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

[HD]

This was sent to me, Red Lake
Be careful out there!

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[LPS]

Ya that is the pic.  It looks like the tire on the other side must be about on the open water.  What a dilemma...  It is kind of fun to hear the cracks when in the fish house even though sometimes it can get a little scary.  I bet that crack scared the heck out of them.....

[lovebigbluegills]

Ya that is the pic.  It looks like the tire on the other side must be about on the open water.  What a dilemma...  It is kind of fun to hear the cracks when in the fish house even though sometimes it can get a little scary.  I bet that crack scared the heck out of them.....

Or something a little stinkier.....

[corny13]

Been on the ice when that kinda crack opened up.. its usually silent BTW.  The cracking you hear is usually only when the ice is Growing!

[cookie]

Busy Busy Busy! It took two days but all the houses are now on the lake. The few mishaps were to be expected but I guess it is like riding a bike. Dropped the front wheel of the red baron into the ice in 6 inches of water. The thing about it was I all ready had my route. But I wanted to see if it froze where I had cleared some of the snow that had drifted there? Had to have the hammer come down with Blue thunder and drive while I pulled her /him out. After I got Florida out there and checked one lite bulb had vibrated loose and was shattered on the carpet. North Dakota could of maybe came out a little easier but it was sitting in a small depression. Blue thunder never revved over 3500 rpm so no big deal there, Some times you have to give its a little power.
 I had a taker on looking for a helper. He is showed up yesterday morning. I Real nice Kid. His name is Jim but he might end up with a nick name if he stays around to long. I put him on probation and told him we would be in training all day. Things went well and we came off the lake just at sunset..” A Tid Bit” He pounded on the fish the night before.
 I did have a cancelation for one of our houses. Jan 6th ,7th for old Minnesota 2 double beds.
 Today we have Cody and his buddies fishing in north Dakota for 2 nights and Jess and his crew in florida. A good friend Pat may also show up to do a little fishing and give me a helping hand if need be. Nice to have good friends. I will be pre fishing old Minnesota. Its something I do not do to often but Wayne is coming and he does not care. I don’t like fishing In a house before the customers arrive. Some time it does happen but I go out of my way to not let it happen. Funny
 I’ll be touching base with Buddy Hillmen and get the scoop on vehicle traffic this morning. Gotta go its time to auger 9 holes and do a final prep before the guys arrive. Itching to get out there on a grand day on a “Grand lake that owes me nothing”

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[hawg]

I was told JR's was the only place allowing trucks and houses out Cookie, is that right or you allowing it?

[cookie]

I go Out of Hillmens  Resort. Buddy Hillmen make all those decisions. I just help with the road. He is allowing 1/2 ton with wheel houses  as I know of at this time 10 am, Dec 22nd
 

[cookie]

