Little testy yesterday? yes its true. Another busy day for me yesterday. Marty and his buddy headed out to see Wayne while I wrote my fishing report.
Wayne text yesterday morning that we were having generator trouble? We worked on it through the phone and wayne was able to get it running better at half choke. We discovered that the foam air filter was breaking down and I think the jet/ needle and seat may be clogged. So this morning I’m headed out to the shop . Laundry room to remove and clean the carb.
Yesterday with Wayne’s help, we putt he new plug wires on the red baron. Wow what a difference. Knock on wood she /he now runs like I want  it to.
After saying good by to wayne I was off to get North Dakota on a new spot and out of the standing water. Then I dug florida out of its spot and got that on dry ice? Dave Rohde arrives today so I will get north Dakota all blocked banked and ready fro there arrival. I also plan on moving old Minnesota to that area. Then florida needs to travel over by montana for the weekend.
All that nice weather  we had , and even though it was warm yesterday the wind had picked up a bit and it was a little chilly while I was working out there. II’ll make sure I dress better for it this morning.
I did make the rounds last night around 8pm. I did not expect Marty and his buddy to have much action and I was right. 4th night on the same spot.
Keith and Tesa  had 3 nice fish yesterday morning and had missed a few. The lights were dim when I arrived out there so I will see how they did today. A wheel house parked right behind north dakata where I had it so I’m curious to see how they did. My friend Lee set up 100 yards to the west of old Minnesota so we will also see how he did.
Looking at the weather the winds are going to be out of the west for some time so all the houses will be facing east by the weekend.
Well time to get to work. Hillmen’s highway should be in great shape by the weekend as the cold weather freezes up the standiing water

Well well where to begin. This past Friday went a little smoother checking in our customers, all though I still had a few other issues?
You can never totally go with the plan and I’m constantly improvising something .This time it was the red baron.
Farting around with the spark plug wires I was confident I had my missing problem solved. I head up to North country food fuel gas, up and I’m still not happy with the red baron so I pop the hood and start messing with the wires again. I hit the lake and now its running worse then ever? Oh well new wires are coming so I forge my way out too finish prepping.
My timing is perfect all day long as I get every one checked in as they arrive.
Of course mother nature now does a flip flop and there’s standing water around the houses with the warm temps. Oh Well the January thaw! its better then 40 below,
  Dan and Dave/Gravy” great nick name’, checked into north Carolina, What a great couple of guys. Gravy was like having a helper out there as he was all over gassing up the generator and meeting the neighbors after I checked them in.
 Justin and Megan arrived for north Dakota with Ron and Caroline arriving later in the day. Ken ,Carl, Terry and Sarah arrived  for florida right on time. They have ben here before and know the routine . 
After taking care of them I was off to old Minnesota to prep for Wayne’s arrival. Jarrod and Jeromy would not be arriving tell after 10 pm. for montana. After finishing up I headed to shore with the red baron running like crap.
 Arriving back on shore I decide to again look at the plug wires and discover number 2 plug wire is not even on? To funny I guess! As my good friend wayne says, here at Cookie’s we do it right cause we do it twice and some times even Thrice.  Plugging the wire in and just like that after all the fooling around re routing the wires  she running 80 % better . Man am I looking forward to installing them new wires today.
Making the rounds later that evening and every one was having a grand time,
Saturday morning and all the house’s had some fish and fish stories to tell. How sweet a feeling that is!
Saturday evening and again making the rounds we were starting to see a lot of standing water in the roads and around the houses. You can not beat mother nature out there no mater how hard you try.
  We fished with Wayne and his sister Kathy where again the hammer was up to here old tricks landing a elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. I even got in on the action and landed a nice keeper walleye.
Sunday morning  making the rounds and saying good by,  Gravy Dave and as Carolina  said” Dan was biscuit were headed home with only 5? I’m not sure if they ate any.
Ken, Carl Sarah and Terry? in florida had a great time. They were going home with a few nice perch and 7 keepers walleyes plus a number of misses and a couple of pike released. A good fishy area in my book.
North dakoata was the hot house. They were going home with 12 and also ate 6 . Megan cooked them up with a honey crust, drizzled with honey. Sounded great and there going to send me the receipt.
Then as they were packing Justin landed a elusive yes elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. Man that house seems to catch fish. Saturday night they were playing a drinking game .Man were they having fun.
Jarrod and Jeromy in montana also had some fish to take home so all in all every one had a grand time on a grand lake.
Hillmens Highway should be in great shape once the cold air comes back.  The road is 7 miles out and as always you could land a 747 on it. There is a bridge around 1.7 miles. out., There’s  a curve about 3.5 to the left then right. There’s cones around 6 miles for now to let the new mile of road firm up. That’s about it today. Busy day ahead but looking forward to hiitting the lake with my good friend Marty as he arrived early this morning with a buddy.

