Beautiful Fishing Opener and Mother's Day Weekend!!!  Lots of fish were caught, released and yes finally kept for a delicious meal.  Here is one nice walleye that was caught. 

Thanks Connie Lopez for the great picture.  We really appreciate your pictures of fish caught out of Agate Bay so please keep forwarding them. We have a few camping cabins available for Memorial Weekend.  We would love to have you stay with us.

We are ready for the weekend.  Roads are all plowed, private fish house driveways are plowed and a ton of driveways for wheel houses have been plowed.  Last weekend fishing was great for some and ok for most everyone else. Not many out fishing during the week. Two weekends left.  Hope to see you this weekend or the following.  Here are some pictures of fish that were caught.

Certainly glad the sub zero weather is behind us.  All roads, private driveways and wheel house driveways are all plowed and ready for the weekend.  With the temps going to be in the 30's, (that's above freezing) it should be some pretty awesome catching (oops - fishing)!  There are three fish house available for this weekend.  A standard 2 bunk or 4 bunk and a premiere ice cabin.  Here are few pictures that you haven't seen yet.

Due to the sub-zero temps and wind chill advisory we are closing our roads on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  Actual temperatures are going to be -30 or more with wind chills of -50 to -60.  This is dangerous weather and the chance of your propane gelling or your vehicle not starting are high.  We don’t want anyone working outside in this weather and we do not want people in trouble out on the ice.  We will reopen the roads on Thursday and we will be out plowing because of the high winds on Tuesday and Wednesday.   Everyone’s safety is our first priority.  Thank you for your understanding.

Sorry for not posting anything for a while.  It got a little hectic last weekend.  The weather was nice and the roads have held together really well.  We may not have any bridges out this weekend.  We plowed a lot of spots for wheel houses before the weekend and people used most of them.

 We plowed a new road just south of Agate Bay Reef and will plow driveways all along it.  We extended our road to the north, which is shallower rock structure for Walleye and we will plow driveways along that, as well.

We plowed a new road out crossing Perch Parkway near the fast break from 28’ to 32’, and yes, we will plow driveways along it.  We are trying to give wheel houses a lot of choices of structure and depth and help them from crowding to close to other houses.  If you have a group and want to ne together, that is great and we will help you all we can.  For some folks, ice fishing is very social.  For others, they want space and not be close to other houses, so please be kind and respectful.  We want everyone to have a great time.

 The fishing was great Friday and Saturday, but it shut down into Sunday for most people.  It has since gotten better again and people are having a very good time.

Last week was Northern picture week and we have pictures of some caught at Agate Bay.  Also, a great Perch and a couple of the many Walleyes.  Thank you for sending in the pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dean & Renee

The ice has not changed very much.  We still have cracks and bridges.  Everyone needs to drive slowly (10mph) and even slower going over the bridges.  Wheel houses are ok for access.  We are holding off on heavy trucks and tri-axel wheel houses for now.   Hopefully later in the season this will change.


The fishing has continued to be excellent.  We have seen very large walleye and northern, as well as some slot fish.

The bridge over the crack has been working great.  We have pulled private fish houses and allowed our wheel houses with season access out this weekend,  We hope to open up for daily access Monday or at least by next weekend.  There has been some beautiful fish caught the last couple of days.  Here is one of them.  A 30" walleye caught out of one of our rentals. 

Today, the main east/west crack opened again and pushed together to raise the bridge.  We moved it and chiseled out a new spot for it. I am afraid with the warm weather this weekend, that may happen daily.  We pulled the rest of our 4 and 6 hole rentals out today.  We also pulled out a few private fish houses.  With the snow and all of the crack issues, it will be a much slower process in pulling houses out and we appreciate your patience.  We are doing our best.  We will be pulling private houses again tomorrow and every day after providing ice conditions remain accessible. 

 

We will be open for all our private customers, including our seasonal wheel houses.  Since 90% of our traffic must go over one bridge, we will not be open for daily car, truck or wheel house traffic.  Daily portable access using four wheelers or snowmobiles will be allowed.   We are trying to save the bridge crossing in order to get our private houses out.  We hope to open for smaller wheelhouse traffic on Monday.  The kitchen is open for breakfast, lunch & dinner.  Hope to see you soon.

Between the new snow and yesterday’s wind, we are plowing every road again.  We pulled the bridge on the east/west crack today because it had risen with the strong winds.  We knocked it down, leveled it and positioned it back on the crack.  We plowed walleye drive and also worked on a couple of the plow trucks which had been damaged on the rough roads.  We will finish plowing the roads on Wednesday.  We will begin pulling some lighter rental houses on Thursday, if all goes well tomorrow.   We wish everyone a Happy, Healthy New Year.

