Fishin report for Lake Iwanttobethere..

[Bobby Bass]

Here is a copy of the guide lines in the safe and successful launching of a ice house at Lake Iwanttobethere.

1) Houses may be any size and shape up to a 12' by 16' there is no mim size for launching.

2) You may dial in the length of pull from the bungee cord. You will be asked to fill out a "launch sheet" a guess at your weight and the pull of the bunge, ¼, half, ¾ or a full pull!

3) You must sign the release form and have a next to kin present, this makes things easier for the launch committee.

4) You must have a way to launch flares. A white flare for all ok and a red flare for if you need assistance at the end of your run.

5) All houses must have at least two runners at launch

6) You may have passengers but must have a fishing hole in the house for each passenger and you can not charge a fee to your passengers.

7) Drinking is not allowed, however once you have entered your house and are in the launch area what you do is up to you.

8) Your house must be painted, white is not a color, we need to be able to follow the flight of your house from the launch area.

9) Once your house has been launched and it comes to a complete stop you will not be allowed to relocate your house for 30 days. You may rotate it up to 360 degrees. You will be a marker for the rest of the town to follow.

10) The house tossed the farthest from the launch site will be declared the winner and will be awarded all prizes from the merchants award list. The merchants do require that the house be intact and they will be allowed to place logos on up to two of the intact walls.

11) The far est tossed house will also be awarded a plowed road directly to the said house, this will be at no charge to the winner.

12) All houses must be at Dug's garage the morning of the launch. They will be fitted with a sling connector, we strongly encourage that a wall be reinforced for this. Also the house owner must provide a tarp or covering for there house. House will not be revealed to the general public ( tourists) till one hour before schedule launch.

13) This years launch date is Dec 9th at noon. Good Luck

If you need help you can contact the committee at [email protected] (7322)

[nytelyter]

i have just finished polishing my runners to a glaze that a bob sledder would be proud of and with my steel frame i will ask for a full pull of the bungee, draw it tight enough to strum a tune on and let the others be left in the dust. you may want to mount the signage before the launch tho as it will be quite a trek to get them there after i finally come to a complete stop. oh mount the extra gas tank on the plow truck. as far out as i am gonna end up your gonna need it. we are gonna be fishing some deep water this year so add some extra line to your reels this year. ... paul

[Bobby Bass]

It never really gets quiet here at Lake Iwanttobethere. There is also the daily routine and like every one's else household there are a few bumps in the road. I wish that I could say that I sleep every morning till I wake up and a fine breakfast is waiting for me and my dogs all mine me and I can sit on the deck and watch a perfect sunset every evening after a successful afternoon of fishing. Unfortunly that is not always the case. Yesterday found me at Earls general store picking up a new toilet as someone who lives with me and who will remain unnamed deposit the top half of an orange into the toilet causing it to plug. After removing the toilet with the help of Hammering Hank and running an auger into both ends and not being rewarded with any success we took it outside and took the pleasure of smashing it open with a sledge hammer. We then found the blockage and confirmed there was no way we were going to get it out. Lucky for me Earl had a fixture in stock and saved me a drive into the big city. A few hours later and the bathroom was back in working order and the women in the house were happy again. I did not have a problem as I have the outhouse but the women don't like to be watched when they go out there. I do have it on my list to fix that door one of these days.

I had to see Doc this morning for my annual exam, told me I have to work out more. With fall here and winter just around the corner I can't row any more as I was lucky enough to get the wood boat out of the bay before it froze in. I will have to extend my daily walking, Of course I prefer to do most of my walking with a shotgun and Bud at my side but birds have been few and far between the past week or so. If we get a little snow on the ground and it stays that will help some. I am waiting on the UPS guy, my nephew from the big city said he has sent me some special equipment to install into my ice launching shack. I can't talk to much about it other then it will increase my distance 10 fold.... Well maybe 5 no make that twice as far as I went several years ago when I was in the first fling off.

So I did take a walk already this morning, thought I better start as maybe the UPS guy will be here this afternoon. Funny when you live in a place for as long as I have it's hard not to walk down memory lane as the same time you are walking down the lane. Every house and every street seems to trigger a memory or two. Whether they are good or bad memories of course are up to you. I walked by the old high school girlfriends house today. They had just repainted the red fence that has been there for at least 40 years. When I was a young lad I remember running out the back door as to not get caught by an early arriving mother and running at full speed looking up to see the fence in my way. To close to jump and no where to turn I straight armed the fence and did a perfect 180 right over the top to land on my back on the other side just as the mother and the floodlights came on and out on the back porch. Laying there unable to move even if I wanted to I could feel the glare of my girlfriends mother as she looked out into the night looking for me. After a minute or so the screen door slammed and the lights went out. I just laid there. As I walked by today and saw that fence I felt my back give me a little tingle like it was remembering also.

Soon the ice town will be back and I will take my walks there. Will be hard to do as that will bring back memories of winters gone by. Old friends and new friends will share time on the water and we will have a few fish to talk about and of course it is never quiet here at Lake Iwanttobethere (7349)

[Bobby Bass]

Ten days till the ice house launch and the pace is picking up in town. Earl's general store has had an increase in business or at least it sure does look like more people are coming and going from my vantage point sitting at Amy's having a cup of hot chocolate this morning. Of course with it being after Thanksgiving the Christmas decorations are popping up all over town and the lights are on in the evening. Now when you drive down some of the roads here you notice houses you never would see in the summer as with the leaves down and the lights on there is a glow around the lake. I for one have already been through that phase of the decoration wars between neighbors. I managed to survive it and consider myself a recovered decor allolic. I wish I could say the same for a retired couple who live the next bay down from me. They have it bad... They decorate for every season. From Valentines on. We are always waiting for them to hang sheets after the first of the year to celebrate the winter white sale. I keep it simple, a fresh tree in the living room a few strings of lights and colored beer bottles in the shed. Of course a small tree on the roof of the ice house is always lite just like those inside.

The Lodge has it's tree up and our safe decorations are on. There are already presents wrapped and placed under it. The Martha Stewert replacement tool drive is moving right along, Seems the news has travel to a few other lakes and the Lodge has received calls asking how they can help. Also if we were going to have drive for the removal of Pink Chain saws with Martha's logo on them.

Lake is making ice every night and it looks good for launch weekend. Days are not much warmer so the heater has been on in the shed as I work on my own entry. Elmer has come over with some advice since he was not a winner but is willing to offer a few ideas that he wanted to try out. I have as building inspector receive some information from some of the entries. I am not at liberty to release the information now but I will be releasing a press release the morning of the launch. I will say that there are some high tech gadgets and materials and some creative ideas to increase distance and speed. The local fire dept. Is going to donate the use of their hi tech GPS tracker. A tracker will be installed on each house and we will be able to see on a screen there final resting place on the ice of Lake Iwanttobethere. This will be the first time we will be able to see the boundaries of the town with out having to do a fly over with the crop dusting plane.

Not to be lost in all of this is that with the testing of the log several anglers have been making the trek out onto the ice and have been catching fish. There has been a fair crappie bite in the evening with a few walleyes from time to time. Vicki from the Masterbaiters reports that there has been at least one person in the shop all the time. Of course a few of the ladies are coming in to working on there Christmas shopping lists. Amy took a break and sat with me for awhile and said her loose meat sandwiches are going out the door as she to as seen a few fishermen coming in and spending time on the water. Well from Lake Iwanttobethere get your augers ready.. (7379)

[Bobby Bass]

Well a Monday here at the lake and a lot on the schedule. Got some snow overnight not a lot but a few inches. Enough to help cover the grass at the launching site for this coming weekends ice house fling. Fishing has been good on the lake also as there were several brave souls out on the ice yesterday sitting on their 5 gal pails. Reports are coming in of some perch and crappies being taken with an occasional walleye.

