2/27/23

OUR ACCESS IS CLOSED FOR THE REST OF THE ICE SEASON

***WEEKEND UPDATE - MILLE LACS 2/23/22***

OUR ACCESS IS OPEN AND WE HAVE ROADS PLOWED OUT ALL THE WAY TO THE GRAVEL!

Eel Pout Hill, Gravel road 1, 2nd Reef, 1st Reef and Ottos are all plowed out. We are actively working to open up our area in the bay, and at that point we will be 100% open.

FISHING CONTEST (FREE WITH PURCHASE OF WEEKEND ROAD PASS):

1ST PLACE: BIGGEST WALLEYE - ESKIMO QUICKFISH6 or Engel 19Qt Bait Cooler.
2ND PLACE: 2ND BIGGEST WALLEYE - STRIKER TREKKER JACKET (L) OR BIBS (L) or ESKIMO ICE PISTOL
3RD PLACE: 3RD BIGGEST WALLEYE - BEACHSIDE LONG SLEEVE PERFORMANCE SHIRT
4TH PLACE: RANDOM DRAWING FOR A PRIZE FROM THE BEACHSIDE TACKLE BOX

2/21/23

*** ACCESS/BAITSHOP CLOSURE 2/22/23***With the weather that is coming in we are going to shutdown our access on Wednesday. We will reopen our access when our roads are cleaned up enough to allow traffic, which will likely be Thursday afternoon, or 1st thing Friday.If you have a rental through us we have been in contact with you, and we will still be able to get you out!

2/20/23

***WHEELHOUSES STILL ON THE LAKE - GET THEM OFF!!***

There are still a handful of houses way out on the lake. If it is yours you better get it off! If you leave It out through the storm you may have a hefty charge to get It unburied and out. There is a good chance we don't get out to EEL POUT Hill and the Gravel after this storm.. We have wide roads and hope for the best, but with all the snow and wind there are no guarantees, so no matter where your house is please get it off the lake.

We are pulling all our privates and are pulling all our rentals into the staging area. Rentals will be going back out before the weekend.

***ACCESS UPDATE  - 2/16/23 ***

We had a few warm days that melted a TON of snow. Things were pretty slushy for a bit there, but with the cold temps, yesterday and today, our ice roads froze solid and we are in great shape for the weekend!We are all the way out to the Big Gravel Bar which is about 5.5 miles out. All our reefs are open and are in great shape. There should be no need for plowed driveways this weekend. NO OFFROADING: It looks like you can offroad anywhere but that is not the case. There is a few inches of water below the thin layer of snow, so we advise you to use old plowed spots and don't offroad. Banking snow is tough to come by so bring hole sleeves or a solid shovel.

RESTRICTIONS: WE HAVE LIFTED ALL RESTRICTIONS OUT TO 2ND REEF. 22' Tandem and smaller pulled by a 3/4 Ton Gas or smaller out to Gravel.

RENTALS: We have a couple rentals available for Friday and Sunday night. Go to beachsidemn.com to book your stay!

FISHING CONTEST - (FREE WITH WEEKND ICE ROAD PASS)

1ST PLACE: BIGGEST WALLEYE – ENGEL 19 QT LIVE BAIT COOLER or ESKIMO QUICKFISH 6

2ND PLACE: BIGGEST FISH (2nd biggest walleye if walleye is biggest fish) – ESKIMO 8” ICE PISTOL

3RD PLACE: BIGGEST PERCH – STRIKER HERITAGE HOODIE 

4TH PLACE: RANDOM DRAWING – Prize from Beachside Tackle Box

***ACCESS CLOSURE 2/15/23***

With all the rain things got pretty wet, and the roads will rutt up pretty bad if there is traffic. So we are going to close our access down for the day while things freeze back up. With the arctic blast, that is just hitting, we should be in great shape for tomorrow and the weeekend.
We will be opened back up at 7 AM tomorrow morning.
We will also be posting another update for the weekend tomorrow, but for now you can expect to have the same restrictions as last weekend.