You sure can get a lot done when your not battling mother nature. Buddy Hillmen and I punched out another mile of highway Tuesday so that was two miles in two days. Wow talk about a lot of snow to move.
Wednesday morning making the rounds to say good bye to Brian and Stacy and check in on the Mike and his crew in North Dakota.
Brian and Stacy were able to land a few fish after my tip and were packing up when I arrived. They plan on coming next year around the last weekend of walleye.
Mike and his crew went to westwind around 8pm where they brought there guitars and played music tell closing. They said they had a hoot. I had billiards tuesday night or I sure would of joined them.
They only landed a few walleyes but one of the guys landed a 26 1/2 inch walleye at 630 am. My plans were to  start the big migration out further and I explained what they had to do for the big move. I told them my plans and I would be back at noon .
I then cleaned up old Minnesota as Darrel, Bobby Joe  and Ron  had called Tuesday to see if I had a opening for one night.
Then I was off to meet Jimbo as he would be helping me. With two more miles of Buddy Hillmens highway done this has opened up a huge area of fishing for us. Finally getting blue thunder back on the ice was strange. With no clunks it feels like something is wrong? It did feel good to be taking both trucks back out onto the ice at the same time. We worked our butts off getting north Dakota and North Carolina prepped for the move. More training for Jimbo as he would be towing a house with the red baron.
Darrel ,Bobby Joe and Ron arrived just in time as I got them checked in before we pulled out. Every thing went well, but Darrel gave me the puppy eyes, wondering why all the house were going out deeper but them. 
 Arriving at the new area.  I made a new road going north  where we brought north Dakota to its new spot and prepped it for Mike and his crew. Then we were off to retrieve Montana and Florida, Old Minnesota would wait tell Thursday to be moved.
The next two houses were florida and montana. I was a little nervous letting Jimbo tow montana but it had to be done and he is a sharp kid. Plus he had one under his belt. Arriving to the new area and we towed florida down by north Dakota where I decided we would prep it for fishing and if Darrel and the crew were game they could move there gear and fish in florida  instead.  
Arriving back at old Minnesota to surprise Darrel about the move and they were kinda like. What should we do? perfect I love when a plan comes together. They decided to move.
As the sun was setting Jimbo and I headed home where we needed to get a flat tire off of Jimbo’s daily driver so we could get it fixed on Thursday.
The hammer and I headed out around 8pm to check on everyone and visit with Bobby Joe and the crew. We arrive to Florida where Mike and 2 of his crew from north dakota are all partying with Darrel ,Bobby Jo and Ron. Bobby Jo was fishing hard and had caught a couple. Mike said the fishing was way better in north Dakota also. I love it when a plan comes together. I even caught a fish on Darrel’s rattle wheel while we were there. I missed him, then Darrel missed him. I then got him on the third try.
Mike and his crew headed back to north dakata. Ron, Darrel and I joined them while they played and sang some original songs they had wrote. I even joined in with the harmonic for a tune. Its been a long times since I played . The hammer and I called it a night as she was working Thursday morning at the gas station/North country food and fuel.
Yesterday was another beautiful day out on such a grand  lake, as we worked in tee shirts as the temps hit 41 degrees. We got Montana on its new spot and also moved old Minnesota to its new location. We also squeezed in time to go get Jimbo a new used tire. I had him drive while I took a nap as I was worn out.
The red baron has been running rough and missing. While Jimbo did the tire I did some maintenance  trying to track down the miss that has been driving me crazy. I want the red baron to perform like a race car coming out of a corner. Hard on the gas and accelerating  un tell you let off for the next corner. I may of tracked down the problem as I just came back in the house after misting water on all the plug wires. It looked like the 4th of July with all the sparks. There Zipped tied for now and I’m going to have Wayne pick me up a high performance set on the way up today.
Speaking of Wayne, he is pumped coming up today. With the mild temps we are going to get all the picture windows washed inside and out . Nothing like enjoying the sunrises and sunsets and all the other shenanigans   looking out a perfectly  clean window.
He is also bringing his sister and husband for there first trip ever on upper red lake. He is so excited he probably did not sleep good last night.
Well that’s about it for today. I have 20 holes to augur, more roads to clean up, greet the customers when they arrive, place the generators with there new boxes. Block, bank north Carolina, wash windows, get fuel, and the most important thing of all.
Have a grand day, on a grand lake that as Dave the old timer told me. It’s  a Grand Lake and it owes me NOTHING! NOTHING