Well sorry that its been a couple days since I have been able to blog. Still spending to much time when I get on facebook. Getting distracted I guess, plus trying to dial it in. It says I'm not getting any hits on our web page Cookiesonupperredlake.com so trying to figure that out. Plus allot of plusses here .
Every thing went pretty smooth Wednesday as I prepped for Jess and his buddie, They just stayed in florida one night. Not so good though as they only landed two fish. They did cook them up so at least they got to have a fresh fish dinner.  Cody and his crew arrived right on time and I escorted them out to north Dakota .After getting them taken care of is was off to old Minnesota to prep for the hammer as we were going fishing. As I was coming off the lake just at sunset I drove through a slush pocket on hillmen"s  highway. I turned around to check it out and drove through another one off the road? Very weird as there was no snow drift, or rough ice? I decided to clean the slush off the road and that turned into a can of worms as the snow slush was so wet it just turned into a big rolling ball of wet snow .I spent 20 minutes cleaning it up so it would freeze down . It work perfect as it was froze down the next morning. The ice  had a brownish look to it?
The hammer and I had a great first night fishing and having  dinner in old Minnesota. Just as I set down  to eat the rattle wheel went off. I'm now one up on her as I did land the only fish of the evening. We called her quits and I checked on the guys  as we headed in. Both houses were slow but every body was comfortable. I never heard from pat so I assumed he was a no show. When we pulled in he was sitting in the driveway napping. He had called the house but did not know it was not my cell. He had a rear wheel come off on the way up and he said it went sailing / rolling  off the road through the ditch across a frozen field and stopped in the woods in a bunch of thick brush.  I got him out to motana and got back home well after 11 when I planned on being in bed by 10.
Jess and Zax headed home early, they said they enjoyed the house and may try and make it back again . North Dakota was also slow so I told them we would be moving the house at 1. Pat had better fishing and landed 4 or 5 with a 34 inch pike  around 10 am on  a rattle wheel. He said last night that made the trip. He also helped me move north Dakota for a nice discount which was great as it goes soo much quicker with help. I guess I'm  out of practice a bit though as when I came out of the hole I lost my momentum and spun the tires. When hat happens it digs a hole in the ice and your done. After unhooking and moving over a foot  we were off again.  Stopping in last night and they were up to 6 so the move paid off. Another busy day today as Wayne will be up to hold down the fort in old minnesota while the hammer and I go down to the cities to see the kids for Christmas. I also took a few minutes to go see my old customer / friend Kirk. He jumped ship years ago and got hooked up with steve and tyler from bear paw. I always go track him down when he is here to say hi and shake his hand I always know when he is here because he reports on lake state fishings forum. He loves upper red lake and plans on spending a lot more time here when he retires in 16 months on such a grand lake.  Its a busy day again here as I need to get a better lay of the lake as if we get this snow they are predicting all the rough ice will be hiding out there.  Buddy Hillmen is allowing 3/4 trucks but no diesels. Please drive slow on the lake and do not go beyond the orange cones, there there for a reason  Every one have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and do a no snow dance for upper red lake

[Boar]

thanks Cookie!!

[hawg]

Drive safely Cookie, I'm heading there Sunday AM too. Looks like pretty much sleet and ice from Brainerd to just North of the metro where it turns into a thunderstorm.

[cookie]

Very quick report today as we will be gone for Christmas for 1 day. If you coming up tomorrow Christmas day you should try and check with the resort your going out of as the hub bub is some may be closing there roads if it get to bad. One of the worst thing for the roads is when traffic drive on them when the snow and wind are blowing. Every track made fills in with snow. Then the next track same thing. Every little disturbance of solid obstacle makes a drift. Then that’s gets disturb and it all keeps snow balling/ Please call before you make the drive. I have done no snow dance 1/2 dozen times. Hillmens store number is 218 647 8504 Every one have a Merry Christmas

[lovebigbluegills]

Thanks for the heads up!!! Have a Merry Christmas Cookie!!

[cookie]

