Ely - Babbitt Fishing Reports - Lake Conditions Too.

[Wanderer]

Yeah, I have to agree, the snow got pretty greasy yesterday. Was glad to be on a sled. But man, that sun! Everyone was commenting on my March sunburn today back at work.

[Mike Stark]

lots of standing water on burntside today. some areas still have snow but its slushy. ice is still good and driving is easy. hopefully is gets below freezing for long enough tonight to firm things up. time to bust out the yak t rax! no fish for me today. fished after the rain quit till around 6. i heard foss did much better.

[Steve Foss]

I'll add to what Mike said by mentioning that the Van Vac landing is dang treacherous. About a foot of slushy dense garbage. Pretty easy to get up the landing itself with full size 4x4, but the hill from the lower to the upper landing is pretty hairy.

Yeah, it was a good day fishing. Sometimes the laker gods smile on you, sometimes they don't.

[Mike Stark]

I'll add to what Mike said by mentioning that the Van Vac landing is dang treacherous. About a foot of slushy dense garbage. Pretty easy to get up the landing itself with full size 4x4, but the hill from the lower to the upper landing is pretty hairy.

Yeah, it was a good day fishing. Sometimes the laker gods smile on you, sometimes they don't.

i forgot to mention the hill. it took me 4 or 5 tries to get up. i would make it half way up and then would have to back all the way back down and try again. should be a little better today with the cooler temps tho.

anyone been off passi?

[401TE]

Appreciate the updates, Mike and Steve. I was gonna bring my 10 week old Britt out for the day tomorrow, but I think she'll stay home. Dealing with a wet/cold pup doesn't sound like the best way to spend my only day this year on Burntside.

[walleyemaster08]

Should be a nice day out there tomarow!!!!!!!

[walleyemaster08]

Should be a nice day out there tomarow!!!!!!!

[Steve Foss]

The Burntside Lodge access (about a quarter mile farther along Grant MacMahan Blvd than Van Vac Rd), is easy. Came off the lake that way today and had no trouble at all. Very gentle slope, decent driving conditions.

[Mike Stark]

The Burntside Lodge access (about a quarter mile farther in off Grant MacMahan Blvd than Van Vac Rd), is easy. Came off the lake that way today and had no trouble at all. Very gentle slope, decent driving conditions.

where exactly is the burntside lodge access on the lake? that hill at van vac is no fun and its only gonna get worse.

[Great Outdoors]

Instead of turning left on 404 (Van Vac Rd) continue going straight on 88 for another 1/4 mile, then turn left into the Burntside Lodge driveway and drive to the lake.

You'll see a large, single story stone cabin/house as soon as you turn left, it will be on your right side.

[Mike Stark]

Instead of turning left on 404 (Van Vac Rd) continue going straight on 88 for another 1/4 mile, then turn left into the Burntside Lodge driveway and drive to the lake.

You'll see a large, single story stone cabin/house as soon as you turn left, it will be on your right side.

thanks. might have to use that access tomorrow.

[Great Outdoors]

PS-If looking for the Burntside Lodge landing from the lake, it's on the mainland side of Indian Island .

You will see the point of Camp Van Vac to your right if heading there from Blueberry Island.

[Great Outdoors]

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[Steve Foss]

As of today on Burntside, both Van Vac and Burntside Lodge are workable for access. We went in on Bside Lodge this morning, and after checking Bside Lodge again this afternoon (it was no problem, though sloppy and wet), I chose to exit via Van Vac. The Van Vac landing itself is packed with a foot of dense slush, but the road from the lower lot to the upper lot is much better than it was a few days ago.

I have not been out on the Passi Road landing, so can't speak to that.

I would not attempt Van Van without a full-sized 4x4 SUV or pickup with good rubber and clearance. I put the pedal to the metal and labored to get up the landing in my old Chevy 1/2, but did not bog down.

There are quite a few areas where the lake is like driving on a parking lot, and other areas where there's some crust with slush or water underneath it, but at no time during the last four days did we have difficulty getting where we normally fish. It was just wet and crunchy in spots. The worst spots for main lake travel are the snowmobile trails, which tend to be pretty slushy, but are still do-able. Far better when in those spots to just follow in someone's truck tracks, which are full of water but easy to stay in, until you want to split off for whatever area you'll be fishing. You'll be driving through 6-8 inches of water in those truck tracks in places, but so far, and I mean SO FAR, the lake ice itself has not degraded.

Now, the weather. That's an interesting ballgame. We've got a few days of precip with a cooldown forecast. If we get minimal precip and the expected cooldown, I'd say things will be good for another week. But, and it's a big but, if we get a bunch of snow dumps over the next few days followed by the cooldown, it's gonna be a darn big mess all over out there. A mess at the already messy landings, and a mess on the lake.

Given the NWS batting average, no one has a clue, really, what the next several days' weather will bring.

