baron they should have a lot of fun playing that. Travis and Cristy only landed 3 in montana but should of had there 6 they were only here for one night. Eva, Matt and Leigh had to go home a day early do to a family issue. I think they enjoyed the new house North Dakota and are scheduled to come back towards the end of the month. I'm relieved the houses all had action with most of the bites coming after 3pm. Tim and Jake are in the cabin and did really well in 10 feet of water yesterday. They were headed back in to the general area again today

[cookie]

Tim and Jake hit the same spot they went to the day before. They still had decent fishing but only landed 19 for the day. Jake has some work at home to get done so they are taking off a day earlier then planned. My good friend Wayne and I played a little cards with them last night. Jake was the big winner and I told him next time I would be bringing the ringer my sweety ,Kellie the Hammer.
When I went to check on every one last night and top off the generators every one was bedded down or had the lights low so I did not find out how any of them did. Cory text this morning to give me a heads up the generator had quit for the second time this weekend. Turns out she is worn out and going through some oil. Last year the other 2500 generators charging system went out so it looks like Marty and I will be making two generators into one. She had a good life and both lasted  8 to 10 years respectively. I will be purchasing a  used or new eu 2000 this week. Any one out there with a good used eu 2000 for sale give me a shout. Today after saying good bye to Cory and his family I will be moving Florida on to fresh ice for Brian and his crew tomorrow. Should be interesting out there today watching all the wheel  leave the lake being towed by wheelers.
I will be checking some ice thickness the  next few days as I prepare to get the houses to the north  side of buddy hillmens road. At this time only sleds, wheelers and side by sides are allowed access to the road.

[cookie]

Got a great pic of Cory and his family yesterday with there 13 walleye and one eel pout. They enjoyed them self and Cory said maybe he will come back in march and chase a few crappies with us. Pat and Mike spent the night in North Carolina after fishing outside all day. They did have some action and went home with there 6. Travis and Christy spent one night in montana and had a few in the bucket.. When I stopped last night to check on Rick, Matt and Mike in Minnesota they were doing up some fish and had 3 in the bucket so they were getting more action the third night. They were taking off early this morning so I will never know how they did over night. Rick comes back in a few weeks for a couple more nights. I prepped all the houses yesterday for there next move which looks like will be more of the cookie shuffle at this time with the ice conditions the way they are.  I'm in a fishy area for now with a solid 14 inches of ice under each house. I put off moving Florida un tell this morning so will be heading out in a bit to get that done before Brian and his crew arrive. I thought it would be fun to try and keep track of how many holes I punch this year and after today I will be up to 53 after I prep florida. All the houses were blocked up before we augured them as with only 14 inches office they do flood. The water seeps out from underneath the house and slowly freezes making it a little nasty for walking and working around the house. It also absorbs into the banking and there will be some ice chipping going on this morning. I should be able to have florida moved in less then a hour depending on how much chipping there is. I'm hoping its not to much as we have 4  more houses to move this week.


As of now Hillmens road is still closed to vehicle's. wheelers, side by side and sleds towing wheel houses are allowed. If you saw vehicles running his road this weekend they were accessing the lake some where else then jumping onto buddies road