The Lodge's chimneys are scheduled to both be cleaned today and while Dusty is up on the roof we will have him test the civil defense siren and also install the ice cam. We had a camera donated to the Lodge and we will be mounting it on the peak overlooking the lake. This will allow us to zoom in and keep an eye on the action and also should be a nice feature for the Ice House Fling as we will be able to videotape it and save it for review. We will also be installing one of them there pirate dishes so we can borrow signals from the MPLS house up the bluff. They just had a dish installed and we through some magic that I am not all up on can get signals from there dish to our dish and watch it here. Of coarse we can only watch what they are watching but we will find a receiver here soon I am sure.

Wife spent all day Saturday in the big city Christmas shopping and didn't come back with a single thing except for some of them chocolate covered cherries. I figure that she has all the presents hid at the daughters house. Them women will work together like that. I was a little suspicious when I saw a notation in the checkbook for a 167.00 box of cherries. I for one like to go out the night before Christmas and do my shopping, lots of good deals and the shelves are pretty empty so you don't waste time having to look at all that stuff that was on them. My daughter and her husband are doing it the more modern way I am told. He picks out his gift online, puts it in the shopping cart then sends her the addy, all she has to do is enter her credit card and they are done. To me it takes the fun out of Christmas but they do end up getting what they want. Not to much different then our presents under the lodge's tree I guess.

As if I don't have enough to do around here I already got my Christmas present that I bought for myself. A new turntable that will allow me to record my vinyl records to my computer then burn them to CD's I can also do my cassette also. That should take me most of the winter, A soon as my sister found out she added her collection to my stack. Now I am just asking for disks for Christmas. Also a couple of minnow gift cards from the Masterbaiters will be nice.

Well my ice house is already for the fling on Saturday. A little tweaking here and there but she is ready to go. The main house needs some work but the section that I will have flung is good to go. I might even haul it down to Dug's on Thursday so I can be first in line for the parade. I have heard from just about everyone except for Blaze and Nytelyter I don't know anything about there houses.

As you can see the town got together and went on the Internet and now the town has a Yahoo address. You can send any information or questions you have to that address and get a answer from someone in the Lodge. We have our laptop near the cash register so someone should see your message and respond to it. Well have to get to the Lodge I see Dusty's truck just drove by and someone should be there in case he falls. From Lake Iwanttobethere (7445)

[Bobby Bass]

So far so good, which means something will be going bad here in the next few days. Everything that we wanted to get done at the Lodge got done and everything even works. Found Elmer and Gus sitting in front of the Lodges TV watching " The Dazes of our Lives" When I went to say hello I was waved away as they were busy drinking their beer and munching on yesterdays popcorn. They started watching yesterday when the pirate feed was hooked up and now they are watching again today.

I played with the video camera for a little while and the zoom works well. Watched Hammering Hank across the way going into the Widow Hess's house with out even knocking. Went down and checked the launching area, everything looks good there. The first truck load of barrels from the county were dropped off this morning. The town made a deal with the county to store there orange construction barrels for the off season. We of course are going to put them to good use as we will mark off the launching area and out on to the ice with them. Will make it easier for lining up our flings.

With the extra money from memberships this year we have decide to keep the Lodge open through the winter. That and the fact that our biggest heat loss was that hole in the women's bathroom that we fixed by installing the skylight. The new propane pig that we had brought in will pay for itself by the bottles that we fill for ice fishermen. We have decide to go with the times and open our Lodge doors with regular hours. We hope to get some winter tourists. That and we are so close to the landing maybe we can entice some business. The Town Hall has been placed on blocks and will now serve as a multifunction building for the town. Since it is now in a semi permanent location we have added a furnace and it now has heat. It will even have some hours so people can pick up permits and do other town related business things.

Lake is making ice and cloudy during the day so we are not losing any. Pretty much a given here that winter has arrived and we will not have to worry about ice. Hank has the plow truck down by Town Hall plugged in so if we do get snow we will be able to clean off the launch area. Nytelyter was at the general store picking up a few gallons of custom John Deere green. We think it is for his house. He was also at Ma & Pa's picking up some beans and buying out her spice shelf. The Jones girls were at Ma's also buying rolls and rolls of aluminum foil and then at Earls getting duck tape. Frank the county plow driver made a pass earlier today, had enough snow on the roadway to toss back into the ditches. Our new post office has decorations up and a big ribbon on the door. Getting down right seasonal around here. Not Christmas till the town is out on the ice and we get to see that glow of lights at night. Just a few more days till flinging time from Lake Iwanttobethere (7482)

[Bobby Bass]

Just a perfect day for the launching of the Lake Iwanttobethere ice town. The town has been in a buzz the past week as there has actually been talk that a few of the ice houses to be launched are going to compete for the distance record. In the past it was a great accomplishment just to survive the launch. Staying upright and intact would bring a huge round of applause from shore and a sigh of relief from the rescue squad that is brought in for the event.

The parade started in the parking lot next to Dug's repair. The shacks were pulled out from the parking lot after passing a inspection The rest of the town falls in behind and it then weaves along main street. A assortment of 4 wheelers, hay wagons and K cars followed the shacks and our alternate McGurk to the town's park. As the parade pulled into the park Hammering Hank had the music from Top Gun blaring from the ball park speakers. The houses are lined up in the order of launching. People gathered around the concession stands and the Mini Dounuts are always a favorite. Mindy and Mandy were serving root beer and hot cider. Reed the Realtor was working the crowd shaking hands and pressing business cards to who ever he could get to take them. Masterbaiters has a tent up showing off their heaters and a wall of ice poles. A few tables are covered in clearance items. This is a big event here at the lake, as the ice town is reborn each winter. The entire town has shown up at the launch. Not to mention business are spread across the park peddling anything and everything that you need to ice fish. The hillside and softball bleachers are already set up and staked out with blankets and heaters, a few chairs are scattered down by the shoreline but the locals know that the higher you are up on the hill the better it is to see the launching. Two large weather balloons float above the public dock and they are straight up as it is a dead calm day.

A few local papers are here and even someone from that FM site is here. The newly remodeled Town Hall is parked at the landing a safe distance from the bungee cord. The launching will be in the same order as the drawing so I will be able to watch everyone get flung before I do. I am hoping this will be an advantage. They will be sending out a test log so we can get an idea of ice conditions. It looks pretty good. Just a little bit of snow, no slush at all and good ice. The orange barrels that have been collected from the county are off to both sides of the launching area and are spread out in an arc. Warning signs have been set in place to keep the tourist away from the flight of the ice houses. The locals know better and have taken viewing positions to the sides. Some of the more adventurous young lads are sitting on their Atv's and will be acting as chase units. They serve no real purpose but it looks good for the tourists. Any house taking more then a half pull from the bungee will leave the atv's in there ice chip wake.

The crowd has the general atmosphere of a Nascar event, you know, beer, women with jugs, hot dogs, colorful people in colorful clothes, An assortment of cars, trucks and trailers and mobile homes. You can almost feel the anticipation of a crash waiting to happen. When the day is done the bungee will be open to send other shacks out on to the ice. By night fall the town will have a general shape to it and in the next few weeks it will fill in and become a destination The town of Lake Iwanttobethere will be on the ice and for the next months the land will be quiet and the frozen waters of the lake will be the place to be.

The siren sounds from the Lodge and everyone's heads to their viewing spot. Hank over the loudspeakers announces the importance of McGurk on the second set of Pines where he is drawn back to a full pull with our backup bungee. McGurk shack which is named Alert 1 for today has an important role as if there is any trouble with a shack being flung he is launched as a rescue shack. The last of the smaller kids are brought inside the town hall and out of the way. There little faces line the windows looking out over the launching area.. Actually they have the best seats in the town.