***WEEKEND PLANS 2-10-23***

We have been working hard this year to open up new territory every weekend, and we have been fighting for every bit we have.We have plowed over 19 miles of nice wide Ice roads this year, and this weekend we will be opening up a bunch of new territory! We have opened up more space on 1st Reef and now have 8 Reef rads opened there, and that space is opened up and ready to fish now! We are also working to add a few roads on the big Gravel Bar which is about 5.5 miles out! We plan to have that space all opened up by Friday morning at 7 AM.

RESTRICTIONS:At this time we will allow out all combinations in the bay and to Ottos. We are allowing out 3/4 ton gas and 22' Tandems and less out to 2nd reef. We will update the restrictions for the weekend after we do a thorough ice check on Wednesday and Thursday.

FISHING CONTEST (FREE WITH WEEKEND ICE ROAD PASS):

1ST PLACE: BIGGEST WALLEYE: Choice of 19 QT ENGEL COOLER or Eskimo QuickFish3I Hub

2ND PLACE: 2ND BIGGEST WALLEYE: Choice Eskimo Quickfish3 or Eskimo Ice Pistol

3RD PLACE: 3RD BIGGEST WALLEYE: STRIKER HERITAGE HOODIE

4TH PLACE: RANDOM DRAWING - CHOICE FROM BEACHSIDE TACKLEBOX 

***WEEKEND UPDATE - MILLE LACS 2/2***

This past week of cold did a lot of good for us and the lake.

We were able to widen some roads that previously had slush on the edges, and we were able cut some new roads where we were also dealing with slush. Our main roads also thicken up quite a bit. We opened up 3 new roads on 2nd Reef.

RESTRICTIONS:

We will be allowing out all size vehicles and wheelhouse combinations to Otto's Reef and the bay. We are allowing out 3/4 gas and 22' or tandems, or smaller, out to 1st Reef and 2nd reef. The ice gets brittle when it is this cold, and we need to keep speeds down. There is a warm up coming this weekend and we expect to hear and see the ice expand.5 MPH WHEN PULLING HOUSE AND 10 MPH WHEN IN VEHICLE. 

THE BITE:

We have continued to hear good reports of fish being caught, and the overnight bite has been really good. We have had some houses produce up to 8 fish overnight. Stop at the bait shop and we will show you what has been working best!

***WEEKEND ACCESS - MILLE LACS 1/26***

WE ARE LETTING OUT ALL SIZE TRAFFICRESTRICTIONS:- All size rigs are allowed in the bay.- 22' Tandems and 3/4 Gas trucks are allowed at Ottos.- Single Axel Houses and Half Tons are allowed out to 1st and 2nd Reef.(IF YOU GO OUT TO 1ST REEF OR 2ND REEF PLEASE PREPEARE TO HANG OUT AT YOUR SHACK. WE HAVE A BRIDGE OUT AND WANT TO LIMIT BACK AND FORTH TRAFFIC)WEEKEND FISHING CONTEST (FREE WITH PURCHASE OF WEEKEND ROAD PASS):1ST PLACE: BIGGEST FISH - Choice of Eskimo Quickfish 3, 8" Eskimo Pistol, or Engel 18Qt Bait Cooler2ND PLACE BIGGEST WALLEYE (2ND BIGGEST WALLEYE IF WALLEYE IS BIGGEST FISH) - STRIKER HOODIE 3RD PLACE: BIGGEST EEL POUT/BERBET - CHOICE OF ICE CHISEL OR $25 Gift Certificate to Beachside Bait and Tackle4TH PLACE: RANDOM WINNER -Gift from Beachside Tackle Box.