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Its been interesting to see how each resort and outfitter has been able to improvise a solution to the ice conditions this year to get customers and houses onto the lake. I would guess and this is a guess that were average 11 inches of ice. Marty and I will be scouting some new areas and measuring ice thickness at each hole we augur . I have a board with a lip on the bottom that catches the bottom of the ice and has a tape attached  to it so its dead on. No guessing. I like to see at least 14 inch for my houses. I have had them on 12 but prefer 14.
Yesterday I did get too say good bye to Rick, Matt and Mike . They had planned to leave early but the rattle wheels kept them up half the night. That's a good thing to here.
Moving florida went real well and I had her moved, banked and augured in less then a hour. Brian and his crew Patty Josh and Jake rolled in around noon and I was able to escort them out to the house and get them set up. Then it was off to Bemidji to purchase a new addition to the operation. No more lugging them 2500 generators around. Thinking back, wow did they see some harsh condition out there over the last 10 years. Money well spent. I did have a little surprise last night when I went to the station to gas the new 2000 up. For some goofy reason the have a bigger cap and a smaller filler tube, Ridicules, I will get a better look at it today to see if it can be modified a bit . Marty was rolling in late and would be using when he arrived.
Checked On Brian and the crew ,they went to westwind for dinner and were playing some cribbage. They had a few on the ice ,Brian said they started biting around 4. They had also missed some fish so that's some more good news.
Dennis and his wife were out in the wilcraft and did not fair to well. They did go out quite a ways out and Dennis said the ice was about this thick and held up his hands. I had ask him if he would measure the ice where ever he augured, too funny. Marty and I will be shuffling all the houses today and making our plans for the up and coming weekend. Thanks to all that have came up so far this year. Its been a great start to the season in my book on such a grand lake.

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yesterday was a very productive day for Marty and I. We started off getting a few little things done around here before we hit the lake. Brian and his crew had 8 fish laying on the ice and looked like they were sleeping in. Sounds like another night of rattle wheels keeping them up. Are first move was to dig North dakota out of its perch, I had turned the heat off and was not quite sure how it would move as it is our newest and biggest edition. Every thing went well and she sitting on the ice wating to be moved to its next location. I then was able tocheck in with Brian and his crew and just as expected the rattle wheels were the culprits of every one sleeping in. The next move was montana and that went smooth also ,following that north carolina our two man day house/sleeper was pulled out of its perch and is also waiting for its new spot.  Marty spent the night in montana so we will see how he did over night as well as Brian and his crew. Old minnesota will be moved today as well as florida.  If the weather men are right it should be a beautiful couple days working on the lake with snow flurries and light winds before the big cold snap hits saturday

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Yesterday was a beautiful day to work on the lake. Brian and his crew were all ready gone when I left so I did not get to say goodbye. I know they did go home with there 12 so that was sweet. Marty had his 3 for the trip home on Friday. Sounds like the best bite has ben 1am tell 4 am. Good there in sleepers to be there for the action.  Marty and I moved Florida for Don and his crew that were rolling in around 6 30 pm. We then got Old Minnesota out of its perch and moved to its new location. North Carolina was also put on a new location ready for Friday. Dennis and Shelly in the cabin, with the wilcraft went home skunked. I was way surprised. They never fished much after dark and never landed on them during the day. I still have not been able to hook up with Buddy Hillmen from Hillmens. Marty and I headed out his road to measure some ice thickness a mile out where I had good fishing last year. The first hole we augured north of the main road measured just a tad over 11 inches. Rats as I am looking for 14 for the houses. The second place we augured gave us 12 a little closer to shore. The third was just over 12. I guess that pretty much tells me where I'm not going at this time. Westwind has opened there road to some traffic but you will have to check there web site to see what there allowing at this time. Today Marty and I have to find a spot for North Dakota on at least 14 inches of ice for Andy and his crew. I'm sure he is pumped as he always is. He is a big time musky fishermen and will be interesting to see what his biggest was this last  year. He has always liked the charm and lighting of Montana and will see if North Dakota lives up to his approval . I think he is going to like it.

