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.

Recommended Posts

There was a hint of sarcasm with the 1 ton comment.  If you actually read reports from around the state and particularly @JerkinLips detailed info above, you might gather that hardly any lakes in the state are ready for plowed roads and wheelhouses.  Red might the exception.

 

I could be wrong about the big V but less than a foot of ice with slush on it doesn’t sound like it’ll be ready by this weekend even with this cold snap.

 

Be safe out there.

  • Thumbs Up 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

There was a hint of sarcasm with the 1 ton comment.  If you actually read reports from around the state and particularly @JerkinLips detailed info above, you might gather that hardly any lakes in the state are ready for plowed roads and wheelhouses.  Red might the exception.

 

I could be wrong about the big V but less than a foot of ice with slush on it doesn’t sound like it’ll be ready by this weekend even with this cold snap.

 

Be safe out there.

-32 degree weather will freeze all the slush out there. There is 11-13” of ice. The only problem with getting a wheel house out right now is the snow. There is enough ice for a half ton and 16’  ice castle. I’ve put mine out several times on 10” of ice with my half ton with no problems at all. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Tlund said:

-32 degree weather will freeze all the slush out there. There is 11-13” of ice. The only problem with getting a wheel house out right now is the snow. There is enough ice for a half ton and 16’  ice castle. I’ve put mine out several times on 10” of ice with my half ton with no problems at all. 


Just trying to help.  This year is NOT starting well for wheelhouses.  You can obviously make your own decisions but after decades of personal experience I would pass.  Leave the wheelhouse on land and travel by sled or ATV with a portable if need the shelter.  You’ll enjoy your trip more.

 

I also recommend some you guys get your own plows.

Edited by Wanderer
  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will be going to check ice and conditions tomorrow. Maybe they will have the road plowed out of Mckinely by the weekend. There is plenty of ice to do it. 

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Joshua Knapp said:

Will someone please post if the do plow a road, or if any trucks are on the ice. Thanks, have a day!

 

As of today no plowed roads going straight out at McKinley ! No trucks either . 4 wheeler , side by side , snowmobiles have some paths that are being used to get out to both sides of Birch island ..

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, JerkinLips said:

As Bigfatbert stated there are no plowed roads going out from McKinley Park as of Thursday evening. The snow is quite heavy on the lake and they forecasted another snowstorm today so it may get worse. Travel is good on snowmobile but when I looked back on my tracks once yesterday I saw I had gone through a large patch of slush. Some 4 wheelers appear to be struggling to get around but none are getting stuck. They finally removed the stuck fish house from just off the landing yesterday. I had 12" of ice yesterday so at least there appears to be a good base but thinner spots I am sure are around. Fishing was slow yesterday. I caught 5 little walleyes all on rainbows and 2 eelpout. Good luck fishing and be careful traveling on the lake.

tmp_16695-20191212_092438543766252.jpg

tmp_16695-20191212_1040571195315572.jpg

 

JL - do you mind sharing what depth and structure-type you are finding fish on? Hoping to head up to LV over the Holidays. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, JerkinLips said:

plow people are tempted to plow the road closed for intruders.

Intruders?   They have a gate up or something?   

 

If someone plows a road on a public lake from a public landing they really can't expect to exclude the public.   On the other hand if there is a convenient way to express one's appreciation it ought  to be done.   But plowing someone in is approaching unlawful in my book.   

 

Like I could put up a donation box next to my sidewalk to defer my expense in shoveling but pushing snow in front of someone  who didn't contribute might be over the top.

Edited by delcecchi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok so let me start off with I don’t have a big truck with a V-plow, but did make one for my wheeler so I could get on and off with no help from any one else, and I can not tell you how many times I have helped people to get there stuff off the lake.. So long story short many years ago I spent 8-10 hours plowing a road (at that time just had a straight blade plow) and then set down the fishhouse and did not even drill a hole just to tired!!!!! Yep you guess it.... woke up and had a village around me, well that is the way it goes??? So a couple days later decided to move, well got my truck and fish house stuck and had to unhook my fishhouse and hand shovel to get my truck unstuck hook up a chain to get my fishhouse turned so I could hook up again, while there was two guys drinking coffee not more then 15-20 yds away that did not lift a finger to help, so went home got the wheeler and as I was coming back out they stopped me and asked if I could help them out!!!!!! Yep really!!!!!! So second story have a uncle that had his kid that has a plow to punch a road to his fishhouse so he did well one day he is coming off the lake and some one decided to put his wheel house right on the road!!!!! So he knots on the door and the guy told him well sucks to be you!!!!!!!! So you wonder why these guys get a bit upset????? Not to mention going out to my house and having holes drilled I don’t no inches around my house!!!!!!!!! Yep it is not you doing it but yep kind of really makes a person upset!!!!!! Man they need to realize that the guy that made that road is your life line to get off also!!!!!! So like JerkinLips said if you happen to see a person keeping the road open toss him some money or in my case some beer, will make your life a lot easier when you want to get off...

