Just like that mother nature throws a big monkey wrench it the whole operation. With a good inch of snow, throw in some wind, then another inch of snow. Plan a turns into a scramble as we say good bye to Garret and Brian today. We had them in our new ice castle Kentucy. Friday night into yesterday morning was a bust so Jonny boy and I moved them to what we expected to be better fishing. Last I had checked they had started to catch a few.

Andy and Andy were set up off in the distance all by them self’s. They also brought Sam’s wheel house up for Sam as he has a diesel. They always bring there own generator so they can be off by them self . They totally beleave in the further you are from any one the better the fishing. Sam and his wife set up a good 500 yards away where they been pounding the fish for two days. Andy and Andy are doing all also doing all right with a nice batch of fish.

Wayne rolled in for old Minnesota yesterday. Today we will be moving him as that spot was a big bust. Brian and Stacy arrived for Florida and proceeded to put the smack down on the fish. They had 7 when I stopped in last night. They are set up less the 2oo feet where Kentucky had horrible fishing in Kentucky.
Paul and Jason arrived for 1 night stay in north Carolina. I will find out how they did later today,
Jonny boy and I have a lot to do today . The winds have piled up the drifts around everything which throws in a whole bunch of extra work.
Rick and Gordy arrive for montana so I would like that on a new spot. North Dakota needs to be set up for Joes one night stay, Dave also will be arriving for one night in north Carolina.
Then California, Old Minnesota and North Dakota all have Shela’s family arriving tomorrow.

Duke and his wife in there wheel house also landed on the honey hole. Duke figured they got over 50 fish.
Randy Rum and his dad did real well the first night but it slowed down for them yesterday.
With this 2 inches of snow and the winds blowing it around the lake has become a land mine . There are quite a few areas of broken ice fields that are now hidden under the snow. bah hah ing cross country will be much more difficult now.
Hillmens Highway has 7 miles of road to clean up today and tomorrow. Today is going to be one long day. She should be a challenge as we battle mother nature on such a grand lake that owes us nothing

Lenny 1 and 2 headed home yesterday after a 3 night visit in Old Minnesota. Jonny boy and I moved them after the second day so we had them fish in montana while we moved where they picked up 2. Another great couple of guys. They ate fish, as well as took there 8 home.

I got Greg Lyle and there buddy checked into our new addition Kentucky . They were getting a few fish, Lyle got 3 mid day when the other two went to get ice. We will be saying good bye to them this morning, then its back to high gear after a good nights rest.
Lacy and Kyler had slow fishing in there wheel house and made a move. Its sounds like they may of found the mother load.
Lonnie was up for a quick trip. They had there 8 before dark. I see a pattern here Its much quieter during the mid week,with everyone spread out the fishing seems to pick up. Then by Saturday morning the bite slows as augurs are fired up ,traffic is traveling around making the ice pop and crackle.

I think I got the furnace fixed in California which is good . It kept going out, We determined it was rusty from moisture after sitting 9 months of the year.
We also had another spectacular, stellar sunset last night as I came off the lake.
Today is another moving day as we set up for the weekend. Kentucy and North Dakota are still open for the weekend. Then the day after Christmas it get crazy busy up here. I think I could of rented 30 houses between the 25th and 30th.
We still have some weekend stuff available mid jan through feb. I also offer 20 % off sundays through Wednesdays.
Yesterday I had over 50 phone calls. The best time to call me is early morning before my mind is going a mile a minute.
Hillmens road is again a highway. The speed limit is under 10 mph plus slower over the bridge. They are still only allowing 1/2 ton trucks with tandem axle fish houses as we are around 15 inches of ice give or take a inch.

I also noticed the south berm is starting to seep water, Busting through it to go north or south is always a bad idea.

Jonny boy was able to install the water pump in white lightning yesterday so I’m looking forward to driving that as my old back is taking a pounding in the plow trucks. Plus the heater works real good .
The red barons fuel pump is still not working, We need to figure if its a connection or the pump went out. Of course I had just gassed it up so the tank is full. Being a 1 ton it will be a while before she goes on the lake.
I made a bone head mistake Monday morning. I was checking the fluids in Blue thunder .The oil was a quart low so I grabbed a gallon of oil and a funnel . I stretched out to dump some oil in and gave blue thunder a good shot of antifreeze instead. I wanted to change the oil any way so we ended up changing the oil. I also noticed the batterie box had broken and the batterie was fraction away from grounding out on the fenderwell. It always pays off to pop the hood and give the trucks a once over every morning.
Looks like its time to hit the lake.

