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Access fees?


birdswacker

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I think some resorts charge more if you're staying out there for a weekend versus just for the day.

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I'm pretty sure that all the resorts charge extra now for vehicles with pull behind shacks now.Capitalism,go figure.They charge what they can!c63

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

I think I heard that last year some were charging $25 for wheelhouses.

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what ever they charge dont let them charge you by the day there is one place on the lake that will try to charge $12 a day if you drive on there land or not he thinks he owns the lake roads and if you come from the access he will try to charge for the day that is illegal

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Originally Posted By: dangnear
well, HERE IT COMES !

This one will go on for decades.

AGAIN?!?!?!

AS IT SHOULD!!

Access fees shouldn't be a hush hush subject. I'm all for capitalism, and the resorts truly are providing a valuable service, but fees should be listed so there are no surprises. Case at point, a couple of years ago, I pulled into a ML resort on a Friday afternoon with my crank up in tow. Planned to stay until Sunday morning and was told $100. That's just insane!! I call in advance now.

Resorters, or others with crank ups out this year, post up. What's the access fee this year per day, per weekend, per season? I assure you that I'm not the only one who would like to know in advance.

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$100 for two days! Are you sure? Who on god's green earth would charge and expect to get paid $100 for two days? I have been fishig the lake for 30 years and never heard of such a thing at any resort. We pay $150 for the entire season.

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i had a resort last year charge me for a whole weekend even though i was just staying for half a day. He said i could get a refund if i stayed half a day instaed of a weekend. Nice if you leave during business hours. We left in the middle of da nite. Never been back there since and never will. The guy even had an attitude about it and felt a need to preach to us when where and how we could drill holes. Now they work very hard keeping the roads open but you gotta be respectfull of your customers- Or you will lose them. I have went out of other resorts and they have been great

we have gone out of this resort for years and renteda house from him with no problems and it just appears to us that he does not like wheel houses using his service

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Some do have a problem with wheel houses because they feel it is cutting into their rental revenue. They don't realize that most that have a wheel house would never sit in a rental when they can sit in their own wheel house with their own luxuries and move if needed etc. I would use a portable before a rental any day.

I would say that I would never assume anything. Always call first so there is no surprises. They have the right to charge what they want and you have the right to go somewhere else if you want.

These resorts should be cut some slack on what they charge. These roads are very very expensive to maintain and they only have a short season to benefit from it. If you don't like what one charges call around till you find one you find is reasonable. If you don't find any reasonable go to a public access.

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To quote the famous Jonny P from Red Lake wink

Always amazes me; $40,000 truck, $15,000 wheel house, $5,000 in ice gear $200 boots, $100 in beer and $20 bucks in McDonalds wrappers but the road fee is outrageous.

It is funny, some people will drop over a $100 in drinks and pull tabs at the bar in an hour or two, but $100 dollars to pull out a wheel house on the ice for a weekend is above and beyond crazy

For one, most people end up unhooking and coming and going for one reason or another (beer and food), the $100 gets you pretty much the same service as a rental if needed:

Another Johnny P quote:

Originally Posted By: Jonny P
What if you have trouble? Say you break down, forget your lights on, get stuck or even drop tires in a crack or pressure ridge, No road operators no rescue teams such as myself that go out just about every other night at 2am for this kind of stuff.

I never understood the debate with access fee's and wheel houses grin I feel little remorse for guys with $10,000-$15,000 wheel houses and any fee under a $100 crazy

It is the price to pay, if you want to play IMO wink

If you have gone this far (money wise) with the rig you have, do not like paying access fee's, buy a V-plow for your truck and go out of a public access. In about 2-6 hours you will be lowering the house (or paying to get pulled out/off or rescued) and you get out of that $100 access fee wink

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They have the right to charge what they want and you have the right to go somewhere else if you want.

I couldn't agree more. If you could ever sum up this ongoing debate in one sentence there it is.

I can see both sides of the argument, the resorts spend a lot of money on these roads, and they're not running a charity here (Joe Dirt quote), they should make a profit, I'm fine with that. On the flip side the prices have to be fair or they'll lose the income needed to make the roads/buisness work. That's the beauty of capitolism and competition, the market will sort out a fair price.

Single Truck, One day

$5 - Sounds good

$10 - OK

$15 - ummm alright, but I won't come back here

$20 - whoa, pull a U-Turn and see what else we can find

$100 - !!??

It's not so much about the money as it is I don't want to feel like I'm getting taken advatage of.

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You are right about the option of they can charge what they want and you have the right to go else where's smile.

If you are up on ML to get out and fish any old structure, you can go around the lake and find the price you want.

Quote:
On the flip side the prices have to be fair or they'll lose the income needed to make the roads/buisness work.

and

Quote:
$20 - whoa, pull a U-Turn and see what else we can find

If it is Red Lake, LOW, ML and the bite is going good in one area of the lake opposed to another, I am in the mind set of not letting an “access fee” making my day that much harder. Just to spend the difference in fuel and energy to drive another 6-10 miles and drive back down to the area via the lake is not worth it. You spend that extra money you saved, in fuel costs. I figure the funds I have into my equipment, fuel I spend to the get to a lake, the access fee is pretty much just paid as it is.