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This crazy lake? Don, Nate and forgot the other guys name just headed home and they did not do well at all. I guess I landed on a fishless spot. Marty again had great action the night before so I saw no reason to think it could shut down that quick. Being a guide has its draw backs some times. I guess its fishing and  thats the way it is. Tom and his crew in the cabin headed out 4 miles on there wheelers and too the north. The fishing was not fast and furious as they came in short spurts though out the day. They did manage to get there 9 plus 4 yes 4 elusive upper red lake crappies. Gotta love that north shore, being mobil also helps alot.
Stopped to check in on Kevin, Jake and Alex in old minnesota and they had just finished a freash walleye dinner. Kevin asked if I wanted to play a game of cribbage 4 handed. We played cut throat and 19. I had never heard of 19, if you get a zero hand you go back 19 pegs. Lets just say Alex and I did not do well and that zero did not help. While sitting there I did miss one fish on a chubby darter on Kevins line. I then had two follows while playing cards. Don and his crew were at westwind so I stopped to check in on Marty before calling it a night. I was only there a few minutes and landed a nice 16 on Marty's rattle wheelset up. Plain red hook with a small buckshot is all he has been fishing since he arrived tuesday morning. He does not use a vexlar.
Its just about time to hit the lake. Renting a house on wednesday thursday has its drawbacks as now Marty and I have to move florida . Its no big deal as we have a great system and takes us less then a hour, not including prepping the trail and area we move to.

[cookie]

Well the weekend did not go as well as I would of liked. All the houses did catch some fish, but it was slow for sure.
Andy, Andy, Sam and Elvin were in North Dakota our newest house. They were impressed with the house so that was good. Andy has been coming for quite a few years and has had some outstanding fishing over the years and a couple not so good fishing trip. Andy ask if they could be off by them self if they brought there own generator so I headed west as far as the ice would allow. They only landed 4 fish the first night so after Andy did some scouting a little further west  I moved them about a 1/4 mile  Saturday. Sam augured the holes so that was 8 less I have to do this year. I'm closing in on a 100 for the season so far. The fishing did not get better and they only landed 2 more keepers.
 Florida had Aaron, Dave and Jim. They seemed to enjoy the house and had some action . I think they landed 12  to 14 so not that good.
Montana had Ken, Carl, Sarha and Terry. They were from Iowa and have used a couple different outfits up here over the years. They liked how the house was equipped and plan on coming back next year. They also had some action but again not that great . I think they went home two short of there limit of 12. They did catch 4 pike  through out the weekend. Nothing to big but one did manage to tangle up a few lines for some good laughs.
North Carolina was a no show with out even a phone call?
Derik, Dan the man and Scott checked into old Minnesota Saturday. Derik rented old Minnesota last year and was the first house to pound the crappies and landed 12. They also had some action and landed enough for a big fish fry yesterday. When I stopped in last night Scott landed a nice keeper and I hope they had good fishing last night.
I also set up Ken with his brother and buddy in his new wheel house. They landed there 9 the first night so they had the best fishing of my group.
Jake, Tom and Derik were in the cabin 3 nights .Due to the cold weather they found a house to rent Saturday from Scott Wakefield. They spent the night in a sleeper and managed to catch 25. So the fish were biting and again it boils down to location, location, location.
Now for some of the low lights of the weekend. For some reason I'm having  issues with the generators this year. The brand new Honda 2000 quit a couple of times over the weekend for no apparent reason. I may of got a lemon and plan on making the 60 mile trip to Bemidji to demand a new one . My older 2000 also acted up and may be worn out and using to much oil. I have changed the oil on my units on a regular basis over the years and run them in a 3 sided box to keep them out of the elements  the 2500 hundreds lasted 10 years. The old 2000 is 7 years old. The cold snap also played a little havoc on the fleet. The red baron needed to be jumped, the dodge prospector also needed to be jumped and blew the heater core while warming up.. Blue thunder fired right up but had a horrible bearing noise from the power steering pump so I will have to keep a eye on that. All the houses have some flooding issues and have 3  inches of water under them. I do not expect any problems digging them out but time will tell. The next couple of days will be spent scouting a new area  to the north of Buddy Hillmens road. I crack did cross the road yesterday morning about 3 miles out and was over a foot wide. I would expect hillmens highway will be fully open for vehicles by next weekend