Conditions can deteriorate this time of year in a matter of hours, so even more than usual, caution is the order of the day.

[Mike Stark]

thanks for the update.

what happened to resting today foss??? just couldnt resist could you.

how was the fishing?

[Steve Foss]

I have a hard time resisting clients, Mike.

Tougher fishing today. Got twin 6s, with lots of lookers.

[Mike Stark]

I have a hard time resisting clients, Mike.

i hear ya there.

[Great Outdoors]

I agree with Steve's assessment of travelling ON the lake as condition do differ dramatically.

However, due to the fact he needed a pretty good run to get off the lake at Van Vac,(which was in terrible condition at 3 yesterday afternoon) and what I saw at the Burntside Lodge landing, I would not use either one.

You may luck out and get on the lake, but getting off today will be much different than yesterday, as it remained above freezing all night and conditions will only have gotten worse.

I have not checked the Passi Road, or the North Arm landing so do not know what the slush (if any) looks like.

Be very careful driving on Burntside if you do decide to take a chance with a full size truck.

Personally, I would not chance it.

Use an ATV until/if these conditions change with the lower temps being predicted later in the week.

[Mike Stark]

G.O.

check your mail

[Steve Foss]

I agree with Steve's assessment of travelling ON the lake as condition do differ dramatically. However, due to the fact he needed a pretty good run to get off the lake at Van Vac

For the record, I did not make a good run at it. I approached the landing itself at about 5 mph like normal and gave it full gas when it hit the slope.

Just wanted that clear.

It would have been a piece of cake with no effort at all if I'd have spent 5 minutes with a snow shovel to clear all the slushy snow off the landing itself. The on-ice approach had some water, but not too much. But bottom line is it's going to be worse today as G.O. noted, and it's an open question whether we'll get enough snow to insulate things and prevent a temporary tightening up with the colder temps as the week progresses. Best case scenario, we get almost no precip and the three days that follow with lows near zero and highs below freezing tighten everything up. Worst case is we get significant snow. That will effectively end the season on Bside for most everyone, regardless of the temps that follow.

Odds are my last few trips this year will be on foot, since I don't have a wheeler. Good thing there's excellent laker water within walking distance of the landings. Time to get out the tow sled!

Be careful out there no matter what mode of travel you opt for!

[Great Outdoors]

Just caught the tail end of a weather report and heard the possiblity of 8-14 inches of snow from late Tuesday evening, all through the night, and continuing into Wednesday morning.

Man, I was bummed when I heard an earlier forecast of 3 inches!

I hope that was just a cruel joke in very poor taste, courtesy of the weatherman

[Leaddog]

Any snow is good snow. I was hoping for more over the weekend but even the trace on Friday help footing for both me and the dogs. Sat AM was setup nice but the wet snow Sunday just made everything wet. The trails have gotten some rough use. If the snow and some cold happens then one more weekend may, too. It wasn't lookinfg good as of yesterday though.

[Steve Foss]

It'll be interesting to see how much actually falls. Hope it's not like a coupla years back when we got 40" the first week of April!!!

As of now, the NWS has Ely with a 40-60 percent chance of snow tomorrow and Wednesday, with no accumulation forecast given. I think they're waiting until they get a better sense of which way the storm will track before predicting accumulation ranges. Hopefully they don't wait until the snowfall's actually over to make a prediction.

Good thing I didn't summerize the snowmobile yet. Could get back in the game later this week.

[Wanderer]

At this point I don't know if I'm envious you're getting more snow or not! It's sad to see the season melt away but there's a few things to do in the Spring I guess. I have as much grass showing as snow in my yard and pushed the sleds back into the corner and pulled the wheelers out. Not that they'll get much use...

My turkey season is just a tick over a month away and two weeks after that will be the opener of fishing again. Better get the boat ready...

[Great Outdoors]

I feel your pain, Tracy!!

In fact it hurts so much, think I'll head out on Burntside and see if 401TE's spot is as good as he reported

I'll let you know later this evening!!

[Mike Stark]

made it out on burntside for a few hours today. no fish. lots of lookers but no takers. pretty much the same driving report as foss gave yesterday. there is A LOT of water at the base of the van vac landing. i had no issues getting up the landing and the hill to the upper parking lot.

the amount of water at the landing makes me a bit nervous about the ice there. i dont think it will hold up much longer unless we get a good freeze without a dumping of snow.

[Steve Foss]

Latest NWS forecast is for total accumulation of 1-3 inches. I suppose that might change a time or two before it starts snowing tomorrow.

[Steve Foss]

Now the latest NWS forecast is calling for 60 percent chance of snow, with accumulation of around 1 inch.

Boy, I hope that pans out!

[Steve Foss]

Now the forecast is down to 1/2 inch or less. Ah, the drama!

[Great Outdoors]

Steve,

Read my post on the Duluth forum, and you'll see that my plow struggles are already paying off!!!