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Access Fees


Jarnotski

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I was dissapointed to come up this weekend and find out that my favorite access is charging $25 for a wheel house to acces the lake.  The rationale was wheelhouses usually stay multiple nights...  I thought I was paying an acccess fee, not an overnight fee?   In addition, the roads out of this particular access were nothing special.  I have been on the east side of the lake where thay have actual highways.  Poor roads, low gas prices, why exactly am I paying $25 instead of $10?    Is this what all the resorts/access points are charging?  Might be time to find a new access location.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Their just making those rich 1% ters that can afford to have their own wheel house pay their fair share. :/

While the rest of us 99% ter shlumps that walk on, drive on and may have a porty still have to pay the unfair $10 :(

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I see how hard the operators that I use work while I am sitting around fishing.  I personally would not hesitate to spend $25 for road access to make sure that they can continue their business.  Especially considering how small a drop in the bucket it is for my fishing expenses.

Also, new this year, is that $25 had better be covering the cost of a dumpster at the access point.

I guess it all depends on what it is worth to you to be able to access Red Lake.

Edited by BringAnExtension
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32 minutes ago, BringAnExtension said:

Also, new this year, is that $25 had better be covering the cost of a dumpster at the access point.

As there are more RV style fish houses in the future are the roads going to be required to put in  dump stations just like a summer time campgrounds? 

  The roads are facing a tough call on road fees. Wheelhouses make it a lot harder and costlier to run a road. For example the roads can no longer just plow a trail for people to go fish on because wheelhouses will get in there and can get turned around or set up there during a storm and get stranded needing a plow to come get them. The roads then have 2 options, #1 only plow major roads where ever they go which gets expensive or, #2 Plow no side roads off from the main road and tell the fishermen to stay within a close distance to the main road. That crowds the fishermen up resulting poor fishing.

  Also if any drifting or a storm happens the drift that forms around the house and vehicle will cause the ice to sink creating a slush pocket. That means that for the rest of the winter nobody can fish there and a road can not be there. That means that you have to make a road someplace else creating more expense.

  Remember that the rental houses are the backbone of the roads. I do not think that anybody in their right mind would try to run a road on just road fees. That would be to erratic for the cash flow. Fishermen are very mobile now. A road could spend a lot making a good and big road for the next weekend but the next weekend the fishermen are over on a different road or on a different lake.

All in all I'm glad I am not in the business anymore because with the big increase in wheelhouses everything we know about ice fishing is going to change.

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My wheel house is homemade wtih yrs of saving materials. Far from rich.  I don't disagree with how hard SOME of the operators work.  That was no evident this weekend. I like the point about the dumpster though, didn't see one.  I was more curious if all access are charging the $25 for the weekend.   Single Dad who is enjoys to bring his kids up and catch walleyes - the extra $15 means somehting to me.

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Hillmans charged me $30 for a Friday to Monday. I always go out of there. They are not overly talkative but I assume that is because they don't know me.  Came off the lake threw my garbage in the dumpster and away we went. Great road, Mom and Pop outfit, and I have been told if you need help they will be there for you.

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BTW Kelly - Thanks for all of those times that you and Jonny were keeping the roads open while we were sitting inside fishing, nice and warm!

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6 hours ago, BringAnExtension said:

BTW Kelly - Thanks for all of those times that you and Jonny were keeping the roads open while we were sitting inside fishing, nice and warm!

:cool: Then I get out of the business and the last 2 years there has been so little snow out there they have use a plow to gather enough to make a snowman. :D

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I always payed Hillman's for the days we were there.  It's always been the policy far as I know.  Sometimes that means $40/truck for 4 days.  Glad to do it too.  I wouldn't want to ask for help if I was out there longer than I paid.  Small price to pay to have a road and some backup in case something goes wrong. 

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I guess a guy could spin it this way to,  without the walleye/fisherman, the is no cash flow.  I think that happened a few yrs ago.

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18 hours ago, kelly-p said:

Then I get out of the business and the last 2 years there has been so little snow out there they have use a plow to gather enough to make a snowman.

Sounds like you have more time for fishing now?

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Nothing is for free anymore , Face it. These people are just trying to make a living. I don't mind paying my fair share.  Small price to pay for convenience .

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6 hours ago, BringAnExtension said:

Sounds like you have more time for fishing now?