  • Wow, ❤ 1
  • l Love It 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, delcecchi said:

 But plowing someone in is approaching unlawful in my book. 

It may be unkind but I don't know how putting the snow back that you removed would be unlawful.  Don't shoot the messenger; I am just passing along what I have heard.  I travel by snowmobile so I couldn't care less about plowed roads.  To me they are just a hazard for sledding.

That being said, the people that used the plowed road today were very considerate.  They pulled well off of the road and kept a fair distance from others.

I took a sled ride from McKinley Park to Fortune Bay and encountered at least 6 patches of slush.  I saw a couple of spots were 4 wheelers drove through slush; looks like they had a hard time.  I saw several 4 wheelers getting stuck in the deep snow today.  They would back up and take another run to keep going.  Traveling is very difficult for most wheelers.  I did see one Jeep on the lake just outside of McKinley Park bay.

Good luck fishing and traveling on Lake Vermilion.

  • Wow, ❤ 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It can be a surprisingly touchy situation.  Plow or no plow.  I’ve been on both sides and have heard many stories like @HunterFisher11 stated.

 

Like Jerkinlips, I used to only travel by snowmobile and drag a portable around; back when fishing trips were always with “the guys”.   The plow berms were hazards; you can’t see a lot of them until you’re on em.  And I never understood why guys up north plowed 1/4 acre lots around their houses when they set them down.  I did always appreciate the guys who marked their berms with pine boughs so they could be seen but it also looked like they were staking claim to a pretty large space on the ice.

 

Fast forward to buying a wheel house so my wife would go ice fishing and we could maybe have some family with the grandkids out.  Plowing almost becomes necessary.  And it isn’t easy or cheap.  Plus I figured out the extra plowing around the house is to fight slush from forming.  There becomes a game you have to play to keep everyone who drives off that access from coming to your fish house door.  And they will.  And even if you plow past your house, you just put in a new road and suddenly have traffic and create problems if it just dead ends.  It’s best to make a loop so people can turn around to get out.  Suddenly you feel responsible like a resort operator for all the people who just wanna fish “somewhere”. 
 

I try plow the minimum needed and don’t drop my blade until I get a ways off the access hoping the two rut road will deter most from following.  When I do put the blade down I don’t scrape the ice either and keep a single-wide width.  That helps lessen the berm.  Usually that’s enough to stay semi private.  Don’t forget the loop though.

Don’t plow right to your final spot.

Drill out the area enough to fine tune the location of the house, Then plow your house spot out.  Put it down.  Then consider if you need to block the spur you’re fishing on.  Either with the truck or a snow pile. It’s more work than dragging a portable out by snowmobile, that I’m sure of.
 

Is there a wrong or right way to plow?  I think it’s only there are safe and unsafe ways to plow.  And there’s just differences in how people use the lakes these days.

 

Help a brother out on the ice.  Sooner or later you’ll need it if you spend enough time ice fishing.

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well stated Wanderer.  My mistake was calling them intruders, which is what the plow guys would likely call them.  I would call them visitors, and as such they should be considerate to the one who invested a lot of time and money in creating the road.  Don't use the road then park your house right next to the house at the end of the road.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of jerks out there.  Equine Inequality ... More horse's arses than horses.  But to deliberately plow someone in regardless sort of puts the plower in the same category.  

 

Seems like it is "no good deed goes unpunished"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't own a plow, but certainly have used a plowed road or two in my life. I don't like when others fish on top of me, so I don't do it to others. If my truck can't get off of the plowed road then I don't use my truck.

 

If I had a plow and were plowing out of a public access, I would do as Wanderer pointed out and "block the spur" so that I could fish in solitude while still making a path that others can follow to their own spots. Then again, I get a jazz out of helping other people so it wouldn't bug me if people used it, as long as I could find a way to fish relatively on my own.

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone ever ice fish up in the northeast corner up for walleye (by rice bay)?  Have a shack up there and would like to try to get out of Glenwood Lodge.  Last year we went out on our sleds to see where people were fishing and other than a single house 40 yards out from the launch there was nothing on that entire side of the lake.  Thoughts?  Perhaps there is a reason nobody is up there?

  • Wow, ❤ 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • The title was changed to 2020-21 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports
  • The title was changed to 2021 Lake Vermilion Fishing Reports
  • The topic was pinned

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.




  • Similar Content

  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
×
×
  • 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.