The launching area sits below the Lodge and overlooks the Lake and the park and public access. There is a slight gently rolling hill that leads down to the ice. The two Large Pines sit at the top of the hill and the ends of the large bungee cord are attached to them. The towns dozer is attached to a release that is then attached to the bungee sling.

The first shack is brought over and put in the sling. Willie Whrenchhead house has a sponsor. Mike from the Junkyard has donated material for the house. The house has a kind of space shuttle look to it as the bottom is covered in old VW round hub caps. After a quick meeting it was ruled that the two runner rule would be waved as the hubcaps would serve this function. Willie requested a ¾ pull. Wisely several people took a step back along the lines as Willie was being pulled back and then launched. As he hit the ice a few of the hub caps flew off and he skidded off to the West then a few more came off and he went due North. He came to rest about 400 yards out in a NW direction. We waited a moment and were about to signal the chase atv's when we saw him exit the shack and wave his white flare.

2-Blaze was a no show. We were unable to get a hold of him so we don't know if he will be around or not this winter. I am sure we will have a special place for him on the lake if and when he shows up, after the 30 minute wait we moved on to.

3-The Jones Twins were not prepared to have a shanty launched as they spend most of the winter in other people's shanties. They did have an old house brought to the bungee and it was covered in duct tape and aluminum foil. They asked for a ¼ pull and got in. Hank just kicked the side of the house and it slid down the hill and about 30' onto the ice. About 5 minutes later the girls came out and threw there flare in the air. One the Jackson boys caught the flare and lit it for them. Some people in the crowd helped push the house off to the side and out of the way.

4-Skinny's Shack is a converted fiberglass outhouse, like Skinny it is somewhat lean and does not have a lot of bells and whistles about it. Skinny asked for a ¼ pull and with little fanfare was launched down the hillside and out on to the ice. He did a graceful semi curl off to the East and came to rest about 200 yards from shore. He hopped out and righted his house and waved his white flare.

5-Nytelyter-Now this was as surprise for everyone, a rather large squat John Deere green heptagon is brought to the bungee and placed in the launching position. Two long, lean and mean looking polished mirror skis poke out the front and rear. Nytelyter dressed in a bright blue snowmobile suit helps to adjust the sling around the house and then climbs in and closes the door. A moment later Hank release the bungee and the heptagon begins to shudder. It shakes and quivers but nothing is happening. Nytelyter flings open the door, steps out and gives the side of the house a robust kick. Jumping back inside the house it starts to move on down the landing and then with a TWANG it is launched out onto the ice. Several people in the crowd laff at what was to be an attempt on the distance record. The Nytelyter house moves out on the lake passing the Jones twins Shack and then out pass Skinny's. It's not moving very fast but it just keeps on moving. It's like it has some kind of special lighter then air thing about it. There also seems to be a haze around it. Hmmm there was mention of some bean aid. But we did not find anything in the house on inspection. Now it is out past Willie Whrenchheads house. Now through the spotting scope we can see that Nytelyter has gotten out of his house and with a big broom he appears to be, yes he is sweeping like a curler in front of his house. The house has just gone past last years outer marker and appears to be slowing. All we can see back here is a green haze and the blue blur of Nytelyter sweepings. The shack has come to a stop and there goes the White flare and now a Red Flare. The ATV riders run towards their machines. Then someone yells there is a blue flare!! Red, White and Blue.....he is just signaling for beer.. The crowd sits back down and awaits the next fling.

6- Dan Theim shanty is hauled to the launch, it shimmers and kind of a has an eire alien look to it.. It rests on the hillside but does not really seem to be sitting on the ground. If you bend over you can just make out two small runners. Dan asks for a full pull and climbs into his shanty, He is wearing some kind of shinny silver suit. Through the window we can see him as he straps on some kind of 4 point shoulder harness and puts on a helmet. He looks really serious sitting in his chair. There is something on his shoulder, looks like a little green guy!. Before the judges can get Hank's attention he has the shanty at full pull and SWISH the shanty is launched down the hillside. It leaves a faint smell behind it, like ozone or hairspray propellant. The odor mixing with Nytelyters wash leaves a few people gasping for air. In a flash it is past Wrenchhead's and Nytelyter is just a memory in a minute. Those who have binoculars talk to others in the crowd as the shanty is just becoming a distant dot on the ice. Elmer back in the Lodge with the spotting scope gets on the speaker system to announce that Dan is way pass everyone and has taken over first place. Elmer then reports that Dan is on the other side of the bay and is still going. Now Elmer reports that Dan is sliding up the bank on the far side and is climbing towards the top of the bluff. Several others in the crowd confirm this and all can see a flash of light as the sun catches Dan's shanty at the top of the bluff. There for a moment like a huge beacon it shines for all to see ...... Then it starts to slip back down the bluff, slowly at first but gaining speed. The dot grows bigger as it heads back down the same tracks that it left going up. Growing bigger it appears to be returning towards Nytelyters house and it looks like it is slowing down. Elmer reports that Nytelyter is back out side of his house and is at the rear of Dan's shanty. He has that big broom again and is sweeping at the rear of Dan's shanty. The shanty continues to slow but is getting closer to Nytelyters. It looks like it is finally coming to a stop even with Nytelyter. The white flare appears briefly from Dan's shack but is replace with an even larger green shimmering cloud. The two houses disappear in this fog. Dan and Nytelyter appear a few minutes later walking away from the shacks. The AVT's go out and bring them in they look to be ok.

7- Big Earl Log sided 12 by 12 house with porch was dragged to the starting line and was granted a 1/4 pull. Earl waved to the crowd and then carried in his bucket of chicken and a pony keg of beer. The side wall lites up with a "SHOP AT EARL'S" A moment later his hand waved out the window and he was sent off down the hill to rest just a 100 yards from shore but sitting straight and pretty. He held up his white flare and sat on his porch to await the next launching.

8- The Mpls Couple had one of them fancy factory built houses with the crank up wheels. They have it pulled over to the bungee, they then retracted the wheels and requested a ¼ pull and with a wave of their hands they requested release. Hammering Hank thought they wanted a bigger pull so he continued to bring the bungee back farther, The Mpl couple were now waving away and yelling for a release. Hank with his ear plugs in kept pulling the bungee back farther and farther thinking to himself that the Mpls people were ok. Hank hit the max pull and released the bungee. TWANG))))).. The ice house went flying down the hill. The mpls people were busy inside cranking the wheels back down. As they went over the hill to the ice the wheels popped out and the house bounced and shot to the left, with the second bounce it veered right. The third bounce and the right tire exploded. The house now spinning was headed West down the shoreline. The atv chase team was off throwing snow and ice behind them. McGurk in Alert 1 is told to get ready for flinging. We all lost sight off the house. Elmer at the Lodge announces on the speakers that he had them in the spotting scope and he could see the White flare. They are ok ,and plotted on the GPS as being a half a mile from the launch point. McGurk settles back in Alert 1

9- Weird Willie's shanty was next, his 6' x 16' alum tube was loaded into the bungee. His shanty is the fuselage from a plane that Willie had recycled. Having windows on both sides it did not matter which side was up as he could fish from either side. Willie requested a full pull and as the bungee and his shanty were pulled back you could here the creaking of the metal and the faint sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival coming from his sound system. With a wave he was sent flying down the hill. He hit the bottom and grabbed some air and was flying across the ice, He ate up the first 100 yards just skipping twice. With a awww from the crowd we watched as he soon passed Willie Wrenchhead's house and continued out farther and farther into the bay. He came to rest almost 700 yards away from the shore. But short of both Dan's and Nytelyter's houses. We saw the white flare and settled back into our seats.