*** ACCESS UPDATE 1/25/23 - MILLE LACS***

We are finally getting some colder temps, and we have been doing a lot of plowing to open up new space. We have had 4-5 plow trucks, a UTV snowblower and UTV Track machine with a packing sled out in full force the past couple of days. We are working from before sun up to after sundown to get things ready for the weekend. We were able to plow open a few roads on 2nd Reef, and pack some wet areas so we can continue to open more area out there. We are going to monitor that area and let it settle before we allow people out to it. With the cold weather we are hoping to have that area opened up by Friday!

Tomorrow we will be checking ice, working on cleaning things up from all the wind we have had, and we will be shuffling some things around.

As far as restrictions are concerned, we are still allowing out all size wheelhouse and vehicle combinations in the bay. We are going to be doing a lot of ice checking tomorrow, and are hoping to see some nice gains so we can let bigger traffic out further. We will have an update for that, along with Fishing Contest Details for our FREE fishing contest (with purchase of weekend road pass) this weekend.

LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ICE CONDITIONS AND FISHING INFORMATION

***ACCESS UPDATE 1-22-22***

Our access is open to all size wheelhouse and vehicle options in the bay. 

3/4 ton gas and 21' tandem or less to Ottos.

1st reef is currently closed due to an active crack.

Stop at baitshop for more details.

***ACCESS UPDATE 1/20/23***

Our access is closed to new wheelhouses at this time as we are out of good dry spots. We are hoping to open up 1st Reef in the morning. Sorry for the inconvenience. We are doing our best to safely get out as many people as we can.

***1/19/23 ACCESS UPDATE***

We got another inch of snow overnight with more warm temps. We have been trying to clean things up for traffic, but we are running into too many soft spots that just need time to heal up. With temps in the teens tonight, that should solidify things A LOT. We are going to pack the soft spots with snow and hope that the cooler temps tonight will solidify things.** We are closing our access down to any new wheelhouses and vehicle traffic for the day (Thursday), and we plan to open things back up tomorrow morning around 9 AM (after we do an ice check). We hate to do this last minute, but things are ever changing with Ice and we want to make sure everyone stays safe.

***ACCESS UPDATE 1-18-22- MILLE LACS***

As everyone around here knows it has been a warm week, which means some of the banks got wet and we didn't make any progress on thickening things up from last weekend. It also wasn't ideal plowing conditions. We are still waiting for the roads to heal up going out to 1st Reef, and the next two cooler nights should help with that. 

As it sits for now Ottos is still open to 3/4 ton Gas and 22' or smaller wheelhouses. 1st Reef is closed for now, and we are hoping to open it back up on Friday.

Since we can't get bigger rigs (Large houses and/or diesel trucks) out further yet, and we have limited space in the bay, we will be limiting bigger rigs to our wheelhouse package customers and private customers only. Bigger rigs will have to remain in the bay. With colder temps coming this next week, this should be the last weekend we have to keep those restrictions to the bay.

As far as fishing is concerned, the bite hasn't been bad. We've had reports of a lot of keeper size walleye being caught, and they have been on tops of reefs and off the deeper edges. Pink glow jigs or perch color jigs/spoons seem to be working the best. Small Suckers on a set line, or that profile size of minnow, have been working great. We will be having a fishing contest this weekend, and it will be FREE with the purchase of a weekend pass. LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ACCESS/FISHING/ FISHING CONTEST NEWS AND INFORMATION.

***WEEKEND UPDATE 1-12-23 --> 1-15-23 - MILLE LACS***

The boys have been working VERY long days (Some 16 hr days) to get the roads opened up that we felt we could in time for the weekend. Good news we got it done and will be ready for ALL TRAFFIC! We will have a few restrictions, and some areas won't be opening until Friday morning.

WAHKON BAY TRAFFIC: All vehicle and wheelhouse combinations will be allowed out in the bay. We took measurements of our roads and found 17.5" and up! That doesn't mean that there aren't spots with less ice, and since it is still earlyish Ice, we will be drilling a hole and pre-checking all newly plowed spots before we give you the go ahead to setup.

