Access Fees

[Jarnotski]

I was dissapointed to come up this weekend and find out that my favorite access is charging $25 for a wheel house to acces the lake.  The rationale was wheelhouses usually stay multiple nights...  I thought I was paying an acccess fee, not an overnight fee?   In addition, the roads out of this particular access were nothing special.  I have been on the east side of the lake where thay have actual highways.  Poor roads, low gas prices, why exactly am I paying $25 instead of $10?    Is this what all the resorts/access points are charging?  Might be time to find a new access location.

[leech~~]

Their just making those rich 1% ters that can afford to have their own wheel house pay their fair share.

While the rest of us 99% ter shlumps that walk on, drive on and may have a porty still have to pay the unfair $10

[BringAnExtension]

I see how hard the operators that I use work while I am sitting around fishing.  I personally would not hesitate to spend $25 for road access to make sure that they can continue their business.  Especially considering how small a drop in the bucket it is for my fishing expenses.

Also, new this year, is that $25 had better be covering the cost of a dumpster at the access point.

I guess it all depends on what it is worth to you to be able to access Red Lake.

Edited January 25, 2016 by BringAnExtension

[kelly-p]

32 minutes ago, BringAnExtension said:

Also, new this year, is that $25 had better be covering the cost of a dumpster at the access point.

As there are more RV style fish houses in the future are the roads going to be required to put in  dump stations just like a summer time campgrounds? 

  The roads are facing a tough call on road fees. Wheelhouses make it a lot harder and costlier to run a road. For example the roads can no longer just plow a trail for people to go fish on because wheelhouses will get in there and can get turned around or set up there during a storm and get stranded needing a plow to come get them. The roads then have 2 options, #1 only plow major roads where ever they go which gets expensive or, #2 Plow no side roads off from the main road and tell the fishermen to stay within a close distance to the main road. That crowds the fishermen up resulting poor fishing.

  Also if any drifting or a storm happens the drift that forms around the house and vehicle will cause the ice to sink creating a slush pocket. That means that for the rest of the winter nobody can fish there and a road can not be there. That means that you have to make a road someplace else creating more expense.

  Remember that the rental houses are the backbone of the roads. I do not think that anybody in their right mind would try to run a road on just road fees. That would be to erratic for the cash flow. Fishermen are very mobile now. A road could spend a lot making a good and big road for the next weekend but the next weekend the fishermen are over on a different road or on a different lake.

All in all I'm glad I am not in the business anymore because with the big increase in wheelhouses everything we know about ice fishing is going to change.

[Jarnotski]

My wheel house is homemade wtih yrs of saving materials. Far from rich.  I don't disagree with how hard SOME of the operators work.  That was no evident this weekend. I like the point about the dumpster though, didn't see one.  I was more curious if all access are charging the $25 for the weekend.   Single Dad who is enjoys to bring his kids up and catch walleyes - the extra $15 means somehting to me.

[fishing tech]

Hillmans charged me $30 for a Friday to Monday. I always go out of there. They are not overly talkative but I assume that is because they don't know me.  Came off the lake threw my garbage in the dumpster and away we went. Great road, Mom and Pop outfit, and I have been told if you need help they will be there for you.

[BringAnExtension]

BTW Kelly - Thanks for all of those times that you and Jonny were keeping the roads open while we were sitting inside fishing, nice and warm!

[kelly-p]

6 hours ago, BringAnExtension said:

BTW Kelly - Thanks for all of those times that you and Jonny were keeping the roads open while we were sitting inside fishing, nice and warm!

 Then I get out of the business and the last 2 years there has been so little snow out there they have use a plow to gather enough to make a snowman.

[Paradice]

I always payed Hillman's for the days we were there.  It's always been the policy far as I know.  Sometimes that means $40/truck for 4 days.  Glad to do it too.  I wouldn't want to ask for help if I was out there longer than I paid.  Small price to pay to have a road and some backup in case something goes wrong. 

[blue_healer_guy]

I guess a guy could spin it this way to,  without the walleye/fisherman, the is no cash flow.  I think that happened a few yrs ago.

[BringAnExtension]

18 hours ago, kelly-p said:

Then I get out of the business and the last 2 years there has been so little snow out there they have use a plow to gather enough to make a snowman.

Sounds like you have more time for fishing now?

[Weathertite]

Nothing is for free anymore , Face it. These people are just trying to make a living. I don't mind paying my fair share.  Small price to pay for convenience .

[kelly-p]

6 hours ago, BringAnExtension said:

Sounds like you have more time for fishing now?

Actually fishing less but enjoying it more. I used to have to find fish for the customers coming in the next few days. Now if I don't find fish is not as big of a disappointment. The pressure is off.

Tonight  I found a place with a lot of little 8 to 10 inch walleyes. It was nice to see them and they were "cute" but not what I was looking for. Tomorrow there is a long nicely frozen over crack that will be easy to travel down that needs exploring so Hillman's and Beacon's know what is there for fish. Tough job.

[MNice]

I think $25 for a weekend is cheap!!  About 50 cents an hour to use the roads that were plowed, if there is a storm, they will plow you out.  A bargain in my book.