10- Bobby Bass - Hi everyone this here is Bobby's neighbor Chuck and I was asked to describe Bobby's house as he is unable to write about himself. Bobby's house was rolled up to the starting line as his ice house is actually a geodesic sphere. Normally this sits on top of Bobby's ice house adding solar power to his fishing shack but it can be like today used as a separate ice house. People can see inside the house where Bobby is strapped in. His nephew who works for one of them space companies down in the cities shipped him up one of them NASA training rigs. I am sure you have seen them. You strap into rings and they can turn inside of each other and then turn inside each other again. With the special guidance equipment Bobby installed he figures he will be able to remain upright and control the roll of his sphere out across the lake and past all the other houses. He has requested a full pull. I see Bud and Barney are both here and they appear to be watering the side of the sphere in a kind of final send off to their master. Hank has the sphere all the way back in a full pull and SWOOSH )))))))) ------(X) The sphere is off and down the hill and out on to the ice. Just a blur as it passes Big Earl's and now it seems to veering off to the left. Past Skinny house. It is still heading East but now seems to be coming back around towards the North in a large arc soon it is past Weird Willie's house. Bobby appears to be having a little trouble steering. Nytelyters and Dan's houses are coming up quickly and Bobby passes them to the North just missing them both.

Looks like Bobby has done it, looks like Bobby will be our distant champ this year. No, wait he is still turning towards the West, he is now heading towards the distant MPLS house and is picking up speed. It would seem that the sunlight is giving him added energy. I know he was talking about some little secret that he and Elmer installed. Some way of converting the sunlight in to spinning his sphere. He has passed the Mpls people and is still coming around now heading directly back towards the launch area..

People who were packing up there things are now scrambling to get a better look at the glowing globe headed in there direction. Just when this looked like it was going to be a lazy afternoon and a quiet fling there is now some excitement rippling through the crowd. You knew someone was going to say it, with the drinking of beer and such. And then someone yells out "he's going to hit us" a women screams and the stampede is on. Cups are dropped and thermoses spilled, kids are grabbed. Trucks start and people are running towards higher ground. The ATV's shoot out on to the ice and someone backs up and hits the release on McGurk in Alert 1.

McGurk goes flying out on to the ice just missing the Town Hall. Dropping weight McGurk turns his shack towards the oncoming sphere. With a glancing blow he bounces off Skinnys shack sending him into a spin. We don't know what happen next but McGurk's flare pod shoots off and through the middle of it McGurk is seen ejecting into the first tall Pine.. The crowd thinking Bobby had hit McGurk give a polite round of applause. Then Bobby comes flying around from the West with the sun at his back. As he passes we can see Bobby inside spinning around like a hamster trapped in his exercise ball. Spraying the area with ice shavings he heads back out on his second of many circles. More screaming, the hay wagon topples over. Tourists have had enough and tail lights are seen heading out of the park. Hammering Hank can be heard over the speaker system asking for people to remain calm

Well finally late in the afternoon Bobby came to a stop, but that was only because it got cloudy out and he lost his solar power. He came to rest in the exact center of what is now the ice town of Lake Iwanttobethere. Seems that Buddy and Barney in there send off had shorted out a serious part of his navigation and control equipment. Bobby will be fine, has a serious case of the bed spins but with a proper intake of brandy and counter rotation this evening he should come around. The winner was declared to be a tie between Dan and Nytelyter. Several hundred orange barrels were placed marking the roadway to their houses and as soon as there is enough snow to plow they will have a road to their houses. The road will also carry there names. McGurk was cut down from the Pine. A lot of people help pitch in retrieving the orange barrels that had been scattered all over the park and order was finally restored.

Since it took Booby so long to finally come to a stop it will be awhile before the rest of the town can move houses out on to the ice. No one was really complaining as it was a nice afternoon and there was plenty of food and beer to be served. Masterbaiters took an extra 10% off everything in the tent and soon other business followed suit. A lot of people made the comment that watching Bobby was like watching old man Flint when he fell out of his boat and we all sat on shore watching it go in circles till it ran out of gas. Same deal only we had more beer this time. I won a hundred and ten dollars as I won the pool with the best guess of how many times he would go all the way around the bay. Well from Lake Iwanttobethere it's ice fishing time.... O we should hear from some of the shacks as they have their own stories to tell. I will be waiting to hear more from Dan and Nytelyter and what that haze was all about. From Lake Iwanttobethere (7544)

[Dan Thiem]

LMAO!!! Thanks Bobby for posting our results. What a great day it was out there. I sure hope your bed spins wear off tonight. Me an Lyter tied so at least the free plowing for the year will be beneficial for two of us. But if the methane gasses don't blow away from Pauls house I may ask to move.

[nytelyter]

methane gass has passed heheheheh so to say and i have the windows opened up to air it out so it is nice to have the nice days. it was a fun ride and i had some great laughs during the whole event. i would like to say a big thank you to the launch commity, and in advance to the plow truck driver, for keeping the road clean to my house. if we get any snow. i do hope for another cold snap or two before then. i actually did get to open the holes and drop a line yesterday. and instantly was in a zone. it is not hard to remember why i love the ice so much. i never had a bite in the whole time i was there but i will promise you that the smile never left my face. and i cant wait to get back out today. oh well thank you bobby for the excellant reporting of the launch event. and dan i am sure we will be great neighbors, and it will be fun to watch the town form in between us and the shore. i am sure some will venture off beyond us in their portables, ya know the grass is always greeener on the other side. however someone still has to cut it. and in closeing what about that green haze. what was that all about. ... paul

[Bobby Bass]

Well I managed to get out on my deck here this morning for a little while. Head is still spinning some and I strained some muscles in my left thigh from my ride. Doc says that will clear up by itself here the next few days and that the listing to the right should also clear up and I will be able to walk straight again. From my deck I have a pretty good view of most of the houses in the new ice town. Elmer told me what happen in the afternoon after I launched and everyone pretty much came by and checked on me at the Lodge. I want to say thanks to everyone who bought me a drink as I don't remember any thing after the 2nd circle. I was told that it was for medical purposes ( the drinks). I understand Skinny's house has a pretty good size dent in it and McGurk's house is a total loss. Somehow in the aftermath the Jones Twins house was stripped of all it's tinfoil and was just tossed into the evenings bonfire. The Twins had no problem with that as several others offered them the use of their shanties.

Off in the distant I can make out Nytelyters and Dan's houses. I am sure that will be a point of interest in the upcoming weeks and months. Of course they are the winners of the plowed road, they should note that Hank only plows out but never plows back. Someone was kind enough to toss a few ropes over my sphere and anchor it to the ice. I will thank them. I hope to launch a few more sections of my house later this week so I can join them up and get some fishing in by the weekend. Right now I keep wanting to go in a circle. Every now and then I can hear the Twang of the bungee as it shoots houses out onto the ice. Must be about 40 or so already out. The town is a little West of where it was last year and covers a little more space. Little warm yesterday and today but we have good ice and no snow so we should be pretty well set up when the snow does come. Our power and light poles will be set in the ice later this week so then a lot more houses will come out as they like to take advantage of the power.

Silent Sunday here of course so I am going to just stay inside and watch some football. Barney and Bud have been sucking up to me big time since I think they know who was at fault with my guidance system. Big Earl did stop by saying how happy he was with just being off the shore. He likes going after them gills and he is just a short walk from the parking lot to his shack. That and the fact that everyone has to pass his shack and his sign. Later this week the prize committee will be out to Nytelyters and Dan to award them their prizes and to hang some signs. If you guys need to Vicki at the Masterbaiters will validate your minnow punch cards now. Have a good day I need to go take a walk to the left for awhile. From Lake Iwanttobethere (7583)

[Whoaru99]

Hmmmm....

I fish this lake occasionally but the fish always seem to bite yesterday for me.