OTTOS/1ST REEF TRAFFIC: 3/4 TON GAS pulling a Tandem Axel or less (if you have a MEGA tandem please plan to stay in the bay this weekend)

THINGS TO BE MINDFUL OF:

* Wheelhouses should have their roofs cleared of most snow before getting on the lake.
* When pulling your house ON/OFF please go 5 MPH. When you are not connected please go 10 or less. (Speed=waves and waves= cracks which equates to less safe ice) We worked VERY hard to open up these roads for our patrons. Please be respectful of our rules so we can focus on opening more territory instead of fixing/closing down what we have.
*Don't drive by banks. They are heavy and extra weight can crack the ice and make it unsafe. Instead drive in the center of the roads. They are wide!
* DONT LEAVE TRASH BEHIND AND IF YOU HAVE A PET PICK UP AFTER THEM, AND PLEASE RESPECT THIS GREAT RESOURCE.

***ICE/FISHING REPORT 1-4-23***

We got about 3-4" of snow overnight and a bit more today. Due to the warmer temperatures it is the heavy wet stuff...

Our roads held up pretty well in the bay and outside the bay they need time to heal. We decided to wait to plow our roads until the snow finished. We will be cleaning things up first thing in the morning. Yesterday we staked Ottos Road C and D, and we also staked out 1st Reef. Today we focused on getting a few more private skid house customers out, moving our rentals out on some new territory, and flooding areas that got beat up from the weekend (out by Ottos). We also put water on top of the ice off of 1st Reef where we had slush pockets and would like to plow.

The reason we flooded these areas is so the cold will penatrate these areas better, and so we can open/reopen roads sooner. The blanket of snow adds a layer of insulation on the ice, which is not what we need. We are hoping the colder temps tomorrow, and throughout the weekend, will allow us to keep on pushing out to more area for you all. We won't be able to do anything to these flooded areas until Friday morning at the soonest.

As It sits the bay is open to single axle wheelhouses and half tons. Maybe by this Friday we can push out a little further, but only time will tell.

As far as fishing is concerned there are tons of Perch everywhere in the bay and there have been some anglers catching a large number of keepers. The Walleyes that have been caught are fat, and it seems that they have been most active from 6-730 PM, and overnight. Anglers have had the moat luck in the shallows (6-15 FOW). Jigging perch color lures, or fishing with a dead stick have been the most productive. Pike have been primarily caught in 5-8 FOW in the weedbeds. There have been some giants caught this year, and a lot of break offs too.

LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ICE/FISHING CONDITIONS

12/30 update

***SPEED UPDATE***
***SPACE UPDATE***

We have stopped WAY too many people today. This is early ice and our MPH sign needs to be respected. We have seen wheel houses bouncing down the road people are going so fast. SLOW DOWN. Folks are also driving too close to the bank which is causing some cracking. Please, for yours and everyone else's safety, slow down.

All of the safe areas in Otto's are full so anyone else coming out would be going to the bay.

***ACCESS UPDATE 12/27/22 - 1/1/23 - MILLE LACS***

We had another day where we got a TON accomplished. We were able to open up a couple more roads in the bay and we plowed our main road out past Ottos Reef. With that being said, we still have a lot left to do to get ready for this holiday weekend, but the good news is we will be ready!

Good News/Bad News:

Bad news is, even though we have trucks plowing at this minute, we still need a little bit more time before we allow traffic, and our access will be closed until 1 PM tomorrow (Wednesday - 12-28)

Good news is, we will be getting some of our privates out Thursday so they will be ready for the weekend. We will be letting out single axel wheelhouses pulled by a 1/2 tons or less STARTING FRIDAY! We will not be allowing any vehicle or wheelhouse traffic out until Friday. As it looks we "should" be able to get some wheelhouse traffic out as far as Ottos Reef, but we still have a lot of plowing and ice checking before we can say that with 100% certainty. As it sits we are seeing 12" + of ice with some areas that bled during the deep freeze with much more.

