Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Portavilla Report


Portavilla

Recommended Posts

The fishing was slow last night and we haven't had much of night bite the last couple of days. Yesterday the guys in the evening averaged 4-6 keepers. The upside is Jerry just expanded our road out farther so we start seeing guys spreading out. We will start moving some houses today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 167
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Portavilla

    61

  • chaffmj

    11

  • Iambjm

    10

  • Walleyehooker

    7

How far out are they letting trucks and wheelhouses? More space would be great to get people spread out, we are heading up on the 26th bright and early.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The guys have been doing the same as yesterday a couple getting around 15 and some getting a few. The average has been around 8, one guy fishing by himself got a 37" pike and a 23" walleye at the same time and managed them both in. He was pumped.

Bill and I spent the day running the mud we went to some of our favorite spots and came up empty. We didn't even mark much of anything. They seem to be in the sand and rock. The guys in 10' feet of water did much better. The weather was fantastic and we were all having fun today, out and about.

The first of the shack dogs arrived today and what an addition to the program. Every time we drove by it was here have some chicken, here have some ham. It was like flying in to a pit crew, it was awesome. Bill and I pounded the ice today checking and ran 5" to 8" of ice with the wheeler searching for eyes two miles out. We left those shacks behind so we can keep checking like a weather station.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last night we had a good night bite between 1:00AM and 4:00AM. Today we started running some Nomads in and checking areas in closer. The guys for the most part did a little better last night and two more nice pike have been caught.

Bill and I are still not content yet and we will keep at it until we are. The guys have been happy with what they are getting, I guess that's fine but I will keep at until I am fine with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yesterday was real slow and we did a lot of moving around. We found a spot in closer and had the shack dogs fish it, they got three in an hour. We put some day fisherman in it this morning and they did the same. Bill and I picked up eight houses and moved them this morning to a new location of course that's what we have been looking for.

Dallas a single guy is coming back up over Christmas and bill and I will head back to pat the kids on the head and do the oohs and all. We will be back the morning of the 26th. The shack dog was the best idea since the power auger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris, My dad and I just got back from one of your shacks. We nailed a couple more around 5am on the rattle reels and my dad got one more this morning. You guys run a top notch operation and as I was telling some other people everyone we ran into in Kelliher, Rogers Resort, or Portavilla is the oppitomy of Minnesota Nice. Thanks

We will have to give it another try when the ice thickens up some more and the shacks can be spread out further.

DSCF0584.jpg

DSCF0578.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well we are back from our shack dog experience, and it's better then advertised x10 From upgrading us to a 4 man sleeper to the fishing we couldnt have enjoyed it more. Billy and Chris are great people and make you feel right at home.

Fishing typically was good in the evening and then again during the night a ton of activity. My best bait was a chubby darter tipped w/a shinner head easily iced a dozen with it. Glow blue on the rattle reels produced every night.

On wed they set up a a scout house and asked if we wanted to give it a try, hour later i hand landed 3 over 18.

Most fish we caught were fat healthy fish from 18-22 inches.

I did get a 38 inch pike wed morning at about 4am,great fight especially half a sleep.

Thanks guys for a great time,

looking forward to it again! Happy Holidays and drive safe.

Mike and Brad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The bite during the day was dead a few guys did alright towards evening but it was slow for the most part. We have 20 houses spread out all over and it was a common report. We will see what the night & morning bite brings.

Bill, Dallas and I ran around with the girls fishing but didn't do any better. I will say it was a little different experience than what we are use to, they were in there pajamas and slippers all day and seemed to have a ball. Little girls have a lot to talk about that's for sure and every time they caught a fish they called me to take it off. We did have fun and they love camping on the lake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last night and the morning bite was dead with signs of life by the evening bite. Guys were doing good moving tip ups around, it seemed like you had to bounce it off their heads. Guys were not marking much and the fish didn't seem aggressive. The evening bite did improve and kept me from impaling myself with the filet knife.

Maybe that's how it's done in Japan but this is the good old US of A and we just don't do it that way, instead we drop plow and run it into the lake bottom. Tonight Billy, Dallas and I will draw straws.

Tonight the shack dog came up short so we had to settle for meat cookies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He got up later in the day and we put him in a new spot we wanted fished an we didn't have time to get him all set up with all the pots and pans so we ate frozen hamburger patties. It's more important to find a better bite. I know you know the drill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The evening bite did improve and kept me from impaling myself with the filet knife.

Maybe that's how it's done in Japan but this is the good old US of A and we just don't do it that way, instead we drop plow and run it into the lake bottom.

whoa... glad to hear that no impaling occured. I searched around the multiple Red Lake outfitters and came across Chris' site yesterday, gave him a call and even though he was on the move, was more than willing to take time to answer all my questions. Booked two nights with Portavilla in late January, and we're very much looking forward to the trip, that is, if Chris' plow isn't surrounded by hammer handles by then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The move did pay off and we will start moving the rest to new spots. Sometimes a guy just has to humble himself and pray about it. A significant improvement and about time we will see how long it holds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we set the bar pretty high for the shack dogs smile Keep up the great work Chris and keep Billy fed good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The city is a buss folks are back to catching fish everyone is outside having a good time. We started catching fish out and it's nice to see Walleyes flopping on the ice. I woke up this morning and told the guys we are lifting them all in the air today and making the move. The guys in 7-10 were getting more keepers as well. The weather system seems to be helping things as well. We have just are 6 mans to move and they all have been relocated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 houses moved, banked, drilled and slushed and it was a good day, the guys are getting about 75% keepers. One guy left yearly today and he should of stuck around it was a lot of work and shack dog brought on the chow.