[Bobby Bass]

Elmer has his shack out on the ice so I thought that I would tag along this morning and fish at his house. I walked over to his house and he was just putting on his coat and together we loaded up his tote box in the back of the truck. Of course me being the extra rider I had to follow Elmers routine as we drove into town. Our first stop was at the Dew Drop Inn for some breakfast. Some ham and eggs did hit the spot I must admit. Elmer got his thermos filled and then we were off for the quick walk over to Amy's. Elmer ordered up two loose meat sandwiches and when I offered to pay he told me my money was no good. After the entertainment that I provided on Saturday he felt obligated to pay me back some. Next stop was Masterbaiters and we picked up a few doz minnows and Elmer put it on his account. A few minutes chatting with Vicki and we were finally ready to go hit the ice. Elmer parked in the lot at the access and we waited for a few minutes till we could hop on a sled that was running fishermen out to the shacks.

A warm morning and the ice is getting a little sloppy, We have a good base but this warm weather is not helping. In just a few minutes we are at Elmers, he is just a little ways down from my sphere. I still have a little spinning going on and I don't even want to get close to my house for a few more days yet. We kick the bottom of Elmers shack door a few times to knock the slush off our boots. Elmer turns on some lights and we pull the curtain open. He starts to work on the old wood stove to get a fire going and I flip the covers off the four holes already drilled in the floor. Grabbing the spud bar I start to chisel away at the thin ice that has formed over night. Elmer take great pleasure in reminding me how I looked strapped in the sphere as I spun around in circles on Saturday. I politely laff along with him and I keep chipping away. Working on the third hole and I was a tad careless as I drove the spud bar down into the hole and out of my hands. My luck it was thin ice and the spud bar shot through the ice and into the waters of Lake Iwanttobethere. I stood and stared down the hole and for some reason I thought the spud bar was going to come back up on it's own. Elmer makes some comment that I did quick work on them holes, he has not yet turned to see that I have a hole to go and I just lost his 40 year spud bar that was his uncles and that he reminds me about every ice season.

Elmer turns and sees me standing open handed, " Naw , you didn't lose my bar did ya?" I mumble something and just stood there. "Geee, it's like fishing with a kid " Elmer said. I just kept looking down the hole and I could hear Elmer just mumbling away. "Well go over to Wilson's and get the magnet" I just nodded and zipped my coat up and back out the door I went.

It's tuff when you are in your 50's and someone in there 80's treats you like a kid. Actually as I walked down the scattered row of shacks it reminds me of when I was a kid. Not a big difference in the way things look. I marched down the soon to be street and thought the shoreline does not look that much different then what it did 30 years ago. I think some of these houses look the same to. Of course back when I was 20 or so I didn't take as much notice to things as I do now. Seem to walk a lot with my head down or I was running looking behind me. Of course now I don't walk as fast either and that may have something to do with it. Going by Peterson's shack I can hear music from the Light my Fire by the Doors, Now that was around 30 years ago and here I am on the ice listening to it again. Things change but they don't change. I get to Wilson's and he is sitting outside his shack in the sunshine. Next to him is a bright yellow and green 5 gallon bucket with the rope and magnet in side. He holds up his cell phone and just kind of waves it back and forth in his hand like a Queen Elizabeth wave. "Elmer already called" he says. I pick up the bucket and head back towards Elmer's.

The yellow and green bucket has become a symbol in town. Who ever is seen carrying it has done something stupid. You carry the bucket till someone else does something stupid. It being early in the season I hope not to be hanging on to it to long. I don't make it halfway back to Elmers and the cat calls have already started. "Spud Bar eh! " gee I think Elmer called everyone on the ice already. I get back to the shack and Elmer is outside on his bucket, Smoke is rolling out of the house," kindling was wet" is all he says. I go inside and make quick work of retrieving the spud bar. I carry the bar outside and lean it up against the shack. Coughing a little I wrapped up the rope and put the magnet and rope back in the bucket. Elmers cell phone rings and I can hear his side of the conversation.. Bucket, ya it's here, Yup we are all done with it, Car keys you say.. From Lake Iwanttobethere (7646)

[Sutty]

Sorry about your luck,it reminded me of my first ice fishing trip with my dad. We went to a friends shack for the day. We caught about a 9 inch crappie and lost my dads glasses, a pliars, minnow scooper, and we would have lost a small metal tackle box if it could have filled with water faster.

I think I got too close to the heater and melted my line off a couple of times as well.

Mom still reminds me of the excursion from time to time

[Bobby Bass]

Don't know what I was thinking, another warm day so I decide that I would give all three dogs a bath. Barney was a breeze, loves the water. Bud after a little coaxing was done in a few minutes. Then there is the Pit Bull Pepper. Wrestling with 60#'s of Pit that decides she is a cat and not a dog. It looked like a cartoon with me trying to get the dog in the shower and the dog spreading her legs hooking the door and trying to stay out of the water. This is the same dog that will lay in a sprinkler all day during the summer. Well after that it got personal, she was cleaned and toweled off. I thought all was well as she went into the kitchen where Bud and Barney were and then the chase started. For reason that only another dog knows they have to run through the house and over the top of couches and knock down planters and the Christmas tree. Cats head for higher ground as anything that moves is fair game. After some yelling and chasing the Pitt is crated and the labs are given a tongue lashing. I start to pick up planters and before you know it I am side tracked vacuum rugs and rearranging furniture. The wife comes home and asks why I am not out in the shanty fishing. I put a hand on my hip and just kind of point to the house and before I say it I catch myself. She just does not know what I do around here...

I do manage to spend some time in the shed arrange the boxes of equipment that will be hauled out onto the ice when I get the rest of the house together. I saw Elmer heading out for the evening bite and Hammering Hank was with him. I just gave him a wave as the truck went out the driveway. Heading to the deck I lit up a cigar and looking out onto the now frozen waters of Lake Iwannabethere I can see the ice town. Even more shacks went out today and it has gotten full enough now that Hank said they will no longer be flinging any more houses. Not enough room to clear. The sun is setting and there is a soft glow coming from the ice town, can even make out the twinkle of some Christmas lights that are coming on. A few atv's are racing near the access and a few sleds can be seen outside some of the shanties. Very little snow on the ground and hardly any on the ice. No matter how warm it is during the day as soon as the sun slips behind the tree line it's time to button up the shack. It cools off quick enough. A low haze of smoke starts drifting away from town as fires are started. Lots of houses with propane heaters but just as many have small wood stoves and they will be out there till late in the evening. Come Friday and this weekend some of the residents of the town will be out all night.

The dogs are all at the patio window watching every move that I make as a I sit on the deck. They are to wet to come out so all they can do is wait. Soon I'll head in and throw a few logs in the fireplace and I'll get that rich smell of drying dogs and wood smoke. To make the night complete I can just hear the soft hoot of an owl. Now if it would just make a little more ice and some snow to cover everything up I would be happy. Ten more days and the cabin will be filled with kids and grand kids, a few more dogs and that will make today seem calm. From Lake Iwanttobethere (7688)

[Bobby Bass]

Well a weather pattern has covered the lake for the past few days and winter is here for us. Every morning we get a few inches of fresh snow and during the night the temps have been cold enough to make ice. Town is shaping up as with the snow the plow has been out and we are now forming some banks so the roadways are defined. With the roadways the newer houses are lining up filling in the vacant areas. John from the power company was here over the weekend and with some help from the Lodge guys they sunk the light posts and should be finished string the power lines this afternoon. By next weekend everyone who wants power to their shacks will have it. After that hookups will be done once every two weeks. The ice town will have street lights up and running before Christmas.

The Lodge will be having their Christmas party on Thursday night. With Christmas on a Monday there will not be enough time for a weekend dance. The guys at the Lodge will be opening their presents on Wednesday night. The tool drive has also come to an end and we collected a truck load of them Martha Steward pink tool boxes. They have been forwarded to a bargain shop in the big cities. Having snow on the ground has sure gotten people into the spirit, From what we have heard everyone else around us have no snow. Going to be a brown Christmas for many but not us.

