The Walleye  bite was pretty good for some of the fishermen that showed up from what reports I heard.  Some just had Perch action with smaller Walleye. Towards late afternoon /early evening was the time for the “keepers”.

I pulled some of the reserved rentals out for the weekend. time ran out for me to get to the NW side of the Graveyard and Banana Reefs like I had planned so I’m going to work on that today. After that I plan on pulling some more smaller houses.  (Permanent owners- you will be called before it goes out so you are aware). Like I said yesterday in the report, this year is a longer process as a large area ice for the house must be cleared off so it can make ice ariund them.  Hopefully the sun will be out so visibility will be better. With gray skies and all that snow it’s hard to see the layered ice slabs in the snow even with shooting glasses.

This cold weather over the next few days will definitely help things out there. It should help dry out the snow and allow the cold to start cooling the ice down so it will start freezing again.  The last couple days ice depths have not increased except where the snow was removed.  Most of the ice measured yesterday was from 11″ to 13″  with some spots farther out at 10″   Definitely not enough to run on with any amount of weight especially with 8-12″ of snow on top of it.

We will continue and be open for fishermen with Portables, ATV’s, Snowmobiles and Side by Sides. Snowmobiles are the way to go with Portables with the snow out there.  Any rentals will need a vehicle that weighs under 5000lbs.  (crossovers, mini SUV’s etc.  NO 1/2 ton pickups! If in doubt Google your vehicles curb weight, it’s easy to do.)  Otherwise bring an ATV or something to have at the house to get to shore if an emergency. Any private house that does make it out will need the same.

As stated yesterday we will be focusing on Rentals, paid seasonal Permanent owners and paid Seasonal wheelhouse owners as the ice thickness permits. No weekend/weekly wheelhouse traffic will happen until I have taken care of our seasonal customers first.  I would suggest wheelhouse owners start finding out how much there wheelhouse weighs along with the vehicle they pull it with for future reference. We will have plenty of room in our large parking area along the driveway for wheelhouse camping, parking for rigs, etc.

Hoping every one has a Happy New Year!   Stay Warm and Safe!

Eddy