Actually fishing less but enjoying it more. I used to have to find fish for the customers coming in the next few days. Now if I don't find fish is not as big of a disappointment. The pressure is off. :sleep:

Tonight  I found a place with a lot of little 8 to 10 inch walleyes. It was nice to see them and they were "cute" but not what I was looking for. Tomorrow there is a long nicely frozen over crack that will be easy to travel down that needs exploring so Hillman's and Beacon's know what is there for fish. Tough job. :)

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I think $25 for a weekend is cheap!!  About 50 cents an hour to use the roads that were plowed, if there is a storm, they will plow you out.  A bargain in my book.

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I agree, $25 for a weekend sounds like a good price to me also. Back in the crappie days I would spend $20 or $30 for 2 or 3 days of fishing. Just sounds simpler now paying one fee for the weekend. 

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The $25 is not the end of the world. The roads were better when they were charging $10.  If I'm paying over double (and gas prices are reltively low) I would expect the roads to be maintained.  It is just this one particular access that  I am disappointed with -  I certainly don't mean to insuate thats all resort owner/access operators are not providing good access and roads. And yes, when there has been a storm I've been plowed out - for a fee ;)

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1 hour ago, Jarnotski said:

(and gas prices are reltively low)

So during the winter of 13-14 when gas prices were high, the snow was deep and the slush was very bad should the roads have raised their rates so they didn't lose so much money?

 A few days ago while I was scouting both Hillman's and Beacon's were extending their main roads further west. 4 plows and an ice drag working between the 2 roads. The newest truck was 26 years old. The newest V-Plow was one I had built 16 years ago. A person would have difficulty selling any of the trucks for $1,500. The people that were hired to drive those trucks were being paid  $10 to $12 an hour with no benefits.

  I'm 90% sure of what road you are talking about. In my lifetime I have never been on their road but after watching the ice sheet open and close and smash around I can only imagine what they are trying to work their way through. Plated and piled ice eats plows and spits out little pieces of metal. One time I saw Buddy hit a piece of plated ice with a 1 ton diesel and V-Plow. He did more then a 360 degree spin BEFORE HE LANDED ON THE ICE AGAIN!

  Sorry but I do not feel that $10 a day is too expensive. In fact I'm amazed it isn't higher.

  

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I agree 10 bucks is a good deal for the quality of the roads we drove out on. we rented from cookie and went out on Hillmans road!

 

I heard, not confirmed, that Winnie is charging 15 bucks........still a good deal if ya ask me!

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When I went to the ice fishing show at the river center I had to pay $20. to park for a few hours, no plowing involved, no garbage, no BS...

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Buy a snow plow for your truck, find a public landing, plow your own road, and viola, you're set. You've spent $25.00 on snacks, drinks, terminal tackle, bait, etc. before you even made a move.  Plan accordingly, and the $25.00 will be drop in the overall bucket that it all comes out of.   

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Thank you Kelly, you some what made my point.  I have no problems paying the $25 if work is being done (though I admit thats not the way I came off in the first post).  I came up on Saturday morning at 11:00 and the operator told me the road was tough to see because they hadn't plowed it yet.  Granted I was pretty far north, I never saw a plow on the ground while I was there until noon on sunday and the plow trucks were at there respective rentals; roads were worse heading off.  There was some ply wood and a couple metal planks over the first breaker.  I get it, they're tryign to make a living, was just dissapointed in paying more and receiving less.  As mentioned by others, probably  time to find a new access.  I'll be done with my gripe...:)

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Don't mine paying $25 as long as the snowplow driver doesn't drive by my house making a new road when I'm fishing.

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9 hours ago, grasshopper said:

Don't mine paying $25 as long as the snowplow driver doesn't drive by my house making a new road when I'm fishing.

Sometimes that's not all bad.....depending on exactly how close they plow.......have caught a fair amount of fish on slow afternoons when the plows were working the main road.....keeps the fish on the move!

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That is not cool....I think that plow driver might have needed a conversation and I would have moved.....to another access!

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Did you stop to see how they were doing or just keep moving..........was that a wave or a middle finger you saw...funny.....

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yeah but a story like that I would have understood... to have a plow go between a couple of people seems reckless... MAybe this guy also had a story or likely was following a specific GPS line. 

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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