A little help folks......

[Far-I]

With all this snow in Ely things have been difficult for fishing, that is for sure. With trout opener coming up quick I am a little worried about not getting my permanent out on Miner's Lake as planned. I have been looking forward to getting it out again since last April!

The road and landing area has not been plowed at all and it is in the city's best interest to do so, as visitors will come and spend money and fish in town.

Without trying to be a nusaince to the city workers (all of whom have a lot of hard work to do, and do a great job!) I was wondering if people could start calling Harold, the city operations guy, and politely inquiring if the landing will be plowed before, or shortly after, opener. Thanks alot!

(Remember, be thoughtful and polite, and mention helping the local economy)

Here is his number:

218- 365- 2695

[walleye777]

Far-I

I am also looking forward to Thursday. I drove over to Miners today and the road was only plowed to the long metal bldg. at the top of the hill leading down to the landing. This to my recollection is no different than other years. However, there is absolutely no room for parking anywhere and I noticed a no parking sign in front of the old brick bldg. I walked out about 400 yards to the east of the landing on a snowmobile track and then hopped off the path and found about 3-4 inches of slush. I don't know if you are going to get your permanent house down that hill and out to your spot without alot of work.

I'm going to clam it! Good luck! Stop and say hi I'll be right in the middle of the lake!

[Steve Foss]

Good luck on Miners on Thursday, you guys.

And walleye777, welcome to HSO/FM (and to Ely). Great to have you here.

[Great Outdoors]

You will be in for a real treat when you drill the first hole.

If you are in the Ely area tomorrow, might be a good idea to drill many holes and let the water come up and freeze by Thursday.

[walleye777]

Great Outdoors-

I am not really an experienced ice fisherman. Only get out 3-4 times a year. One of those times is trout opener. Could you give me a little more info on the drilling holes and letting them freeze. I assume you are talking about the weight of the snow on the ice pushing water up? Will it not stop? I would appreciate any pointers!

[Steve Foss]

Yes, that's the idea. If the snow/slush is really heavy, it pushes down on the ice, and drilling a hole allows the water to gush up to relieve the pressure.

Sometimes it's a huge swimming pool-type affair, other times it's very minor, and even though it seems pretty straightforward (you'd think the deeper the snow/slush the worse the problem), it's not always that way. To find out, you drills your holes and takes your chances. But I'll be out there Thursday taking my chances. You never catch fish by worrying.

[AlwysFshn]

I think what Great Outdoors is getting at is a few holes in the area that you want to fish will release the pressure from the weight of the snow. The water will probably come up a few inches and make the area slushy. This slush will hopefully freeze and make fishing a little easier.

[AlwysFshn]

Looks life stcatfish was able to reply before I could hit submit. Didn't mean to duplicate the info

[walleye777]

Thanks for the information guys! I'm there tommorrow am to drill some holes! It sounds like a good idea with the cold front coming in! Love the site! Glad I found it! Good Luck and thanks again!

[Steve Foss]

Well, don't broadcast where you're doing it, and I'd recommend drilling a gallon's gas worth of holes. Not because you'd need that big of an area on your own, but because once people see what you're doing, they'll probably figure it out and try to get there ahead of you on Thursday.

So that's a LOT of drilling. Good thing knee-high rubber boots are cheap (two sizes too big to fit all those socks in).

But seriously, you don't know if it's going to be a big problem until you get there and try it out. It might be. It might not be. Three years ago on Burntside we had deep slush and snow, and while it was definitely hard to get around and we got bogged down now and then, I can't recall any geysers like Old Faithful pushing toward the sky when we drilled our holes.

[Surface Tension]

I've been thinking about this post. While your specificaly talking about Miner's it could apply to any lake access.

After all fishing isn't limited to open water.

Far, did you call the county garage, and what did they say? I'm imagining that they'll say sure or it'll come down to an ownership issue or jurisdiction. In that case you'd contact the

City Supervisor, Mayor(does Ely have a Mayor?), or attend a town meeting and ask there. Either way you'll get an answer.

Because Trout lakes sit idle till opener they don't have that traffic and holes drilled therefore that slush cycle starts then. Drilling holes now would be good especially with the cold snap coming. BUT, if theres enough snow to insulate and that slush doesn't freeze, your good intentions will have you marked as the evil villain that screwed up the lake for Opener even though it was going to slush up eventually.

If you have a sled pack trails and some areas down first. Then drill. A half hour of joy riding should be plenty.

[Steve Foss]

Far-I, I bet you could talk the city into plowing. If I remember right, Miners is completely within the city limits, so it'd be their baby.

But we've had more than $100,000 in local government aid just cut and more LGA cuts in recent years, and it's been a very snowy winter so far (about three feet), and these things combine to put a heavy strain on snow removal budgets. The city folks know that Miners is a very popular fishery. Also, they have to prioritize when it comes to plowing. Miners hasn't been important in that schedule yet, but it could be they've already got plowing planned for early in the week.

Like Frank, I'd say give them a call. Those guys mostly like to fish as much as we do.

[Great Outdoors]

Drilling quite a few holes to allow the area to flood will help with the cold we have in the forecast.

Steve can attest to that after he checked Burntside by John's fish house.

He found about a foot of thickness, five days after John had left it on 3 inches of ice, but drilled 4 holes around it before leaving.

[Far-I]

Harold, the guy whos number i left, is in charge of all of the cities plowing. Even though miner's drive there is dnr land, he says that the city has taken responsiblity for snow removal in the past. and just like you say, steve, it isn't high on his priority right now. He said "don't hold your breath" but was overall polite,and said if he could get caught up with all of the plowing he would do it then. I just though some friendly phone calls may persuade him sooner, rather than later.

I think calling it to the mayors attention, in the form of some kind of petition, would be great, but a lot of work and i hate to be a bother.

Hopefully it'll get plowed soon and if not by opener i have two portables i use everyday so its no biggie. Just painted the perm.and fixed her up a little this summer and can't wait to fish it, y'know? Overall i'm a run and gun type, but permy-fishing is a different scene alltogether! Both are great, but for totally different reasons.

[Steve Foss]

Just call the mayor. This ain't New York City, and he'll take your call or, if you get his voice mail, listen to your message.

[caseymcq]

Maki's got a plow

[Steve Foss]

Maki's got a plow

If you don't know how to use the plow, it's just a really big hood ornament.

[Great Outdoors]

Stevo,

I'm gonna remember that when I drive by the Van Vac landing and the County has only plowed it to the upper parking lot.

Besides,caseymcq works for the Forest Service, so is undoubtedly a non motor person.

I would be offending him if I uses that icky deisel engine by any of these pristine lakes.

At least, that's what he told me the other day.

[Steve Foss]

G.O. if I could get the county to only plow the upper lot, that would be fine with me. Sleds rule!

Far-I, the mayor just told me the access road to Miners will be plowed by opener.

[Far-I]

Great news! Thanks steve!

[Steve Foss]

He's a good guy and aside from being mayor of a tourist town, he's a local businessman who understands how things need to work. One nice thing about living in a small town is that when you call up the mayor he/she is likely to have time to listen to you.

[caseymcq]

Besides,caseymcq works for the Forest Service, so is undoubtedly a non motor person.

non motor person