Another sunrise and another sunset made my day yesterday as I enjoyed a day on such a grand lake. I spent part of the morning in old Minnesota making some phone calls, planning my day and even wetting a line.
Berry and his crew Ted, Mike and Scott had left early do to the weather conditions in southern Minnesota. They only managed 3 more fish after the move. “Stupid fish”.
I hung out in old minnesota until the generator ran out of gas so I could figure out how long it ran on a tank. !0 1/2 hours as she quit running at 8:30 am. Sure would be nice to have that burg system? Oh that’s right its in the snow bank . “Stupid thing” not sure why it fails.
After fueling up the generator I made the morning rounds to be a little disappointed with the fishing report “Stupid fish” Oh well as Wayne always says if we caught them all there would not be any to catch.
I then went over to clean and prep Montana for Brian and Stacy as they were coming up for there 25th anniversary.
I also gave Reid and Jason a couple tips as they were off to find the very elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie. They only caught one walleye in North Carolina so I told them when they came back it would be in a new spot.
I then said goodbye to Steve from Michigan and his crew in Florida. They did horrible on low and did not fair much better in florida the third night. They did have some action on tip ups though just outside the house.
Then over to north Dakota where again no fish “stupid fish” what a horrible spot that turned out to be. We talked and I told them I would be back at 10:30 to move the house. Arriving back at 10:38 we were on the move. I told them if all went well they would be wetting a line again by noon. I also said if they wanted they could ride in north Dakota. Scott ask if I had any more shovels and I said sure do I have 3 so they all pitched in to dig her out. The move went well and just like I promised they were wetting a line by noon. Cory said the ride was way smoother then he expected.
The phone rings and its Stacy and Brian 2 hours early, perfect as the house is ready to go. At the same time Buddy Hillmen calls and says he is over the pressure ridge and were going to open another mile of road. OH! Oh! plan A is now switched to plan B. I get them checked in and I’m off to help with the new road.
It did not take long to burn up a 1/2 tank of gas. I checked in with Buddy Hillmen and headed home to gas up, check the fluids and get back out to the houses as I still had more work there. Moving north Carolina went well other then a few issues with the extension cords. As my very good pal Wayne says. “Here at Cookies we do it right cause we do it Twice”
Once North Carolina was all set I was back out to Hillmen’s highway where we would keep plugging away on the new mile of road. 2 hours later and I was heading home for a quick bite before making the evening rounds.
Stacy and Brian were the first stop where Stacy had lost 5 fish at the hole. I gave her a tip on landing them so we will see if that pans out.
Reid and Jason found north Carolina and had a blast fishing outside all day. They landed a few walleyes but no” elusive yet still catchable upper red lake crappie”. I guess that’s why I call them elusive.
Last stop was at North Dakota ! I had played a round of Texas Hold um with them the night before and wanted another shot.
Scott did not play, he sure deserves to catch a few fish as he was always holding his fishing rod and jigging when I stopped in. One fish was all they caught on the new spot “stupid fish”.
I lost a second time in hold um and headed home where I ran into a local Dave him and his son had set up just to the north east of us where they landed 3 nice fish.
Well back to the grind again today. we have mike coming for north Dakota and Kieth and his kids coming for florida. I told both them that check in was at 2pm.