On the home front I have given up on the Christmas tree, for now. The cats have decide that it is their job to climb into the tree and knock down all the decorations. Once the bulbs have hit the floor they then bat them around the cabin. The dogs who are normally very good about leaving the tree alone think anything on the floor is fair game. The wife keeps putting the decorations back on the tree. The other night I was chuckling as she has all three dogs and all three cats sitting in the living room watching here as she replaced decorations, She would turn from time to time to lecture the animals. To there credit they did even seem to be listening. As soon as she left the room Buff was in the tree and Smokie was running away with the garland.. I retreated to the shed, didn't want to be blamed. I did take Bud and Barney out with me and they soon found a spot to lay near the pot belly stove. I was putting the final touches on some gifts I had made. Went looking for some wood paddles to take pizza's out of the oven and could not find any so I made up a half dozen of them. If you are going to make one you might as well make six. Walnut handles with maple and oak, much better then the cheap pine ones. Long as I was at it I made a few cutting boards, quick way to clean out the scrap bin.

I have left a few hints laying about for gifts at that I can use. Of course I have had conversations with Vicki down at the Masterbaiters letting her know what I need. I have my presents already wrapped and on the work bench. A collection of golf balls, cigars, bottles of home made beer. Which reminds me I have to check on my last batch that was bottled at Thanksgiving should be almost ready. We try not to buy to many gifts and prefer to make things for presents. No way do we do the gift card thing. Old fashion in the idea that you should put some thought into a present. Wish I had taken more pictures of my friends. Started to make labels for presents and would put pictures of them fishing or hunting on them. Easier to keep the presents sorted when all you had to look for is there picture. The grand kids like them as they all can't read yet.

Next few days will bring the smell of baking cookies and breads in the house. Family will start arriving on Friday and will be here for four days. House will be a noisy place for the next week. Six dogs and three cats. Kids and grand kids. My dogs Sadie and Lady will be here from my daughters in the cities and we will have to decide if they are going to stay the winter or go back with the daughter. They are pretty comfortable down there and Bud and Barney are pretty much at home here. Some of you may know that we usually just have the young dogs here for the summer and the older dogs come back home for the winter. But the grand kids have really got attached to the big old labs. It will be good to have them under foot for at least a few days.

The ice house house is together. John from the power co. Used the boom to help me lift the sphere on top of the two sections that I had Hammering Hank and Skinny haul out for me on Saturday. The grand daughter on the phone told me that she wants to decorate the inside of the sphere with lights and she wants to sleep there on Saturday night. She has been using it has her play fort here during the summer. We will be fishing everyday during their stay and it might be the only place where the men folk can get away from the women and solve the worlds problems and remember past Christmas's without being reminded of adventures that went wrong.

Time for me to head down to the Lodge, Have to bartend for a few hours before getting some fishing in this evening. Have not seen our Bungee fling champs at all this week. I would think they would be fishing by now. The haze from around there house is pretty much gone now. It did make for some nice sun sets there for awhile. Gave kind of a pretty look with the sun shinning through the green haze. Well from Lake Iwanttobethere you have a good Christmas, I hope snow and ice is headed your way... (7776)

[nytelyter]

it is nice to see some snow by the fishhouse. and being at the end of the road, dan and i have had plenty of snow to bank up our fishhouses with. been real busy at the shop past few days and liquor and wine sales have been real good. peoples gathering up spirits for their christmas partys and gettogethers. but i have made time to hit the shack. not like last year tho when i was out of work. i fished every day. i will be back to that soon. will head out after work each night. and will spend my nights there. now that the streets are lit makes for a nice drive. still runnin the quad runner to the fishhouse tho. my truck is a bit heavy for the ice yet and i do like to error on the side of caution rather than have to find a new truck. i did manage to get the christmas lights on the fishhouse and will run them till new years day.kinda funny how we prioritize things. i have not put up any lights at home,due to time, but the fishhouse has them lit heheheh.

as the day of the birth of jesus grows closer. it is easy to forget,with all the hussles and bussles of the daily grind and finding the perfect gifts, what christmas is all about. my dad always had a sign put on the huge commercial sign board next to the store lot that simply said. "JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON" and people would always and thank him for paying to have that put there. it has not been up for the past two christmas' but i believe that those to whom it ment something special. can still see the rements of it still being there.

with that said i do look forward to the lodge party. and i challange every one of the members that are planing on attending to bring a gift to donate for a child or family less fortunate. i want to go on and say that if by some chance i do not get back to post again before the day. merry CHRISTmas to all of you and your families. and i will see you at the end of the road on lakeiwanttobethere. drop in for a sit if the lights are lit. ... paul

[Bobby Bass]

Writing from the Lodge today as someone has to be here. Tonight is the Lodge's Christmas party/dance and the ladies are dropping off goodies and of course there is some decorating going on. I guess us men folk don't know how to do that. They even said they were going to take our tree down and remove all the beer coasters from it. Last night the guys here at the Lodge open our presents that we had under the tree. It still amazes me what people will buy for themselves then act surprised..

Elmer's bought himself one of them blood pressure meters that you wear as as wrist ban. He was already down at Amy's trying it out this morning. He told her if that he held her he could then could check to see how is blood pressure was. If it went up he was still alive. He might have something there, we will have to watch that old coot with our wife's tonight. Some others gifts were a pair of Lazar firing tanks. A box of seven harmonicas, the guy has never played before. A big popcorn machine on wheels, we tried that one out since it came with it's own popcorn. A stainless steel flask, actually a two pack. One of them robot carpet cleaners, going to be used in the ice house. A toilet target, it straps on to the lid and then it shines a target on the water of the toilet for some late night practice. One of them mini sound amplifiers that let's you hear things in the woods, Elmer calls them a hearing aid! A cordless grease gun. The assortment of golf clubs, fishing lures, gun cleaning kits. A cowboy hat, a fur bomber hat. Knifes and cigars. Two guys gave themselves gift cards. Go figure that one out.

As for me I bought one of them 20 million power lights. It takes a day to charge and then it is drained in 20 minutes, But what a light. While it was working we could stand on the deck of the Lodge and light up houses down in the ice town. We put it on Earl's shack and Junior was in there. He came out holding his hands over his eyes and yelling something about aliens landing. It's back on the charger now. I have a plan for it on Christmas eve. Well I am having a hard time here, trying not to sample everything that is piling up on the bar. Have made several trips back to the cooler. Looks like it will be a good turnout tonight if the quantity of food is any indicator. I would rather be here then up at the cabin, with kids and Grand kids due to come in tomorrow. The wife is running around cleaning and baking. Dogs and cats are trying to find a corner to be out of the way. Some more snow again this morning so it is starting to look like Christmas around here. But you get just a few miles away from the lake and it is all brown. Kind of feel sorry for all them folk who won't be up here at the lake to enjoy a white Christmas. But I am sure where ever you are this time of year you will be enjoying yourselves. From Lake Iwanttobethere (7847)

[Bobby Bass]

Lodge dinner/dance was a huge success. Food was great and the cold Hamms was just the right temperature to wash the bad taste of the football game from our mouths. Nytelyter left a lasting impression with both Mindy and Mandy. Not to mention some fancy footwork on the dance floor. He was smart and left the football game early. They were squeezing him like a puppy's new chew toy. Great getting together with family and friends and some of the new residents of Lake Iwanttobethere. Friday the kids and grand kids arrived at the cabin. Elmer came over as did Chuck. The guys spent time out in the shed sipping a few beers and looking over projects and trading tales of the past summer. All the boys are old enough to drink legal like and now I hear the stories of how they would borrow from Elmers' refrigerator in his garage. Elmer made the comment that he always wondered about that and he never thought he was drinking that much. Now that he knows where it all went he suggested that the boys should make a beer run and restock his fridge.