Another busy day is in the books.
Got out to Kentucky fish house to say good bye to Dan and Larry, They had a grand time, on a grand lake, in a grand ice castle. Dan was so impressed he says he may bye one. There goes another customers? Darn ice castles.
They ate like kings. They had a couple ribeyes that had to be 2/1/2 inches thick.
The fishing could of been better. I still think I was to deep at 8 feet. The problem with that is when someone drives 4 hours plus, then drives out on the lake 1/4 mile and sees all the shacks out in the distance! It just does not work. Now if we drove all the way across the lake and set up 1/4 mile from the north shore in 7 feet of water it would be a whole different story.
Old Minnesota had Bill and his buddy one more night. We are going to have them fish in montana while we move there house to greener pastures. Jonny Boy did pretty good last night so that’s kinda where were headed.
Will also be saying good bye to Craig and Bill. They have enjoyed there stay in north Dakota. Of course the fishing could of been better but they will be taking home 8 fish I think. We did visit last night for a bit. It was a hoot playing some texas hold um and having some chili and crackers.
Today Lyle and Greg will be arriving. We had to bump them into Kentucky as I’m still working on the heater in California.
Time to hit the lake

Well it was along 3 day weekend to say the least..
We had a few hick ups. Plus mother nature had to throw in her 2 cents.
Two of the dvd players would not work, even though they worked before the houses hit the lake.
The warm weather. 46 on Saturday made water puddles all around the houses. Then Saturday night they all turned to ice. So sunday was a no brainer, Jonny boy and I put it into high gear and moved the whole fleet . To deeper greener pastures.
North Carolina did the best catching there 8. plus eating a couple fish.
Old Minnesota had our grand daughter Asley, Devon and Our great grand son Bentley, they got 5 before we moved them deeper where they only caught a few more, Devon did get to battle a big pike for a bit. Our great grandson Bently. That’s the 7th generation wetting a line. He also got to real one in.
Larry and Dan were in the new ice castle Kentucky. They managed a few fish . We also moved them yesterday.

Boar and his wife were in florida. They were out in there portable all day Saturday into the evening, They went south and caught fish all day.
California’s heater would again not stay lit, even after I replaced the orifice. I have to work on that again today.
Montana got a couple fish last night so we will see how everyone did this morning when we say good bye.
Denny and his buddy checked into old Minnesota they also had a couple last night.
Pat his son and grandson got 3 in florida and went to westwind last night to have them cooked for dinner.
Craig and his dad were in north Dakota they also had a couple when I swung in last night.
The guys in the cabin. Ryan, Joe and Dan had a snowbear. They caught fish but never hit the mother load.
We will get things dialed in a s we push further out the next few days.
The warm weather played havoc on some of the pressure ridges around the lake. The one out of hillmens a mile out did not look like it has moved so that’s a good thing. I drove over the bridge last nice .she seems pretty solid right now.

ill , Theresa spent one night in Montana, They managed tow get 2 walleyes under 17. 1 around 20 inches , They also landed a 36 inch pike. So all in all Not to good.
The fishing has been way better out deeper , but with this warm up and my houses weighing 5 to 7 thousands pounds. I need to use common sense and stay on this side of the pressure ridge for now.
When the weather warms the ice expands , the weakest link is the pressure ridges and can become quite active.

Its just getting light, but from what I have heard through the grape vine the lake was gowning and popping last night with a couple new breaks so if your coming up please check at the resort you plan on accessing. There crews are out there everyday and know more about what”s going on with bridges ,cracks and areas that should be avoided.
Right now the temps are just to mild to make much if any ice. I was surprised to measured 13 1/4 where I have old Minnesota. I imagine there’s a bit more snow closer to shore so were seeing a inch or more further out where’s there’s less snow. We have guest coming today with a few not coming tell tomorrow.

She was a bit chilly this morning with a brisk -1. I’ll measure the ice where the houses are later today . I expect we have to be getting close to 15 inches but will see.

There been quite a bit of activity on the lake with all the resorts / outfitters getting fish houses ready for the up and coming weekend.. We did have some one cancel florida fish house for this weekend. I’ll be heading out in a bit to dig her out and move it to a new location. I did have Lorenzo and his gal Janel in there for two nights. They had 6 yesterday morning. Lorenzo said the rattle wheels were going off in the middle of the night also.
Last night was pretty quiet out there. Lorenzo did wake up to quite the mess as all the rattle wheel lines were tangled. He said he learned his lesson and next time he will only leave down 2 lines.

Bobby and Darrel spent the night in montana. Very slow even thought it was on a brand new spot. Stupid fish.
Dan showed up to stay in old Minnesota . He had 2 on the ice this morning. I’m hoping it was just a slow day but will see. Dan and his buddy are staying 1 more night.
It going to get down around 5 tonight then its starts to warm up again. Tough making ice but we have to remember its only dec 11th. Its best to check with the resort your going out of if your coming up as they all seem to be on a different page.