Well it been a few crazy days. We had a great time down for Christmas but coming home sunday was a little longer trip due to the roads and weather. Our good friend Wayne held down the fort out on the lake in old minnesota doing a few chores for me and meeting some customers that were going to arrive sunday afternoon. They had to cancel as Buddy Hillmen closed his ice road do the the impending weather. My no snow dance must of worked as we did not get anywhere close to the snow they predicted , but wow with the wind. Having all the houses pretty much ready to go worked out well other then the snow drifts had to be broken up and moved. I had augured 4 holes in montana for rick and heather. There was quite a bit of snow around it with the typical flooding I felt. About the third pass with the red baron and I thought I saw a hole in the ice .Sure as sh a crack had went by the house and water was bubbling out of it due to all the snow drifted in front of it. Once I got the blunt of the snow moved away she quit bubbling.. Glen and Joe would be spending one night in there. I then wanted to put old Minnesota on fresh ice for Wayne's last night as he had been fishing in the same spot since Friday evening. That went well and we had it moved a ready to fish in no time. He had averaged about 5 fish a day. So not so good. The wind just kept getting worse through out the day creating white out conditions off and on. I had my helper Jimbo meet me to help move north Dakota as Tammy and Scott has spent friday night in there with little action. Scott was new to ice fishing and was his first time while Tammy had a little bit of experience. The hammer and I then met wayne out in old Minnesota for some surf and turf and a little card playing. 530 on the dot and I landed a very nice walleye on the green genze worm tipped with a minnow. While I was landing that on the rattle wheel the hammer landed a 21 incher. Just a tad bigger then the 20 incher I landed. We missed a couple more fish and then they just shut down. With over 20 holes to auger tuesday morning we called it a night around 9pm. Arriving out to montana Tuesday morning and Glen and Joe had tremendous fishing and Glen said the rattle wheels were just nuts. Mean while 150 feet away Wayne had 3 or 4 bites but was able to get his 3 to take home. After auguring all the holes it was time to start helping build Buddy Hillmens highway. We had 1.5 miles of road to clear off. There is a crack at 1.5 that crossed the road and buddy decided to cone it off for now and maybe it would heal up with out having to put a bridge out. By 2 pm I had all our customers checked in for the day and spent the rest of daylight cleaning up all the snow that had blown in front of the access. I did have my first casualty with the red baron and lost all of the exhaust from the y pipe back. She louds now but that 454 can let out some of them spent gasses a little better.
I had pool league Tuesday night so everyone was on there own. Yesterday morning making the rounds and Montana has landed 10 , North Dakota had 6 and they lost one while I was checking in on them. Old minnesota only had 2, while Ken and the girls in florida never landed a walleye. I'm hoping they did much better last night so we will see. Today we will be saying good bye to Frank and his crew Shwagg ,Breck, Gordy, Bradly and Danny and ken and the girls while Pat, Ryan and the two boys are here one more night. Big plans today as I attempt to put 3 of the 4 house on fresh ice before every one arrives. Jake and his crew in the cabin found some fish in there portables but did not pound on them. Still falling behind on my fishing reports but hopefully I have it dialed in now? Still spending to much time on the facebook page Cookie's on Upper Red Lake. I posted a pic from last night and all I could say was wozer. Check it out and feel free to leave a comment as I keep farting around with that page. And as Dave the old timer said to me "ITS A GRAND LAKE AND IT OWES ME NOTHING, NOTHiNG"

[Fawkinnae]

Nice report Cookie.

[cookie]

Thanks Fawkinnae I need two extra large shirts or one hoodie and one shirt plus new cards can you hook me up?
Yesterday went pretty well considering?
Got a call at 7am Gordie's keys got locked in his truck so I was off and running for the day. Putting out fires per say comes with the job. After getting into the truck we said our good byes as they hit the road. I would guess the two house old Minnesota and Montana got 20 fish. We did play a game of texas hold um Wednesday at prime time 5 pm. Out of 6 players I made it to third. Darn the luck. Ken and the girls did not fair very well in florida. Ken will be back up in a couple weeks to give it that old collage try. Pat, Ryan and the boys are here one more night in North Dakota. There new favorite house. And they loved Old Minnesota. They have went to westwind the premier resort for fish fry's two days in a row. Why does it always taste better when someone else makes it? I met my helper Jimbo back onshore for more training and off we went to clean, move , and set up 3 of the 5 of our fleet. With the winds howling out of the nw. Jimbo is picking it up nicely , In another week we will be working on the same page like a well oiled machine. Mother nature was being cruel out there all day. Trying to cut any trail was fruitless as it basically drifts as fast as you plow. Every wheel house, truck, and skid house now have 4 foot drifts around them. Should make it real interesting when they all start pulling out the next few days. There also will be a lot of flooding in all those spots I imagine As our grandma Olga would say in that Swedish accent and what we named our boat "EWWW IMAGINE THAT" After getting old Minnesota and Montana set up I had to find my way to shore and meet Rick, Mike and Matt. They have also been coming for years and always request old Minnesota. I did not mention north Dakota as I expect they to will jump ship just like Pat, if they spend the night in there. My good friend Jake built one hell of a house. Hindsight it could of been even bigger as the runners stick out on both ends and make it tough to plow the snow away from the house. On the way back out I also met Pang as they were out there in portables. Pang brought a rookie all the way from Germany and I will have to work on his name. I then got a hold of Mathai? and his family as they were going into Florida and I explained that I would not be able to move it due to the conditions. That was fine with them so back to shore I went to escort them out to Florida. Taking them to Florida in a blizzard /white out. Once I got them taken care of I was heading home for a little break as it was one heck of a day and to think I'm going to do it all over again today? Glad I love the work or I would be in big trouble. Just a few more things. Totally sick of accu weather so if any one has a better weather site chime in. We have a big blow coming at noon today with 3 to 6 inches of snow and the temps plummeting into next week . Batten down the hatches here we go. I knew coming into this winter she/mother nature was going to rear her ugly side this year. I just did the no snow, snow dance so will see if that works. Its going to be a absolute mess out there after new years. Making the rounds last night and all 4 houses had at least a couple fish so will see how they did over night. Another big day, not sure if my helper Jimbo can help me today. I would like to move north Dakota, Florida and north Carolina. Might be a little tough on my own but we will give it a shot because that's what I do on as the old timer Dave told me" ITS A GRAND LAKE AND IT OWES ME NOTHING,NOTHING" Wow I forgot to mention The elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie.