It was decide that the guys would spend the night fishing and would spend the night in the ice shack. They went down at dusk and I stayed at the cabin entertaining the grand kids. After a nice pot of chili was destroyed the women took their wine and headed to the bedroom to finish wrapping presents. I had the grand kids and the dogs with me in the living room. The kids were looking over grandma's collection of snowballs. You know the little glass things that you shake and the fake snow comes falling down inside to slowly cover the small buildings inside the globes.

When 8 o'clock arrived I told everyone that I had a surprise for them and I wanted everyone outside on the deck. As the ladies helped the kids get their coats on everyone was asking me why they had to go outside for. " It's a surprise" I said. Finally everyone was dressed and they were ushered out onto the deck. As they stood on the deck the grand kids were shouting about the surprise, where is the surprise. A light snow was falling and the kids were standing with there mouths open trying to catch the falling snow flakes. I gathered everyone to the rail and told them to look out over the lake where the ice town is. Through the light snow you could just make out some of the ice shanties and the Christmas lights. I asked if you can see grand pa's shack. They all nodded yes. "Watch" I said. I then picked up the cell and whispered "now" into the phone. A moment later the whole ice town was washed in a brilliant light as Dug took the new 20 million candlelight spot light and pointed it up into the sphere on top of the ice house. The light was magnified and it tossed a shield of light over the whole town. The falling snow reflected the light and the Kids yelled out that it looked like a giant snowball!! From the deck it did look like someone had picked up the whole town and shook it..

Faintly at first you could hear clapping, then it got a little louder, soon the clapping was echoing around the bay and more joined in. Christmas lights started coming on and I turn on our outside lights to add to everyone else's. The kids started to sing Jingle Bells Jingle Bells and the adults joined in. Dug could hear us on the phone and we could hear the guys join in from the ice town. We stopped singing but now everyone on the ice was singing and it was echoing around the bay.

Perfect!

From everyone here at Lake Iwanttobethere have a Merry Christmas.. Be safe, Be happy, enjoy your friends and family. Sing a song in the shack this weekend, you may be surprised who joins in !! (7886)

[Bobby Bass]

A few days out here from New Years eve and of course another Lodge get together. This one will be more of a formal affair with a dress code. All shirts must have sleeves but belts with pants are still an option. Colorful suspenders are of course as always here at Lake Iwanttobethere a fashion statement. Several lake residents will be offering their own micro-brews for tasting. In the past we would just bring in our home brews that we would start making in the fall but now we have caught up with everyone else and refer to them by their big city name, Micro-brews.. Even sounds big city. That is far as that goes as we pride ourselves on being anything but big city.

There has been talk that we should name our beers but I just call mine batch #27 I have no idea what is in it as there is a science to it but then again like any good cook something extra is usually added during the mixing. Sometimes it is very good and never makes it to the Lodge and sometimes we can't give it away at the Lodge. Elmer is our beer taster/judge. He has not bought a can of beer from the Gulp-N-Go in years. I remember him telling me about the last time he bought a twelve pack there and it did not come any where close to his standards. It was warm it was tasteless and the 2nd one was as bad as the first. I asked him what he did with the other ten cans. He replied that he drank them of course. It was beer.

Have been down at the Masterbaiters helping out. Been pretty brisk down there as we have good ice and just enough snow to pack around the houses. A lot of summer people are up taking vacations between the two holidays. I have been at the return counter doing exchanges. First off let me say there is never a bad outdoor purchase. It's the thought that counts. After that bring it back to the shop and we will exchange it for what you need. A guy can only have so many 6/0 fish hooks and 50# wire line is a tad to much for stream trout fishing, even here at Lake Iwanttobethere. A few people have tried to bring back some of that "as seen on TV" fishing stuff. Since we don't sell that here at the store we direct them to return it to the store back in the city or just hang it in the garage some where to be used as a collector item or as a table top filler at the next garage sale.

It's about this time of the year when I have to walk the isles of the store and give guys a little nudge from time to time. Not everyone fishes hard water and some of them soft water fishermen come in and get that deer in the head light look as they get distracted by the rows of colorful spoons and plugs against the back wall. The low sun coming through the window catches them just right and they shimmering and shine. The fan from the space heater makes them move from side to side and some of the hooks click and clank against each other. From time to time someone will run there fingers through then like a musician running her fingers through a harp. The sound will bring a stop to whatever is going on in the shop and you can hear the sweet music of the lures with the bubbling of the minnow tanks in the background............. Er a ... Anyway I have to walk through the isles and get people moving again. Can't just have people standing and not buying..

Should be a fun weekend here, Town has a lot of outdoor actives planned, Three man hockey tournament will be held, The Beer can jumping contest, seed skating. Not a lot of snow on the ice so food deliveries from town are still being made on skates. Power poles and lights are all up and running. Fishing has been good, lot of people coming to the lake as it is brown every where else. Lots of stories being told from the top of five gallon pails and it seems to be a pretty good crowd on the ice. Well I need to get down to the shop, Have to stop off and return some John Wayne movies at the new video store and pick up a sandwich at Amy's for lunch. If I don't see you on the ice have a Happy New Years. If you make it to the lodge cast a vote for #27 whether you drink it or not! From Lake Iwanttobethere

(7996)

[McGurk]

3 too early...7997. Oh well, I'll be happy to attend the 8000 pitcher draining.

[Dan Thiem]

Oh boy am I thirsty! # 8000

[McGurk]

Congrats! The question is...What will your pitcher be filled with?

[nytelyter]

hey dan??

ya gonna make it allllll the way back down the road to share with your neighbor. hehehheh j/k ill see ya at the lodge. if its empty i will refill it for ya. congrats dude. happy new year to all. i will be at the lake fri and saturday. and hope to make it back out in time sunday eve to set up a small fireworks...... ummmm ..... light show.... ya thats it... a light show... being as all the good fireworks aint legal here in minnesota. but ya never know.... some of them legal fireworks..... do tend to malfunction at times. should be a new years to remember. still hopeing for some colder weather as i sleep better in the iceshack, when the ice sings and cracks at night. ... paul

[Dan Thiem]

Quote:

---

What will your pitcher be filled with?

---

Why Mindy and Mandys root beer of course. Till Paul get's there. Then it's whatever he's buying.

[1lkstage]

The perfect combo for a chaser!!! O.K, I'm courious, so I'll ask, Just what is "seed skating"??

[Bobby Bass]

Been sipping on batch #27 here, and it is beginning to grow on me. Guess I should have wrote down what I added to this batch but I was in a hurry this fall and just kind of threw it together. Now I am not so sure if I want to bring it to the Lodge for taste testing. Seems a waste somehow to give it all away. Hmmm maybe I'll just water it down a little with some of Elmers brew. He will just blame the boys if anything is missing from his fridge. Nytelyter has been seen around the ice town and has been making good use of his minnow card at Masterbaiters. He has not brought anything into the scales yet and nothing on the big fish board. Of course he is well out there on the edge of town. And I suppose by the time he catches something and gets it back to the bait shop it will have shrunk. Kind of like some of the fish stories seem to grow the farther you get away from shore or the farther you have to travel from home.

Not very good conditions for the seed racing contests today. Having some problems with water on the ice, really slows things down. I see some of you are not aware or perhaps have never taken part in a seed race. Well back in the old days when we could not afford ice skates we would seed race. Seed racing is basically just taking a corn cob, hollowing it out so you can get your foot inside and then you use them as skates. You leave a row of corn in the bottom of the cob as a blade. If you are new to seed racing you can leave several rows, easier to balance. The really good seed racers will just leave a single row and will even take out every other corn kernel for added speed. Of course if you get going to fast you will POP a kernel. Then you have the problem of the seagulls following you. Feed corn is OK for the little ones but the guys will grow their own corn just to get the right length. Our departed resident FOOT wanted to try his hand at seed racing but with them size 17's of his finding the right cob was a problem.