Cost: $75 for Holiday Weekend Access

Cost includes Friday-Monday access with a plowed spot (Cost is the same if you stay for 2 days.) You will also get admission into our weekend fishing contest where you can win an Eskimo Quickfish 3 portable house along with other great prizes! More details to come.

With early ice conditions, including areas with slush pockets etc., we will NOT be letting out personal plow trucks.

***ACCESS UPDATE 12/26***

We had 4-5 plows going all day and into the night, and a snowblower on the access. We purchased a new Snowblower for one of our UTV's, and will be using that for the first time tomorrow.

Our focus was 100% on reopening the bay in the areas we already had plowed, and to unbury our staging area. We made great progress and should be ready to open things back up Wednesday morning. Our baitshop will be opened tomorrow but our access will remain closed.

With all the snow we really need to get out of the bay before we can get privates and Wheelhouses out, and it is our hope to get there before the weekend.

At the moment we still have Ice Castle and Skid house rental availability for the weekend. Go to beachsidemn.com to check availability and to book your stay.

Thanks everyone for your patience. I am hoping to have a better weekend outlook for everyone tomorrow evening.

LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ICE/FISHING CONDITIONS.

***ACCESS/ICE REPORT- MILLE LACS (12-21-->12-25)***

We had a few very cold days where we had our main road opened and exposed to the severe cold and we saw nice ice growth there! We opened up a couple other roads in the bay earlier this week so they could thicken up quicker too. We also did some packing of areas that we want to put roads in that were still holding slush. Its crazy how a few inches of snow still insulates in these extreme temps...Today we widened the main road, and cleaned the staging area one last time before the blow. We also staked out Ottos main road and Otttos road A and B so we are one step closer to plowing after this storm blows through. While we were out at Ottos we did some ice checks on the main lake. On the main lake we were seeing 10-12" of ice. There were quite a few areas that were holding slush under the snow.With the lighter snow we got so far, and the big 40+ MPH winds coming out of the NW, we are expecting a lot of snow to collect in the bay. We didn't plow outside the bay and are hopeful that a lot of the snow blows right over that area so we can get out of the bay sooner than later.The winds start dying down Christmas eve and through Christmas Day. We will be working to clear our staging area on those days and will have to see what we are left with and report later on when we will open back up. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and really can't wait to get you all out in your shacks and fishing. Until then we wish you well and hope you stay safe and enjoy this time with family and friends.AS FOR NOW OUR ACCESS AND BAIT SHOP WILL BE CLOSED THROUGH CHRISTMAS.

***ICE CONDITIONS - WEEKEND ACCESS - MILLE LACS***

12-16 UPDATE:We checked the main lake this morning, and it is very wet and slushy under the snow and we advise that you stay in the bay where there is thicker ice. Also remember that when you drill a hole you will see flooding due to the weight...So far we have had around 9" of heavy wet snow on the ground. We have cleaned off our access and plowed our main road to the mouth of the bay. As expected the bank side snapped and now we just need some cold weather and we will be in good shape. Please make sure to stay away from all banks. Due to the snow and all the plowing we had/have to do we will not be allowing out any vehicles/wheelhouses. It starts getting cold this weekend, and we should be able to allow wheelhouse traffic back out next week with a dolly.

12-15

So far we have had around 9" of heavy wet snow on the ground. We have cleaned off our access and plowed our main road to the mouth of the bay. As expected the bank side snapped and now we just need some cold weather and we will be in good shape. Please make sure to stay away from all banks. Due to the snow and all the plowing we had/have to do we will not be allowing out any vehicles/wheelhouses. It starts getting cold this weekend, and we should be able to allow wheelhouse traffic back out next week with a dolly.