[Gunner55]

Cookie, I use weather.com all the time. Not sure if they have a app for mobile though, as I use the desktop. It's The Weather Channel's website & seems pretty accurate, most of the time, to me.

[cookie]

ill give it a look see  thanks

[HD]

They do have an app for the weather channel, I have it on my phone. Seems to be more accurate than most weathermen.

[cookie]

Wow ! Just crazy,
 This is going to be another long post. Pang, Terry and Pasel were in florida they had a interesting trip. The co stopped and pang had cleaned 2 of there 4 fish for lunch. The law says the only fish you can clean you must be in the process of cooking. he was nice enough to give him a warning but did confiscate his fillets and made him keep the carcasses as part of there limit. The highlight was 530pm that night when Terry landed a very chunky elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. My helper Jimbo could not help me friday so I recruited kellie the hammer to help me. She cleaned the houses while I attempted to move 3 houses in one day. North Dakota went pretty smooth, North Carolina was a quick move is it was just sitting out there on the lake. The hammer cleaned florida while I was moving north Dakota, when I arrived at north Dakotas new spot and unhooked the house I walked around the door side and the door had swung open. I closed the door and continued blocking and banking it as Jake and Justin would be arriving for one night. I then fire up the augur and the door will not open? Locked? about that time they call as they have arrived. I explained the situation and came to shore to get key for door. We get bac k out there and the door will not unlock? Wow  We boosted Justin through the window and had him remove the door handle where I took the ice chisel and busted out the innards . I got the holes augured out and headed over to block and bank north carolina and Mark and collete called they were at hillmens waiting for north Carolina. I banged out the prep work and again back to shore to escort them out. By then I was spent and florida would have to wait . making the rounds later that night and Justin and jake had 2, Rick, Mike and Matt had decent fishing and ate fish for the second night in a row. Mark and Collet also had a couple in the bucket. 
 Saturday morning Jimbo was able to come over and help me  move florida  before Ben and his family arrived. Ben proposed to Shawna years ago in old Minnesota and now they have 2 kids Willa and Louie. We also punched out the holes in montana and north dakota. Then just like that and all customers started rolling in. Cory and his family arrived for north Dakota. Tim and Amanda for montana and lee and larry for north Carolina. making the rounds later that night and lee and larry had left with there 6, Minnesota had some action. florida was slow as well as north Dakota. Tim and amada looked like they were sleeping as the lights were off .  Wow sunday I spent the day checking on everyone. I made a quick ice rink for Louie ,visited with everyone and plowed on buddy hillmens road prepping for the next snow storm? I did the no snow dance again as it has worked twice ..I sure do not expect it to work a third time? Crazy last night was quiet at all the houses when  I checked in with Tim and Amanda. No sooner then I left and Tim landed a 25 inch walleye. The families all had the lights low so I did not bother them. They sure enjoyed the lake out there yesterday with Cory and the kids chasing flags,  Ben and his family skating and also tending flags and just running around outside. Quite the site as the weather was just  beautiful. Wayne, the hammer and I did dinner in old Minnesota where we landed two fish, played cards and had a fabulous dinner, beef kabobs and shrimp.
 