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Where to begin today? I’m feeling excited about getting the houses all pre staged for the big move in the next day or two. With these cold nights were making some ice. A little late but there’s still plenty of the season to go. So far just like every other year I have a hard time sleeping in as I plan for the up and coming day. With the temp at minus 17. Marty and I will be holding off a bit this morning before we hit the lake . All 5 houses will be lined up for the big move today. When I tow the houses I like to go nice and slow and take my time. I’m sure I could go faster but its just so much harder on the houses and vehicle’s.
 Yesterday I was off to Bemidji to deal with my generator issues. What a fiasco that was. They do not want to give me a new unit and are blaming the wind and cold as the culprits of my problems last weekend. I tried to explain it has never been a issue before, with them sitting in the boxes, and have seen far worse conditions out there then last weekend. I also explained that I had changed the oil on the older unit Friday and had to add oil by sunday. They said there is no oil leaking but changed the oil because it was milky which is a sign of moisture? There was no snow to speak of in the boxes ? The new unit is under warrantee but only to repair and not replace and there is nothing wrong with it other then it set in the elements last weekend and may be shutting down due to cold air creating moisture in the air filter? Aaron the salemens told me once there oiled and gassed up there policy is no refunds. He did say he will replace it if needed but is a last option. I left both units there so they could run them through out the day and see if they quit.. My plan is to pick them up later today and run them straight for the next 72 hours to see if any problems occur.
 I also picked up two new injectors for the red baron and was told this should clear up the red baron from bogging out so I’m very wishful that is the problem as it will not be long before the red baron starts getting her work out for the year. No luck finding a heater core for the prospector so have a little more research to do for that.
 I’ll be leaving the area we started the season as it looks like I have ruined another area. Starting Thursday we have a nice little run of rentals into Tuesday

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Yesterday was a bit nippy as Marty and I dug all 5 houses out of there spots and got them on the road. We have a very nice system and things went real well considering all the flooding under the house's. I be leave old Minnesota is still our heaviest house as it had the worst flooding and had only been augured last Thursday. We will scouting out our new area today and again need at least 14 inches of ice. There is something that I can not figure out and has been on my mind. How can reports of 17 inches of ice in one place and under 10 in others? I personally have only measured 15 and that is where my house's were last week. Weird to say the least?  Every year is different and again this year is different then last year and way different then the year before . I spent 2 hours yesterday after we got the houses moved helping clear buddy Hillmens road. Again what a pleasure helping out on such a outstanding road. It's probably been said before but you could land a 747 on it. 5 miles long and straight as a arrow. Very impressive. Marty and I will be auguring a few test holes today and I will report what we find tomorrow. Call the resort your going out of or check out there facebook pages or web sites for the latest ice conditions and what there allowing out

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Gotta love when a plan comes together. Yesterday Marty and I worked our buts off as all 5 houses are now to the north of hillmens highway. $ of the 5 are blocked and banked to the hilt for the up and coming cold snap. If every thing goes as plan  it should be a easier day today as we  knock out all the hard labor yesterday. 16  holes will be augured  making the count around 125 for the season. We have a little cleaning and vacuuming to do this morning and I still get a kick when I'm vacuuming a fish house it never get old. We had a few things come loose on the move a mini blind came down , a light bulb fell from a ceiling fan, a couple pics from the walls and a couple  trinkets fell.
The red baron was used to cut a new trail and performed like it did when I first got it . Best 1000.00 we could of spent and was way over due. If you need some type of repair up here Barney does some outstanding work and has a shop in kellier and also has a mobile  unit for emergency repairs. You can find his card at North Country Food and Fuel here in waskish.
The area we set up has 14 1/2 inches of ice. The houses will again flood a bit but should not cause us any issues. Still not sure what Budddy Hillmen will be allowing for traffic  at this time but should know by tomorrow morning. Jim and his crew will be arriving later today for north Dakota and montana turns out they use to come up here in the crappie  days. Josh said I would remember Jim when I see him. Looks like another awesome day working on such a grand lake.