West Wind Area

[swamp stomper]

I am going out to the west wind area on SB weekend "we are staying at WW". Is there any suggestions on good guides in the area that I could contact? Going with a wheeled house and I haven't been up their yet, but it sounds like lots of snow. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

[1DIRTBALL]

Without a doubt, Jon Petrowske! 1DIRTBALL

[Random guy]

Actaully I work out of the Hillmans and Beacon Harbor area. For guides out of the Westwinds area look at Tyler from Bear Paw, Cookie, Spider Johnson, Upper Red Lake Adventures or Westwinds directly.

[nofishfisherman]

I went with Cookie a few weeks back and he was great. I was in one of his houses but give him a call and I'm sure he can help get you set up with your wheel house. Sounds like most of his houses have been on some decent fishing so I'm sure you won't go home empty handed. We had mostly \nice keepers right at the 16 inch mark when we were up there with a few over the 20 inch mark, plus some nice perch thrown in.

You can find him by doing an internet search for Cookie and Upper Red Lake.

[swamp stomper]

Thanks for the help. We have a cabin booked at ww for that weekend. I am excited to get out there to give it a try. Any recent reports from in that area? Does the bite usually fall off the map by then like a lot of lakes or can you still get into them if the weather is right? I haven't fished red in the winter before. Either way we will have fun.

[eric29]

Anyone know if west winds road goes out any farther than a mile or mile and a half yet. Ive been up there twice both times i was about a mile out. Thinkin of going again but was hoping the road goes out farther.

[Thordson_1]

4 of us are heading up there this weekend. Planned on going out of West Wind. How has the fishing been up there lately? Whats been working the best? Thanks.

[cookie129]

West winds road goes south quite aways and over big reef. There's lots of areas to fish.The west road is less then 2 miles out.

Its still been more of a day bite with morning and evnings bites as well.

There could be a road further out by the weekend?

[Stcloudangler]

Cookie,whats the general depth along the road, where hard houses can get to? 9-10 ft?

[cookie129]

Yep 9 to 10

[swamp stomper]

How thick is the ice there. Will I need an extension next weekend?

[cookie129]

Last I measured 24 inches. Last week I cleared an area at the end of the road and it was 17 inches.

[ENMIFDAD]

If the ice is that thick, is it the slush that is keeping everyone from getting their roads out farther? Did you make a lot more ice last weekend with the cold temps, or is it too insulated from all the snow?

I really feel for the guys that make the roads on the lake, this year is extremely difficult for them.

Keep up the good work guys we really appreciate it.

[cookie129]

Theres alot more snow the further you go out. Bearpaw punched a road further west last week and when they exposed the ice to the elements she cracked and flooded . Scared the crud out of Steve and they got there houses back to the old road. I'm sure that road bed is frozen down solid now

[ArcticCat21]

I know everyone wants to get out further but for now the ice just won't allow it. There is a lot more snow out there and the ice is thinner because of it. If your not carefull when you drill a hole it can cause quite a big mess. I know Bear Paw tried to get out futher and the road cracked and flooded the next day in the cold weather. If better reports were coming in from that area we would be trying to get there ourselves. But for now its what we got. The main road goes several miles to the South all the way to the old Kansas City Resort. So there are many areas to get of the roads to set-up a wheel house.

[cookie129]

From talking to Tyler its all slush oout there and as soon a you drill a hole it turns into a gyser. I think that old road bed may be able to travel but if you get off of it you could be in some serious trouble with slush and very deep snow.

[kelly-p]

I know Bear Paw tried to get out futher and the road cracked and flooded the next day in the cold weather.

I didn't see it but I heard that Bear Paw had built a pretty good road for that to happen. There is a lot of stress on the ice sheet now. It makes a person wonder if it was the weight of the snowbank or removing the weight of the snow from the road that made it happen.

[cookie129]

Steve figured it happen when they moved that thick blanket of snow. It was then exposed to that super cold air and started to shiver and crack all over. Even shook him up a little bit. They still have not driven on it. I drove on it a bit but did not go to far. I would think it refroze and is quite thick but I have busted through them types of areas and seen others and it ain't no fun

[ArcticCat21]

We tried to plow out farther yesterday. We ended up making it 3 miles out into 14 feet of water. The first 2 passes in the plow truck were good. The third was bad. The ice cracked right down the center of the road and flooded faster than I could get out of there. I made it after plowing another pass for me and the other truck to get around the bad spot. Tim was in front of us with the mattracks just to make sure we didn't need to be pulled out. The water was 6" deep in a matter of 5 minutes. The water on the plowed area should freeze up good but under all that snow, it will be slush for weeks. The areas that we are in now is good with minimal amounts of flooding but when you get out to that deeper water the ice is thinner and cant handle being driven on right now. Right now we are able to get anywhere from 6-13ft of water so there is a very wide range of depth to work with.

[kelly-p]

I watched you guys make your first pass yesterday and was pleased to see no steam coming up from water/slush and thought you had found some good going. It sounds like I should have watched a little longer.

Sunday afternoon we punched in a short road and it looked pretty good with just a little seepage along the bank. We banked it off so nobody could drive into there for a few days. 9:00 AM yesterday morning it still looked good with just a little seepage. 10:30 AM yesterday that road was gone with just the very top of the snowbank still above the water. Some people fishing in a house on the main road in that area said it was like a 1/2 hour earthquake sloshing the water in their holes.

Maybe we should have automatic dispensers for Valium mounted right on the dashboards of V-Plow trucks this winter. Every 15 minutes calm us back down.