I did talk to 2 guys coming off the lake this morning that fished out further. They only got one so Minnesota did twice as good.
I also plan on getting out hunting again, so I’ll share another deer hunting story.
I was walking the fence line of a field when a deer snorted at me. I could not see him in the woods but he was stomping and snorting. I have gotten pretty good of snorting back . Figuring I had nothing to lose I stopped and snorted back, he then snorted again. We went back in forth for at least a minute, Then I heard him storm off going way from me. He ran about 50 yards and snorted again. I again snorted and I heard him come running back through the woods breaking branches, pounding his hoofs. I’m standing in the open with a line of pine trees just to my right and the fence and woods on the left. He then takes off again but this time he gets to where he was before. He comes flying out of the woods jumping the barbwire fence. He runs into the pines trees and coming running down them towards me. When he gets to the last pine tree he runs right up to me. He’s just a small fork horn buck. He hits the brakes about 6 feet from me . I start to pull my bow back and he whirls away and runs off. It was the darnd est thing.

Well the season has officially started for us. Jonny boy and I spent Friday morning getting florida, monatna , old Minnesota, blocked, banked and augured.
Jonny boy then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging with Paul and Quinten. They were here for two days with there snowbear. They managed to find a few fish but I was surprised they did not do better.
I got all our guest checked in, They all brought wheelers so I escorted them to the house’s. Mike Don and Chris decided to just kick back in Montana and hit it hard Saturday. They managed to get a couple of fish for dinner. Saturday they headed out deeper but did not do that well. They did manage to get 3 more out of the house.
John and Rick checked into florida fish house. They also managed to catch a couple in the house through out the weekend. They did manage to find some good fishing.
Wayne and I fished old Minnesota through out the weekend. We ended up with 7 keepers two of them be over 17 inches, We also figured we lost twice as many so I thought it was good fishing.
Jim and Jarrod tapped into our generator Saturday and managed to get a few fish also.
North Dakota was next to shore as a cabin. 4 younger kids Chris, Austin, Dan, and Drew stayed there. The first day they did not do that well, Saturday was a different story as they did much better.
After saying good bye yesterday. Jonny boy and I proceeded to move florida, montana and north carolina . I checked Lorenzo and his gal Jenel in around 3. When I stopped into to check on them they had 2 and had missed a couple.
I’m not sure why the snow is like it is but I can not remember snow banking like this . Its like perfect, I would say its like a lite sugar sand. That would be cool if it stayed like that all season.
Jonny boy spent Saturday eve fishing With Chris, They did real well some where to the south.
We did gain 2 inches of ice as I measured 14 inches yesterday, We will be digging out old Minnesota today and move it to a new spot. California and North Dakota will also hit the ice in the next day or two.

Its a hub bub of activity here on the shores of upper red lake. All the outfits are moving smaller house out for the weekend. They all have different rules for the ice roads so you need to check with the resorts your going out of. If I’m not mistaken Hillmens is still at side by side and single axle fish houses. up to a mile out. There’s a pressure ridge that has been active since it formed so There a good chance we will be dealing with that all year. You hate to wish for super cold weather but its the nature of the beast so that what we could use.
I have been on the lake and augured 2 holes. 1 I measured exactly 11 1/2 inches the other spot a mile away 12inches on the button. That was yesterday before last nights colder temp.

Lonnie was up with Kriag. They managed to take there fish home. I think they tried 3 spots in two days, last night they did go have a burger at westwinds.
I now have all the houses staged in front of Hillmen”s for the weekend. What a great feeling being on the lake again for my 18th season. A few of the houses will be fished this weekend. while a couple others still need to stick close to shore. The houses are set up pretty shallow so will try and be extra quiet with the lights toned down.
We put a new gas tank on the red baron this late summer. I mentioned to my buddy wayne. I should just put a new fuel pump in it. We decided no if we need one we could always take the one out of the other tank as that is also going to be replaced. Well after driving it a round all fall she puked down at the lake this morning. ” dirty dog”. I’m hoping its just a bad connection .
No deer story today

