Access to Burntside

[trout seeker]

Chunkytrout, I appreciate your info recently posted regarding fishing Burntside. Bringing a group up to fish Snowbank Saturday 1/22 and would like to hit Burntside Sunday morning. Is there a truck access near those Dead River spots you recently posted ? If so, how do I get to it? Any info would be appreciated.

Trout Seeker

[chunkytrout]

Seeker, you're welcome and thanks for the good words. On the first page of the BSide Bash thread is a map and directions to the Dead River access. There's also the VanVac access: West out of town on 169, approx 4 milles is hwy 88, take right. Follow over the river to VanVac Rd. Take left. Almost 2 miles and you'll see the Access sign on your right. Hey, good luck on Snowbank and try and get to the Bash if you can. Email me if you need more info.

[Steve Foss]

Just got back from a reconnoiter of Burntside early afternoon Friday before opener.

There's a narrow, poorly plowed road that goes straight north off Van Vac, with a branch that turns off straight east for a ways as well. It's about half drifted in. There is no road heading west of Van Vac, which is traditionally the most popular traveled route on that part of the lake. That could change in a matter of hours, depending on when someone with a plow wants to put out a permanent shack west of there.

There was no road whatsoever off the Passi Road public access. There were snowmobile tracks with one fresh set of pickup tracks over the top of them heading onto the lake this afternoon. There was a permanent shack on skids at the landing waiting to go on the lake, so there could be a road plowed in there pretty soon.

There was 14 inches of clear solid ice about 50 yards off the road that leads off Van Vac (I was about 100 yards from shore), and 14 inches off the Passi Road public landing. I drilled and measured about 2 p.m.

If you have a 4X4 pickup you'll be fine, roads or no roads. There has been some drifting but nothing that can't be tamed. Without roads, I would not recommend trying to drive on Bside in a smaller SUV type vehicle, whether it's got 4X4 or not. There just won't be enough clearance.

We'll update this after tomorrow's fishing. Or maybe if we take a night-time road trip we'll update it again tonight. Who knows what could happen — it's the magic pre-opener hour, after all.

The weather forecast was wrong. It was only about -20 at the airport and at my house when I got up before 6 this morning, though -32 had been forecast. The winds were in the low teens, which tends to chap a person's skin, but most laker anglers have fished in much worse. It's about -4 on my garage as I write this at 3:30 p.m.

[trout seeker]

Stfcatfish and Chunky,.. your info and updates are greatly appreciated. Haven't been able to schedule " the bash " but hope to in the future...Dogged with Terry Murphy and his partner last year into some nice trout. They said good things about you guys. Good luck with the upcoming trout season. I'll post once we return. Thanks again.

TS

[Steve Foss]

As of late this morning, a road had been plowed west from Van Vac (first one heading west from there this season), opening things up for those without full-size 4X4 pickups.

Thanks to Bob the Bartender and to Jim Carlson (Jim plowed for the bash last year) for that new road. As it usually works, folks with permanent shacks do the plowing, and we all coast along behind them. We owe them our thanks!

Haven't checked the Passi Road access today. Maybe tomorrow, but I reckon if it's not plowed it will be soon. Cold weather has put off some folks, and they've waited to drag out their permanent shacks.

Ice off Van Vac was 14 inches to 17 inches today.

[Steve Foss]

There's now a road plowed from the public landing off Passi Road onto Bside.

It's a single lane road (as of Monday afternoon) that goes a little past where last year's bash headquarters was set up before ending in a parking/turnaround area. There are three permanent shacks there. Last year and in previous years the road off Passi went way out into the lake, because a guy with a permanent put it quite a ways southwest of Passi, and plowed his own road to get to the shack. That hasn't happened yet this year.

So if the road isn't widened/lengthened before bash weekend, it'll need both. Chunky's seeing to that.

I saw no slush. There was none along the road or at the turnaround.