*STAKED TO GRAVEL*We staked 6.5 miles out to the Gravel. We saw a good 7.5"- 9" of ice all the way out. There are 2 areas of concern outside the bay. One is at 2nd Reef and the 2nd is Beachside Banana. There were wet areas on recently active cracks. We will be checking everything out there in the morning and coning the troubled areas. It is important that you stay on our staked roads and check the ice when you go off them to fish. We will be allowing Snowmobiles and ATV's outside the bay. If you have an ATV you will want chains or tracks. SxS's will also be allowed out of the access but we would prefer that they stay in the bay and avoid the coned area in the bay. Please make sure to stop in and check most recent conditions with the baitshop.

12/9

***ICE UPDATE – ICE CASTLE RENTALS AVAILABLE – LIMITED WHEEL HOUSE TRAFFIC ALLOWED***

We went out this morning and checked ice and looked for new cracks etc. and everything is holding up nicely. We have extended the fishing grounds of where SxS’s can go, and have coned off the area where we want them to avoid. We are moving out 2 of our single axle Ice Castle rentals now, and will be allowing 20 single axel wheelhouses out on a 1^st come 1^st served basis. Please click on the link below to get on the list. You can book an Ice Castle by going to www.beachsidemn.com.

PRIVATE WHEELHOUSE RESERVATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ADA82BA2FDCE9-129

Since this is early ice we will be taking extra precautions as there are areas that need to be avoided at this time. We will be dollying on/off for $60 round trip. Due to areas of thinner ice we will not be allowing personal dolly outs.

We will allow ½ ton gas trucks or less to follow out the single axle wheelhouse. Only 1 vehicle per wheelhouse and please park a good distance from your wheelhouse to avoid potential flooding. Vehicles that go out must stay by the wheelhouse and not drive around. We will not be allowing other vehicles out. The wheelhouses that we let out will be placed right off our staked road(s) and they will be spaced out at least 50 yards apart. We will be dollying out until 7 PM tonight and then again tomorrow morning at 8 AM.

WHEELHOUSE PACKAGES:

If you have a wheelhouse package you can use your plow credits for the dolly service. If you have a wheelhouse package you will be able to store your house in our staging area after the weekend is over. We will not allow any other wheelhouse package people to store their wheelhouses in our staging area yet, as there is a storm coming early next week and we want to keep that area clear so we can flood it and grow that sheet of ice thicker.

PRIVATE HOUSES:

Our private houses are still at the dead storage lot, and we are hoping to start moving some of the lighter ones to the staging area early next week so we can get them out before next weekend. The larger ones will likely have to wait a bit longer.

11/30/22

We were out today drilling holes and checking ice. We found 7-8" close to our access, 6" of good ice out until Fredrickson's point, and less consistent ice between Frederickson's point and Halfmoon Island (4-5" with lots of pie chunks). Beyond Halfmoon we could see areas with open water. The good news is the snow missed us for the most part, and we are sitting good for the end of November.We will be opening up our access Saturday morning to ATV's, Snowmobiles, and walkout traffic (No SxS/UTV'S or vehicles quite yet). We will have a cone boundary set where we would like to keep all traffic inside of. You can check the map at the baitshop for more info, and/or like/follow our Facebook page to get an update with a map, that we will post on Friday.Our baitshop will open up this Saturday from 7-2, Sunday from 7 - noon, and will be open from 8-2 for the next Monday through Friday. We will extend our hours as the season goes on. If you have purchased or would like to purchase season passes/wheelhouse passes or private services then you can come and pick up your passes at the baitshop after we open on Saturday. We will have bait Saturday, and will update what we have on Friday's uodate.EARLY ICE REMINDERS:Check ice as you go as we can't check everything.Bring Ice picks (we sell them)Spud bar (We sell them)Kleets (we sell them)RopeFloat Suits are a good idea (We sell Striker Ice suits)

11/22/22

We have Ice in the bay out to Half Moon island, but the ice isn't thick/safe enough to open up our access. With the warmer weather coming this weekend things won't be getting better, but we are hopeful that we will be able to open things up in the next 2 weeks.