Another point I thought of is (and a poster brought this up, kind of) is if you have an area of ML you like to hit and plan on going up at least 3-4 weekends a year, talk to the said resort about buying a season road pass wink.

That is best. You pay one set fee, can show up when you want, you get on the good side with the resort and have fun grin.

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I'm all for the resorts that plow the roads on the lake and giving me access to them for a fee...but I don't agree that I should pay anymore than anyone else just because I have a wheelhouse. If I am staying for 3 days I pay for 3 days right up front and no complaining as long as it's the same fee for everyone else. I've gone to a couple Mille Lacs resorts that charge for 2 or 3 days right away and if you come in early they will give you the difference back. No guff.

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I don't have a snowmobile or atv, thought of driving out with truck and fish from a portable shack for the day. Does any one know what they may charge for it?

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The resorts have a huge investment in the plowing equipment to make these roads for the fishermans to go to the spots they would like to fish. The cost of labor and gas is also a bit much. Then we have the insurance for the plow truck which I would venture to say we would all be in shock at the price of that. Then their equipment breaks and we all know those costs.

I will pay what they ask and if I think its too much, then I guess I will need to either use the unplowed public landing or walk to my spot.

I will pay what they ask me too.

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The usual fee around the lake has been $10 for the last couple years. Some resort owners try to take advantage of wheelhouses, and others cater to them.(they know how to do good business) If some resort owners treated people decent they would get more business. But alot of the resort people treat ya like [PoorWordUsage], and just want your money. If they ran a business like L.O.W resort owners they would have alot more positive press on them.

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I don't have a snowmobile or atv, thought of driving out with truck and fish from a portable shack for the day. Does any one know what they may charge for it?

$10

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Quote:
I've seen and heard of 25 a day for pull behind shacks

$25.00 sounds pretty fair (IMO) for a wheelhouse? A three day weekend would be around $75. I am sure this even might include them plowing out a road to put your wheel house on a spot. The $10-$15 for guys with out wheelhouses is just a gratis one time (a day) thing and you are gone on the ice.

I think a residential drive way is about $30 now-a-days per plow.

A wheel house (IMO) is more work for the resort. I know your one time drive on and drive off of the access point in a wheelhouse seems like nothing, but you get a bunch of wheel house traffic (every day), just the maintenance on the access point to the lake can get time consuming. Most of the truck and wheelhouses are not light setups wink

I am sure some wheelhouse owners are on the receiving end of the blame stick when it comes to disagreements when trying to get out on the ice at a resort. I am not the type of guy to do it, but if I was waiting in line at a resort and a guy with a $40,000-$70,000 setup idling out in the parking lot in front of me was raising a stink about $25 a day access fee, I would express my feelings to him smile.

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I can see a fee fo the road maintenace etc. But If I wanted to stay out on the lake a few day and never leave the shack that is my choice and to pay for multiple days of road use is sad. Also It is supply and demand if a resort would charge lets say 5 bucks I could see many more people using there roads for access in turn bringing more people to buy bait,food,boose etc. Its simple economics.

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There's no way they can keep track of whether you went to town or decided to drive on the roads that day or not. Just pay the fees and be done with it. If you don't like it, then use the public access. Once you get stuck going out of the public access you'll think twice about why you didn't pay and go out of the resort.

I am just glad such a service such as road plowing exists. What would you do if no one plowed?

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What would you do if no one plowed?

The lake would be that much better to fish because only the guys that were willing to put the effort in would go out fishing. The beer drinking, partying types that just go out to "play" could do it at home or at the bar! The lake would be peacefull on the weekends instead of a city on ice!

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Shack,don't misunderstand me.I think it's fine to charge whatever we'll pay to use the entry point onto any given water.That's capitalism at it's best.If the price is too high they won't buy!P.S.-Some folks are cheap-skates no matter what kind of 40-70 -80-100 thousand dollar rig/castles they pull onto the ice!c63

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IMO, I feel that they can charge whatever they want and that the consumer can decide which access he wants to use. I have to disagree with the comments stating that you should just pay whatever they want and that the value of ones fish house some how has something to do with it. If you have a bad experience out of a certain resort then use another. Or if you feel they charge to much either just pay it or just use another resort. There are plenty to choose from around the lake and most have a reasonable road fee. I do feel that the resort people should respect the customer and the customer should respect the resort owner/workers. But i just do not agree that the value of ones house should be apart of the decision. Some can afford a nicer fish house because they are wise when it comes to the spending of their money. Not cheap but willing to find the better deals. I do agree with some that stated that it may make more sense to pay a little more for a road fee than to drive to the other side of the lake

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Well, after spending the last 2 days on Mille Lacs and seeing all the drifts and watching all the guys plowing the roads over and over these guys deserve the fees they get. I am going back again next week to Appledoorns and a big thank you Paul for taking such good care of us.

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