From my observations, and from my guest, I would have to say the lake got absolutely pounded this past weekend. I even ate some fresh fish this past weekend, even though I still have not wet a line. Yesterday from the sounds of it was a bit slower, but that only makes sense as there were 1/4 of the fishermen from Saturday. For some reason you never see the poor reports. I guess I should of wet a line to say I did not catch any.
Our friend Jeff brought up his ice castle for us to rent so last night we went over all the bells and whistles.. Wow what a unit. They have thought of every thing on them ice castles. Even though the house is not themed per say were going to nick name it Kentucky. A customers/ Kim joy and Tim bob had ask me if I would name the next house Kentucky. Kentucky will sleep 4 very comfortably.
I got Florida and old Minnesota recleaned yesterday. The cabin ,Montana and north Dakota will be on the to do list today. The cabin is wide open un tell Friday.
The plan as of today is start getting the houses out of the woods , out on the ice where they will be staged waiting for more ice. I would say crunch time is just around the corner. I sure would like the houses on 14 inches of ice to start the season.
Hillmen’s highway is shaping up nicely, Buddy Hillmen has staked it out quite a ways. I will have more info tomorrow once I talk to him.
I’m planning on getting out to my deer stand tonight as the wind will be in my favor, I’ve never been a trophy hunter but feel I have a knack for finding there hiding spots.
Back when I did a lot of still hunting. I was hunting the woods I had taken my first deer. I had been over that oak ridge many, many times so I knew it very well.
I had cut a trial through the swamp every time I walked through from that direction. I would trim branches and move obstacles. I had walked the perimeter many times over a few years. That morning I was basically walking the same route I had when I harvested my first deer a heavy 10 point 200 lb. field dressed deer. As I was working my way through the oak trees I spotted him before he spotted me. I could see he was another big bodied deer with a nice rack. My heart began to pound. He was tailing away from me about 60 yards away. I would have to get closer for a shot. As I watched him through the woods. I did my best to be silent and close the gap. After maybe gaining 10 yards all of a sudden he was gone. I had for gotten that there was a low spot in that area. I took a few more quick steps and all of a sudden he was standing right in front of me 30 yards away. I froze but I was busted. He snorted, whirled around and took off like a rocket. My first thought was! I know right where he is going. I take off running threw the woods with bow in hand. I get to where I expect him to come out. Totally out of breath! Seconds later he comes off the oak ridge running right past me as I’m standing there so out of breath. I can not even get my bow in position. I could of reached out a poked him as he ran buy.

I guess you would call it maybe a fishing frenzy. We had a few guest stay here on shore in the houses. Boar aka Jeff and Lori figured they landed 25 fish through out the day after moving once. They kept there 8 and came off the lake before dark where they headed to Westwind the premier resort here on the shores of upper red lake, where they did the hook and cook for 10 dollars.
Mike and Jane also got there 8.
Jeff and his 2 boys brought up the ice castle I will renting this year. I have not nick named it but its a beauty. Were going to go over some details later today.
Wild Bill came up with His son Brandon and a couple of Brandons friends. They did not do as well but went home with a few.
Jake and his son Trent also came up and did well. Trent is in 4th grade , he out fished his dad . Plus he shot his first duck this year. We chatted about kids hunting and fishing, Nice to see for sure.
Ryan and his crew stayed in the cabin. They also had great fishing.
Brent and his buddy Tony ? stayed in Old Minnesota. They struggled the first day but managed to find a couple yesterday.
Just as I figured she was going to be busy this weekend. I counted well over 100 vehicles at westwind another 50 or so parked at Hillmens. Looking out on the lake they were pop ups strung out all along where beacon harbor has there marked trail.
Our plans are to clean the house’s for the third time. Then I will be staging them on the lake for the up and coming weekend. They may or may not be out in fishy water, as we still need a couple more inches of ice. I have had them on 12 inches but they do flood.
I did spend some time over at Hillmens resort working on the main road. Just like every other year, you could land a 747 on it if need be. A mile out there is a active pressure ridge. From the looks of it we will be dealing with a bridge a good part of the year. I could be wrong which would be a good thing.
Good old mother nature, It can be tough wishing for super cold but its the nature of the beast. I guess I need to now start doing a come on cold, cold dance?
The snow we got will make banking up the house nice ,as I like to bank them like there’s no tomorrow. Its more work but well worth it.
The strong ne winds put a damper on my hunt as the wind was not favorable for my stand.
I hope everyone is enjoying my deer stories , who knows maybe one of my mishaps will help you harvest a deer.
I had placed a stand in the middle of a swamp. There were a few trees just large enough for a portable. I have always hung my stands about 6 feet of the ground.
I had purchased my first grunt call. I had never used one. There I was sitting in the bare tree in the middle of a swamp with no cover other then the tree truck which was just round enough to support my stand. About 75 yards just to my left I see a nice 6 point buck or so, angling away from me. I pull out the grunt tube and give it 3 quick bleeps and he stops in his tracks. He looks my way. Hmmm I think? I bleep it a couple more times, he turns and starts trotting right towards me. He never stops. He trots right at me where he stops not 10 feet away. Looking straight at me we have what seemed like a 10 minute stare off, he huffs, he puffs, he stomps his hoof. Over and over. I ‘m holding my bow with a arrow knocked, again my heart is pounding. He finally has had enough of this blob in a tree , he gives out a big snort and bounds away.. The lesson I learned that day . I always carry a grunt tube. I constantly bleep on them while sitting on stand in the woods. You just never know when a deer is with in hearing range but you do not see them.