[HD]

Nice report Cookie! 

[cookie]

Mother nature is kicking my butttt. Plan A turns in to plan B, Plan B turns into Plan 3 and from there its abort abort. Trying to find a groove to get in my morning updates has been a struggle for sure. The fishing over the new years weekend could of been better. I would say counting all the kids 33 fishermen 61 fish or so. Cory Abby and the kids did not fair that well but there friends right behind them got 12 and the group of wheel houses just behind them did fairly good. Missed it by 100 yards .  Monday morning and we were up to 8 inches of powdery snow and Hillmens highway was pretty much gone. I would say it looked like the moon out there. With the wind howling everything on the lake was drifted in. The big plans were to get all the houses moved. Wayne was staying in old Minnesota until Wednesday . He was fine staying where the house was after Rick and his brothers Mike and Matt left sunday. Each day got worse , it never seems to get better.  He went home with his three but there was not much action. Dan, Rich and Tony? checked into montana and nded up getting 5 the first night.  Dan in north Carolina did about the same but did land a pike on the rattle wheel. He did get some line burns on his hands as he decided to put fire line on one of the rattle wheels. We did get north Dakota moved but the snowy condition got so bad with white outs that we had to throw in the towel. Tuesday and again all the plans went out the window. Buddy Hillmen's road needed to be cleared so we basically plowed most of the day. The wind was again howling with snow drifting as fast as you moved it, very frustrating  as you can not beat mother nature. The side road I had plowed was gone. I spent close to 3 hours cleaning all the snow that had accumulated at the end of hillmens highway road. Dan and Megan also showed up for one day so I had to check them in.  They spent 1 night and got 3. Dan had a side by side with tracks and they went all the way to center bar where they got skunked.  Yesterday I cut a new trail to the houses said goodbye to the guys,  We moved florida and prepped as Bob  and his crew would be arriving around dusk. Buddy hillmen decided to cross the crack at the cones and open the road out to the next pressure ridge, I also checked Tom and his crew into north Dakota for a day of fishing. Monday we took  the hammers trail blazer in for tires and the ac pumped locked up when I arrived at the tire shop so when the tires were done I had to have a flat bed come pick it up and take it too a repair shop brand new tires and we had to tow it. I got the summer beater going . I come back off the lake last night and hit the key and nothing Starter? plus while we were clearing buddy's highway the red baron quit and we towed it to shore where the mechanic Tom is going to track down the problem today. We think its a broken ignition wire. So our daily driver  is our lake truck blue thunder. Zoiks!!! is all I can say. Just another day as the old timer up here said to me years ago "ITS A GRAND LAKE AND IT OWES ME NOTHING NOTHING"

[cookie]

