This and that.......Upper Red Lake fishing report for Battle River Rentals

Congratulations to Matt, Jacqueline, Adien on the arrival of a brand new baby boy!!  Max made his appearance at 1:34 am 1/23/2011 weighing in at 6# 15 oz!!!  That's smaller than some of the fish you guys catch but he won't stay that way for long!!! 

Fishing report.....sadly has been slow the past day or so.  The fish are being marked but just aren't biting.  Some perch are being caught.

It has been really cold again and hopefully we are thru with the 30 and 40 below temps!!!  We had 47 below here one AM.....Thurs am I think.  Days are running together!!

Again.....PLEASE NO PETS!!  We realize how you value your pets since we have our own....they let us live in their doghouse as long as we feed them.....but we can not have them in the fishhouses.  Think of it like motels....you pay an extra charge if they even allow pets.  I guess we will have to do the same.

It seems I am being fired......just joking really but actually not!!  No one can fire me since they haven't paid me for what I do (blabber about!!).  All I can say is I got them this far and now it's time to turn it over to the more professional people in this line of work!!  And I am excited to see the new site done when all the details get worked out!  Robert at Tundra Computers is working the site up and does a great job.  We will just have to wait and see what all Matt will include on it....I know he wants pictures so keep sending them!!

Thank you to all that have read my little blog and those I've had contact with thru email.  Contact can still be made thru email so that I can relay messages to those on the lake or in charge!  With the new site we are hoping for more traffic to the site thus resulting in more bookings!!  Also thanks to all that have referred others to Battle River Rentals and rented from us.  It has all been greatly appreciated.

As to fishing.....forgot that's what you come here for!!!  The fish...

Limits were being caught yesterday and today so those that were fishing went home with smiles!  I drove up to the lake but did not go out thru the new landing since I drive an Honda Element and it does not have much clearance.  I took a couple pictures that I will try and get posted of what it looks like from the road.  It is straight ahead on Sandberg Rd NE. Straight out to the lake....sign up that says "To lake" and banners over the road!!  Jerry didn't think I should try going as far as on the lake since there is some problems with sand.  Never thought sand was a problem in the winter but what do I know.....?  Only lived here all my life!!!  So....4-wheel drives are still recommended.  It is snowing here today but mild temps.  The light, fluffy kind of snow.  I don't believe we are going to get any big significant amount.

Jerry is also trying to get the black skid house up to the lake to put on the lake near shore.  Your donations would be greatly appreciated for keeping the roads in shape on the lake.

and.....the stork is being delayed.........

We are moving TOWARDS center bar but NOT at center bar.  Seems some misread my post from yesterday as saying we are at center bar.  Sorry if I mislead you.  I have to pick up what I can in bits and pieces from what I hear Jerry (mostly) saying and try to make a post out of it.   Matt called me this AM to ask if I had said we were at center bar....and he's the one on the lake all day!!

I did ask him how the fishing was and he said "it's good".  So.....as long as the fishing is good where we are at we stay where we are at.  As the ice gets better we move farther out....towards center bar.  Does that make any sense to you guys? 

They guys spent the day moving the houses out to about three miles which is near center bar.  I'll know more later this evening on how that all went.

Fishing was good out there yesterday!

Battle River Rental customers will not need to pay an access fee to get on the lake.....just go straight off the end of Sandberg Rd NE.  Jerry has spent a few days getting it into shape and it is a wide, smooth access onto the lake.  If you appreciate this and all of the roads that are maintained on the lake a tip to the plow truck drivers would be greatly appreciated.  It takes a lot of fuel to keep those roads open!!

Another week end has passed and it was a pretty good one overall I am told.  Some houses did really well while others may be not as good but fish were caught and limits also caught.  I don't know if that means some were more lucky or if they tried harder or just what.....could just be "fishing"!!!  Hopefully all had a good time in spite of the amount of fish they caught. 

I see a parallel between deer hunting and fishing....some hunters "justify" going deer hunting because they need the meat to fill the freezer over winter.  Well, by the time you figure all the costs in---license, guns, ammo, vacation time, lodging, and everything else needed to...

Jerry wanted me to let you all know that the pressure ridge near shore has buckled up (his words were "blew up") and that to get over it you will need 4-wheel drive or something with a higher clearance.  He is on his way up now to check on it and they will be chopping down to get over more easily. 

I have also heard that there are spots way out on the lake where it is only 4 inches of ice.  That is scary.  We take your safety very seriously and will not take those risks.  We have scouts out checking on ice thickness and as it becomes more stable we will venture further out.  If you personally want to take those kind of risks that is up to you but we won't.  We have a lot of money invested in trucks, houses, v-plows, and everything else that goes with ice fishing and those items may be expensive but all can be replaced if the worst happens.  Lives cannot.  I have had to be the bearer of bad news of unexpected deaths of children/grandchildren to my own father and it's not a pleasant thing and stays with you the...

It's after midnight so very early into January 5!!  Jerry is moving the last of the houses up to the lake....and he wonders why he is so tired?!!!   He did eat before he left so it's good to know that I don't have to stay up to cook for him.  The dogs just can't quite figure out what is going on....strange vehicles going thru the yard at all hours!!

Most of our houses are set near the reservation line so be sure and ask one of the guys (Mike, Jerry, Matt) about which direction to go if you intend to move around from the house.  We need to respect the boundry lines which keeps everyone happy.  It is very costly to be caught on the otherside and no fish is worth that!  This is not intended as a political view...just the facts.

It sounds like there are some Alberta Clippers passing thru but what I could tell from radar is that they should miss us or at least we'll be on the edge.  We sure don't need anymore snow on the lake!  The ice is just not thick enough farther out and more snow will only insulate it. 

Matt...

Well, fishing was a bust over this last stormy week end......  Everyone was off the lake due to the blowing snow, etc.  It is better to be safe than sorry!!  If you are out in one of our houses and weather is bad....stay put....do NOT leave your house.  We will find you ASAP!!

Sunday was spent digging out all the fish houses.  Those that did fish Friday and some others not in our houses but under Jerry's "wing" so-to-speak did catch some fish. 

And then we come to Monday and it was 38 BELOW zero here!!  Now that should have built up the ice some!!!  With that comes some problem with regulators but they are working on them.  At least Jerry and Ken are.  Matt is fishing with Jax and Adien so hope they catch some fish!!