Was out on the ice this morning checking out the new crack from yesterday.  It has frozen enough so we are open for snowmobiles and 4 wheelers.  The east/west crack from last week is still open and that is about ¼ mile south of the main road.  You can fish up to that point or fish to the north of the main road. 

We were out on the ice all day today.  We plowed the main road out to just before Walleye Drive with trucks and plowed the 9.5” of ice with 4 wheelers with plows.  A new crack running north and south opened up last night in the intersection of Walleye Drive and the main road.  It is 1’ – 2’ wide and I can tell you from personal experience that you can drop a leg in it.  The tough thing is that with the snow, you can not see it until you step in it or drive in it.  It pushed a lot of water out so there is icy snow around it.  It may freeze overnight enough for 4 wheelers but won’t know until we recheck it Saturday morning.  If it is good, we will open up for 4 wheelers.  With cold weather coming, we are getting closer to pulling houses.

Dean & Renee

320-684-2233

ICE REPORT JANUARY 22, 2016

 

We are open for pulling private fish houses, , daily drive-ons and wheel houses.  We do have some road restrictions and you need to get a map and good instructions from us.  At this time, we can get all along Agate Bay Reef and walleye fishing has been very good.  You will need to drive slow and pay attention to the ice.  Conditions can change from when you go on the lake to going off.

ICE REPORT JANUARY 19, 2016

We were out today checking ice and still found 8 – 10 inches at the end of Perch Parkway.  I cannot explain it after all the cold weather we have had.  The ice along the reef and Lake Street is all 12” plus and we pulled some rentals out along Lake Street today.

We will begin pulling private houses out on Wednesday along Lake Street and Walleye Drive.  We can go out about one half of the length of Perch Parkway, but not to the deeper parts.  We will let you drive your vehicle to and from your house but NO EXPLORING OR GOING OFF ROAD.

We will not be allowing any drive-ons or daily wheel houses until we have 12” of ice all over our territory.  The ice varies a great deal this year and we want to do our best to keep people as safe as possible.  We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.

ICE REPORT FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2016

Checked ice this morning and found 6 ½ - 8 inches in the thinner, smoother ice and over 12 inches in the rougher ice.  This is really encouraging because it means the thinner ice is catching up.  We will be out on ATV’s marking roads and checking ice in our area tomorrow & Wednesday.  We will be allowing 4 wheeler traffic starting Thursday.  With that said, we have not checked the ice to any mud flats.  It is not recommended until there is more ice.

ICE REPORT FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2016

We checked the ice this morning and as I expected, we made very little ice this week.  Our thinnest ice is still 4 ½ - 5 inches and the thickest is about 10 inches.  With the cold weather coming this weekend, it should catch up quickly.  We will only be allowing walking until the ice gets to a minimum of 6 inches, which might be Sunday or Monday.  I have heard good fishing reports where people can get out.  We will probably check the ice again on Sunday morning and report then. 

ICE REPORT FOR JANUARY 4, 2016

In spite of the warmer temps, we are making ice.  Where we had approximately 3 inches, we now have 4 – 5 inches and where we had 7 - 8 inches, we now have 9 – 10 inches.  There is really no cold weather coming this week until the weekend so I doubt we will make much ice until then.  I will check later in the week to see if we will be open for 4 wheelers.  We will certainly be open for walking out.

 I talked to people who went out on other parts of Mille Lacs where they had more ice and everyone caught fish.  The most prevalent was the 2013 year class (13 – 15 inches) but I did hear of keepers and larger fish as well.  I did not talk to anyone who was fishing or spearing for northerns so I have no report there.

Dean & Renee

320-684-2233

                                                         ICE REPORT FOR DECEMBER 31, 2015

Happy Holidays!  If you had a chance to check the WEB cam yesterday or today then you may have seen that we have been out checking and working the ice.  The first 100 – 150 yards is very rough.  It froze on a windy day.  We have dragged and flooded this area so it is in very good shape with 7 – 9 inches of ice.

Unfortunately, beyond that the ice froze, broke up, and then refroze so we have pockets of 3” ice surrounded by pockets of 7 – 8” ice.  The 3” ice is not just in one area either so we cannot flood it all.  It just has to get cold and freeze more.  There is not enough ice for any motorized traffic so no 4 wheelers, snowmobiles, etc.  I also do not feel good about walking out either with the thin ice so our access is closed until we get more ice.  They are walking and taking ATV’s on the south end of the lake.  Check with resorts and/or bait shops for current info. 