So here we go another weekend has arrived. The good news is the red baron is up and running again. It was icu or ecu in the distributer cap. I have a hard time throwing things away up here and sure as shi I had one in my collection of parts. The red baron with its big v-plow and 454 is my all around work truck, Blue thunder is our plowand house moving machine.
 Tom and his 3 buddies fished north Dakota for the day on Wednesday and did all right ,plus they landed two pike over 30 on there rod and reels. Yesterday I put in a long tough day as again mother nature said here take this 11 below zero all day,the wind would of been a asssss kicker but it was lite and variable just like the new weather site I’m now using predicted they were spot on.
 I had Bob and his crew in florida for the night and they ended up with 6, Craig and his buddies arrived to fish in north Dakota for the day as they were with Bob and his crew in Florida. I had to bump Bob and his crew in to Old Minnesota for the day as Florida was rented to Ron and his cousin’s Tony and Eric from new jersey of all places “That brings nightmares of my army training at fort dix new jersey” They did not roll in tell after 9 pm last night so I basically spent 12 straight hours on the lake other then coming home to switch trucks and have dinner. yesterday I moved, prepped and augured holes in north Carolina as Ron and his cousins will also be using that house. I then got montana moved and prepped. I will punch out the holes later today for Tanner and his crew that also have north Dakota and the cabin for the weekend. 5 wheel house in snuck behind me and set up so I hope any fish are not coming from thataway. they all drove right over my extension cords across the road? Oh well what can you do there all potential customers in my book. I make some crazy roads around my house with the red baron and its way easy to get confused. I’m not a road engineer I tell the honey bunny “the hammer” when she asks. I do have a reason why I plow this way, plus its fun turning into the big berms with the v-plow grin I have no clue when Tanner and his crew will be arriving and I need to get north Dakota moved closer to montana. I also have to move old Minnesota before dark as hunter and his crew arrive some time after 8 pm tonight. My helper Jimbo had other commitments yesterday and today so I’m on my own again. Not looking forward to punching 22 holes today plus a few extra for Ron and his cousins tip ups. My poor back is worn out as I have dealt with back pain for over 30 years. Speaking of 30 years the hammer and I have been married 39 years today. Not sure how she has put up with all my shenanigan’s but she knew how I felt about divorcing when we married . She was only 15 and I was a day older then 17. I never forget the day we met she was coming up the stairs where they lived and I was going down the stairs with her brother. We got down in the basement and I said to Dan “who is that” She got up stairs and said oh my gosh did you see that long haired guy Danny brought home. To funny. It was love at first site for me as I ask Dan, is that your older sister? He said nope my younger sister. Time to get to work. 27 below and I have one very busy day on as The old timer Dave said ITS A GRAND LAKE! A GRAND LAKE! AND IT OWES ME NOTHING! NOTHING! I will always be bummed that when I took that blind man fishing we never got a bite nd he jigged for 3 hours never sitting his rod down.

[lovebigbluegills]

Nice report cookie, and Happy Anniversary!!!!!

[HD]

Be careful out there Cookie!

[cookie]