Lodge TV will be having football on all day today as the season is winding down. Ladies will be in to decorate for the gala New Years eve dance tonight. I don't know why we just can't leave the same decorations up from the Christmas dance but I have been told that is just not right. The ladies do not spend to much time in the Lodge so they are always cleaning and moving things around in the Lodge. Sometimes it takes us days or even weeks to find things and put them back in there places. Like the bottle opener is always kept on the end of the bar but they find drawers to hide it in. Some of them drawers have never been open as long as I have been there. Why put something away that you use everyday. We have a picture of Dan's new puppy on the bar. Am trying to get him to bring her to the Lodge so we can show her off. If it was summer time we would have her at the beach, what a girl magnet she would make. Nothing like a cute puppy and a 12 pack!

Well I better get down on the ice, the seed races are getting ready to start and then of course there is the seed jumping contest off the access hill. Hammering Hank is a favorite there as he is a 4 time champion. The three man hockey games have been moved to after dark as there is just to much water on the rink. I can smell them little donuts cooking away in the parking lot from here. Will have to pick up a bag or two. Rumor has it that there might even be a fireworks display after dark tonight. Will be looking forward to that. Well from Lake Iwantobethere Happy New Year

(8098)

[1lkstage]

I over-heard that someone was thinking of using popcorn cobs. They were hoping the friction would pop the corn at just the right time to give them a boost for their jump to dethrown Hammering Hank. Plus they would then be making the popcorn for the fireworks show!

[Bobby Bass]

A nice sunny day here at Lake Iwanttobethere. A little cool but sunny. The wet rainy weather has been all but forgotten and we are back to making ice. Dance at the Lodge was a fine one, at least the parts that I remember. My beer batch #27 took 2nd place. So I was happy about that. Weekend was fun for everyone except the hockey players. Had trouble with all the water on the ice and then the games were moved to after dark. Except someone forgot to pick the pucks up from the rink and when they went out to play again all the pucks were frozen in under 2 inches of new ice. They ended up playing with frozen apples which made some big welts when you got hit somewhere with no pads. It was so warm there for awhile that they were playing in shorts!

Kids had a lot of fun seed skating and Hank was again crowned the seed jumping champion. There was only one round as there was so much slush on the ice that you came away pretty wet after your first landing. Beer can jumping was postponed to a later date. No problem with that as it will mean that cans will have to be drank again. Kids and grand kids are all back at home in the city and the old dogs Lady and Sadie also returned to the city. Bud and Barney are here it looks like for the winter too this year. Barney has discovered ice fishing, pretty much right up his alley as it is mostly bobber fishing just a different kind of bobber. He likes being in the big shacks where he has more then one bobber to check up on. Bud just likes to lay by the hole and watch one, usually with just one eye open as the other one closed. I tend to do the same thing, only I am leaning up against the shack wall and I am balanced so perfect that a slight tug on my line will tip me back towards the hole. Fishing has been slow but steady, just enough to keep you awake.

Forecast is calling for some serious cold weather here in a week or two, will have to see if that happens or not. I do kind of like being able to sit on the deck and smoke my cigar and not be freezing when I do it. Not scraping ice off the windshield is also nice. I was just changing calendars on the desk and I see fishing shows will be starting up here in another month or so. Winter is half done already, Where has the time gone. Couple of seed catalogs in the mail the other day and I was even out knocking snow of the greenhouse roof. I expect to see the fishing catalogs here shortly. Bird season came to an end here on Sunday to. Have not been out the last few weeks as I was meaning to but something always seem to came up. Now this morning there are grouse in my bird feeder. Bud didn't even give chase, guess he knows the season is over to.

Later this afternoon I will be picking up my barbershop fishing chair from the new cabinet maker in town. Howard, who moved in above Dug's garage this fall has had it. I was talking with him one afternoon this fall when he was behind his shop aging some dressers that he had just made. He was out back of the shop peppering them with his 12 ga. He called it a distressed finished, guess people in the big city really like the look Anyway I told him that while I was fighting a big walleye last year I had some trouble with my chair swivel and he offered to take a look at it for me. Well today I'll haul it down to the shack and re bolt it to the floor. In the next couple of days the crappie school should be by and I want to be ready. High school kids have been tracking them again this winter over their break and they are headed right towards town.

Well time for me to head into the Lodge and pick up my beer bottles and my 2nd place trophy. I didn't get to see Dan pick up his pitcher of root beer but I did hear Mindy and Mandy talking about his puppy Grace. Well from the shores of Lake Iwanttobethere throw another log on the fire and keep your lines tight..(8185)

[Dan Thiem]

Bobby-

Do me and Paul gotta move our huts? I gotta believe there is at least some water around them eh? Maybe not.

Can we get a bunge blast back too?

[Bobby Bass]

Making ice and catching fish, another day here at Lake Iwanttobethere. Dan, you can move your shanty anytime after the 9th Must remember the 30 day launch rule. If you do move you will lose your free plowing to your shack as that is only to the original launch site. Also you must remember that this is Lake Iwanttobethere and our ice conditions are different then others. Right now we are sitting at 14 inches of clear ice and all roads are plowed and clean. The rain we did get just acted like someone resurfacing the lake ice. Snow cover is just enough to allow banking and see where you walked. If you feel that you must relocate your house ( problems with Nytelyter cooking? ) Hank does have the lifting barge all set to go. The barge will be dragged to your house, straps attached and you can be lifted up from the ice. This way you will not have to worry about dropping through holes or be frozen in. Of course a donation is required. As for a re- fling the area in front of the trees is covered in houses. You might not have noticed but the road signs went in this past weekend. Crappie Lane, Wally Walkway, Norton Way and Way out there Drive. Where you and Nytelyter have your houses. I was out your way in the Reliant last night, Did not see any lights on so I just skidded on by. The Reliant only has brakes on the left side so it is hard not to make anything but left turns on the ice.

Burn barrels are out along with the community fishing holes along the roadway. Most of the orange barrels have been collected and are along the shoreline. With the snow we have banks and the barrels are no longer needed. Also the county said they may be picking them up sooner then planned as the rest of the county hardly has any snow and construction may start early this spring. Well at least they may start putting out barrels anyway.

I was told that Lake Iwanttobethere made the news the other day as there was a satellite photo up showing the Lake and all the snow around it and then as they pulled back you could see all the brown. We have received a few e-mail's here at the Lodge asking for directions to the Lake and for ice conditions. We have been forwarding them to Vicki at the Masterbaiters bait shop. The e-mail address is [email protected]

Elmer and I have been working along with Hammering Hank in the Lodge basement. Re doing the shower down there as the sauna has been getting a lot of use and we forgot that it was on our list of remodeling jobs this summer. So now we are putting up new walls and already poured a new floor. A few more days and it will be ready to use. Some crumbling that the guys could not use the sauna after they watched Daze of our lives on the Lodge's TV Some guys really need to find something to do with there down time during the winter..

Looks like the Lodge is going to have a movie night, as we have signed up for one of them mail movie rentals. Have no idea how we are going to select movies. But the guy who owns the new video store said that he would beat any deal and he could bring us movies. So we will have to see how that pans out. Football playoffs this weekend and the boards kept under the bar are almost all sold out. I did buy a 50 cent and a dollar square. So I will be watching!. Well that is it for today. I am headed out on the ice to make my rounds and see if I can get the Reliant out of the snow bank. From Lake Iwanttobethere (8263)