The thing that takes time is knowing where to make the next move weather station 2 fired up and the move was on. The ice is sketchy but we plotted are course yesterday and every house was full of people when we moved and there was no complaints.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Chris you guys defintely work hard to keep your houses on productuve spots. Great the hear that the bite is pciking up!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not much happened with the rattle reels last night and it was more of a evening bite. They were getting some this morning when I was making the rounds. They are getting more throw backs around 20-23" but having fun with it. Dead sticking was doing better than jigging by most reports and the guys using tip ups were by far out producing those that were not.

A better bite is just out of my comfort zone and guys using portables are getting limits and doing very well about 50% are in the slot. However some are really pushing it with driving in those areas, the ice is not that good. Sleds and wheelers are the ticket to get there. I have done a lot of exploring and I think we are on the edge of safe ice, going past that point with a truck is pushing your luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fishing slowed down today but it always seems to when it blows hard. I didn't get a chance to talk much with the guys but told them last night it would go down like that.

A new shack dog arrived in camp and our other one departed. I felt kinda of bad, the last dog we just kind of threw him a bone and said make the best of it. They improvised and did good with it. I knew the new dog was a different sort when I was asked what we had on the menu? We were dumfounded never thought about it before, we looked at each other and laughed. They however were persistent so we told them to buy the groceries and we would reimburse them. It was total bliss, they didn't want to be out done and man what an effort. We even had dessert. We might even be looking at top dog honors here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

see you friday portavilla can't wait. It will be our first time renting a house so it should be a great time. fished red quite a bit and have had great success. Hey chris has there been many pike caught where your houses are?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How are the roads coming off of Rogers after all this snow? I was hoping to head up this week at some point. Can a person still drive anywhere around on the lake with a four wheel drive or did you guys get enough snow that a person is stuck to plowed roads now? Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The side we quite plowing at did ok but where we plowed quite a bit it was real quite as far as the bite goes. We will be making a move today and tomorrow. We have to get out of there regardless, the snow is to drifted in.

We have got some nice pike and you can not run wild with truck you will get stuck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have been digging out from the storm and what took one day to will now take three. The bite was not to good out there with all the plowing in the area so we are moving back to structure. We were on the edge of safe ice and tried to go out but could not find a plowable spot that was already covered by shacks.

We are going to hold out in 9-12 feet of water and run our portables out in the mud. If your coming up with us the more portable the better. Guys with sleds own the lake right now and it will be a couple of weeks before getting out in places I would prefer to be. The mud did good for a while but we could not advance farther out and got boxed in on the sides. In the mud once you get a lot of traffic the fish just move over 400 yards and we can't follow them, we would if we could.

The structure a least holds fish it's not as good a bite as out farther but not a shutdown with all the traffic, something is always coming through. Rogers is selling Shiners, Suckers and Fatheads. Mixed reports on what's working better leaning towards the Shiners.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info. Coming up on Thursday and will try to bring a sled or two and a portable.

Also - email sent with some rental questions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Were gna b heading up fri morn and getting pretty excited 2 out fish the buddies lol jk but any word on how the fishings been? I've always fished out of rogers and have had decent 2 great success, we've fishd close 2 ur houses but it'll b our 1st time in 1l

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The bite has been slow and guys with portables have been doing better. We are finally dug out from the snow storm with all our houses, and on new spots. We also ran a half mile east from every one and made a road heading straight north and bermed it off.

Our houses are now away from everyone and we are back to fishing 9-14' of water that you need a big v-plow to get to. We have structure below it and a lot of broken ice above it. We got boxed in before with no way to advance so we took some different measures this time around. Guys with portables are doing real well here. Now we can roll our houses as far north as we want to or can.

Jerry from Rogers is packing a road with the bombardier so four wheelers can have a better shot at making it to the center bar with portables from Rogers access. This is something worth considering if you can. The Center Bar this time of year is normally boiling. Snowmobilers still own the lake. I still feel like a dog on a leash but we just found a weak link in the chain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have been spread out over 9-14' and it's been pretty poky. We got caught up today with everything and have been running the Nomads around. We found some good fishing in closer yet, but the bite was only a couple of hours long. The guys said during that period they marked a lot of fish. We will fish it some more and see what happens.

We got off the chain for another quarter mile and ran back into 9" of ice we setup a couple of Nomads and they where catching fish in about 15 feet but again we will see if it holds.

The Center Bar has been producing fish and guys were making the run out there however just got word from our guys that a 2 foot wide crack has developed and the Center Bar sank. Sounds like a mess, we will check it out with the bombardier tomorrow.

We are still split on which direction to head do we go out or in, we should know more in a couple of days. What's been working best the last couple of days is the brown bottle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.