Another weeks has arrived and some how I survived. I headed out just after sunrise to check on Ron and his cousins Ted and Eric "THE JERSEY BOYS" They had 5 in the bucket and Eric  had landed a 40 inch pike in the middle of the night. Ron also said the heater in North Carolina quit. I knew right away the propane had liquefied due to the cold so I boiled up some water to poor on it to get the pressure back. Well I learned a valuable lesson and got lucky. As I was walking over to the tank the water sloshed out right on my hand. I had a cloth glove on and could not get it off quick enough. It got the inside of my hand pretty good and stung the rest of the day but never blistered  Note always where a leather glove when walking with a pot of boiling water.  I got the heat going then did some prep work with the red baron and headed home to get blue thunder. I headed back out, the first thing to do was grab Tony's old house California and get that set up. As soon as I took off in tow  old blue thunder all of a sudden had a clunk. OH OH this did not sound good. I was committed to have it set up so I slowly continued while getting a hold of my mechanic Tom to get out here and see what kind of a problem I had.  I was able to get California set up  and then head over to north Dakota and start digging it out. Luckily I had broken up some of the banking with the red baron when I was on the lake earlier that morning as when tom arrived it was not good news. The front drive shot was on the verge of falling out as all three u joints are shot. being pressed for time I decided I would give it one shot pulling north Dakota out of its perch with only 2 wheel drive. 1 attempt was made and it was not happing I got her moving but after  moving less then a foot she spun the tires and it was done moving. Looking back The one mistake I made is I was dealing with a phone call at the same time and should of had all my attention on the initial pull . Seems I'm always learning from my own mistakes. Now just like all most every day plan A had been changed to plan B. Back home a third time, transfer all the gear back into  the red baron as she now was going to do blue thunders work. Once I arrived back out there and again the phone rings Tanner and his crew of 12 were here. They were willing to help so I gave them directions  to come on out  and I continued. using the v-plow to bank a house is tough and quite a bit of shoveling had to be done to bank the houses.. The guys arrived and were like what can we do. perfect augur the holes. Ten minutes later and they came over there augur would not start and would need mine. We got the hole augured  and them checked in and I was off to move old Minnesota.  I was running out of time, but luck was on my side as Hunter and his crew were not arriving un tell 8 pm. A lot of hand digging was in order as the v-plow can not move the snow away from the houses.  The move went pretty well other then the time and labor it takes to hand bank a house. just as I buttoned it up and Ring were here. Wow what a day.12 straight hours of humping and all the customers were checked in.
Saturday morning making the rounds and darn with all the houses on fresh ice the fishing was not that good, Florida had a few more fish, old Minnesota had one fish , montana none and north Dakota one. A few fish were missed and lost but pretty darn slow. I made a few phone calls and from what I gathered it was pretty slow all over the lake. Stupid fish . Chuck and his wife in there wheel house had got 3. a couple outfitters also had poor fishing. Goose was down south and had tremendous fishing Thursday but it had slowed way down. Tanner and his crew were playing dice every time I checked in while the guys in montana had borrowed my augur to run and gun. They did find a few perch and another of the very elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. A nice 14 1/2 incher. Tanner invited me out to watch the oakland game. I arrived just after kick off and again they were all playing dice . 20 minutes later and bang a fish was missed while another was caught. Then bang another fish caught another missed. Just like that the dice were thrown in the corner and every one was fishing. That was nice to see. I headed home for dinner. Making the rounds later and florida was up to 14 fish caught they would be leaving early sunday morning. I hung out and visited with Ted,Eric and Ron where not a fish bit while I was there. Stupid fish. I called it a night after a quick stop to old Minnesota with hunter and his group. They only had 3 in the bucket. I told them I would plan on moving them the next morning as they were here for 3 nights. Sunday morning and Tanner and his crew of 12 were packing up, they all took off Saturday evening to hit the casino, so there was no fishing in montana or north Dakota from 8 pm un tell they arrived back a some time in the middle of the night. We said our good buys and I headed over to old Minnesota where I bumped the guys into north Dakota for there last night. I then headed to shore where I helped Buddy Hillmen get all the bridge out of the woods as if were going to go further west there will be a couple cracks and pressure ridges to cross.  Jimbo met me at the house around 2pm where we went out and prepped houses and moved montana before it got dark. Last night Hunter and his crew had caught a 32 inch pike rite after I had left earlier plus they had another walleye in the bucket.. The hammer and here friend Nancy arrived in old Minnesota where Nancy lost a big fish. They also landed 1 keeper walleye. The hammer was marking fish but they refused to bite. Stupid fish. We called it a night and headed home. Chuck and his wife did manage to get there 6 in there wheel house, Kim and Tim had got 5 in there wheel house and I headed home tired and worn out. All in all it was a grind on a Grand Lake that as the old timer Dave told me ITS A GRAND LAKE AND IT  OWES ME NOTHING !NOTHING!!!!

[cookie]

wow yesterday was a grind? We attempted to plow a road around the pressure ridge at 3 miles. 3 v plows running full tilt from 11 am to 11pm. The red baron went through her paces and I sweated that I would not burn up the tranny. Trying to push all the snow to the south east. As we piled up the snow it got to the point where we had to blast through it to make areas for the snow to go. I jerked both Buddy hillmen and Kelly the mechanic out of snow piles a couple times. Around 4pm I checked the houses as I came in for gas. I also had Jimbo try and retrieve the front driveshaft off of blue thunder 1. 3 bolts on the rear would not come loose so we oiled them down and will attempt today or tomorrow. Jimbo has other engagements so I'm on my own as I move North Dakota on to a new spot for John v and his crew. I'll be doing the no snow, snow dance when I step out the door but it worked twice at the beginning of the year and I may of used them up. Those were two big snows we did not need on the early ice so it worked out. Hunter and his crew did horrible in old Minnesota so I bumped them into north Dakota the last day. They did land a 32 inch pike but plowing all day yesterday not sure if they got any more walleyes. The hammer and her friend nancy fished for a couple hours sunday eve, in old Minnesota The hammer got a keeper and nancy had a big fish on when they first set up Plenty to do today and were hoping the hammers truck is done as we have no car to leave town. also any one out there want to drive a1990 chevy truck here from Colorado? We could barter for fishing if need be. So as The old Timer Dave told me "ITS A GRAND LAKE AND IT OWES ME NOTHING!!!! as I walk out the door to hit the ice