Here goes another long winded report.
John and his crew were in North Dakota 4 nights, They landed 22 walleye’s, 2 pike, 5 perch and had a couple fish break there lines. Friday there 4rth night I offered to move them for the last night once I got all my new customers checked in? They decided they were good which was a relief as you will see.
Glen arrived thrusday morning in white out conditions for one night in old Minnesota. ZOIKS!! As I escorted him out there going up the old road was not a option as it was gone. I decided the best plan would be not to plow but cross country the mile off the main road with the v-plow up. That did not work out and I buried the red baron 50 yards off the main road. Glen backed up to me and a quick jerk and I was able to back out and switch to plan b. Cut a new trail which would fill in before I came back out. We arrived at old Minnesota with no other adventures. I had not punched out the holes so that was in order before Glen could start fishing. The hammer had taken the generator to Bemidji so he would be fishing with the gas lights un tell she got back..
Due to the white out conditions florida and montana would have to wait un tell Friday morning to move to there new spots. We had pulled them out of there nests Wednesday eve, so they only needed to be moved a couple hundred yards ,blocked, banked and augured Friday morning.
The wind laid down around 4 pm to a slight breeze of lets say 15 after blowing around 40 all day. With 4 foot drifts around the house moving snow would also come into the equation Friday.
I arrived back to old Minnesota well after dark with the generator in tow. 40 dollars later and they said the problem was I over filled the oil? Glen had two in the bucket and said he should of had five but he could not see down the hole.
A big day was coming up again as Jimbo my helper was gone.
Friday morning and I was greeted with 33 below. I thought please red baron do not let me down as I hit the key. vroom she fired up. She still had that miss but runs a little better once its warmed up. I would get ahold of Tommy 250 miles away and have him figure out what I could do to correct the problem. Very irritating to say the least. Plan A was to baby her as much as possible as blue thunder was still at Toms getting u joint work done.
Arriving to the houses I felt I had plenty of time to grind it out. Glen was all ready gone with his 3 fish. A quick call, he had great action and pulled up the rattle wheels at some point. At 24 below and a slight breeze a face mask was in order. I dug out montana ,moved her to her new spot and before I could get the holes augured Berry and his crew called. “I need to make a adjustment as my web sight says check in is at 2pm” I’m some what flexible with check ins but I can not predict what mother nature throws at me. I finished up ,got them checked in and headed over to florida to do it all over again.
Prepping a area for florida and the phone rings. Its Ken and Middison there at hillmens. I get them in old Minnesota after punching out three more holes. About the time I started to move florida the phone rings again and its Steve and his crew, there at Hillmen’s. Err there also early. They to would have to wait a bit. I bang out florida and go to greet them and its 1:38pm. If every one showed up after 2pm all would of been ready. Oh well maybe next time.
I then take a break to scout out a area as I have to move california and block and bank for Tony’s friend Bob and Brenett. The timing works out perfect as Buddy hillmen calls and want ‘s me to clean off the bridge at 1.5 mile. I knock that out and head back where the phone rings . Its the general and Doug from mno .
I escort them out to area I scouted earlier and plow them a trail so they can get set up with there wheel houses where boar would be arriving later. I finish California around 4 pm and head to shore. I get gas and supply’s pull in the driveway to take a break. Around 5:30pm and bob calls 1 1/2 hour late. I go meet them escort them to California and its time to have some dinner.
After dinner I make the rounds and call it a night.
Saturday morning I make the rounds where Florida got 5, Montana got 5 old Minnesota had 3 with 8 misses. Boar and his crew did not do well, with boars house having the most action. They decided they were going to move further out as that’s part of the adventure of fishing such a grand lake.
I prepped north Carolina for Sparky and Trent and headed home to address the red barons miss as I had talked to Tommy and he gave me a few things to take a look at. The tips Tommy gave me help tremendously.
Saturday eve making the rounds and it was a little slow for every body. “Stupid fish”
Sunday morning and the guys in north Dakota were packing up and had two more over night. We said our good byes as Jimbo came out to help me prep and move north Dakota for Scott and his crew.
Ken and Maddison were gone so not sure how they finished.
Steve and his crew were gone to LOW for the day.
Barry and his crew had slower fishing and I told them I would move them if they were game.
Scott and his crew had terrible fishing in north Dakota
Boar and his crew from mno did not fair well in there new location, all though all of boars rattle wheels were spun out and he sent me a pic of the rats nest it had created.”TO FUNNY”
Sparky and Trent had there 6 from north Carolina.
We said our goodbyes and got a few pics.
I then moved Montana for Berry and his crew. They helped and we had them set up on new ice in no time. I also checked in Jason and Reed in north Carolina to see if we could have good fishing in there again. I will move them to day depending on how they did. The plan is also to move north Dakota again as last night it was still dead on that new spot. Berry and his crew had 3 more when I checked in with them last night