[jerkbait]

I agree, $25 for a weekend sounds like a good price to me also. Back in the crappie days I would spend $20 or $30 for 2 or 3 days of fishing. Just sounds simpler now paying one fee for the weekend. 

[Jarnotski]

The $25 is not the end of the world. The roads were better when they were charging $10.  If I'm paying over double (and gas prices are reltively low) I would expect the roads to be maintained.  It is just this one particular access that  I am disappointed with -  I certainly don't mean to insuate thats all resort owner/access operators are not providing good access and roads. And yes, when there has been a storm I've been plowed out - for a fee

[Fishalittle]

Maybe you should try another access.....???

[kelly-p]

1 hour ago, Jarnotski said:

(and gas prices are reltively low)

So during the winter of 13-14 when gas prices were high, the snow was deep and the slush was very bad should the roads have raised their rates so they didn't lose so much money?

 A few days ago while I was scouting both Hillman's and Beacon's were extending their main roads further west. 4 plows and an ice drag working between the 2 roads. The newest truck was 26 years old. The newest V-Plow was one I had built 16 years ago. A person would have difficulty selling any of the trucks for $1,500. The people that were hired to drive those trucks were being paid  $10 to $12 an hour with no benefits.

  I'm 90% sure of what road you are talking about. In my lifetime I have never been on their road but after watching the ice sheet open and close and smash around I can only imagine what they are trying to work their way through. Plated and piled ice eats plows and spits out little pieces of metal. One time I saw Buddy hit a piece of plated ice with a 1 ton diesel and V-Plow. He did more then a 360 degree spin BEFORE HE LANDED ON THE ICE AGAIN!

  Sorry but I do not feel that $10 a day is too expensive. In fact I'm amazed it isn't higher.

  

[smurfy]

I agree 10 bucks is a good deal for the quality of the roads we drove out on. we rented from cookie and went out on Hillmans road!

 

I heard, not confirmed, that Winnie is charging 15 bucks........still a good deal if ya ask me!

[jkrash]

When I went to the ice fishing show at the river center I had to pay $20. to park for a few hours, no plowing involved, no garbage, no BS...

[Sculpin]

Buy a snow plow for your truck, find a public landing, plow your own road, and viola, you're set. You've spent $25.00 on snacks, drinks, terminal tackle, bait, etc. before you even made a move.  Plan accordingly, and the $25.00 will be drop in the overall bucket that it all comes out of.   

[Yep]

Going to a two hour movie costs more than the fee. Stare at a screen for two hours or look down an ice hole for a few days?

[Jarnotski]

Thank you Kelly, you some what made my point.  I have no problems paying the $25 if work is being done (though I admit thats not the way I came off in the first post).  I came up on Saturday morning at 11:00 and the operator told me the road was tough to see because they hadn't plowed it yet.  Granted I was pretty far north, I never saw a plow on the ground while I was there until noon on sunday and the plow trucks were at there respective rentals; roads were worse heading off.  There was some ply wood and a couple metal planks over the first breaker.  I get it, they're tryign to make a living, was just dissapointed in paying more and receiving less.  As mentioned by others, probably  time to find a new access.  I'll be done with my gripe...

[grasshopper]

Don't mine paying $25 as long as the snowplow driver doesn't drive by my house making a new road when I'm fishing.

[Fishalittle]

9 hours ago, grasshopper said:

Don't mine paying $25 as long as the snowplow driver doesn't drive by my house making a new road when I'm fishing.

Sometimes that's not all bad.....depending on exactly how close they plow.......have caught a fair amount of fish on slow afternoons when the plows were working the main road.....keeps the fish on the move!

[grasshopper]

Plowed in between me and another house and we were50 feet apart

[Fishalittle]

That is not cool....I think that plow driver might have needed a conversation and I would have moved.....to another access!

[kelly-p]

12 hours ago, grasshopper said:

Plowed in between me and another house and we were50 feet apart

Reminds me of one of my most embarrassing  times on the lake. This was before GPS's. At night the pressure ridges blew. Road A had one bridge that was now impassable with 40 to 50 vehicles stranded there. Road B had 2 bridges, the deeper bridge was still passable but the shallower bridge was impassable with about 70 vehicles stranded. We had a good plan. I would gather up the vehicles stranded on road A and while they followed me I would plow the 2 1/2 miles over to Road B where we could cross the deeper bridge and then gather up the stranded vehicles there on Road B.  When everybody was gathered up a friend would park on Road A with his headlights shining at me and I would plow back to Road A shallower then the bridge so every body could get to shore. Across the lake I go towards my friends headlights with over 100 vehicles behind. When I get to the headlights it is not my friend on Road A. It is 2 fishermen fishing in the headlights of their truck. All by themselves, quite and peaceful and here comes a V-Plow and over 100 vehicles right an top of them.

[bturck]

Did you stop to see how they were doing or just keep moving..........was that a wave or a middle finger you saw...funny.....

[dfv87]

yeah but a story like that I would have understood... to have a plow go between a couple of people seems reckless... MAybe this guy also had a story or likely was following a specific GPS line.