[cookie]

man oh man where does the days go. Tuesday morning I had my plan of attack. I would head out in the red baron to move and prep north Dakota for John and his crew Tony, Bernie and Ron.  Due to the high wind' s and snow Monday I figured a extra hour for moving the house by my self as jimbo my helper had other engagements.  Looking out the window here at home it looked like a nice day. When I hit the lake I was greeted with high winds and white out conditions. My side road going northwest off the main road should be fine I thought. To my surprise she was blown in pretty good. As I worked my way up it I stopped every 30 yards to place a marker out so I could see the road coming back. Digging out north dakota  went well. I drove over to the new area to break a trail and that's where it got interesting to say the least. It was blowing so hard I made a circle came back over to north Dakota made a second round and you could hardly see where I passed through as it was basically filling in as fast as I plowed it. The worse thing you can do is put a berm on both sides and that exactly what the red baron does.  Coming around the third time and I had to get out and mark where I wanted the house with blocks to even see. A few more psses and I had the spot cleared but she was filling in fast. Never planned on spending a hour just clearing a spot. Mother nature was at it again. Things just got crazier as I plugged along. I get the house all blocked and banked on the side and decide I will go get blue thunder to bank the ends, Here's where I made another mistake because here at cookies as my good buddy Wayne  says. "We do it right cause we do it twice" Man do we laugh. I head down the road picking up a little speed as the plan is to make 3 quick passes and clear  out the road. As I get towards the end I slow down to get my bearings and come across buddy's road. Its white out conditions and the main road is gone? As I creep along looking for a marker the red baron comes to a stop? I plow right across the road and drove the red baron right in to the berm where there's 2 feet of water and slush under the berm. I'm now stuck. I grab my phone and its dead. I do a little digging but there is no way its coming out with out a pull. Mean while the pass I made down the secondary road is filling in errrrr!  I decide to just stay put hoping some one will come by,10 minutes or so and here comes a diesel. A quick pull and I head back to north Dakota to hand bank it,The road is completely full of snow. I grab the generator and it will not start errrr. I head back to shore to get tit running and john and his crew arrive, I take care of the generator get back out there with them. Go to auger the holes and the brand new blades are dull as I had borrowed  it to the guys last weekend when there would not run errrr! just crazy. I then get a call from Jimbo and he is buried as he drove into a drift. I head over to him as the winds are finally dying down and the sun is setting. We get him out and he has a flat tire?  I tow him to shore and come home toget the jack and a breaker bar to help him out. wow what a day.
Yesterday I take the hammer to work and the red baron is running like crapola. The rear tire is flat. I air up the tire and let the red baron warm up and it starts to run a little better. I go out to  check on the guys in north dakota  they had 6. I come home get the tire off of red baron and we head to blackduck to get the hammers vechicle plus repair my tire and Jimbos.  We get home and I head out to rescue Jimbos plow truck which is been stuck with a broken plow  since last Friday. We take care of that and  head out where we got Minnesota and florida moved and prepped before dark just like a well oiled machine. I  talked to the guys they had 5 more and a couple line snappers. Bushed I headed home to regroup and now today its time to hit the ice. From the looks of it 30 mile per hour winds it should be a interesting day on such a grand lake

[The General]

We love to read your adventures Cookie and looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.  I hope today day plan A works for you.

[LPS]

Man Cookie I need a nap after just reading your adventures...

[lovebigbluegills]

Man Cookie I need a nap after just reading your adventures...

That's for sure!!! Hopefully things go good for you today Cookie!!!!