21 days into another season here on the shores of upper red lake have been  a number of things.
Fun! Fun! Fun! Having my good friend Wayne come up is such a hoot. man do we laugh from all the shenanigans . One of our new sayings is “Here at cookies”, “We do it right cause we do it twice” , its so funny how much it happens. Just a example put the shovel in the truck and take it out less then a minute later.
Playing Texas hold um or poker with the hammer! Not only can she fish but she can also put the hammer down playing poker. 
Brutal is a word I can use all most everyday as mother nature rears her ugly side at least once a week if not more. Two snow falls this week with brutal winds crearting white out conditions.
– 33 yesterday morning when I fired up the red baron. She has a small miss, I also noticed it does not run well if its cold? Going to call my good friend Tommy Short today. He owns Autocraft Specialty’s.  He works on street rods, auto restoration with wiring one of his specialty’s. He should be able to point me in the right direction as he is one of the best mechanics I know .
Blue thunder is down and is getting a new front u joint on the drive shaft. We were able to salvage  the old drive shaft from blue thunder 1 as number 2s was shot and almost beyond repair. It is also getting a right front u joint as that was also destroyed. Its just kills me when you junk out a car there like oh will give you 100 bucks that’s all its worth in scrape. Then they have the gall to sell you one part for 300 bucks. If  I had the space I would own a junk yard in a hart beat.
A grind! Yes working on the lake is a grind, having a helper every year is huge. Even though my new guy Jimbo has other commitments some times. Its huge when he can help. He’s a sharp kid, hard worker and seems to love working out on the lake.
A challenge! Keeping every thing running smoothly, helping fishermen! Anything from broken door handles, dead batteries, flat tires, stuck in snow banks, heaters not working, augurs not running, the list goes on and on.
One of the big ones,” Finding fish” stupid fish!
That’s about it for the day as that old timer Dave  told me. “ITS A Grand Lake and It owes me Nothing, Nothing” I have to agree 100%

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

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

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!!!!

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 😀 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. got a bite