 We will have the restroom/shower house open for anyone who wants to stay in their house.

 Dean & Renee

320-684-2233

It's hard to believe that the end of the 2014/15 winter ice fishing season is upon us.  Walleye season closes this Sunday, February 22, 2015 and, as in the past, we pull all of the houses off by that day.  If you have not reserved a pull-off time, please call or e-mail as soon as possible.  We schedule times from 8am until 1pm and many of the later times are already spoken for.

We have some summer spots available on the lake side of the highway so if you plan to use your house quite a bit in the summer, you might want to consider a lake side spot.  You are closer to the lake and the restroom/shower house and you can have campfires which you cannot have across the highway.  There is a summer fee of $850 which includes all of your overnights, electric while you are up and all of your boat launches.  It can be paid over 3 months including a small finance charge.

We have a few summer RV spots available with full hook ups.  Some are right on the lake shore.  Please talk to us if you have any interest in one of these.

Fishing was a little more challenging last weekend and during the week.  Maybe we can blames it on the cold weather or lack of people fishing but we seemed to find a lot more smaller walleyes and perch and a fewer larger ones.  This is different than what we have seen most of the year so it may change once it warms up a little.  We have caught some of the nicest perch this year I have ever seen, up to an honest 14 1/2 inches.  That was a monster.  Hopefully they show up on Saturday for those fishing in the Perch Extravaganza.

We would like to thank you for your business, your friendship, and your patience,  It has been a much better year for fishing than many predicted and we hope you have enjoyed your ice fishing season.  We hope to see you in the spring and during the summer.

Last weekends pictures.

Sorry for missing last week, but very little has changed.  We were in a little mid-winter lull and the

 

bite slowed some.

This week the bite has changed a little.  The perch seem to be moving deeper.  The best bite seems to be either along the deep 28-32’ break or even deeper in 32-34’.  The perch being caught are all good sized, an honest 12-14”.

Walleyes seem to be more active along the reef, but most are the 2013 year class.  Bigger walleyes are also being caught along Agate Bay Reef.  The big northerns have slowed along the reef and maybe this is why the smaller walleyes have moved in.

Still no word from the DNR about 2015 harvest quotas.  Rumor has it that the perch and northern quotas were unchanged and the walleye quota was still being discussed.  I assume they have reached a conclusion but I have not heard what it is.  I do not look for much of a change but hopefully they will allow more harvest this year.

Next weekend is Valentines Day on Saturday and Presidents Day on Monday.  Hope everyone will enjoy a nice long weekend.

Sunday, February 22^nd is the last day of walleye season and the last day for pulling houses off.

 

 

 

It sounds like this weekend should be beautiful, warm and not too windy.  The Brainerd Jaycee’s Tournament is this weekend and it looks like the weather will be far different from last year.  Anyone who toughed it out last year through the super low wind chills deserved a prize, just for effort.

We really did not have many people up during the week so the fishing report is a little sketchy.  People seem to be seeing a lot of fish  but they do not always want to bite.  I have heard of some smaller walleyes and some nice perch being caught, along with some bigger walleyes and northern.  People are starting to move out deeper and the perch action should pick up over the next week or two.

The ice is in good shape with a few cracks along the main road where the ice is really thick.  Wheel houses are getting around well in all of our fishing areas.

We have a few rentals left for this weekend so we will run a 10% off special for new reservations booked after noon Friday for this weekend.  If you are going to the Brainerd Tournament and need a place to spend the night and catch some fish, give us a call.

We have read the report from the DNR’s panel of experts.  They were hired by the DNR, paid by the DNR, and they agreed with the DNR.  Surprise, Surprise.  I must say there was very little new in the report to anyone who follows the lake closely.  It repeated what most around the lake already knew.  It did say the DNR should control the population of larger walleyes, northerns, and to a lesser extent, smallmouth.  This supports what we have told the DNR for years which is not to protect all of the larger walleyes like they have for years.  We need a harvest across the entire walleye size range, not a small range of smaller walleyes.  This probably is not possible as long as the DNR clings to the harvest quota in pounds like they have.  Their interest in looking at new treaty management options or ideas is nil.  They will use the panel’s report to say they are right and do nothing.  Their idea of pro-active walleye management is to wait for the 2013 walleye class to mature.  It should be interesting to see what they propose for regulations for next year.  Will they allow some harvest of the 2013 year class or protect them for another year?  Possibly one fish from the large group of 2013 and one larger fish?  It should be an interesting next month.